SERIES: Advent
TEXT: Luke 1:39-55
MESSAGE: “Our Reason to Sing”
“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
TEXT: Luke 1:39-55
CONTEXT: Luke 1:39-45
“These two women meet together and erupt with joy. They’re not just joyful because they’re both having babies. No. They know the Lord has shown them favor. They know the inside scoop on God’s plans for their children. Their joy is supernatural.” Thabiti Anyabwile
Q: How did Jesus’ birth impact her? It impacted her…(1. Internally 2. Socially 3. Eternally)
1. Internally (v. 46-50)
“And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”
“God my savior shows that Mary recognized her need — she was a sinner like other people.” — Leon Morris
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, afor he will save his people from their sins.” — Matthew 1:21
“…sin is about more than doing bad things. It describes how easily we deceive ourselves and spin illusions to redefine our bad decisions as good ones.” — Jon Collins and Tim Mackie
“Jesus! I don’t believe, I’m a villain in need…” — Kings Kaleidoscope
“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” — Psalm 25:9
2. Socially (v. 51-53)
“He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.”
“When God came to earth in the form of Jesus Christ, He was born in the feed trough. When His parents took Him to circumcision, their offering was two pigeons—the offering that was accepted for those on the lowest rung on the economic ladder. Jesus was essentially homeless. He said, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” He rode into town on a borrowed donkey. He ate His last meal in a borrowed room. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. He was poor!” — Timothy Keller
“The Christ whose Gospel we preach is no unapproachable philosopher…the ignorant and the illiterate may find in Him their best Friend.” — Charles Spurgeon
3. Eternally (v. 54-55)
“…He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
TAKEAWAYS: How can Jesus’ arrival cause us to sing like Mary? Let me try and give you a start today. By believing…
I. Jesus came for you
II. Obeying impacts eternity
They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality.” — John 8:41
“Well might her heart be filled with a wondering tremulous joy at so great a privilege. Yet that very blessedness was to be a sword to pierce her heart. It meant that some day she would see her son hanging on a cross. To be chosen by God so often means at one and the same time a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow.” — William Barclay