Series Summary
The Christmas season is a time of year that can get pretty crazy, and if we aren’t ready for it, it can get out of control pretty quickly. We can get distracted pretty easily. We can lose our focus if we're not careful.
What we need is a little hope. We live in a world that seems to be falling apart, and we need something to cling to. We need hope.
As we look into the birth narratives found in Matthew and Luke, we see another time when people needed a little hope. We see a nation that was seeking something to cling to in a world that seemed to be falling apart. God seemed distant. He hadn't been heard from in over 400 years. They needed some hope.
And into the chaos that was their world, God spoke. He spoke through four different angelic announcements that he was offering humanity hope. And then he spoke that hope through the cry of a baby born in Bethlehem. These announcements demonstrate that hope has been offered to us. They demonstrate that God has not turned away. They demonstrate that God is still in control, even in a world that seems chaotic and hopeless. They demonstrate that God is willing to step into our lives and help us. They demonstrate hope.
Hope is born! He was born 2000 years ago, and placed into a manger, in the small town of Bethlehem. If we're not careful, we could miss it, just like the nation of Israel seemed to miss it so long ago.
God announced that hope would be born, and then he was. God's plan was in action, to redeem us, to save us, to give us hope. Hope is born!
Sermon Summary
The first of the angelic appearances in the nativity narrative was to an unlikely individual. Zechariah was a priest in the temple service, and while he was serving in that role, an angel showed up and revealed to him that he and his wife, even in their old age, would have a baby boy who would be the forerunner of the Messiah!
What a surprise! Zechariah was a little skeptical, and as a result, he was struck speechless until his son was born.
This announcement shows us that God has not given up on his people. He was still actively involved in their lives... and ours. While our circumstances may seem like God is distant, he's not. He's right in the middle of it all with us, and that's where he'll stay.
And even in spite of our circumstances, God can use them to prepare us for his Son. That gives us hope!
