1. Luke 1:57-58
When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby,
she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and
relatives heard that the Lord had shown her
great mercy, and they shared her joy.
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2. Luke 1:59-61
On the eighth day they came to circumcise the
child, and they were going to name him after his
father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and
said, ‘No! He is to be called John.’ They said to
her, ‘There is no one among your relatives who
has that name.’
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3. Luke 1:62-64
Then they made signs to his father, to find out
what he would like to name the child. He asked
for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s
astonishment he wrote, ‘His name is John.’
Immediately his mouth was opened and his
tongue was loosed, and he began to speak,
praising God.
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4. Luke 1:65-66
The neighbors were all filled with awe, and
throughout the hill country of Judea people were
talking about all these things. Everyone who
heard this wondered about it, asking, ‘What then
is this child going to be?’ For the Lord’s hand
was with him.
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5. Luke 1:67-70
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy
Spirit and prophesied: ‘Praise be to the Lord, the
God of Israel, because he has come and has
redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of
salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long
ago),
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6. Luke 1:71-75
salvation from our enemies and from the hand
of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he
swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from
the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to
serve him without fear in holiness and
righteousness before him all our days.
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7. Luke 1:76-78
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the
Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to
prepare the way for him, to give his people the
knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness
of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our
God, by which the rising sun will come to us from
heaven
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8. Luke 1:79-80
to shine on those living in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path
of peace.’ And the child grew and became
strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until
he appeared publicly to Israel.
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9. Any announcement from God sparks a TEST of faith.
Expectation grew and with it FAITH.
They DEDICATED back to God this gift from God.
Our obedience to God should have no LIMITATIONS.
God’s Christmas gift came SPECIAL
delivery.
10. To receive a gift from God is not simply to say thank you
and think no more of it, but to look for ways to NURTURE
that gift and grow with it.
The importance of this child was tied to the ROLE he
would play, preparing the way.
11. Faith leads us to praise and give God thanks in ADVANCE
John would PREPARE the way for Jesus.
God made a special delivery for those living in DARKNESS
Can others see Christ in you? God still DESIRES to make
special deliveries through the lives of His people
Zechariah’s doubt has become
unshakeable FAITH.
12. Please take a moment to fill out your
Communication Card
My Next Step Today is to:
( ) Do the home life help (in bulletin)
( ) Meditate on the truth that Jesus came special delivery
for me..
( ) Ask myself if I truly believe God at His Word
( ) Identify a gift I can nurture to better use for God.
( ) Learn to give God thanks in advance by faith.
( ) Other________________________