November 27, 2011

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Let's Gain Eternal Happiness Advent I (Luke 1:26-38)

A. What God is trying to tell you
1) God is with you (26-28)
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
 
2) There is no need to fear(29-33)
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
 
B. Accepting God's recommendation for our lives
1) Believe God's power (34-37)
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 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 [35] the Son of God. 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. For nothing is impossible with God."
 
2) Respond to God as Mary did (38)
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said. " Then the angel left her.
 

Summary
 The core of our happiness is being with Jesus. God came to us and promised to dwell in and with us. The people in Jesus' time wanted him to be a king and a revolutionary, but he did not come to be either of those things. Jesus reigns forever and what God offers us is a whole new way of life. Sometimes our lives can seem very confusing, but when we are able to tell God, "May it be to me as you have said," just like Mary did, we have access to the kind of happiness that lasts forever.

For Discussion
 1) Why does the angel's message to Mary apply to us as well?
2) What is God's recommendation for our lives?