EPISODE · Nov 30, 2025 · 32 MIN
The Promise Announced
from Trinity Church Tamworth · host Warwick Lyne
The Promise Announced Luke 1:39-56 Turn back to Malachi 4. One of the last things the Lord said through Malachi was a promise that the Day of the Lord will come, Malachi 4:1-2, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” When the sun of righteousness comes, the Day of the Lord, there will be leaping for joy. You’ve got that thought in mind? Turn forward 400 years to Luke 1, and we pick up the story at the pre-natal conversation between Mary and Elizabeth. This conversation is something more significant than two expectant mothers comparing notes. The occasion has arisen because, with the words of the angel still ringing in her ears, Mary has chosen to make a journey of some 100km into the Judean hill country to link up with her cousin Elizabeth, who, even though in her old age, has fallen pregnant, v39. Mary hastens to the home of Elizabeth and greets her, v40. We’re told that at that very moment, v41, Elizabeth’s baby (namely John the Baptist) leaped in-utero. Again, nothing unusual about that – babies kick in the womb all the time. It’s also not unusual for an emotional response of the mother to cause a reaction in the child. It’s quite another thing for a miraculous expression of emotion on the part of the unborn child to have an impact on the mother, which is what is taking place here. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed, among other things, in v44, For, behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Sound familiar? How did Elizabeth know that? That the baby leaped for joy and it wasn’t just a normal tummy tumble? Well, it was her first child, and she was, how did Zechariah put it to Gabriel, “advanced in years”, so you can expect some excitement and reading into things. No, no. She was filled with the Holy Spirit. What Luke is doing is providing a wonderful point of continuity between OT promises and NT fulfilment. The people of God, who listened to the words of Malachi, who were tuned in to the promises of God, would be constantly on the lookout, saying to themselves, “Is this then the Day of the Lord? Is this then the day that God has promised?” What Luke is announcing here is, “Yes, that is exactly what has happened.” With the coming of Jesus, the Day of the Lord has finally dawned. Why? It is because the Lord is here. Everything that God had promised in the OT is here. Not yet in all of its fullness, but nevertheless it has arrived. Now that it’s here, what should we expect? What happens on the Day of the Lord? When Jesus comes, he turns the world upside down. Paul and Silas are preaching in Thessalonica, saying to everyone, “This Jesus, whom we proclaim to you, is the Christ.” Some jealous Jews don’t like what they’re saying, so they round up some wicked men, form a mob, start a riot, and attack the house where they were staying. Turns out Paul and Silas aren’t there, so they grab whoever is there and drag them to the city authorities shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also”. They were right. To say that Jesus is the Christ, the King, the centre of everything, is world-turning. Jesus turns the world upside down. We don’t need to wait until Acts 17 to find that out. We see that right here in Mary’s hit single, The Magnificat, (not Latin for great feline but ‘it magnifies’), which is of course a song not about Mary at all but about the Lord. We might summarise the song as a song of God’s unexpected mercy. We see God’s unexpected mercy in three different sections: God’s mercy to Mary The first thing to notice is that Mary stood in need of mercy. Why did she stand in need of mercy? It is because she’s a sinner like all the rest. That’s why she rejoices in v47 in God who is the saviour, her saviour. God’s mercy to Mary was a necessary mercy, and it was a mercy which extended to her humble circumstances, v48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. God could have come and found a noble, powerful queen to bear the Messiah. Maybe that’s what you’d expect. But Jesus comes to turn the world upside down, so instead he came to this poor, despised, lowly maiden. He’s been mindful of the humble, lowly estate of his servant, and so, says Mary, his mercy towards me will not be forgotten with the passing of generations. Luke 1:48-49 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Mary doesn’t want to be called holy; holy is his name. Mary is looking away from herself to the Christ, which is what she would want anybody else to do. As much as it would have been a blessing to have been the mother of Jesus... and it would have been. All children are a blessing from the Lord, but a sinless child, oh what a blessing! Just imagine that. A member of the family who never once, not once, acted out of rebellion or jealousy or self-promotion, never chucked a tanty (temper tantrum), never ‘aww it’s not fair’! He always considered the needs or desires of others first, always spoke the truth to edify, always used his energy to help not hurt. (Almost unimaginable). Yeah, sure, a wonderful blessing for Mary. A wonderful blessing to be chosen to be the mother of the Messiah; Mary, a nobody from Nowheresville. No one would have expected it. There’s actually a better blessing that Jesus himself speaks of later in Luke that was also true of Mary. In Luke 11, while Jesus is teaching someone in the crowd piped up and said v27, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” Talking about Mary of course. In reply to that, do you know what Jesus says? “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” He doesn’t deny that Mary was blessed in her role, but he says there’s an even more important blessing. I think that’s the point even here when Elizabeth says to Mary, Luke 1:45, blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. If you’re someone who has heard the words of Jesus and believed them, then you’re just as blessed as Mary ever was in the things that count. Can I say that again… Who would’ve guessed? Is it true to call Mary blessed and holy? Sure. If you’re willing to substitute the name of anyone who belongs to Jesus before blessed and holy. Which brings us to the next section: God’s mercy to those who fear him Look at v50, And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. What does the word “fear” mean? The word fear is used in different ways in the Bible. When Mary uses it here it’s referring to that kind of fear which expresses itself in awe – a heart which recognises the majesty and might and holiness of the Lord. The kind of reverence that bows before his power and righteousness, and deters individuals from treating God, and therefore his words, lightly. It acknowledges that we are utterly dependent upon the Lord for everything. That’s precisely the people to whom his mercy extends. Not those who think they deserve it or can live without it, but for those who, because their hearts have been changed by the Lord Jesus, confess they deserve nothing good from God. For these individuals, he has shown the strength with his arm, v51. How? He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their heart. You’ll notice it’s in the past tense, not because it’s all already happened, but because this is what God has said will happen. So, it’s a done deal – we may as well talk about it as if it has already happened. The game’s up. As one commentator put it, “God is not impoverished by the sceptic. Nor by the hottie (attractive person) scientist who struts and frets his hour upon the stage of his laboratory mixing metaphors saying ‘there’s no god, and if there is a god I know what he’s like and where he came from.’ Well God says, ‘I know what you’re like and where you came from – the dust … and to dust you shall return.’ He has scattered the proud, and he has brought down the mighty from their thrones, v52. The great King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon stands on the roof of his palace and looks out at his kingdom and says, “Is this not the great thing I have built?” Later the servants are in the palace looking out the window across the fields asking, “Who’s that crawling in the grass out there and mooing like a cow?” Someone dares to speak up, “That’s ahh, that’s Nebuchadnezzar that’s down there.” “What’s he doing down there?” “That’s what we’ve been asking ourselves. We’ve been so used to him up here saying, ‘here I am, Nebuchadnezzar, and look what I have done,’ and now he’s mooing like a cow and eating grass.” How does that happen? God not only scatters the proud, but he brings down the powerful. In v53, the rich he has sent away empty. The point’s not that it’s always bad to be rich and virtuous to be poor. The point is that God is not partial to the rich, the powerful, or the proud. How could God be favourable to the things which in our world are, often, substitutes for God rather than pointers to God? Luke is writing to a man named Theophilus, a ranking Roman official. Luke warns him that vast numbers of people have and will perish because they are captivated by pride, power, and wealth, and, probably, Theophilus has all three. So Theophilus, look at what God is really like. The world might be impressed by your pride, power, or wealth, but not God – not in the slightest. He has mercy on those who fear him, who humble themselves. If God is God, how could it be any other way? It commends itself to be true, doesn’t it, that the great and holy God should magnify his greatness by blessing the lowly who admire his greatness and by bringing down the proud who resent his greatness? In summary, Luke says, “Jesus Christ has not come to fit in with your agenda; he has come as the mighty king to turn the world upside down. You need to fit with him.” When you do so you’ll find a mighty king who is not unkind, but absolutely merciful. He exalts, or lifts up, the humble and fills the hungry with good things. We’ve seen that personally for Mary, then more generally for those who fear him: thirdly, God’s mercy to Abraham’s descendants Luke 1:54-55 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. By looking favourably upon the young girl Mary, God has helped his servant, Israel. It’s through this girl that God has chosen to fulfil all his promises. What he had said to Abraham all those years ago about becoming numerous and the significance his offspring is being answered now through these dramatic events. You might ask, “What’s that got to do with me? I’m not a Jew.” We can only understand the song of Mary when we put it in this much larger picture. Who are the descendants of Abraham? Well Paul gives us the answer: Romans 9:6-8 For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. In other words, it’s not simply the natural children of Abraham who are God’s children, but those God mercifully chooses to include in his promise. Surprise, surprise that came as a bit of a shock to the Pharisees when Jesus told them that Abraham is not your father, your father is the devil. He’s a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies, and quite frankly you’re lying murderous threats through your teeth. They didn’t like that too much. Jesus turned their world on its head. The world says this is how you can impress God, by working hard enough, doing the right religious activities, by belonging to the right group or right race or right family. Jesus says, “No. It’s never been about those things. It’s about me and believing my word.” The world says, these are the things that are important money, education, privilege, reputation, influence, position, popularity, the best Christmas presents. These are the things you need to get to the top. These are the things you can be proud about and for which you can pat yourself on the back. When Jesus comes, all those things get flipped upside down. Jesus says, no it’s not. It’s about my mercy and about my promise and about my choice. That’s why if we declare that Jesus is the king over everything, we ought to expect shaking, because it’s world-turning. Scientists will tell you that the orientation of the earth’s axis relative to its orbit around the sun is off centre, by about 20 degrees or so. What Luke is telling us here is that it’s not 20 degrees; it’s 180 degrees. This world is orientated to have anything but Jesus at the centre. It’s completely upside down. Jesus comes to show that he is the centre, the Christ, the king who is mighty and merciful. Which is why when we declare that Jesus is the king over everything, we should expect people to be brought wonderfully to him, as Jesus mercifully changes our orientation to align with him, and reveals to us that we’re in fact starving for the glory of God, and so fills the hungry with good things by revealing himself. When we know this Jesus what should our response be? What’s our response? Mary knows these things and the only thing she can say in response is, Luke 1:46-47 My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, which is the right response. So, how does a soul magnify God? Magnifying God means magnifying Jesus, not Mary. God in v47 is the same person as Lord in v46 whom Mary’s soul is magnifying, which is the same name given to Jesus in v43. A mouth magnifies God by saying, “God is magnificent,” by speaking his praises. No one hears a soul. No one except you and God. I doubt that Mary means she is verbalizing a silent prayer. I think she means that at this moment her soul feels the greatness and holiness and mercy of God, and the feeling is primarily one of joy. “My spirit rejoices in God!” We magnify God by rejoicing in him. It is good news to learn that we magnify God by rejoicing in him. It’s good news because we are commanded to glorify or magnify God, and this command could be a terrible burden if we weren’t also told that the way to fulfil it is to rest in the sovereign, unexpected mercy of God. That is what magnifies God most. For some, Christmas time is a happy occasion. There are plenty of expectations about good things and good times. There will be many happy memories of Christmas. For others it’s not such a happy time. There will be no expectation for good things. This may be the 1st Christmas without a loved one. Christmas might be a reminder of what you don’t have that you wished you did. Christmas might just bring up sad/bad memories. How can we be happy and rejoice in times like that? We can do it by remembering the unexpected, mighty mercy of the Lord Jesus. If you’ve heard the words of Jesus and believed them, you’re just as blessed as anybody else in the things that really matter. Our heavenly Father, your promises are big and full of grace. We thank you that every one of them is fulfilled in Jesus. So, we ask now, free us from our propensity to be captivated by pride or power or possessions. Fill us with a hunger for the very things that can be filled only by Jesus. May we magnify his name as we know and enjoy, rest and rejoice in his sovereign mercy, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
What this episode covers
The Promise Announced Luke 1:39-56 Turn back to Malachi 4. One of the last things the Lord said through Malachi was a promise that the Day of the Lord will come, Malachi 4:1-2, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” When the sun of righteousness comes, the Day of the Lord, there will be leaping for joy. You’ve got that thought in mind? Turn forward 400 years to Luke 1, and we pick up the story at the pre-natal conversation between Mary and Elizabeth. This conversation is something more significant than two expectant mothers comparing notes. The occasion has arisen because, with the words of the angel still ringing in her ears, Mary has chosen to make a journey of some 100km into the Judean hill country to link up with her cousin Elizabeth, who, even though in her old age, has fallen pregnant, v39. Mary hastens to the home of Elizabeth and greets her, v40. We’re told that at that very moment, v41, Elizabeth’s baby (namely John the Baptist) leaped in-utero. Again, nothing unusual about that – babies kick in the womb all the time. It’s also not unusual for an emotional response of the mother to cause a reaction in the child. It’s quite another thing for a miraculous expression of emotion on the part of the unborn child to have an impact on the mother, which is what is taking place here. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed, among other things, in v44, For, behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Sound familiar? How did Elizabeth know that? That the baby leaped for joy and it wasn’t just a normal tummy tumble? Well, it was her first child, and she was, how did Zechariah put it to Gabriel, “advanced in years”, so you can expect some excitement and reading into things. No, no. She was filled with the Holy Spirit. What Luke is doing is providing a wonderful point of continuity between OT promises and NT fulfilment. The people of God, who listened to the words of Malachi, who were tuned in to the promises of God, would be constantly on the lookout, saying to themselves, “Is this then the Day of the Lord? Is this then the day that God has promised?” What Luke is announcing here is, “Yes, that is exactly what has happened.” With the coming of Jesus, the Day of the Lord has finally dawned. Why? It is because the Lord is here. Everything that God had promised in the OT is here. Not yet in all of its fullness, but nevertheless it has arrived. Now that it’s here, what should we expect? What happens on the Day of the Lord? When Jesus comes, he turns the world upside down. Paul and Silas are preaching in Thessalonica, saying to everyone, “This Jesus, whom we proclaim to you, is the Christ.” Some jealous Jews don’t like what they’re saying, so they round up some wicked men, form a mob, start a riot, and attack the house where they were staying. Turns out Paul and Silas aren’t there, so they grab whoever is there and drag them to the city authorities shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also”. They were right. To say that Jesus is the Christ, the King, the centre of everything, is world-turning. Jesus turns the world upside down. We don’t need to wait until Acts 17 to find that out. We see that right here in Mary’s hit single, The Magnificat, (not Latin for great feline but ‘it magnifies’), which is of course a song not about Mary at all but about the Lord. We might summarise the song as a song of God’s unexpected mercy. We see God’s unexpected mercy in three different sections: God’s mercy to Mary The first thing to notice is that Mary stood in need of mercy. Why did she stand in need of mercy? It is because she’s a sinner like all the rest. That’s why she rejoices in v47 in God who is the saviour, her saviour. God’s mercy to Mary was a necessary mercy, and it was a mercy which extended to her humble circumstances, v48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. God could have come and found a noble, powerful queen to bear the Messiah. Maybe that’s what you’d expect. But Jesus comes to turn the world upside down, so instead he came to this poor, despised, lowly maiden. He’s been mindful of the humble, lowly estate of his servant, and so, says Mary, his mercy towards me will not be forgotten with the passing of generations. Luke 1:48-49 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Mary doesn’t want to be called holy; holy is his name. Mary is looking away from herself to the Christ, which is what she would want anybody else to do. As much as it would have been a blessing to have been the mother of Jesus... and it would have been. All children are a blessing from the Lord, but a sinless child, oh what a blessing! Just imagine that. A member of the family who never once, not once, acted out of rebellion or jealousy or self-promotion, never chucked a tanty (temper tantrum), never ‘aww it’s not fair’! He always considered the needs or desires of others first, always spoke the truth to edify, always used his energy to help not hurt. (Almost unimaginable). Yeah, sure, a wonderful blessing for Mary. A wonderful blessing to be chosen to be the mother of the Messiah; Mary, a nobody from Nowheresville. No one would have expected it. There’s actually a better blessing that Jesus himself speaks of later in Luke that was also true of Mary. In Luke 11, while Jesus is teaching someone in the crowd piped up and said v27, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” Talking about Mary of course. In reply to that, do you know what Jesus says? “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” He doesn’t deny that Mary was blessed in her role, but he says there’s an even more important blessing. I think that’s the point even here when Elizabeth says to Mary, Luke 1:45, blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. If you’re someone who has heard the words of Jesus and believed them, then you’re just as blessed as Mary ever was in the things that count. Can I say that again… Who would’ve guessed? Is it true to call Mary blessed and holy? Sure. If you’re willing to substitute the name of anyone who belongs to Jesus before blessed and holy. Which brings us to the next section: God’s mercy to those who fear him Look at v50, And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. What does the word “fear” mean? The word fear is used in different ways in the Bible. When Mary uses it here it’s referring to that kind of fear which expresses itself in awe – a heart which recognises the majesty and might and holiness of the Lord. The kind of reverence that bows before his power and righteousness, and deters individuals from treating God, and therefore his words, lightly. It acknowledges that we are utterly dependent upon the Lord for everything. That’s precisely the people to whom his mercy extends. Not those who think they deserve it or can live without it, but for those who, because their hearts have been changed by the Lord Jesus, confess they deserve nothing good from God. For these individuals, he has shown the strength with his arm, v51. How? He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their heart. You’ll notice it’s in the past tense, not because it’s all already happened, but because this is what God has said will happen. So, it’s a done deal – we may as well talk about it as if it has already happened. The game’s up. As one commentator put it, “God is not impoverished by the sceptic. Nor by the hottie (attractive person) scientist who struts and frets his hour upon the stage of his laboratory mixing metaphors saying ‘there’s no god, and if there is a god I know what he’s like and where he came from.’ Well God says, ‘I know what you’re like and where you came from – the dust … and to dust you shall return.’ He has scattered the proud, and he has brought down the mighty from their thrones, v52. The great King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon stands on the roof of his palace and looks out at his kingdom and says, “Is this not the great thing I have built?” Later the servants are in the palace looking out the window across the fields asking, “Who’s that crawling in the grass out there and mooing like a cow?” Someone dares to speak up, “That’s ahh, that’s Nebuchadnezzar that’s down there.” “What’s he doing down there?” “That’s what we’ve been asking ourselves. We’ve been so used to him up here saying, ‘here I am, Nebuchadnezzar, and look what I have done,’ and now he’s mooing like a cow and eating grass.” How does that happen? God not only scatters the proud, but he brings down the powerful. In v53, the rich he has sent away empty. The point’s not that it’s always bad to be rich and virtuous to be poor. The point is that God is not partial to the rich, the powerful, or the proud. How could God be favourable to the things which in our world are, often, substitutes for God rather than pointers to God? Luke is writing to a man named Theophilus, a ranking Roman official. Luke warns him that vast numbers of people have and will perish because they are captivated by pride, power, and wealth, and, probably, Theophilus has all three. So Theophilus, look at what God is really like. The world might be impressed by your pride, power, or wealth, but not God – not in the slightest. He has mercy on those who fear him, who humble themselves. If God is God, how could it be any other way? It commends itself to be true, doesn’t it, that the great and holy God should magnify his greatness by blessing the lowly who admire his greatness and by bringing down the proud who resent his greatness? In summary, Luke says, “Jesus Christ has not come to fit in with your agenda; he has come as the mighty king to turn the world upside down. You need to fit with him.” When you do so you’ll find a mighty king who is not unkind, but absolutely merciful. He exalts, or lifts up, the humble and fills the hungry with good things. We’ve seen that personally for Mary, then more generally for those who fear him: thirdly, God’s mercy to Abraham’s descendants Luke 1:54-55 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. By looking favourably upon the young girl Mary, God has helped his servant, Israel. It’s through this girl that God has chosen to fulfil all his promises. What he had said to Abraham all those years ago about becoming numerous and the significance his offspring is being answered now through these dramatic events. You might ask, “What’s that got to do with me? I’m not a Jew.” We can only understand the song of Mary when we put it in this much larger picture. Who are the descendants of Abraham? Well Paul gives us the answer: Romans 9:6-8 For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. In other words, it’s not simply the natural children of Abraham who are God’s children, but those God mercifully chooses to include in his promise. Surprise, surprise that came as a bit of a shock to the Pharisees when Jesus told them that Abraham is not your father, your father is the devil. He’s a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies, and quite frankly you’re lying murderous threats through your teeth. They didn’t like that too much. Jesus turned their world on its head. The world says this is how you can impress God, by working hard enough, doing the right religious activities, by belonging to the right group or right race or right family. Jesus says, “No. It’s never been about those things. It’s about me and believing my word.” The world says, these are the things that are important money, education, privilege, reputation, influence, position, popularity, the best Christmas presents. These are the things you need to get to the top. These are the things you can be proud about and for which you can pat yourself on the back. When Jesus comes, all those things get flipped upside down. Jesus says, no it’s not. It’s about my mercy and about my promise and about my choice. That’s why if we declare that Jesus is the king over everything, we ought to expect shaking, because it’s world-turning. Scientists will tell you that the orientation of the earth’s axis relative to its orbit around the sun is off centre, by about 20 degrees or so. What Luke is telling us here is that it’s not 20 degrees; it’s 180 degrees. This world is orientated to have anything but Jesus at the centre. It’s completely upside down. Jesus comes to show that he is the centre, the Christ, the king who is mighty and merciful. Which is why when we declare that Jesus is the king over everything, we should expect people to be brought wonderfully to him, as Jesus mercifully changes our orientation to align with him, and reveals to us that we’re in fact starving for the glory of God, and so fills the hungry with good things by revealing himself. When we know this Jesus what should our response be? What’s our response? Mary knows these things and the only thing she can say in response is, Luke 1:46-47 My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, which is the right response. So, how does a soul magnify God? Magnifying God means magnifying Jesus, not Mary. God in v47 is the same person as Lord in v46 whom Mary’s soul is magnifying, which is the same name given to Jesus in v43. A mouth magnifies God by saying, “God is magnificent,” by speaking his praises. No one hears a soul. No one except you and God. I doubt that Mary means she is verbalizing a silent prayer. I think she means that at this moment her soul feels the greatness and holiness and mercy of God, and the feeling is primarily one of joy. “My spirit rejoices in God!” We magnify God by rejoicing in him. It is good news to learn that we magnify God by rejoicing in him. It’s good news because we are commanded to glorify or magnify God, and this command could be a terrible burden if we weren’t also told that the way to fulfil it is to rest in the sovereign, unexpected mercy of God. That is what magnifies God most. For some, Christmas time is a happy occasion. There are plenty of expectations about good things and good times. There will be many happy memories of Christmas. For others it’s not such a happy time. There will be no expectation for good things. This may be the 1st Christmas without a loved one. Christmas might be a reminder of what you don’t have that you wished you did. Christmas might just bring up sad/bad memories. How can we be happy and rejoice in times like that? We can do it by remembering the unexpected, mighty mercy of the Lord Jesus. If you’ve heard the words of Jesus and believed them, you’re just as blessed as anybody else in the things that really matter. Our heavenly Father, your promises are big and full of grace. We thank you that every one of them is fulfilled in Jesus. So, we ask now, free us from our propensity to be captivated by pride or power or possessions. Fill us with a hunger for the very things that can be filled only by Jesus. May we magnify his name as we know and enjoy, rest and rejoice in his sovereign mercy, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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The Promise Announced
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