Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this edition of our Sunday School preview. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “The Lord Is With You” and is found in Luke 1:39-56.
Today’ lesson is the final one before Christmas. Christmas as we know is a holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ. The account of Christ’s birth is recorded in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. The birth of Christ is unique in several ways.
His birth is prophesied in scripture. His conception was outside of normal human channels. His mother was human but His fathers were human and divine. The father that was responsible for His conception is God. The father that raised him and that was married to his mother was a descendant of the house of David the king of Israel whose name was Joseph.
After Mary, Jesus’s mother, learned of God’s plan for her, she visited her relative or cousin named Elizabeth who at this time was 6 months with child of her own who had been barren and was considered beyond childbearing years. But God had a special plan for her son as well who would be John the Baptist.
The scripture says that the Holy Ghost moved upon both Elizabeth and Mary at their encounter. First, when Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, the baby inside her moved. After that, the Holy Ghost came upon her and she began to tell Mary about her pregnancy and how honored and blessed she was to have her visit her.
Elizabeth describes the child’s movement as a “leap for joy”. This must not be taken literally but as a characterization of the simultaneous movement of the child with the vocal reception of the welcomed visit by Mary.
After Elizabeth’s greeting of Mary, the Holy Ghost came upon Mary and she began to praise God for what God was about to do through her for the sake of Israel and mankind as well. Here again we can see how God takes what is lowly and despised among men and exalts it and takes what men value and esteem and rejects it in some of what Mary said.
People have taken Christmas and made it more about receiving some material item or gift than about the birth of the Savior. Many are asked if they had a good Christmas in which the implied meaning of the question is did you received all or most of what you wanted.
Looking back at the first and earliest encounter between these blessed mothers to be, the entire conversation was about what God was doing for mankind. There were no gifts, no trees, no decorations, no Santa, no parties or anything else associated with Christmas today.
And it is sad that Christmas has come to mean all these things to so many people, when it is about what these two women shared whom God was about to use to bring salvation to the world and fulfill His promised to bless all mankind.
Well, I hope you will attend SS this coming Sunday and share your thoughts with your class. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview. So, until next time remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
