Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

This Advent series as we prepare to celebrate the Coming of God’s Son, the time of Christmas, we are going to look at a few stories in the lives of the people in Scripture and how their story impacted the greater narrative of the Christmas Story in a sense, how they prepared us for the Christmas Story.

Today’s theme is that of Hope.

If there is one message that some of us are feeling and many of the people in Merritt is that of Hope.

Hope can be defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

If you are a residence of Merritt, these past two weeks have been just that.

Whether your house or your street has been affected or not, we all had an expectation of what was to come next.

This story is involving two main individuals and the journey they walked as they lived prepared for their hope for the future.

We are going to look at the story of Two women’s lives, how they intersected and the hope that was brought out in their lives.

The Mother’s of God’s Chosen

This morning we are going to narrow in on the Mother’s of God’s Chosen.

The mother of the forerunner and the Mother of the Messiah

Two women who’s story of hope looks very different, but their story collides together.

Two women both at very different stages in their lives are looking at the same God from very different perspective, yet the future that they have been told has the same journey.

In many cases the journey they walked through can be applied to the journey we face in hope.

There hope in the future is only possible because of their hope in a God of promises and faithfully fulling all of His promises.

Elizabeth’s Story

The first Mother that we want to look at this morning comes from the story found in Luke.

Turn with me to the first chapter of Luke and let’s read the all familiar passage

Can you image Elizabeth’s response to the whole situation.

If you will notice that she wasn’t mentioned in the dialogue only as a acknowledgement.

Let’s take a look at her life

First off, there has been years of hoping .

Hope in becoming a mother.

In the culture of the day, barrenness brought on shame and many questions from those in the community in which she and her husband lived.

I can well image that there were often prayers offered up to Yahweh asking Why.

Why are these events happening in our lives?

As you can see with the verses outlined in the story of Luke this couple were very faithful in their service for God.

It was not only her devotion to God, the scripture points out that she was of the line of Aaron.

The ultimate High Priest.

As a couple, they had done everything right in their faith towards God.

they were described as Upright, yet no children.

Scripture even mentions that children are a blessing.

I sure they wondered why

I am sure she spend countless hours crying and pouring out her requests to God.

She was walking down two parallel roads, one of grief and the other of joy.

It is a point to note.

When we are going along in our lives and being faithful to God, we can’t see the future plans of God.

We can continue in Hope, that the God of this universe, has everything in control.

No matter what the circumstance we find ourselves in today, God is a sovereign God.

He has a plan and we stand in Hope knowing that one day we will find out His perfect plan.

We too can walk down a road of both grief and joy because of hope.

Yet when we look at this first mother in comparison to the other mother, this mother’s story was different.

The two mothers there is a sharp contrast between the two Stories.

Notice that the Angel didn't’ talk with her, Elizabeth it was her mute husband communicated the the news from the Angel.

Her message of Hope was second hand information.

She had to rely on the hope given by someone other than the messenger of God.

Someone close to her.

Elizabeth was to be the mother of the long awaited forerunner of the Messiah.

It would have been every young Jewish girls dream to be the mother of the messiah, and now we see an older women, as described as past her years, being told by a mute husband the good news of the calling of their lives.

She was to be the mother of John the Baptist.

A man that will bring good news and announcement of the coming messiah.

She was to be the mother of the son who will lose his life for speaking the truth.

I wonder if in that moment, as she began to contemplate what will be asked of her,

As a parent, image being told this information about your son.

luke 1:16-17 “16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.””

This was all said, by an angel to Zechariah.

Do you realize that

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke (1.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold (1:5–25))

3. The appearance of angels is likewise appropriate for an account that teaches that God has acted decisively in the history of his people to accomplish our salvation.

....... Actually the appearance of an angel is no more remarkable than the Incarnation itself.

This angel appearance, was in the holy place, a place where only the priest, chosen priests were allowed to go.

And all this was relayed to his wife, without a voice.

Without the passion, the excitement, loaded with shame of doubt for his Disbelief from God’s Messenger.

His hope now was living in the promise of what was to come.

The promise of Hope was also different for the husbands in this narrative.

Zachariah was given the news of the upcoming conception before the event happened while Joseph was given of the news after the conception.

How did Elizabeth walk down the road of grief and joy?

What was Elizabeth’s response?

luke 1:25 “25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.””

I sure there was more communication between the two, but Elizabeth in the end, no matter how long it took, short or long, came to a realization of where we gain our true hope.

The years of placing her hope in God, that she would one day pass on an inheritance of a child was not being revealed.

One person put it this way.

To be childless brought sorrow and often shame.

At her advanced age, Elizabeth could no longer entertain the hope of each Jewish woman to be the mother of the Messiah.

While her situation and the subsequent intervention of God had its precedents in the OT (cf.

Sarah, Gen 17:16–17; Hannah, 1 Sam 1:5–11), no other woman had such a total reversal in fortune as to bear the forerunner of the Messiah.

To end this part of the message, with a view of Hope to a mother of God’s Chosen, Elizabeth was given God’s grace in her life.

The story is even richer as the name Zachariah, means “God remembers”

Folks there are times when we too walk down the same road and there are two lanes.

One lane is grief, loss, and possible even fear, while the other lane is full of hope, joy and promise.

As we head into breakout rooms, I want you to spend a few moments together celebrating.

To share if you are willing, stories of hope in your life.

They may be recent, they may be in the past.

God brought hope to this couple well in years of waiting, God brings hope today no matter what is in front of you.

What keeps us coming back to the lane in our road is this that my hope is found in this,

Let’s break for a few minutes in breakout rooms if you prefer, you can stay in the main session to reflect upon this hope.

I will be playing a music video as we wait for the groups to return.

Breakout rooms

Mary’s Story

I hope that the time in the breakout rooms you had a wonderful chance of hearing stories of Hope.

At the end of the service we will once again open the rooms for those who like to spend some time in prayer with one another.

Right now we are going to shift to another mother.

This story was much different than our first couple.

The first glaring difference in this soon to be mother’s story from that of Elizabeth is that Mary received the news first.

The words of Hope, came to a young girl and the news would have been one of shock, possible scandalous, and possible death for her.

It is now wonder why she would have said, How can this be?

Her hope was found in the acceptance of God’s grace.

Mary is “highly favored” because she is the recipient of God’s grace.