Luke 1:26-38
The Christmas Season is one of the most joyous times of
the year.
However, it can also be one of the most stressful times
of the year.
Mary’s Background of the story:
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth,
a village in Galilee,
There’s a perfect
timing, instruments & place for all of us.
27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged
to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
MISSION
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with
you!”
Of all the Jewish women, why was she highly favored? Mary was chosen
by grace.
Mary was young, poor, female—all characteristics that, to
the people of her day, would make her seem unusable by God for any major task.Who are you? You
may feel that your age, gender, ability, experience, or education makes you an
unlikely candidate for God’s service. Don’t limit God’s choices. Trust him. Ordinary
woman became extraordinary.
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried
to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the
angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
Would you react
the same way? What would you think?
31 You will
conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be
very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God
will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
33 And he will
reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Let’s not underestimate what it cost Mary to say Yes to God. She risked losing Joseph, her family, and her reputation. And her story about being made pregnant by the Holy
Spirit risked her being considered crazy as well. Sometimes we forget that we live in a bigger world &
in a time that is eternal. That our world is not all that there is …but there
is that what we call God’s Eternal Kingdom. As his subjects, he wants us
to represent him and obey him. Can He
count on us? The way we live our lives in this temporal world will determine if
our King can count on us now & in the coming kingdom. Are you part of the Kingdom? Who is Jesus for you?
MIRACLE:
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen?
I am a virgin.”
This is a perfectly natural question.
35 The angel
replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the baby to
be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
It’s OK to be
confused, disturbed & afraid , but it should not stop us in God’s work in
our lives
36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become
pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her
sixth month.
37 For nothing
is impossible with God.” (2
examples of impossibility)
Like Mary, we have the HS help have examples, & God’s
promise.
What does God wants us to do?
38 Mary responded,
“I am the Lord’s servant.
May
everything you have said about me come true.”
And
then the angel left her.
We may call this
one of the greatest statements of faith in all the Bible.
Mary said Yes.
Yes to God, Yes to the impossible, Yes to the plan of God.
Mary stands as a
model for all believers of openness to great possibilities.
and a model of
faith in the face of many natural doubts.
WHAT GOD WANTS
FROM US? The same thing he
wanted from Mary.
Simple faith to trust
God to take us beyond our limitations,
Remember
Christmas is all about miracles.
They happened
2,000 years ago; they can still happen today.
The Miracle of
Christmas can still happen in our lives
No comments:
Post a Comment