December 10, 2017

Zechariah: A Song of Faith

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Series: Songs of Christmas Scripture: Luke 1:67–80

Songs of Christmas: 

Zechariah - A Song of Faith: 

Luke 1:67-80

Can God be trusted even when He is silent?

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Background:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5–6)

  • 400 years of silence
  • In the silence, God was preparing for Christmas
  • A common language
  • A unified empire
  • An extensive system of roads
  • God Speaks To Zechariah
  • A faithful priest (5-7)
  • A fearful priest (8-17)
  • A faithless priest (18-22)
  • A favored priest (23-25)
  • A filled priest (57-67)

In the silence God was preparing Zechariah for Christmas

John – “God is gracious” or “gift of God”

Zechariah’s Song of Faith

In this song we see several pictures of the work of Christ:

  • Redeemer (68)

 “To set free by paying a price”

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,” (Luke 4:17–18)

  • Savior (69, 71, 77)

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11)

  • Forgiveness (76-77)

“To send away, to dismiss as a debt”

as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

  • The dawning of a new day (78-79)

the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16)

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12–14)

John was “prophet of the Most High” (Luke 1:76), introducing to Israel “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32) who was conceived in Mary’s womb by “the power of the Most High” (Luke 1:35).

Even in silence, God is at work!

Making It Personal:

  • How have I personally responded to the greatest gift of all, the gift of God’s perfect provision in Jesus Christ?
  • Where in my life does it seem like God is silent? How can I find encouragement that God is still at work even in the silence?
  • What will it look like for me to live life trusting in God even when he appears to be silent?
  • Who can I share these truths with?

other sermons in this series

Dec 24

2017

Mary: A Song of Trust

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: Luke 1:46–56 Series: Songs of Christmas

Dec 17

2017

Simeon: A Song of Hope

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: Luke 2:21–28 Series: Songs of Christmas