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Celebrating Advent - December 14

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Sing: Silent Night

Reading: Luke 1:43-45
And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Summary (for your preparation): Did you hear that? Did you hear what Elizabeth called Jesus? Listen closely: ...the mother of my Lord. Mary was Jesus' mother, which means the unborn infant was already the reigning king...and this isn't premature on Elizabeth's part. The writer of Silent Night, Josef Mohr, said Jesus was lord at his birth...technically, he was Lord in the womb (but we know what he meant). Elizabeth, by the Holy Spirit, sees the beauty of Christ and bows down in humble adoration. How does she know so much about Jesus and have so much understanding about who he is already? It is a wonder! Nevertheless, she says Jesus is my Lord. Jesus isn't just generally Lord but she recognizes that she needs the salvation he will bring. It would have been true for her to refer to Mary as the mother of the Lord but she says my Lord. It is one thing to acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord and another to submit to him as my Lord.

Teaching Tip: Challenge your children to come to their own conclusion about Elizabeth bowing down to king Jesus, the pre-born infant. Let them really think about what she said. There is a great wonder in this episode and a great lesson for us. 

 Questions/Responses:

Did you hear that? What?

 Did you hear what Elizabeth called Jesus? ....?

 What did Elizabeth call Jesus? My Lord!

 Jesus wasn't even born yet...could he be the Lord already? Yes, he is God, even when he was growing in his mommy's tummy.

 How do we usually treat babies? We take care of them, feed them, clothe them, hold them...

 Yes, we take care of babies but we don't treat them as kings, right? Yes, but Jesus is God and it is never too early to make God the king of our lives!

 Why doesn't Elizabeth say that Jesus is the Lord instead of my Lord? Elizabeth understands the glory of Jesus and she is putting her trust in only him.

 Should we trust Jesus? Yes!

 Is Jesus a baby anymore? No, he lived a perfect life and died a sinners death and on the third day, he rose again. Jesus promises to return for all of the people who call him "my Lord." 

Prayer and Ending

Prayer: Father in heaven, we pray that you will give us eyes to see the glory of Jesus, even as an unborn infant. If we cannot respect him as God in his mother's tummy then we cannot see him as God anywhere else either. Please give us your Spirit so that we can be like Elizabeth who bow down to Jesus and put our faith in his salvation, even before he was born. AMEN.

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