Luke 1:26-38, "Godly Parents"
Pray
Read
Luke 1:26-38-
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
What can we learn from this story of Gabriel and Mary?
Unexpected News-
1. You are favored by God. The Lord is with you. This news troubled Mary.
2. You will be with child (even though you are a virgin)
3. This child you’re having is going to be Son of the most high, the savior
All of us get unexpected news in our lives. It is very unlikely any of us will receive the news that Mary received
But we do receive unexpected news- A lot of news we expect- you know when you get that wedding invitation that doesn’t surprise you at all- or the birth announcement- that is expected- that is news that you anticipate and expect.
Mary’s story and often our lives are full of unexpected news- bad- the death that came too early in life, the job that is suddenly eliminated, and good- the reuniting of friends, a miraculous healing
Our lives are full of unexpected news- good and bad. Mary’s life was interrupted- so to speak- by unexpected news.
Unforeseen plans- the arrival of unexpected news means there will be unforeseen plans. Plans change. Mary’s life plan changed at the moment she received this good unexpected news. She may have had plans to marry a fine man like Joseph and lead a peaceful life in a small town near relatives and friends.
Plans changed. God changed her plans. She says, "How will this be?"- how is this going to happen exactly, don’t you know I am a virgin?
Prov 16:9 says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps"
We lay plans and it seems, at times, that God lays waste to our best laid plans. There is no way Mary could have seen this step in her life. She couldn’t have said as a child, "well I’ll find a nice guy- give birth to the messiah- in a stable and then we’ll settle down- after a short stay in Egypt."
In the same way there are steps we can’t see coming in our life. We make our plans but then the unexpected news comes and plans necessarily change.
Sure, we can deny reality and keep our old plan- but it won’t work.
We can be a great fastball hitter, but if life starts throwing us a curve ball we can either adjust to reality or strike out.
If unexpected news- good or bad- has thrown you off a course you thought you should travel- may you and I both humbly have the attitude of Mary, who simply said, "I am the Lord's servant." We are to serve in God’s story- God is not a mere player in our story.
We learn through this story about- Uncontrollable consequences- Mary said, ""May it be to me as you have said." She chose to cooperate with the plan God had for her.
Though the news was unexpected, though her life plan disrupted- she accepted that a new sequence of events was about to commence.
Mary however, in no way, could know what would come of this sequence of event- the Con-sequences.
Early on some were enjoyable consequences. Having shepherds and wise men, ooh and ahh over your infant- who doesn’t want that?
But then it becomes obvious that life is wildly out of their control. King Herod wants their baby dead. Mary and Joseph have to live with the reality that having the Messiah born- caused some of their friends to have children executed. Children that Jesus played with were murdered. Darkness couldn’t stand the light- power couldn’t live with the Truth. What a burden to bear- to raise the Son of God, who knew he would have such brutal enemies, lovers of death, greedy, envious and powerful. These leaders, like Herod, gave Mary and Joseph lessons to teach their child- that he should never rule like that- he would be a different kind of king. God entrusted Joseph and Mary to be Jesus’ parents. They were Godly parents. And let us not romanticize that because he was the Son of God he needed no parenting- if that was the case God would not have had him born into a family. I can imagine the grieving Mary, grieving for her friends and neighbors children, Mary whispering into the toddler Jesus’ ear, "You will not rule over others like that. You will love your enemy. You will embrace children. Your kingdom will be one where neighbor loves neighbor."
We must not be controlled by the uncontrollable consequences of life. We must learn from them. When the Herods come into our life, when we are suddenly forced to move to our Egypt- when our family is challenged because of a conviction we hold high- when our child’s life is cut brutally short= we must say I am living in God’s story for my life- no matter the consequences- I am God’s servant, may it be to me as you have planned.
Tina and I want to be godly parents- parents like Mary and Joseph. many of you out there are either in that boat- or hope to be- or have been
Godly parents- Godly people are simply folks who take the good and the bad news of life, the changed plans, the undesirable consequences- and through it all they remember who they really are, they say in confidence- that is they say with faith, "I am the Lord's servant,"
The Good News of this story:
Nothing is impossible with God- Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age, Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit- and we can live lives of grace and forgiveness even though sometimes we feel like being grumpy and nasty. God can bring life into areas that seem like there shouldn’t be life- But we have a living God- nothing is impossible for Him. He brings things to life, He resurrects, He heals.
God uses the unlikely- God cooperated with a virgin who gave birth- it was not your average situation. God cooperated with Elizabeth who bore a child in old age. God called shepherds to be the witnesses of his arrival as an infant. The christ-Child as a grown up, that is Jesus, hung out with prostitutes, liars, cheaters and such- and gave them what they needed to become people who led different lives- God uses the unlikely. If you have ever thought it unlikely that God specifically wants to use you- this means you are indeed qualified to be God’s servant. This means God can use me and you.
God has a story for us. God has a plan and a story for our lives. As individuals, as families as a church- God has stories written for our lives. Are we going to choose to live in God’s story? This Christmas are we going to embrace fully the story that God sent that baby not just to save the world- but specifically to save you and to save me. So that we can parents and people who whisper into our children’s ears, "you will be a person who loves God and loves your neighbor and your enemy." If only there were more of us whispering these stories of God’s future into little, young ears. If all of us Christians would take serious our calling to be spiritual parents to those who are living outside of the story God has written for their life. What could the world be like?There are so many out there in life who do not know the good news, the good plan God has for their life. They don’t know the consequences of living outside of a relationship with Christ.
Who will whisper the story of God’s love to them this Christmas? God is not done using people and the Holy Spirit to give birth to new life in this world. God is calling you and I to tell the story of his love
Who here is willing to be Godly parents? Not only to our own children, but to all of God’s children?
Read
Luke 1:26-38-
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
What can we learn from this story of Gabriel and Mary?
Unexpected News-
1. You are favored by God. The Lord is with you. This news troubled Mary.
2. You will be with child (even though you are a virgin)
3. This child you’re having is going to be Son of the most high, the savior
All of us get unexpected news in our lives. It is very unlikely any of us will receive the news that Mary received
But we do receive unexpected news- A lot of news we expect- you know when you get that wedding invitation that doesn’t surprise you at all- or the birth announcement- that is expected- that is news that you anticipate and expect.
Mary’s story and often our lives are full of unexpected news- bad- the death that came too early in life, the job that is suddenly eliminated, and good- the reuniting of friends, a miraculous healing
Our lives are full of unexpected news- good and bad. Mary’s life was interrupted- so to speak- by unexpected news.
Unforeseen plans- the arrival of unexpected news means there will be unforeseen plans. Plans change. Mary’s life plan changed at the moment she received this good unexpected news. She may have had plans to marry a fine man like Joseph and lead a peaceful life in a small town near relatives and friends.
Plans changed. God changed her plans. She says, "How will this be?"- how is this going to happen exactly, don’t you know I am a virgin?
Prov 16:9 says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps"
We lay plans and it seems, at times, that God lays waste to our best laid plans. There is no way Mary could have seen this step in her life. She couldn’t have said as a child, "well I’ll find a nice guy- give birth to the messiah- in a stable and then we’ll settle down- after a short stay in Egypt."
In the same way there are steps we can’t see coming in our life. We make our plans but then the unexpected news comes and plans necessarily change.
Sure, we can deny reality and keep our old plan- but it won’t work.
We can be a great fastball hitter, but if life starts throwing us a curve ball we can either adjust to reality or strike out.
If unexpected news- good or bad- has thrown you off a course you thought you should travel- may you and I both humbly have the attitude of Mary, who simply said, "I am the Lord's servant." We are to serve in God’s story- God is not a mere player in our story.
We learn through this story about- Uncontrollable consequences- Mary said, ""May it be to me as you have said." She chose to cooperate with the plan God had for her.
Though the news was unexpected, though her life plan disrupted- she accepted that a new sequence of events was about to commence.
Mary however, in no way, could know what would come of this sequence of event- the Con-sequences.
Early on some were enjoyable consequences. Having shepherds and wise men, ooh and ahh over your infant- who doesn’t want that?
But then it becomes obvious that life is wildly out of their control. King Herod wants their baby dead. Mary and Joseph have to live with the reality that having the Messiah born- caused some of their friends to have children executed. Children that Jesus played with were murdered. Darkness couldn’t stand the light- power couldn’t live with the Truth. What a burden to bear- to raise the Son of God, who knew he would have such brutal enemies, lovers of death, greedy, envious and powerful. These leaders, like Herod, gave Mary and Joseph lessons to teach their child- that he should never rule like that- he would be a different kind of king. God entrusted Joseph and Mary to be Jesus’ parents. They were Godly parents. And let us not romanticize that because he was the Son of God he needed no parenting- if that was the case God would not have had him born into a family. I can imagine the grieving Mary, grieving for her friends and neighbors children, Mary whispering into the toddler Jesus’ ear, "You will not rule over others like that. You will love your enemy. You will embrace children. Your kingdom will be one where neighbor loves neighbor."
We must not be controlled by the uncontrollable consequences of life. We must learn from them. When the Herods come into our life, when we are suddenly forced to move to our Egypt- when our family is challenged because of a conviction we hold high- when our child’s life is cut brutally short= we must say I am living in God’s story for my life- no matter the consequences- I am God’s servant, may it be to me as you have planned.
Tina and I want to be godly parents- parents like Mary and Joseph. many of you out there are either in that boat- or hope to be- or have been
Godly parents- Godly people are simply folks who take the good and the bad news of life, the changed plans, the undesirable consequences- and through it all they remember who they really are, they say in confidence- that is they say with faith, "I am the Lord's servant,"
The Good News of this story:
Nothing is impossible with God- Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age, Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit- and we can live lives of grace and forgiveness even though sometimes we feel like being grumpy and nasty. God can bring life into areas that seem like there shouldn’t be life- But we have a living God- nothing is impossible for Him. He brings things to life, He resurrects, He heals.
God uses the unlikely- God cooperated with a virgin who gave birth- it was not your average situation. God cooperated with Elizabeth who bore a child in old age. God called shepherds to be the witnesses of his arrival as an infant. The christ-Child as a grown up, that is Jesus, hung out with prostitutes, liars, cheaters and such- and gave them what they needed to become people who led different lives- God uses the unlikely. If you have ever thought it unlikely that God specifically wants to use you- this means you are indeed qualified to be God’s servant. This means God can use me and you.
God has a story for us. God has a plan and a story for our lives. As individuals, as families as a church- God has stories written for our lives. Are we going to choose to live in God’s story? This Christmas are we going to embrace fully the story that God sent that baby not just to save the world- but specifically to save you and to save me. So that we can parents and people who whisper into our children’s ears, "you will be a person who loves God and loves your neighbor and your enemy." If only there were more of us whispering these stories of God’s future into little, young ears. If all of us Christians would take serious our calling to be spiritual parents to those who are living outside of the story God has written for their life. What could the world be like?There are so many out there in life who do not know the good news, the good plan God has for their life. They don’t know the consequences of living outside of a relationship with Christ.
Who will whisper the story of God’s love to them this Christmas? God is not done using people and the Holy Spirit to give birth to new life in this world. God is calling you and I to tell the story of his love
Who here is willing to be Godly parents? Not only to our own children, but to all of God’s children?
posted by Palouse Fed. Church at 12:29 AM
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