Reading
Read Isaiah 7:14 -
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means “God is with us”).
Read Luke 1:26–35
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In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabri- el to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descen- dants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “
How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Reflection Questions
- Emmanuel means “God with us,” and when the angel first visits Mary, the message he brings is, “God is with you.” What does it mean for you that God is with you through Jesus?
- Jesus was born hundreds of years after the prophecy of Isaiah was given. How do you think God’s people fought against doubt, discouragement, and the temptation to believe God forgot them? How do you fight against doubt or discouragement when it comes to trusting God and his promises?
- What is a situation in your life where you need to depend on God’s presence?