10 December 2023 // Luke 1:39-55
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION: Read Luke 1:39-56 and listen/watch sermon.
SERMON REVIEW:
A Song of Surrender vs. 46-47
A Song of Realization vs.48-50
A Song of Strength vs.51-55
QUESTIONS:
LIFE APPLICATION:
A Promise Fulfilled
Look what God has done. He has surprised the world. Yes, he has surprised his own people. He has gone to out-of-the-way places. He has spoken to unsuspecting, ordinary people, who appeared not to be in a situation to do what God announced would happen. God had two tasks to accomplish. He planned to prepare an unrighteous people to receive a holy Savior. He planned to provide forgiveness and salvation for these people. And he did it. We know he did it because he also prepared a well-educated writer to gather the details and put them in a stimulating and trustworthy literary form so we can enjoy reading what God has done. We know Luke’s story of two miraculous births. We know God’s surprises for his people. So what? How do we react?
We cannot expect angelic visitations to call us to such miraculous tasks. Mary’s and Elizabeth’s roles were one-time miracles, never to be matched in human history. They stood at the zenith of God’s salvation history. We cannot imitate them. The important thing is what God did and why He did it.
God completed his salvation promises, promises that he first made to Abraham and to David. He brought forgiveness and salvation. He established his covenant once and forever. He invites us to be a part of that covenant. He invites us to believe that God has done the impossible. God has opened a path for us to be in constant relationship with his mercy. He invites us to admit our sins, let him forgive them, and thus know his salvation. He wants to make us holy, separated from the world to serve him in moral purity.
What must happen before we are willing to believe and become what God wants to make of us? Does he have to silence our lips for nine months as he did Zechariah’s? Does he have to send us into five months of seclusion to ponder what he has done as he did for Elizabeth? Does he have to answer our questions about how God does the impossible as he did for Mary? What stands in the way of our forgiveness and salvation? God has prepared the way for us. He has sent his Son of righteousness for us. Will we follow Mary in believing what God has said, accepting the promises he has made, and becoming servants through whom God can do his will? If we respond in faith to God, we can know forgiveness for our sins. We can experience the salvation God promised. We can join Mary and Zechariah in singing praises to God for his mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.[1]
DIGGING DEEPER:
All Generations Will Call Me Blessed (1:48)
God used Mary in a unique way. In what way did this make her a unique person? The church has debated this issue for centuries. Mary described herself as humble (v. 48), “the Lord’s servant” (v. 38). She also recognized that God was doing something extraordinary in her life, something which would make the rest of history take notice of her. Future generations would unite in calling her “blessed.” Does this mean that Mary entered a new state of existence, a state different from other people, a state that provided power for future prayers and hope for future miracles in her name? Is it not much more a recognition of changed circumstances rather than a changed state?
Mary was a humble, unmarried teenager from Nazareth with little of the world’s goods. She received a gift from God, a gift of service. She served as God’s means of bringing his Son into the world. That gift of service means she received God’s blessing. It is as a recipient that she is blessed, not as a giver of blessing to others. The church in gratitude for her attitude of obedience and service recognizes what God has done for her and calls her blessed of God.[2]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What role does the Holy Spirit have in the birth announcements?
2. What character traits do Zechariah and Elizabeth share with Mary? Why would God choose such people to prepare the way for the Lord?
3. How many references to prayer can you find in Luke 1? What different types of prayer are represented? What do you learn about God’s response to prayer and praise?[3]
PRAYER:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 16–17.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 22.
[3] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 24.
SERMON REVIEW:
A Song of Surrender vs. 46-47
A Song of Realization vs.48-50
A Song of Strength vs.51-55
QUESTIONS:
- What did the message teach me about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?
- What did the message teach me about the human condition?
- Is there anything I need to confess, repent, or be grateful for, because of this passage?
- How do I need help in believing and applying this scripture to my life?
- How can I encourage others with this passage?
LIFE APPLICATION:
A Promise Fulfilled
Look what God has done. He has surprised the world. Yes, he has surprised his own people. He has gone to out-of-the-way places. He has spoken to unsuspecting, ordinary people, who appeared not to be in a situation to do what God announced would happen. God had two tasks to accomplish. He planned to prepare an unrighteous people to receive a holy Savior. He planned to provide forgiveness and salvation for these people. And he did it. We know he did it because he also prepared a well-educated writer to gather the details and put them in a stimulating and trustworthy literary form so we can enjoy reading what God has done. We know Luke’s story of two miraculous births. We know God’s surprises for his people. So what? How do we react?
We cannot expect angelic visitations to call us to such miraculous tasks. Mary’s and Elizabeth’s roles were one-time miracles, never to be matched in human history. They stood at the zenith of God’s salvation history. We cannot imitate them. The important thing is what God did and why He did it.
God completed his salvation promises, promises that he first made to Abraham and to David. He brought forgiveness and salvation. He established his covenant once and forever. He invites us to be a part of that covenant. He invites us to believe that God has done the impossible. God has opened a path for us to be in constant relationship with his mercy. He invites us to admit our sins, let him forgive them, and thus know his salvation. He wants to make us holy, separated from the world to serve him in moral purity.
What must happen before we are willing to believe and become what God wants to make of us? Does he have to silence our lips for nine months as he did Zechariah’s? Does he have to send us into five months of seclusion to ponder what he has done as he did for Elizabeth? Does he have to answer our questions about how God does the impossible as he did for Mary? What stands in the way of our forgiveness and salvation? God has prepared the way for us. He has sent his Son of righteousness for us. Will we follow Mary in believing what God has said, accepting the promises he has made, and becoming servants through whom God can do his will? If we respond in faith to God, we can know forgiveness for our sins. We can experience the salvation God promised. We can join Mary and Zechariah in singing praises to God for his mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.[1]
DIGGING DEEPER:
All Generations Will Call Me Blessed (1:48)
God used Mary in a unique way. In what way did this make her a unique person? The church has debated this issue for centuries. Mary described herself as humble (v. 48), “the Lord’s servant” (v. 38). She also recognized that God was doing something extraordinary in her life, something which would make the rest of history take notice of her. Future generations would unite in calling her “blessed.” Does this mean that Mary entered a new state of existence, a state different from other people, a state that provided power for future prayers and hope for future miracles in her name? Is it not much more a recognition of changed circumstances rather than a changed state?
Mary was a humble, unmarried teenager from Nazareth with little of the world’s goods. She received a gift from God, a gift of service. She served as God’s means of bringing his Son into the world. That gift of service means she received God’s blessing. It is as a recipient that she is blessed, not as a giver of blessing to others. The church in gratitude for her attitude of obedience and service recognizes what God has done for her and calls her blessed of God.[2]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What role does the Holy Spirit have in the birth announcements?
2. What character traits do Zechariah and Elizabeth share with Mary? Why would God choose such people to prepare the way for the Lord?
3. How many references to prayer can you find in Luke 1? What different types of prayer are represented? What do you learn about God’s response to prayer and praise?[3]
PRAYER:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 16–17.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 22.
[3] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 24.