Sermon: A Gospel of Amazement

Scripture Text: Luke 1:39-56

Quotes for Reflection

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Bewilderment is true comprehension.

Michael Card, Luke: The Gospel of Amazement
They were, all of them, quite simply amazed. Zechariah’s friends, the shepherds, all who heard the shepherds, Joseph and Mary, the people in his hometown of Nazareth, those in Capernaum, those who heard the boy Jesus in the temple, the disciples, the parents of the girl who had died, even the Pharisees: all were amazed, astonished, in awe and afraid. Three decades later, as Luke interviews the ever-decreasing group of eyewitnesses, he finds them still amazed, still struggling to put into words just what it was like to encounter the rabbi from Nazareth. And thirty years away from the event that was Jesus’ life, Luke still finds himself amazed as well.

Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly
The dominant note left ringing in our ears after reading the Gospels, the most vivid and arresting element of the portrait, is the way the Holy Son of God moves toward, touches, heals, embraces, and forgives those who least deserve it yet truly desire it.

J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke
Let us learn from this holy woman’s example to lay firm hold on Bible promises. It is of the deepest importance to our peace to do so. Promises are, in fact, the manna that we should daily eat and the water that we should daily drink as we travel through the wilderness of this world. We do not yet see all things put in subjection under us. We do not yet see Christ, and heaven, and the Book of Life, and the mansions prepared for us. We walk by faith, and this faith leans on promises. But on those promises we may lean confidently. They will bear all the weight we can lay on them. We shall find one day, like Mary, that God keeps His word, and that what He has spoken, so He will always in due time perform.

Application Questions

1. What good news have you received recently, and why did it bring you joy?

2. What amazes you about Jesus, and how might these insights refresh your faith?

3. How is faith an extension of belief? In what specific way can your history with God strengthen your faith this week?