Moved to January 13, 2008 because of snow storm.
Mary: A Willing Servant
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Theme Verse: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Readings: Luke 1:26-56
Optional: Luke 2: 1-20
Memory Verse: " The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" Luke 1:35 (Pre-K to grade 3)
Note: recall that "betrothed" means someone is legally married but the wife has not been brought to the husband's house to live. Divorce was the only out.
Six months after Elizabeth became pregnant, the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth in Galilee. Prayer: Father, send your angels to our community. Word received: This was My plan. I always have a plan. I use everything, waste nothing and the job is always accomplished. "to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. (vs.27) Word received: I want you to rejoice that I chose Mary. "And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the LORD is with you, blessed are you among women!'" Word received: I want you to rejoice when I visit you with My Holy Spirit.
"But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was." (vs.29) "Troubled" could translate as she was afraid, agitated, didn't understand. Word received: I want you to consider how it would be if I visited you. Ask for My grace to respond to Me. "Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.'" Word received: I want you to find favor with Me by receiving My Son into your heart.
Then the angel delivers his surprising message, see vs. 31-33, 35. Notice all the things Gabriel tells Mary about the baby to be born:
a miraculous birth,
a son,
to be named Jesus (Joshua, Yishua in Hebrew, means God saves)
he will be called the Son of the Most High/Son of God
holy ( set apart for God's use & morally holy)
king on David's throne forever
no end to his kingdom.
Mary's answer, "How?" was a natural one, different from the unbelief of Zechariah (vs.18). Gabriel's answer, "And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.'" (vs. 35) Word received: I want to come upon you with the power of My Holy Spirit so that your lives will be fruitful. Then he tells Mary about Elizabeth's miraculous pregnancy, "For with God, nothing is impossible." We discovered a very interesting parallel to verse 35 in Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."
Look at Mary's amazing answer, "Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the LORD! Let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her." (vs. 38) Word received: Join with Mary in praying that My will be done on earth as in heaven. Notice that even though Mary is "highly favored" she is still obedient! Mary's self-offering of herself in obedience to God's word to her is amazing. Her trust in God is huge in spite of the fact that, though officially married, she had not gone to live with her husband, Joseph, and she didn't yet know his response to this news. Word received: Gabriel's answer was sufficient for Mary. I will answer your questions when you ask them. Trust Me. Gabriel's answer seemed to give Mary a sense of peace. Luther once said, "because she believed, she conceived." Elizabeth's response to Mary noted the same thing (vs.45), "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Word received: You can see that Mary has put all of her trust in Me. I want you to do the same. And yes, you will be blessed when you do trust Me. "With God, nothing is impossible." The Lord wants us to believe this with all our hearts to the fullest extent. Recall John 15:5, "Without Me you can do nothing."
Mary's visit to her relative, Elizabeth is pretty impressive. She walked from Nazareth to a hill town in Judea and stayed three months. Both women supported each other and confirmed God's message for each other. Pray that God will put you in such a fellowship group! Notice how Elizabeth called the much younger Mary, "the mother of my LORD!" (Recall Luke 1:17d) When we recognize God's work in someone else, we should confirm it to them.
The role of the Holy Spirit in all this is first, his power to cause Mary to conceive as a virgin and empower Elizabeth to become pregnant. Word received: Do you see how My Holy Spirit was involved here? My Holy Spirit has been present and involved since creation. The next outstanding work of the Holy Spirit is in Elizabeth's greeting to Mary. As she was "filled with the Holy Spirit her unborn baby (John) jumped for joy in her womb. Another thing the Holy Spirit did was to fill both women with praise and joy. Word received: Mary opened her mouth and brought forth My praise in a very uncertain time. She cast all her cares on Me and I was able to care for her. I long for you to cast your care on Me, so I can care for each of you. Look at the joy Mary expressed. Mary gave God all the glory.
Reflect on this story and the account of the trip to Bethlehem and the birth in a stable. (Luke 2:1-20) Mary trusted in God but it was not easy to live out. First, there was telling Joseph and waiting for his response. Later there was the trip to Bethlehem and the birth in a stable, away from family and then there was the nighttime flight to Egypt. God will always see you through when you trust in him. When God picks us to do something, then we are the right ones and he wants to build us up and carry us through as we obey him.
In the birth story in Luke 2, after the visit of the shepherds and their story of the angel's message, "Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart." Word received: I want you to ponder these things in your heart.
Teaching Ideas for Lesson 14
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.
Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
1. God spoke to Mary through the angel Gabriel. It is a fact that Jesus was formed in Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Mary trusted and believed God. God wants us to believe and trust Him just like Mary.
3. God wants us to ask Jesus to live in our hearts and to ask for the power of His Holy spirit so we can bear fruit for God.
4. Mary rejoiced when she experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants us to praise God when we are used by the Holy Spirit.
5.God took care of Mary, and God will take care of us too, if we trust Him.
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