Luke 1: 26-38 God has a plan, Mary. How will you respond?

We learn in these passages that God has a plan and in the Christmas story, we we see that He shares His plans with us and records our responses and / or tells us how He wants us to respond to His plans.  In the book of Luke, we see how Mary, a teenage girl, is told of God's plan to bring Jesus into the world through her.  We don't see God asking Mary to approve the plan or to provide imput before He decided how to proceed.  On the contrary, the angel, Gabriel was sent to share what was going to happen...(vs. 31) "you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus."

Mary, a teenage girl was faced with the fact that she was going to bare a child out of wedlock in a society that could put her to death for such an act.  She was betrothed to Joseph who could save his own reputation by cancelling the marriage and revealing her "sin".  Yet God records in His word how Mary responded (vs. 38)  "Then Mary said, "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

In the book of Matthew, we see that God instructed Joseph how he wanted him to respond to the plan of Jesus' birth.  In Matthew 1: 18-25, God told Joseph what was happening and his role in the plan...(vs. 20-21)  "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sin."  How did Joseph respond?  Verse 24, "When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did what the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife."

The story of Jesus' birth makes it clear that we are born into God's plan.  I think that we believe that we are here to give God a plan, but actually we are here to participate in His plan as it unfolds.  He asks us to respond, tells us how to respond, and records our responses.  As followers of Christ we know that God's plan is the only plan that will lead us to His side for eternity.

The Kings of Israel

Our Wednesday night class recapped the sermon series on the Kings of Israel looking for the relevance for today.  God, through the prophet Samuel, warned the Israelites that by seeking a king, they were rejecting God.  He warned them of the ways that the kings would rule over them (1 Samuel 8) and then instructed Samuel to give them what they wanted.

As we read about all the kings, we find that king after king failed to provide for the nation of Israel.  Even David, who repented of his sins and was truly loved by God, did not provide an heir to the throne who served the nation well.  Solomon started well but finished badly and the kings following did the same (most didn't even start well). 

By studying these kings and their shortcomings, we learn that putting our faith and trust in anyone other than God, will lead us into despair.  God wants to be our Lord and He sent us Jesus to be our King for eternity.  In Jesus, we have a King who will not take from us as worldly kings, but He will give to us.  He gives us love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and an eternal home with Him in heaven.  He is not a King who separates himself from his people...He is a King who lives within the hearts of His people.

Sermon Replay Class...1 Timothy: 3....Examples for the world!

As we reflected back over the past several weeks studies in the Old Testament, we saw over and over how God would send a prophet to speak to the Jews.  The prophet was recognized as being a man of God and the words he spoke were given special attention.  God would insert His chosen person into a worldly situation to deliver His truth.

Today, God inserts believers into situations to deliver His truth...the mission of His church...but do we realize that we are the person God is depending on?  The world is in need of healing today as it was when God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as a prescription to heal the world.  We are the prescribed medicine today that Jesus sends to continue His work.  Just as the prophets in the Old Testament were set apart to bring God's word, we have been set apart to do the same thing.

God wants us to be the Christian in the workplace, the light in times of suffering and despair, and the witness when lies and slander are dominating the conversation.  Paul petitioned Timothy (1 Timothy: 3) to be an example for the church.  Paul identified the qualities of church leaders so that the world would have examples of the life Christ desires for all people.  We are the church today and Christ's qualities have not been changed.  We; the church, are the prescription for today's troubled world and if we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, God's truth and love will accomplish all that He sends it to accomplsh (Isaiah 55:  11).