Weekly Teaching Reflection
November 30th Reflection
Sermon Notes and Discussion Questions
The Coming of the King
Preparing for the King
“lies breathed through silver"
Luke 1:26-28
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Luke 1:29-30
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
Luke 1:31-33
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Luke 1:34-35
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
overshadow (episkasai)
Hark the Herald
Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the Virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Luke 1:36-38
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
Christianity, if false, is of no importance.
If true, of infinite importance.
The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
C.S. Lewis
Discussion Questions
Where do you most resonate with the ache described at the beginning, either in the brokenness of the world or in the unanswered longings inside yourself?
Why do you think stories of good triumphing over evil stir something so deeply in us? What did Tolkien mean by saying these stories are “shadows” of the “True Myth”?
God chooses a poor young girl from an overlooked town to carry the world’s King.
What does this reveal about God’s character? How does this challenge our assumptions about who God can use?Mary responds honestly: “How will this be?” Where in your life do you feel like God is asking something that feels impossible, unreasonable, or beyond your capacity?
The same presence that hovered over creation and filled the tabernacle now overshadows Mary. What does this mean for the way we understand God’s closeness to us today?
Both ask similar questions, but with different heart postures. What distinguishes honest curiosity from cynical doubt in our spiritual lives?
The teaching ends with the question: Where are your hands clenched, and where are they open? What might it look like for you to adopt Mary’s posture of “I am the Lord’s servant” in a specific area of your life?
If the incarnation is God entering our pain and standing in solidarity with the suffering world, how does that reshape the way we cope with our own suffering, and the suffering around us?
For Practice This Week
Practice: “Open-Handed Prayer” (5 minutes daily)
Each day this week, sit quietly with your hands open on your lap.
Pray slowly:
“Lord, I am Your servant.
May Your word to me be fulfilled.”
Then ask three simple questions:
Lord, where am I holding on too tightly?
What fear or impossibility am I facing that I need to trust You with?
Where are You inviting me to say yes, like Mary, even without seeing the whole story?
Close by asking the Holy Spirit to “overshadow” you with His presence, strength, and peace.