MARY'S SONG OF PRAISE

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, WE WILL:

EXPLORE themes in Mary's song of praise; APPRECIATE the morning of praise in response to God; and DEVELOP new ways of praising God in our testimonies.

FOCAL VERSES LUKE 1:46-56

KEEP IN MIND

"And the spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47).

AT-A-GLANCE

1. God is the Subject of Her Song (Luke 1:46-50)
2. God Helped His People (vv. 51-56)

IN FOCUS STORY

Joe's mom was a singer at heart. She'd grown up singing in the church in her hometown. She later spent time touring with Motown. Joe was proud of the pictures that arrayed their home. His mom has pictures with all the greats.
Their home looked liked a "who's who" of the music industry.
When Joe was born, his mother was introduced to an Apostolic church, where she was baptized and received the Holy Ghost. Now his mother serves as the music director of the church. She is passionate about her work at the church and it shows. The choir has won several competitions nationwide and the church's album is on the top sellers in the gospel genre. Still, Joe wondered if his mom missed singing with so many celebrities on tour.

"Mom, don't you miss your time with Motown?" He asked.
"No. I thought the glitz and glamour was important then, but it pales in comparison to worshipping God. Now I'm singing to the Lord and I know this is what I was born to do."
After receiving the promise from Gabriel, Mary broke out in a song. In today's lesson, we discover the importance of praising God in response to His divine grace in our lives.

THE PEOPLE, PLACES, and TIMES

Mary, the virgin. The mother of Christ, the wife of Joseph, modeled faith for the church-the faith that realized the birth of Christ in her life and fostered her discipleship. Faith is belief in addition to trust the leads to total dependence on Christ and then bursts into activity, producing a life of service.

BACKGROUND

We take up Mary's story with her immediate decision to visit her aged, barren relative Elisabeth, who, as Gabriel had just revealed to Mary, was pregnant and six months along (1:36). Her pregnancy was miraculous, but we must never confuse how vastly different it was from the miracle occurring within Mary. Barren Elisabeth was not a virgin, and Zacharias was the natural father of her child. Nevertheless, what a surge of joy swept through Mary as she heard the shocking good news about the miracle in Elisabeth's womb, for it bore parallel testimony to God's power.
Luke matter-of-factly reports Mary's response: "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea" (v. 39, NIV). Mary made hasty arrangements with her parents (Did she tell them? We do not know.) and rushed the 80 to 100 miles south to the countryside of Judea, a three-or four-day journey. Her haste indicates eagerness. She could not wait to get there. There were no leisurely teenaged conversations along the way. As she hurried along, she thought long and deep of their crossed destinies, as she and Elisabeth were both in miraculous pregnancies. And then she was there, unannounced, silhouetted in the old couple's doorway.
There was a strong human joy in the meeting of these two expectant mothers-one in the flower of youth, the other's bloom long gone. These two were to become innocent co-conspirators, soul-sisters in the divine plot to save the lost. They would share the hearts as few humans ever have. Through their birthing pain, sweat, blood, and mothering, the world would receive its greatest blessing.

SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES

1. What is the underlying reason Mary praised God (Luke 1:46)?
2. How did God scatter the proud (v. 51)?

DISCUSS THE MEANING

1. Mary believed what Gabriel said. She believed that the virgin birth was possible and would happen. She trusted her whole life to God's promise. What does it mean to trust God's promise today?

2. In the In Focus Story, Joe's mother found that true meaning comes from sing God's praise. In what ways can we sing God's praise-even when we don't have a voice like Joe's mom?

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY

It is so much easier to follow than to lead. We have a tendency to look around and see what the rest of the world is doing, then follow suit.

 

1. As God's people, what responsibility do we have to appropriately represent the Lord in the way we live?

2. Do we have a responsibility to teach the next generation to represent the Lord in their actions, attitudes, and words?

MAKE IT HAPPEN

When we study God's Word, we are reminded of His promises. Our faith is shown in the way we obey God. In the upcoming week, begin to follow Mary's lead and praise God in the way you obey Him.

(Except from the Apostolic Light P.A.W)