This Sunday, we are learning about how:
The "mini" Big God Story
From Judges to Jesus
The Israelites must have been wondering what God was doing when 400 years passed between the closing of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. During that time, God sent no formal word or declaration through a prophet, priest, judge, or king. There are no biblically recorded miracles, signs, or wonders. Though His presence did not leave His people, He did not speak. For 400 years the Israelites heard nothing but God’s silence.
Without tangible evidence of God’s presence, the faith of the people grew dry. Many forgot about the imaginative, creative, and miraculous God they served. However, God did not change or forget about His people. After 400 years, God spoke again through an angel. This angel spoke to the priest, Zechariah, in the temple. Fittingly, Zechariah’s name means “God has remembered.” He is even mentioned in Luke as being a man of great faith. However, upon receiving the news of his wife’s pregnancy, he did not believe. “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1:18). Although Zechariah would have studied and known Scripture, somehow he forgot the miracles of the Old Testament—how God had given other couples children in their old age.
Even so, God used Zechariah, and his miraculous son became known as John the Baptist—the one called to prepare the way for the Messiah. His son was the long-awaited “voice … calling in the wilderness,” declaring, “Prepare the way for the Lord” (Mark 1:3). So God had not abandoned His children. In fact, during the 400 years of silence, He was preparing them for the coming Messiah.
God prepared the way for a Savior because of His love for us. God’s love for us gives us great worth. Regardless of your past, you’re not “damaged goods.” You were made in the likeness of the living God. You are precious in His sight. Because of this, He has promised to complete the good work He has started in you. How does this change or shape your outlook on God’s path for your life? Does this affect the way you relate to Him? If you have time this week, purchase a pack of window crayons (or dry-erase markers) and write a reminder of these truths directly on the mirror you and your kids use each morning. For instance, write “I belong to God” or “I am made in His image.”
Without tangible evidence of God’s presence, the faith of the people grew dry. Many forgot about the imaginative, creative, and miraculous God they served. However, God did not change or forget about His people. After 400 years, God spoke again through an angel. This angel spoke to the priest, Zechariah, in the temple. Fittingly, Zechariah’s name means “God has remembered.” He is even mentioned in Luke as being a man of great faith. However, upon receiving the news of his wife’s pregnancy, he did not believe. “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1:18). Although Zechariah would have studied and known Scripture, somehow he forgot the miracles of the Old Testament—how God had given other couples children in their old age.
Even so, God used Zechariah, and his miraculous son became known as John the Baptist—the one called to prepare the way for the Messiah. His son was the long-awaited “voice … calling in the wilderness,” declaring, “Prepare the way for the Lord” (Mark 1:3). So God had not abandoned His children. In fact, during the 400 years of silence, He was preparing them for the coming Messiah.
God prepared the way for a Savior because of His love for us. God’s love for us gives us great worth. Regardless of your past, you’re not “damaged goods.” You were made in the likeness of the living God. You are precious in His sight. Because of this, He has promised to complete the good work He has started in you. How does this change or shape your outlook on God’s path for your life? Does this affect the way you relate to Him? If you have time this week, purchase a pack of window crayons (or dry-erase markers) and write a reminder of these truths directly on the mirror you and your kids use each morning. For instance, write “I belong to God” or “I am made in His image.”
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