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December 24 - Luke 1:46-80 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

• 0:11
  Hello friends, it's Sean here and it is Wednesday.
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  It is this most exciting day. It's the 24th of December, It is
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  Christmas Eve. Our friends, it is my absolute
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  joy and delight to say hello. Thanks for joining me as we are
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  going to finish reading the beginning of Luke.
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  We're going to finish reading Luke chapter one.
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  Set the scene ready for tomorrow where we will celebrate this
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  most incredible day where the God of the universe comes down
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  and is born amongst us lowly humans so that he can live a
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  life like ours. He can share His compassion with
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  us, and He can help us learn what God is actually like.
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  And then, and then He can defeat death and win victory for us.
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  Oh, what an incredible deal. What an incredible time of year.
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  I hope you are as excited as I am, or at least maybe even more
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  excited than I am. That would be a little
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  unhealthy, perhaps, but either way, so good.
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  So good to have your company this exciting time of year.
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  Are you ready to dive in? Oh, me too.
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  Let us keep reading this story as we read together Luke chapter
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  146 to 80. Mary responded.
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  Oh, how my soul praises the Lord, how my spirit rejoices in
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  God my Saviour. For He took notice of His lowly
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  servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me
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  blessed. For the mighty One is holy, and
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  He has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation
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  to generation to all who fear Him.
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  His mighty arm has done tremendous things.
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  He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
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  He has brought down Princess from their Thrones and exalted
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  the humble. He has filled the hungry with
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  good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
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  He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful,
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  for He has made His promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and
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  his children forever. Mary stayed with Elizabeth about
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  3 months and then went back to her own home.
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  When it was time for Elizabeth's baby to be born, she gave birth
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  to a son, and when her neighbours and relatives heard
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  that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone
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  rejoiced with her. When the baby was 8 days old,
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  they all came for the circumcision ceremony.
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  They wanted to name him Zechariah after his father, but
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  Elizabeth said no, his name is John.
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  What? They exclaimed.
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  There is no one in all your family by that name.
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  So they used gestures to ask the baby's father what he wanted to
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  name him. He motioned for a writing tablet
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  and to everyone's surprise he wrote His name is John.
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  Instantly Zechariah could speak again and he began praising God
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  or fell upon the whole neighbourhood and the news of
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  what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills.
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  Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and
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  asked what will this child turn out to be?
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  For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special
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  way. Then his father Zechariah was
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  filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy.
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  Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited
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  and redeemed His people. He has sent us a mighty Saviour
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  from the royal line of His servant David, just as He
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  promised through His holy prophets long ago.
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  Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate
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  us. He has been merciful to our
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  ancestors by remembering His sacred covenant, the covenant He
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  swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.
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  We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God
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  without fear in holiness and righteousness for as long as we
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  live. And you, my little son, will be
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  called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare
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  the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to
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  find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
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  Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is
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  about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in
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  darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the
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  path of peace. John grew up and became strong
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  in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until he began his
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  public ministry to Israel. Oh Jesus, you are that morning
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  light from heaven about to break upon us as we prepare to
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  celebrate your birth tomorrow. Oh Jesus, we love you and we are
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  so grateful that you chose as you saw us floundering down here
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  on this little world of ours, You chose to come to us, to
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  climb up off that throne of yours and to come and be with
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  us. So Lord still, our hearts
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  prepare, our souls focus our minds that we truly can
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  celebrate You. And in the midst of busy family
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  time and last minute preparations and cleaning up to
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  welcome hordes of people into our homes, if that's to be the
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  way of the day. Ah Lord Jesus, I pray that you
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  would steal us and draw us to your feet, to the foot of your
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  throne, so that we can worship you, our King.
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  And we pray this in your name, Amen.