A Moment of Hope

by David Chadwick Let there be praise! While Mary's Magnificat ends with verse 55, Luke 1:56 tells us what Mary did after she completed this psalm of praise. I often find that the practical action steps that follow a spiritual encounter are equally as important, if not more, than the encounter itself. It is important to put action behind our experiences. Mary did just that. The Bible says that Mar...

by David Chadwick Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1:46-56 depicts a profound display of praise and adoration from Mary toward God. In the Latin Vulgate translation, "magnificat" means "magnifies." These verses are designed to purely magnify the Lord God. In verses 54 and 55, Mary said, "He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offsp...

by David Chadwick The greatness of God is one of the profound mysteries of the Christian faith. His glory, his majesty, his dominion, his power. Our God is mighty! But in his greatness and might, he chose to come down to earth, taking on the form of a servant, to live the perfect life none of us could live, die the death we deserved, and restore anyone who responds to his salvation by grace throug...

by David Chadwick Today we will focus on Luke 1:48-49, which says, "For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." God looked at Mary. He saw her. But think about this for a moment. Mary spent her life looking to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaa...

by David Chadwick The Christmas season is truly upon us! As a church, we are going through the book of Luke, studying the many characters at the cradle who surrounded the birth of Jesus. Luke 1:46-55 is one of the most beautiful passages in all of the Bible. Known as Mary's Magnificat, which means "magnifies" in the Latin Vulgate translation, these verses reveal Mary's song of praise to the Lord a...

by David Chadwick This week, we have looked at Mary and Elizabeth, two characters at the cradle who loved one another deeply and who both played a significant role in ushering in the birth of Jesus to this world. These two women were full of faith and chose to play their part in God's redeeming story with the utmost humility. They are both to be admired and respected. Especially Mary, as the mothe...

by David Chadwick Elizabeth's next words to Mary are amazing. Follow along with me as we look at Luke 1:45. Elizabeth said, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Did you catch what Elizabeth blessed in this verse? She blessed Mary's faith. Mary heard from the mighty angel Gabriel and she believed that every word that he had sai...

by David Chadwick Mary and Elizabeth had a very special relationship. They were cousins. They were pregnant at the same time, Elizabeth with John and Mary with Jesus. Both of their pregnancies were supernatural in nature. Both of them were very blessed. Today, we see how extra significant Elizabeth's honor was for her cousin Mary. Let's take a look at Luke 1:42-44. Mary travelled from Nazareth to...

by David Chadwick Mary and Elizabeth. Two women called by God, both of whom were carrying children with tremendous purpose. Jesus, the perfect God-man, was conceived in Mary's womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel delivered the news to her. In addition to this news of her supernatural pregnancy, Mary was also informed of her cousin Elizabeth's miraculous conception in her later y...

by David Chadwick This week, we will continue to look for glimpses of glory throughout the life of Mary, but specifically in the context of her very special relationship with Elizabeth. Both called by God to very high, very important tasks. Let's briefly recap where we are in the story. Zechariah was visited by Gabriel and given the news that he was going to have a son named John. But because of h...

by David Chadwick I hope you are enjoying these characters at the cradle. These are stories of biblical figures who find their lives intersecting with the entrance of Jesus into the world. In each story, you will see so much wonder, purpose and significance. After Mary had the encounter with the angel Gabriel, her response spoke volumes. However, before we see how she responded, do you remember wh...

by David Chadwick Mary. Cousin to Elizabeth. Betrothed to Joseph. Visited by the angel Gabriel. While she wore many hats, the most important one was this: Mary, mother of Jesus! After Gabriel visited Mary, she became aware of the divine conception that would take place in her womb. She also found out that her formerly barren cousin, Elizabeth, was now with child. The story of Mary is full of faith...

by David Chadwick Gabriel's initial appearance to Mary left her "greatly troubled" as she tried to figure out why he said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" The angel went on to tell Mary not to fear and explained that she had found favor with God. Mary settled into the news that she would bear a son and would call him Jesus. He would be the Son of God and the Savior of the world....

by David Chadwick There are many holy and purposeful connections that took place between the Creator of the universe and his creation leading up to Jesus's entrance into the world. Join me as we continue to look at some of the special characters at the cradle. I love the significance of both Gabriel and Joseph as characters at the cradle. But today, I want to place our focus more specifically on M...

by David Chadwick This week, we will continue to look at some more characters whose lives had profound intersections with the cradle of Jesus. Over the past two weeks, we studied Zechariah and Elizabeth. This week, we study Mary, the mother of Jesus. But in order to understand Mary, we have to understand Gabriel and Joseph as well. After Gabriel visited Zechariah with the amazing news that his wif...

by David Chadwick After the encounter with the angel Gabriel and being rendered mute by the Lord, what did Zechariah do next? Luke 1:23 says this of Zechariah: "And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home." To Elizabeth and to his safe place of love and care. I can only imagine how he felt as he pondered all he had just seen and heard, probably praying in his spirit to the Lord abo...

by David Chadwick In Luke 1:18-22, the angel identified himself as Gabriel. Gabriel also appears in the book of Daniel in chapters 8 and 9. In the Bible, whenever Gabriel came on the scene, he was addressing prophecy about the Messiah. The same holds true in this story with Zechariah. Gabriel came to Zechariah from the presence of God and told him that he was sent by God to share this wonderful, g...

by David Chadwick John was the long awaited son to Zechariah and Elizabeth. His birth paved the way for Jesus's birth. His voice prepared the way of the Lord. His life pointed to the soon and coming King. Luke 1:16-17 says this of John: "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fath...

by David Chadwick The story of Zechariah continues in Luke 1:8-15, which we will look at today. While serving as priest, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple during a high holy feast. Take note that even the drawing of straws is under the sovereign hand of Almighty God according to Proverbs 16:33. We serve a mighty God who has a timing and purpose for everything! Undoubtedly, while serving in...

by David Chadwick  This week, we begin our series called "Characters at the Cradle." Join me as we explore the major characters whose lives intersected with Jesus's life as he entered into this world through a cradle in a manger. Zechariah is our first character. We will spend an entire week looking at his life and exploring why he is so important to the incarnation of Jesus. Luke was very careful...

by David Chadwick Luke wanted Theophilus, and any future readers, to know the certainty of things taught (Luke 1:4). How were truths passed on during these biblical times? First, through oral tradition. Never underestimate the ability of people to remember what has been taught to them verbally. For some in Luke's day, this was the only way to transmit truths to future generations. Therefore, peopl...

by David Chadwick Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke as a letter to the "most excellent Theophilus" (verse 4). Who is Theophilus? This friend to Luke is another important piece in understanding who authored this book. Luke was a Greek, undoubtedly impassioned to reach those like himself. This should inspire each of us. We, most likely, have been given keys by God to reach others like us as well. Maybe...

by David Chadwick The Gospel of Luke gives an account of the life of Jesus that is significant. Written by a physician with a tremendous attention to detail, Luke's perspective was heavily focused on the important reality that God took on human flesh to accomplish his mission. What else do we know about Luke? Let's keep unpacking Luke 1:1-4. Dr. Luke counted on the testimonies of actual eyewitness...

by David Chadwick As we continue to learn more about Luke in order to further appreciate this New Testament author, let's turn our eyes back to Luke 1:1-4. What else does Scripture teach us about him? Luke was a physician. In fact, Paul called him "the beloved physician" in Colossians 4:14. Apparently, Dr. Luke joined Paul in his missionary journeys in Acts 16:10-11, and they obviously became clos...

by David Chadwick This week, throughout the Christmas season, and even into the new year, our church is going to be doing an in-depth study of the Gospel of Luke. After doing a brief overview of Luke himself, we will be looking more specifically at the characters at the cradle. Somewhere along the way, from the conception of Jesus until his birth, you will see how each of these characters had a di...