Sermon Tone Analysis
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Intro:
Who is the most important person in history?
To help answer that question, computer scientist Steven Skiena and Google engineer Charles Ward developed a system that ranks historical figures in order of significance.
Their research produced a book called Who’s Bigger?
Where Historical Figures Really Rank.
To establish their “significance” ranking, they assessed more than 800,000 names, calculated scores of celebrity and achievement or gravitas, and then factored in how long, and how long ago, someone lived.
Just as Google ranks pages, the authors examined Wikipedia and other sources.
For instance, they compared the influence of Aristotle to modern pop singer Britney Spears.
Though more people know about Britney Spears, her influence is not likely to endure 100 years from now.
But Aristotle was a man for the ages.
Here are the top ten most influential people in history:
1. Jesus
2. Napoleon
3. Muhammad
4. William Shakespeare
5. Abraham Lincoln
6. George Washington
7. Adolf Hitler
8. Aristotle
9. Alexander the Great
10.
Thomas Jefferson
Here are a few other notable names on the list:
17. Martin Luther
18.
Joseph Stalin
68.
Elvis Presley
128.
Virgin Mary
Eventually you come to this listing:
8633.
Justin Beiber
So why is Jesus #1 on the list?
It has to do with something called a “meme,” which refers to a tradition passed down over time.
“We measure meme strength, how successfully is the idea of this person being propagated through time.
With over two billion followers a full 2,000 years after his death, Jesus is an incredibly successful historical meme.”
Is there anything on this earth that will last forever?
Consider these familiar words: “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33).
It is easy to forget how revolutionary this must have sounded in the beginning.
Those words were . . .
Spoken by an angel
To a virgin
Announcing a baby
Who will one day Rule the world.
Today we are going to look at the Incarnation
When Heaven Touched Earth
Read Luke 1:26-31
Transition:
The Incarnation is the greatest miracle of all time
I think that the purpose and cause of the Incarnation was that God might illuminate the world by his wisdom and excite it to the love of Himself.
Peter Abelard
And it came out of the blue.
To a teenage girl who was a virgin,
In Nazareth, a tiny village in a remote corner of the Roman Empire.
Given this overwhelming information, it is all to Mary’s credit that she responded by saying, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”
Angelic Visit Vs. 26-29
It all started with an Angelic Visit
Six months after Elizabeth got pregnant the angel Gabriel visited a city in Galilee called Nazareth
Gabriel ignored Judea, the heartland of God’s work through the centuries, and came to Galilee, a land that was the subject of abiding Jewish contempt
The angel not only bypassed Judea for Galilee, but the city of Jerusalem for the village of Nazareth.
Nazareth was a “non-place.”
It was not even mentioned in the Old Testament or in Josephus’ writings or in the rabbinical writings
Nazareth, a shoddy, corrupt halfway stop between the port cities of Tyre and Sidon, was overrun by Gentiles and Roman soldiers.
He visited a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph
Betrothal is more than an engagement, it is a legally binding agreement that can only be undone by a divorce
When Joseph found out Mary was with child he was going to quietly divorce her
“The name ‘Mary’ is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam, the sister of Moses.
It means ‘exalted one,’ a fitting description of the soon-to-be mother of the Messiah.”
As with all poor peasant girls, she was illiterate, her knowledge of the Scriptures being limited to what she had memorized at home and heard in the synagogue
Gabriel’s declaration to Mary is one of God’s special favor and his special presence
Gabriel said three things to Mary.
Each of these were certainly true of Mary, who had a unique privilege among any person to ever live.
· She was highly favored.
· That the Lord was with her.
· She was blessed.
However, all these things are true of the believer in Jesus.
We are highly favored as Mary was (Ephesians 1:6),
the Lord is with us (Matthew 28:20),
and we are blessed (Ephesians 1:3).
we cannot miss an inescapable fact: the greatest news ever proclaimed in Israel came to the humblest of its people
the Lord comes to needy people—those who realize that without him they cannot make it—those who acknowledge their weakness and spiritual lack
The Incarnation, salvation, resurrection, Christmas are not for the proud and self-sufficient
Behold Your King vs. 30-33
Gabriel then gave her the good news: she would become the mother of the promised Messiah whom she would name Jesus
Note that Gabriel affirmed both the deity and the humanity of Jesus.
As Mary’s son, He would be human; as Son of the Highest (vs.
32), He would be the Son of God (Luke 1:35).
“For unto us a Child is born [His humanity], unto us a Son is given [His deity]”
The emphasis is on the greatness of the Son, not the greatness of the mother.
But He would also be a King, inherit David’s throne, and reign over Israel forever!
If we interpret literally what Gabriel said in Luke 1:30–31, then we should also interpret literally what he said in Luke 1:32–33.
He was referring to God’s covenant with David (2 Sam.
7) and His kingdom promises to the people of Israel
He came from the light into the darkness.
He came from splendor into squalor.
He came from purity into a world of sin.
But still he came!
Overshadowed by the Spirit vs. 34-38
The word overshadow means “to cover with a cloud,” as in the cloud of Shekinah glory
This cloud was a visible manifestation of the glory and presence of God; this means that the same power of God that was with Moses and others in the Old Testament was now going to do a unique work in the life of Mary.
Heaven touched Earth
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