1) Listen to Podcast
2) GG Questions 11/25/2018
Advent: Liz and Zach’s Wall Luke 1:1-25
1. Silence: At the time of Luke chapter 1, Malachi was the last prophet to speak a word from the Lord to Israel – about 450 years earlier! Israel suffered under a ‘famine of the word of the Lord’ (Amos 8:11). Have you ever wilted under such a famine? It caused many in Israel to forget what they were waiting for (Luke 19:44). Has heavenly silence and earthly noise ever unconsciously altered your perspectives?
2. Wall: Parents unable to conceive is a common biblical motif (Gen. 11:30; 25:21; 29:31; Judg. 13:2; 1 Sam. 1:2). Why do you think this is? Elizabeth and Zechariah, despite being faithful servants of God (Luke 1:6), were barren and deeply troubled by it (1:7). They were at a wall. Judging by Zechariah’s doubt (1:18), they had probably given up. Are there any walls before you which you have given up hope of getting through? Or, are there some past walls you look at in your rear view mirror which you have learned from?
3. Surprise: Both Zechariah and Mary were surprised by the angel’s report of God’s plans for their lives (Luke 1:18, 34). We may know that God has a plan and we have a part in it
, but have you ever been surprised at the nature of the plan God has for you? Do you think Joshua was surprised when told to march around Jericho 13 times? And the disciples when told to collect their tax money from the mouth of a fish? What does the Bible teach us about the impossible?
4. Purpose: After Elizabeth conceived, she said, “How kind the Lord is! He has taken away my disgrace of having no children” (Luke 1:25). God cares about us deeply as individuals and ministers to us in our troubles, but He often does so in a way which advances a greater plan. How did God’s answer to Elizabeth contribute to God’s grand purposes (Luke 1:15-17, 76-77)? How can your sufferings and answered prayers be used of God to contribute to a grand tapestry of the building of His church (2 Cor. 3-4)?
