Our text during the month of December will be Luke 1 & 2. The chapters detail the story of God’s plan to rescue mankind from our selfish and sinful lifestyles.
Each week we will look at a passage from these chapters and learn some truths and lessons about God that should be applied to our lives.

Most Bible commentators point to a Christmas Play List here in these two chapters. The list contains what they refer to as four songs:
-Mary’s Song
-Zechariah’s Song
-The Angel’s Song
-Simeon’s Song.

Music and rhyme have proven to be excellent ways to communicate a message. We all have that little jingle that bounces around in our head from time to time.
For generations the church has used canticles to communicate Bible passages and spiritual truths. A canticle is "a writing that praises God and can be sung, chanted, or spoken as a form of education and worship."

Our Play List this month in the beginning chapters of Luke are canticles that teach us about God, mankind, and the reason Christians celebrate Christmas.
Last week's message, Mary's Song, came from Luke 1:46-55. It taught us 3 truths about God: He is PERSONAL, POWERFUL, and a PROMISE-KEEPER.

In Luke 1 we learn that Mary's pregnancy is not the first miraculous one to be told of in this gospel. The first belonged to her relative Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah.
Before the angel Gabriel visited Mary, he had visited Zechariah to announce that his wife would become pregnant and that their son, John, would grow up to be the forerunner of the long awaited Jewish Messiah.
With that in mind, we can now look at Zechariah's Song.

Zechariah's Song (Luke 1:67-79) is #2 on our Play List. It tells us why mankind needs a Christmas and how we can have a relationship with God.
The first couple of verses in this passage sum up the reason or need for Christmas.

At the end of verse 68 we read that God wanted to redeem humanity.
Redemption is the act of providing payment to free or release someone from bondage.
The Bible teaches that all of mankind is enslaved to satan. He has no plan to release us from our bondage but delights in our torment and misery. In addition, his endgame is for us to have eternal separation from God.
The plight of humanity is that we, in our own strength and by our own will, are powerless to change our ownership or service. This was the motivation for God coming to redeem. God’s compassion and love for humanity is seen in Him taking the first step in bringing us out of our bondage.

Luke uses an Old Testament story to illustrate how God had done this in the past. Verses 69-75 recall how the Lord redeemed His people from their bondage in Egypt.
In these verses we read words and phrases associated with this idea of redemption: Salvation (vv.69, 71), to show mercy and remember His covenant (v. 72), to rescue us and enable us to serve Him (v. 74).
The point of Christmas is that God is redeeming people, not from a physical ruler (Pharaoh) but a spiritual ruler (satan).

At this point Zechariah's Song moves from words about history to words directed to his own son, Johnny B. His words are personal and intimate as well as prophetic and insightful.
Luke 1:76-79

Zechariah tells us that his son has a God-ordained purpose in life; he's a prophet. A prophet often served as a foreteller of the future and a forth-teller of God's word to humanity.
You and I have been saved to be a prophet in the latter sense. We should function as a representative of God who tells God's word to others. We are to prepare the way for Him!

John's message was simple, as ours should be.
Man needs forgiveness of his sins. That is why mankind needs Christmas.
Zechariah's Song speaks of the relationship God desires with you, the sin that is the ruin of all relationships (in Heaven and on earth), the rescue that Jesus offers to everyone, and the response that is needed on our part.
And our response is either, I reject or I accept...

Application and Discussion Questions:

1. What jingles or songs have stuck with you from some advertisement? What product or idea was being promoted?

2. Read Zechariah’s Song in Luke 1:67-79. A simple observation at the start of this might be: When someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, they are led to speak about the greatness of God and the great things He has done. What other observations do you see?

3. What other illustrations can you find or think of that communicate the idea of redemption? Try to use historical, secular, and biblical examples.

4. What might Zechariah have thought or felt while reflecting on God’s care for the Jewish people in Egypt? In thinking about God’s calling and purpose for his son John?

5. Think about God’s gift to offer forgiveness of sins to humanity and what it cost Him to provide this. What specific sins of yours did He die for (don’t be general). List some reasons why God must judge sin, why mankind needs salvation, why we cannot save ourselves, and why you should tell your family members and friends about Jesus this holiday season.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

Sunday, December 13 - Sedona Jones
Monday, December 14 - Trish Miller, Kenrik Stephens
Tuesday, December 15 - Alexis Booher
Thursday, December 17 - Gary Neff, Aaron & Karen Smith