PINELAKE CHURCH MIRACLE THE MIRACLE OF PURPOSE (LUKE 1:26-38) DECEMBER 15, 2013 PREPARATION > Spend the week studying Luke 1:26-38. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for our pastors and this week s message, the upcoming group time, your group members, and their receptivity to God s Word. > Focus on the Main Point. God used Mary, a most unlikely girl, as part of His impossible plan. Because God did this in Mary s life, we too should believe that God can do the impossible in our lives. He wants to use as part of His plans and purposes. INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. If you were on the board of directors of a missions agency who was looking for a missionary to take the gospel to an unreached and violent people group, what sort of qualities would you look for in the person or persons you appointed to that task? What do you think makes someone fit to be used by God in such important tasks? Does God choose people for His service differently than we would? How so? Today, as we continue our series on the miracles of God in the Christmas story, we are going to see how God chose one of the most unlikely people, Mary, to help bring His Kingdom to earth. Ancient Israel and Rome were male dominated societies. Women did not enjoy the rights they do today, they were considered property. Mary was probably 13- to 15 years old when God informed her that she would be a crucial part of how He would bring the Messiah to earth. And furthermore, Mary lived in Nazareth, an unimpressive town of which people would say, Does anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46). And yet God chose Mary, a woman from a small town who was only a teenager, to be the vessel through whom He would bring His Son into the world. God doesn t choose people for His service the way we would. God chooses the most unlikely of people because He is gracious and good and so that He might make His glory clear to the world. LEARN Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ LUKE 1:26-30. Describe Mary s initial reaction to the angel Gabriel (v. 29). What does Mary s reaction communicate about angels and the way we are to respond to them? 1 MIRACLE PINELAKE CHURCH
Last week, we saw how the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him about his wife, Elizabeth s, unexpected pregnancy. This time God sent Gabriel to prepare Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. Gabriel s visit represents the heavenly council bringing God s news to God s people, revealing what God is about to do. We read that Mary was deeply troubled by the angel s sudden announcement. Unlike the pictures we often see of rosycheeked angels with wings and halos, Gabriel s presence created fear and awe in Mary. Gabriel s message was also troubling because of its supernatural nature. What does the angel tell Mary about her relationship with God? What qualities of God are on display in His choice of Mary? In the angel s opening statement to Mary, he referred to her as favored (v. 28), and in verse 30, he added that it was God with whom she had found favor. God s favor was evidence of His grace in Mary s life. > HAVE A VOLUNTEER READ LUKE 1:31-38. What do we learn about the Messiah, the promised child, from the angel s comments to Mary in verses 31-33? Understandably, Mary had a hard time wrapping her mind around how this baby would be born (v. 34). Read verses 35-37 again. What insight did the angel give Mary into God s mysterious work in her life? What does this miraculous conception confirm about Jesus identity? Why was it important to our faith that Jesus was born of a virgin? Conceived of the Holy Spirit, Jesus came as the Son of God. The angel clarified Jesus identity as of divine origin. Who Jesus is outweighs even the miracle of how He came to be conceived in Mary. The virgin birth of Jesus is a foundational truth in Christianity. Mary was a virgin, and Jesus was conceived by the miraculous action of God without a human father. Mary s virgin-born Son would be God Himself living among His people. Our salvation is a supernatural gift of God s grace, initiated by Jesus birth to a virgin mother. Furthermore, if Jesus was not born of a virgin, He would have been born in sin like we are (Ps. 51:5, Rom. 5:12) and would not be fit to bear our sin on the cross. What would life as a pregnant virgin have been like for Mary (see Matt. 1:18-19)? How do you think the people around her responded? What was Mary s final response to the angel s message (v. 38)? What can we learn from Mary s response to Gabriel? How does God want us to respond to the call He has placed on our lives to worship and serve Him? 2 MIRACLE PINELAKE CHURCH
Knowing God s purpose and submitting to that purpose are two different matters. Mary was at that crossroads of decision where she had to submit or reject. Her response was forthright she referred to herself as God s servant, or slave. Mary expressed complete submission to God as His will for her life. Mary s faith was a ready faith that not only accepted God s will, but agreed wholeheartedly with what God was about to accomplish. As Christians, we are to make ourselves available to serve God completely. LIVE Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. Create some talking points for the group by looking at the practical implications of the lesson. Get group members to talk about the real life implications of the passage. Look at what can be applied specifically to Pinelake. The list of reasons why it would be unlikely for God to choose Mary to be the one through whom His Son would be born is long. What is on your list of reasons why you aren t fit to be used by God? What does this story teach us about what is required to receive God s favor and be used by Him? Before Gabriel comes to her, we know almost nothing about Mary. Verse 30 tells us that she found favor with God but it does not base that favor in anything Mary did or in how she had been living her life. The Bible is full of examples of people who were not fit to be used by God or to receive His favor, men like Moses and women like Rahab the prostitute. This tells us that there are no prerequisites to receiving God s favor or to being used by Him. In fact, God uses everyone on whom He bestows His favor. This is one of the many ways God expresses His love for us. This ought to give us confidence as we seek to honor the Lord in our daily lives! What does it tell us about God s character that He chooses to bring about His purposes through unworthy and unlikely people? Why would God do that? LEAD Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage impact the way that you lead at Pinelake and interact with people outside of Pinelake. What are some ways that you have seen God use unexpected events for your good and His glory? How did it feel when you were in the midst of the events? What is it like looking back on them now? Who in your life models daily faithful obedience to God despite their circumstances? Let them know their faith encourages you. What is one area of your life in which you feel unworthy to serve? What about in the church? How might you trust the Lord this week to use you in that area? 3 MIRACLE PINELAKE CHURCH
PRAY Praise God for His plan that broke expectations and made the miraculous possible. Ask that God would work in our lives in a way that you would be able to see clearly His hand on your lives. Pray for Pinelake Church, that believers would worship God for His wisdom and plan this Christmas season. FOLLOW UP Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following information: Questions to consider as they continue to reflect on what they learned this week: What are the things that distract you from seeing God s plan and work? How might you remove those distractions and begin letting God use you for His purposes and glory? How might the story of Mary encourage you to submit to God and let Him work in you this week? The challenge to memorize Luke 1:30-31. 4 MIRACLE PINELAKE CHURCH
COMMENTARY PINELAKE CHURCH MIRACLE MIRACLE OF PURPOSE (LUKE 1:26-38) DECEMBER 15, 2013 LUKE 1:26-38 1:26-27. The announcement of Jesus birth carried the authority of God. It came in the sixth month, a reference to the sixth month of Elizabeth s pregnancy with John the Baptist. The term virgin emphasized the purity associated with a young, unmarried woman. Although engaged to a man named Joseph, Mary did not yet live with Joseph. In first-century Jewish culture, engagement (or betrothal) bound them together legally as husband and wife. The wedding and consummation of the marriage, however, followed at a later time. Luke identified Mary s husband, Joseph, as a member of the house of David. The Jews knew from the Scriptures that the future Messiah would be a descendant of the great King David. This fact supported the identification of Jesus as King. The Child to be born, then, would be identified with the lineage through which the Messiah had been promised (see Isa. 9:6-7; 11:1-5). 1:28-30. Mary was favored because the Lord set His undeserved grace upon her, not because she had earned good standing. Understandably, she was deeply troubled (Gk diatarasso; confused, perplexed ) by Gabriel s visit and greeting, wondering how she had come to receive such an honor. Gabriel s admonishment that Mary not be afraid was the same thing he said to Zechariah (v. 13). 1:31-33. Mary s conception would be miraculous because she was still a virgin (v. 34). The name Jesus is equivalent to the Hebrew Yeshua (Joshua), meaning the Lord is salvation. In Genesis 14:18, God is referred to as God Most High. Humanly speaking, Jesus lineage would be traced legitimately through the royal family of David because Joseph, Jesus adoptive father, was a descendant of David. This made Jesus heir to David s throne according to God s eternal covenant (see 2 Sam. 7:13,16). 1:34-35. The difference between Mary s response (how can this be) and Zechariah s (v. 18) is that Mary asked her question not from unbelief but from puzzlement (v. 38; see note at v. 20). The answer to Mary s question about how she could get pregnant without being intimate with a man is that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and cause her to conceive. Because the Holy Spirit was the agent of conception, the child (the holy One; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15) would be the Son of God. 1:36-38. If ever Mary was tempted to doubt God s promise to her, she could recall Gabriel s words that nothing will be impossible with God, as had been shown in the lives of Abraham and Sarah (see Gen. 18:14). Mary s response is a classic model of humble commitment (I am the Lord s slave) and willing obedience (may it be done to me according to your word). 5 MIRACLE PINELAKE CHURCH