GETTING STARTED
I was walking back to my car from Universal Studios and realized I had forgotten where I had parked. After over an hour and a half of looking through a massive, four-story parking garage, I finally remembered. Have you ever forgotten something important? Leading up to the following story, Israel had not heard from God through a major or minor prophet for over 400 years. There were many Israelites who were wondering if they had been forgotten by God.
- When was a time you felt like you were forgotten by God?
READ THE WORD: LUKE 1:67-80 (ESV)
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
DIGGING DEEPER
- Note how many times this passage mentions promise or something said by God long ago. What can we learn about the nature of God from this?
- What did Zechariah say about his own son? What was his son’s role in bringing about the blessing of God?
- What does this passage say are the blessings made available to us?
- What promises has God made to you in this passage that you need to remember?
RESPOND TO GOD
God used Zechariah as a prophet to help Israel remember what God had promised long ago. He said that God was raising up a “horn of salvation” from the house of David to save them, to bring them forgiveness, and to conquer the greatest enemy of all—sin and death. The people listening didn’t know it yet, but Zechariah was talking about Jesus, who was soon to be born as the Savior of the world.
- Ask God to help you remember the gospel every day, so that you will never forget his love and mercy toward you.
- Ask God to help you remember his promises of grace and love when you feel alone and forgotten.