The Dawning of Hope
Notes
Transcript
Opening illustration options: Open with silence for 47 seconds. The Apollo 8 mission was the first to circle to the dark side of the moon. Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr., and William Anders read Genesis 1 on Christmas Eve while orbiting the moon. They were the first humans to lose all contact with earth and waited for 47 minutes for contact to be re-established.
Option 2: Waiting for Christmas day as a child.
Transition to 400 years of silence from God before he speaks again and “visits” his people.
God Remembers His Promises (68a)
God Remembers His Promises (68a)
Zechariah, (“God Remembers”) blessed the Lord because he saw firsthand that God remembered his promises.
For years he and Elizabeth had prayed and found no answer, until that moment in the Temple.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
God’s very personal answer for Zechariah was part of his larger plan of redemption!
When you are waiting on the Lord, or it seems that God is silent, remember that God keeps his promises.
God Redeems His People (68b-78a)
God Redeems His People (68b-78a)
For months Zachariah had not been able to speak, because he had not initially believed the word from the Lord through Gabriel. In that time he had witnessed the miracle of Elizabeth getting pregnant (she was old). He had seen the greater miracle of Mary conceiving Christ as a virgin! Mary had lived with them.
His mouth was finally opened when he named John “God is gracious.”
God raised up salvation for his people, just as he promised.
God is not distant and cold. Ge forgives sin because of His tender mercy.
God’s tender mercy is part of his very nature. Literally it is an expression meaning bowels of mercy.
When you are waiting on the Lord remember God’s tender mercy toward you, as evidenced by his gift of salvation.
God Reveals His Plan (78b-79)
God Reveals His Plan (78b-79)
Because of God’s mercy the dawn will rise upon us!
Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
You and I sat in darkness, the darkness of sin and separation from the one who is Eternal Light.
You and I sat in the shadow of death. We were being drawn to death from the moment we take our first breath, because of sin.
But God did not leave us there!!!! He came to our world. Jesus is the Light that shone among us. and He did not shine for just a season, but he gives us the light of life!
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
You and I are waiting for the return of Christ, but we are no longer waiting in darkness. The Light has come! Jesus is our peace! Jesus is God’s perfect plan! Receive him. Worship him. O Come, Let us Adore Him.