Do you know that feeling when good news, a new job, the news of a baby on the way, stirs up excitement and fear at the same time? That is exactly what Mary experienced when the angel announced she would give birth to the Savior (Luke 1): being honored above all generations was woven together with the risk of misunderstanding and rejection. This sermon takes us to Mary’s meeting with Elizabeth and to the prayer of praise in which an ordinary girl from Nazareth discovers that her life has become part of God’s great story. Listen and see what upheaval, and what gratitude, good news from God can bring into your life.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Read Luke 1:39-56. What do Elizabeth's words about "the mother of my Lord" and the baby leaping in her womb tell us about who Jesus is?
- Mary carries the Savior of the world, yet she calls God her Savior. What does this paradox reveal about her and about where we look for salvation?
- God's good news brought Mary both excitement and fear, for example about how Joseph and others would react. What similar feelings stir in you about something God is starting in your life?
- In a hard moment Mary did not want to be alone, so she went to Elizabeth. Who is that kind of person for you, someone you can share both joy and worry with about what God is doing?
- Mary speaks in the past tense about God bringing down rulers and lifting up the humble, even though nothing around her had changed yet. How does this help you live in the tension between "already" and "not yet"?
- The sermon says that when we see our lives as part of God's story, we begin to notice others and pass grace on. Who specifically can you show that grace to this week?
