God Has Done Great Things!

We’ve become too familiar… the news to Mary was sock-knocking news!

Illustration - call re. being “matched” with Savannah...

And it seems in that moment that the news really digs in, because in Luke 1:46-55 Mary bursts out in a song:

This is the concept of God’s covenant faithfulness:

God is faithful: he will always do what he says he will do for his covenant people.

Covenant is not a business agreement…

Speaking through his prophet in Isaiah 49:15, the Lord shares a memorable image:

Covenant is like a family bond...

That’s why, in 1 Corinthians 1:9, Paul wrote:

Illustration - how much trust do you give someone who has backed out… been true…?

She also recognizes that God’s “great things” actually turn the status quo on its head:

God often chooses to be faithful in ways that turn things upside down.

Mary’s “lineage of song”: Miriam, Hannah, Deborah, and Mary...

God’s greatest acts often unfold where it is hardest to believe… - Ann Voskamp, The Wonder of the Greatest Gift

She was a person who made a habit of doing a particular kind of thing:

Mary could recognize these things because she took time to reflect.

Later on, in Luke 2:19, after Jesus was born and the shepherds shared their experience and everyone say in amazement, we read...

A great way to become more reflective in our lives is to practice an ancient prayer known as examen:

1) settle in God’s presence, 2) review the day with gratitude, 3) ask God to show you where you were aligned / not aligned with his Spirit, 4) pray about tomorrow.

But Mary’s example doesn’t end with the kind of vision she had:

Mary’s reflection turned into witness: the great things that had happened to her became the great news she shared with others!

To bear the life of Christ means at the same time to bear witness to others of what he has done!

Let me share some of the great things I’ve seen God doing in the last year:

Online worship; connected so many people with the Good News!

Building project; greater capacity to steward resources!

Small groups; technology to meet / facilitate spiritual growth!

Kingdom Kids; teachers providing Kids Vids / a few “events.”

Mission Partnerships; backpacks, collecting / distributing meals for students, Shelter!

Advent Hope: Elf Hunt, caroling in town, Christmas Special!