Advent: Christmas Carols Week 1: Luke 1:46-56

INTRO> Today we begin our journey through Advent. Advent is my favorite time of year. I do believe there is difference between Christmas and Advent. Advent is from the Latin word meaning “coming” Advent – is a season of reflection and preparation. Reflection on Jesus’ first coming and preparation for his second.

Series Intro> I know nothing that marks this time of year like Christmas music, many of us have a love hate relationship with it! The Bible also records Christmas music as well, in Luke 1-2 we see four specific songs surrounding the birth of Jesus. Today we look at what is called the “Magnificant” from Mary the mother of Jesus. One of the funny things that we do with songs we sing is that we actually don’t even realize what the song is about and we even get the lyrics wrong. I ran across an article that asked kids what they thought famous Christmas songs where about and had them repeat the lyrics:

• • Silent Night: “Round John’s Virgin, Mother and child…”
  • Noel: “Noel, Noel… Barneys the king of Israel…”
  • Joy to the World: “Joy to the World, the Lord has gum..”
  • Joy to the World: “joy to the world, let’s have fun, let earth receive her keys…”

CONTEXT> The reason why I say that is because today, with Mary’s song, it is important to look at what she is singing about. She is singing primarily about God and his nature and character and what we has done and what he will do. She say’s the phrase “he has done” 7x look at verse 47-48 “because he has!”

Big Idea> Christmas reveals to us who God is, what he has done and what he will do.

1. God is personal: I am loved. v48

• • • “ for he has looked on the humble..” other translations say, “he has regarded” The word in the original lit means that God has intentionally turned his head to set his eyes.

APP> There is another section of scripture that talks about God seeing. It’s Abraham and Sara,  “She gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her. She called him “You are the God who sees me.” That’s because she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:18 The reason I show you this is to compare and contrast the gravity to what’s happening to Mary. For Sara God saw her need and gave her a baby… For Mary, God see the worlds needs and give us himself. *ILL> Being at MYF and having the nice gentleman help me with my bags.

APP> The Christmas message tells us that God didn’t give us advice, he gave us himself.

2) God is powerful: I can be weak.v49-53

• • Mary sings of two attributes of God.

1. 1. God’s Holiness.– Mary is singing of God’s holiness because the Angel told her that Jesus would be holy. To be holy means to be set apart. Mary is telling us that God is so holy and set apart from everything else in the world. *ILL> There is a story told about the great scientist Isaacc Newton. He did an experiment and stared at the Sun’s reflection in a mirror for a long time, he almost went blind. he spent three days in total darkness with not even a candle lit. He wrote in his journal, “I used all means to divert my imagination from the sun,” he writes, “But if I thought upon him I presently saw his picture though I was in the dark…. it I can’t stand a candle how could i ever endure the presence of the sun?”
   2. God’s Mercy- God’s mercy is his active faithfulness to us, it is his active goodness to us when we don’t deserve it. What does this look like? *ILL> A Professer by the Name Robert Morris at Cambridge University did a social experiment and called it the “Balloon Game” He wanted to see people reactions when they had to protect their balloon by stomping other peoples balloons. He did it with two classes, The second class was a “special needs” class.

APP> Do you see who God is showing all this to? The humble the poor the weak. APP> God is attracted to your weakness not your strength.

“There he confounds the reason of the reasonable; there he aggravates our nature, our piety—that is where he wants to be, and no one can keep him from it. Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.” 

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

3) God is faithful: I can trust. vv53-55

• • • “in his remembrance.. he has spoke..” God spoke to Abraham over 1,000 years ago and it’s coming true now!.

APP> God’s delay his not his denial. God has not forgotten you!.

Big Idea> Christmas reveals to us who God is, what he has done and what he will do.

Close> What is our response to this? “ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” James 5:13