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| Rev. George Sinclair |
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(Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday, December 30th,
2012)
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Broadcast Notes:
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(Abridged
notes of a short Sermon on LUKE 1: 39–56)
‘Before
Christmas After Christmas’
Luke 1:39-56 - (ESVUK)
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies
the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
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.
51 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.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring for ever.”
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
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.
51 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.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring for ever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months
and returned to her home.
Footnotes:
a.
Luke 1:45 Or believed,
for there will be
Are Christians
especially prone to say one thing while they do another thing? Is that what
Mary is doing in the events recorded in Luke 1:39-56? Does the Bible encourage
saying one thing while we do another? OR does the Bible provide rich resources
for us to seek consistency?
READ Luke 1:39-40.
The Bible teaches that Mary was a virgin and that God worked a miracle in her
womb so that a zygote (a fertilized human embryo) was created in her womb. It
is because of this miracle that Mary seeks out Elizabeth. As an aside, the
reason that Christians believe this is because we believe that the true death
and the true resurrection of Jesus vindicates and authenticates what the Bible
says.
READ Luke 1:
41-45. With Elizabeth’s prophetic words 400 years of prophetic
silence ends. Without being told, Elizabeth knows that Mary is miraculously
pregnant and that her baby is the Messiah.
READ Luke 1:46-47.
Mary’s song begins by declaring what human beings were made for. Every system
of thought; every pattern of thought; either states or implies what is our
‘end’, our purpose. I summarize what Mary says, which is the biblical and
Christian view, in the form of this prayer:
- Almighty God, please help me to daily remember that I was created to glorify You and enjoy You forever. AMEN.
READ Luke 1:48-49. How can Mary say she is lowly and then
say she will be remembered forever? In the Bible, humility is not saying bad
things about yourself. It is more akin to self-forgetfulness, a
self-forgetfulness lost in God or the things of God.
- Almighty God, please help me to grow in self forgetful, healing humility.
READ Luke 1:49-50.
- Almighty God, please grant me an ever deeper fear of you and an ever deeper resting in your mercy. AMEN.
READ Luke 1;51-55.
- Jesus Messiah, I trust that You keep Your promises, so in Your mercy cast down my pride and power and presumption and in Your mercy lift me up and fill me up and keep me Yours forever. Thank You. AMEN.
Let’s close
in prayer:
Father,
Help me to trust your promises and to trust Jesus as my Saviour
and my Lord.
Help me to trust Him, Father, that He can lower my pride and
humble my pride, humble my power, humble my presumption; and help me to trust
that in His mercy, He will lift me up, fill me up, and keep me yours, forever.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rev. George
Sinclair
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