This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Hi, this is Pastor Tom and I want to welcome you to this study together of Luke
and Acts. We're actually going to study these two books, the book of Luke and
the book of Acts together in a different way than we usually do in drive time
devotions. We're going to study a chapter a day instead of a chapter a week.

The reason for this is to give you the opportunity to have a survey of the life
of Jesus and the beginning of his church. We've studied through Mark and John
and Matthew a chapter a week, so we've had an opportunity to go through some of
the gospels in a longer look at the life of Jesus. I wanted you to have this
opportunity to look in a briefer way, but also in a more comprehensive way,
looking at the overall life of Christ and looking at the overall beginning of
his church because there's something about seeing how Jesus' life was lived and
how his church was begun that has the power to excite your faith, to help you to
see God's plan, to comfort you in the struggles that you have because Jesus is a
comforter, and to help you to realize that God has a plan for history that
expands not only from then but also into your life today.

So we begin today a study of the book of Luke together, a chapter a day. As we
study through this book, we're going to find it's a pretty easy journey in
seeing what this book is all about. What's the book of Luke about?

It's about a birth, a beginning, a ministry, a journey, and then a death and a
resurrection. That's the book of Luke. It begins with a birth.

In chapters one and two, you have the infancy narratives, and you have the
stories of John the Baptist and Jesus being born. And then you have the
preparation for the ministry, a beginning. In chapters three to the beginning of
chapter four, you have Jesus starting out his ministry, and we're going to be
looking at some of that this very week.

And then in chapter four to nine, you have Jesus' ministry in Galilee, him
serving the people, healing the people, doing miracles, teaching the people. And
then in chapter nine to 19, the most significant part of the book of Luke, you
have Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Jesus heading toward Jerusalem to give his
life for us, but on his way there, he's teaching us all along the way how to
live the life that he's going to give us.

He's going to give his life for us, but he also wants to give us a life. And in
these chapters, we see how to live that life. And then in chapter 19 to 24, you
have Passion Week, you have the last week of Jesus' life, him giving his life
for us, the Garden of Gethsemane, the cross, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That's the book of Luke. So let's just jump right into it, chapter one of the
book of Luke. This chapter begins with the introduction of the book.

It's the announcement of two births in this chapter, the birth of John and of
Jesus are both announced, John the Baptist. We also have the response of John's
father, Zechariah, and of Jesus' mother, Mary. And then we have the birth of
John also in this chapter.

It all begins with the introduction. In the introduction, Luke writes this,
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been
fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who first were
eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully
investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write
an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the
certainty of the things that have been taught.

" Here's Luke writing to a friend, most excellent Theophilus, he says. He says,
"I want to write to you in an orderly way. I've written it down.

I've investigated it all, and I want you to hear about the life of Jesus. " Now
you may know that Luke also wrote the book of Acts. So when we get to Acts, he's
going to write it also to this most excellent friend, Theophilus.

Don't miss that Luke was written to an individual, and so the truths in the
Gospel of Luke are meant to be lived out in our individual lives. But also don't
miss the name of this individual, Theophilus. Theophilus means Theo, God,
Phyllis, which comes from Phileo, which means love.

It means a lover of God. So this is written to all of us. In fact, you might
just want to name yourself on the back of your mind in one sense, Theophilus,
for the rest of this study, because you are a lover of God.

You are someone who wants to learn to love God. Maybe you're just beginning this
investigation in listening to this. Maybe you've been for many, many years
living out this life of loving God.

Wherever you are in that journey, this is a book that is written to you. And
after the introduction, Luke jumps in and there's an announcement. There's an
announcement of the birth of John the Baptist.

I want you to notice as we see what happens with John the Baptist, and in a
moment we're going to see the announcement of the birth of Jesus, I want you to
notice the difference as we walk through these. When the announcement of John's
birth is given to his father, Zechariah, you have the announcement, you have
Zechariah's response, then you have the birth, and then you have praise that is
given. Something a little different happens when we get to the birth of Jesus.

The announcement comes, the response, then praise comes. Mary goes more
immediately to praise than Zechariah, we're going to see, and then the birth.
It's very important as we walk through this chapter.

Here's what happens beginning in verse 5. In the time of Herod, king of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of
Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were
upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and
regulations blamelessly, but they had no children because Elizabeth was barren,
and they were both well along in years.

And then an angel appears. An angel appears to Zechariah, and the angel says to
him, "Do not be afraid," in verse 13, "Zechariah, your prayer has been heard,
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name
John. " In verse 18, Zechariah asks the angel, "How can I be sure of this?

I'm an old man, and my wife is well along in years. " The angel answered, "I am
Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you
and to tell you this good news.

And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that this
happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their
proper time. " So here is Zechariah, and we learn in this story that he's a
priest of God. He's serving in the temple at this time.

An angel appears to him, and he doesn't believe the word of the angel. Now let's
go from this priest of God, this older man, this servant, who should know it all
spiritually. Let's go and look together at a teenage girl just beginning her
life of faith.

And she hears the announcement of the birth of Jesus, and here's what happens in
verse 26. "In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel 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 be with child and will give birth to a son, and you are to give
him the name Jesus.

He will be great. He'll 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 the house of
Jacob 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 upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One will be
born and be called the Son of God.

Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age. For she
who was said to be barren is in her sixth month, for nothing will be impossible
with God. '" "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered.

"May it be to me as you have said. " And then the angel left her. "This is
amazing to me.

Here is Zachariah, a priest of God, and here is Mary, a simple teenage girl. Her
faith shines greater than his. " It's a reminder to me, it's a reminder to all
of us, I think, of the danger of familiarity with the things of God.

Zachariah was so familiar with the things of God, even though he served God
every day and thought about God every day, he was so familiar that even God
suggesting a different name that he thought the son should have, "Name him John.
Nobody in our family is named John," he said. Even God saying that he could have
a child in his old age, even though he taught about Abraham having a child in
old age, it seemed impossible to him.

And here's Mary, so new in the things of God that nothing was impossible with
God, even a virgin birth. Now, the good news to me is that God worked in both of
their lives to get them to the place of faith and trust in him. And at the end,
within this chapter, they both sing praise songs to God.

Zachariah in verse 68 sings, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because
he has come and he has redeemed his people. And you, my child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way
for him. " Zachariah did have spiritual insight.

He did know that John the Baptist, even from his birth, was going to be sent to
prepare the way for the Lord. He listened to the angel. He finally trusted the
angel.

Even those who are familiar with the things of God can come to the place of
trust. And then there's the praise song of Mary. I'm not going to read all of
it, but let me read verse 46 to verse 50.

Mary sang, "My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all
generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for
me. Holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. " Mary's
praise song, even just reading a few verses of each, you hear that Zachariah's
praise song is a little bit more formal. Mary's praise song, it's fresh.

It's a sense of the depth of her relationship with God. Just this wide-eyed
amazement that God would use even her. Here's the question.

What's your praise song? Even in circumstances you may not completely
understand. Mary didn't completely understand.

Mary didn't completely understand. They both sang songs of praise to God. What's
your praise song?

How are you praising God, even in the circumstances you don't understand? Let's
pray together. Jesus, regardless of the circumstances, you were at work,
oftentimes in greater ways than we could imagine, doing greater things than we
could imagine.

So regardless of the circumstances right now, help me to praise you, to praise
you that you'll never fail me, to praise you that you were with me, to praise
you that you have a plan that goes even through this. I choose, I choose today
to live in the place of gratefulness and praise. In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, I know you're not going to miss tomorrow. Tomorrow we're going to take a
look together at the birth of Jesus Christ.