Not-So-Quiet-Time: Luke 1 (Christmas)
At-Home Bible Guide for the Week of 12/7
Day 1: Verses 1-4
Luke wrote so that his readers could “have certainty concerning the things [they had] been taught” (1:4). He did this by presenting an “orderly account” of the facts based on eyewitness testimony and “ministers of the word” (1:2). Part of why we gather to hear the Word preached by a minister each week is for this reason: we need to hear orderly accounts of God’s work to build up our certainty in the truth. How has hearing the Word of God preached impacted your life?
Day 2: Verses 5-25
God has good plans. God was sending someone to prepare the people for the Lord (16-17). God was working out his plans, making a way for the coming Messiah. But He was also giving joy to Zechariah (1:14) and taking away shame from Elizabeth (1:25). God’s plans aren’t just good for the world, they’re also good for us if we belong to Him. Do you trust that God’s plans aren’t just best for the world but best for you too?
Day 3: Verses 26-38
The angel told Mary that she would have a son; he would be human. He would be called the “Son of God” (1:35); He would be God. Jesus is in his nature God. He has always existed as God, but took on “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). Because He is a man, He could die for people. And because He is God, He could die for all people. Only God could come up with a plan like the gospel. Thank God today for his perfect plan to save us.
Day 4: Verses 39-45
Back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would have a son and “he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Here Elizabeth says something similar to Mary: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (1:45). From Abraham to Mary to us, people are saved by faith. Elizabeth could look at Mary’s life and see faith. Can people who know you best see your faith?
Day 5: Verses 46-56
Mary praised God for fulfilling his promise to Abraham (1:55). There were 2000 years between Abraham and the birth of Jesus. That was a long wait. And we know something about waiting; it’s been about 2000 years from Christ’s earthly life until now. It can be hard to wait for Him to return. But when the time was perfect, God sent his Son (Gal 4:4). And we can trust the time will be just right when He comes back again. Ask God to help you trust Him as you wait for Him.
Catechism Connection: WSC 22, 27, 33
We are made right with God on the basis of “faith alone” (WSC 33). We can’t work to save ourselves; we are saved by Jesus’ works. He “became man by taking to himself a true body… in the womb of the virgin Mary and born of her, yet without sin” (WSC 22). Along with being born in “a low condition,” He accomplished salvation by “living under the Law… undergoing the wrath of God and the cursed death of the Cross, and… continuing under the power of death for a time” (WSC 27), and rising again!
Day 1: Verses 1-4
Luke wrote so that his readers could “have certainty concerning the things [they had] been taught” (1:4). He did this by presenting an “orderly account” of the facts based on eyewitness testimony and “ministers of the word” (1:2). Part of why we gather to hear the Word preached by a minister each week is for this reason: we need to hear orderly accounts of God’s work to build up our certainty in the truth. How has hearing the Word of God preached impacted your life?
Day 2: Verses 5-25
God has good plans. God was sending someone to prepare the people for the Lord (16-17). God was working out his plans, making a way for the coming Messiah. But He was also giving joy to Zechariah (1:14) and taking away shame from Elizabeth (1:25). God’s plans aren’t just good for the world, they’re also good for us if we belong to Him. Do you trust that God’s plans aren’t just best for the world but best for you too?
Day 3: Verses 26-38
The angel told Mary that she would have a son; he would be human. He would be called the “Son of God” (1:35); He would be God. Jesus is in his nature God. He has always existed as God, but took on “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:7). Because He is a man, He could die for people. And because He is God, He could die for all people. Only God could come up with a plan like the gospel. Thank God today for his perfect plan to save us.
Day 4: Verses 39-45
Back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would have a son and “he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Here Elizabeth says something similar to Mary: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (1:45). From Abraham to Mary to us, people are saved by faith. Elizabeth could look at Mary’s life and see faith. Can people who know you best see your faith?
Day 5: Verses 46-56
Mary praised God for fulfilling his promise to Abraham (1:55). There were 2000 years between Abraham and the birth of Jesus. That was a long wait. And we know something about waiting; it’s been about 2000 years from Christ’s earthly life until now. It can be hard to wait for Him to return. But when the time was perfect, God sent his Son (Gal 4:4). And we can trust the time will be just right when He comes back again. Ask God to help you trust Him as you wait for Him.
Catechism Connection: WSC 22, 27, 33
We are made right with God on the basis of “faith alone” (WSC 33). We can’t work to save ourselves; we are saved by Jesus’ works. He “became man by taking to himself a true body… in the womb of the virgin Mary and born of her, yet without sin” (WSC 22). Along with being born in “a low condition,” He accomplished salvation by “living under the Law… undergoing the wrath of God and the cursed death of the Cross, and… continuing under the power of death for a time” (WSC 27), and rising again!
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