Overwhelmed yet full of purpose, Mary sings a song to the Lord. A divinely woven melody of redemption and promise.
Today's Bible verse is Luke 1:46-47, from the King James Version.
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Speaker 1: Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has
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Speaker 1: rejoiced in God, my Savior. Luke one forty six and
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Speaker 1: forty seven, Dear Heavenly Father, in the quiet moments of
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Speaker 1: this Christmas season, we will pause to lift our souls
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Speaker 1: in praise to you. Like Mary, we rejoice in your
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Speaker 1: goodness as we decorate our homes, share gifts, and gather
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Speaker 1: with loved ones. Let our souls continue to glorify you
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Speaker 1: and remember that you are the greatest gift of all.
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Speaker 1: Help us to remember that the joy we feel is
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Speaker 1: not just the festive atmosphere, but the profound truth that
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Speaker 1: our Savior has come. May this joy be a well
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Speaker 1: spring from our souls, an enduring testament of our gratitude
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Speaker 1: and love for you.
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Speaker 2: Father.
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Speaker 1: Let our spirits echo Mary's song throughout this season and
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Speaker 1: all year round, glorifying you and rejoicing in the salvation
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Speaker 1: you have brought through Jesus Christ. In the precious name
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Speaker 1: of our Savior, we pray. Amen. Thank you for taking
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Speaker 1: time to pray today. Get ready to dive back into
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Speaker 1: the Christmas story with stories of the Messiah with Rabbi Schneider.
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Speaker 3: Night had fallen over Zachariah and Elizabeth's house, wrapping the
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Speaker 3: world in a blanket of cool serenity. The skies were
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Speaker 3: adorned in splendor, with splashes of light covering the firmament
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Speaker 3: like paint to a canvas. It was as though nature
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Speaker 3: was leaning in to partake in the divine story below.
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Speaker 3: The home was quiet and unperturbed, except for the slight
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Speaker 3: stirring of Mary. The nausea of pregnancy kept her awake,
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Speaker 3: groaning and staring blankly.
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Speaker 2: At the walls.
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Speaker 3: She took deep breaths, attempting to relieve her stomach's churning,
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Speaker 3: but nothing would do. I just want to sleep, Mary
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Speaker 3: sighed to herself. She tossed and turned, but sleep eluded her. Finally,
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Speaker 3: she wrapped herself up and stepped outside. The air was
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Speaker 3: cool and crisp, hearkening to the beginning of winter. She
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Speaker 3: could see her breath leaving her mouth. The fresh air
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Speaker 3: was soothing and gradually relieved her nausea. She looked outward,
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Speaker 3: feeling a tug towards the hill. God was calling her forward.
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Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to another Christmas episode of the
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Speaker 2: Jesus Podcast. I'm Ethan frompray dot Com. This season we're
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Speaker 2: immersing ourselves in the drama, depth and devotion of the
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Speaker 2: Christmas story. People often recognized the Christmas story as Mary, Joseph,
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Speaker 2: and Jesus in a barn surrounded by shepherds and wise men,
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Speaker 2: but the story has many more layers than that. There
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Speaker 2: was internal conflict, cultural pressure, and the threat of violence
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Speaker 2: around every corner. To day, we find ourselves in the
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Speaker 2: middle of Mary's story. She's still wrestling with her role
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Speaker 2: in God's grand plan and has sought refuge with her
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Speaker 2: cousin Elizabeth, who's also with child. Elizabeth and Zechariah welcomed
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Speaker 2: Mary and gave her space to ponder God's plan. Their
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Speaker 2: acceptance and warm home became a haven for Mary as
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Speaker 2: she contemplated her future. The Christmas story can become almost
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Speaker 2: too familiar to us, so familiar that we forget the
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Speaker 2: human struggle of these people. Mary had a tremendous existential
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Speaker 2: weight on her shoulders, yet throughout her journey she remained
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Speaker 2: unwavering and steadfast. This episode will showcase Mary's struggle with
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Speaker 2: her identity. She's a young woman from an unremarkable town.
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Speaker 2: She didn't come from royalty or riches, nor was she
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Speaker 2: more eloquent or charismatic than the others. In the coolness
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Speaker 2: of night under the stars, Mary asks why me. Her
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Speaker 2: question reflects the sentiment of many who feel unworthy of
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Speaker 2: God's grace. Several of you may think your past, sins,
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Speaker 2: or status might exclude you from the grace of God.
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Speaker 2: Mary will realize that God doesn't call the qualified, He
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Speaker 2: qualifies the call. Let's dive back into our story, where
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Speaker 2: Mary's prayers turn into a beautiful hymn of worship and redemption. Afterward,
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Speaker 2: we'll unwrap the story together and discover new Christmas themes.
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Speaker 3: Mary looked up. The sky was radiant, glowing with heaven beauty.
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Speaker 3: Mary was drawn to the light above her, as if
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Speaker 3: an unseen thread of destiny pulled her upward. Her feet
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Speaker 3: led her to a secluded spot. Up a winding path,
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Speaker 3: she weaved through some trees to a small clearing, bathed
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Speaker 3: in the star's shimmer. The delicate fragrance of night jasmin
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Speaker 3: lingered in the air. She felt as if she was
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Speaker 3: on wholly ground. She was alone, yet far from lonely,
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Speaker 3: the rhythm of her heart in sync with her child's.
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Speaker 3: She looked up at the stars and held her belly How.
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Speaker 4: Could it be that the maker of the stars would
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Speaker 4: dwell within me.
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Speaker 3: She thought. Mary was overwhelmed with the thought the Almighty
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Speaker 3: chose her. As she looked up at the heavens, she
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Speaker 3: wondered what Abraham must have felt long ago when God
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Speaker 3: chose him to bear the promises of God. But I
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Speaker 3: am lowly, she whispered to the Lord.
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Speaker 4: I am, I am nothing.
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Speaker 3: The wind picked up, slightly, caressing Mary's cheek.
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Speaker 4: Yet you call me blessed.
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Speaker 3: The branches behind her began to rock with the breeze,
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Speaker 3: and the cold wind blew petals of jasmine up and
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Speaker 3: around Mary. Her silent prayers soon began to morph into
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Speaker 3: something more elaborate and beautiful. In her heart, a melody
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Speaker 3: started to form a cascade of notes, flowing freely from
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Speaker 3: the wellspring of her spirit, a hymn inspired by the
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Speaker 3: divine assurance growing within her. The words escaped her lips,
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Speaker 3: rising in the chill night air.
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Speaker 4: Oh my soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in
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Speaker 4: his name, in his grace, he saw his humble servant,
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Speaker 4: and forever now I am called blessed, and will proclaim
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Speaker 4: his wonderful, spectacular name from now on all generations will
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Speaker 4: call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great
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Speaker 4: things for me. Holy, Holy, Holy is his name. His
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Speaker 4: mercy is for those who believe.
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Speaker 5: He has shown his strength with his mighty arm, scattered
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Speaker 5: the proud, humbled the heart. He toppled the mighty from
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Speaker 5: their thrones, lifted the humble, and set them apart. For now,
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Speaker 5: all generations for call me blessed, for the Mighty One
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Speaker 5: has done great things for me.
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Speaker 4: Holy, Holy, Holy is his name. His mercy is for
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Speaker 4: those who believe. He fills the hungry with the good,
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Speaker 4: sends away the rich with empty hands. In his love,
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Speaker 4: he remembers Israel in mercy he fills his eternal pleas.
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Speaker 4: From now on, all generations would call me blessed, for
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Speaker 4: the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy, Holy,
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Speaker 4: Holy is his name. His mercies. With Rose, whom he
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Speaker 4: spoke to her father's lay behind to his offspring, his
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Speaker 4: promise forever stands. So my soul magnifies the Lord, and
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Speaker 4: my spirit rejoices in his hands.
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Speaker 3: Her voice was a river of sound, flowing forth in
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Speaker 3: harmonious strains that seemed to dance with the twinkling stars
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Speaker 3: in her solitude. Mary sang. She sang not just with
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Speaker 3: her voice, but with her soul. Her song was a
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Speaker 3: testament to her growing faith. Her melodies echoed throughout the
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Speaker 3: silent night. They were a song born from the heart
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Speaker 3: of a young woman who had accepted her divine purpose
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Speaker 3: with humility and grace. The stars seemed to lean closer
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Speaker 3: as she sang. Drawn by the strength and conviction of
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Speaker 3: her voice, she could feel of peace descending upon her
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Speaker 3: with every word. Praise was the antidote to her fear.
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Speaker 3: She was Mary, chosen among women destined to bring the
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Speaker 3: Savior into the world, and despite the challenges and trials
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Speaker 3: she knew would come, she embraced her destiny in that moment.
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Speaker 3: Mary's song eventually drifted into the silence, yet its echoes lingered,
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Speaker 3: interwoven with the night, and she turned back towards Elizabeth's house,
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Speaker 3: her heart alight with newfound confidence. She was no longer
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Speaker 3: just Mary of Nazareth. She was marry mother of the Messiah,
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Speaker 3: a beacon of faith chosen to fulfill a divine prophecy.
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Speaker 3: The cold night no longer chilled her. Instead, it felt
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Speaker 3: like a comforting shroud, wrapping her in a blanket. Of
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Speaker 3: divine purpose and destiny. As she she slowly returned down
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Speaker 3: the hill, she heard a faint cry in the distance.
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Speaker 3: The voice cried out. Mary quickened her pace to see
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Speaker 3: Elizabeth's maid servant rushing through the door. A smile curled
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Speaker 3: over Mary's cold cheeks. Elizabeth was going into labor.
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Speaker 2: In the Nativity narrative, we find a gem of worship
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Speaker 2: and faith, Mary's magnificat, a passionate song of praise found
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Speaker 2: in Luke chapter one, verses forty six through fifty six.
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Speaker 2: This passage reveals much about the theme of worship and
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Speaker 2: the mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of believers, especially as
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Speaker 2: we reflect upon it during the Christmas season. Worship is
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Speaker 2: not merely an act of ritual. It's a profound expression
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Speaker 2: of love, adoration, gratitude, and surrender to God. Mary's song
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Speaker 2: epitomizes this. It springs from a heart full of awe
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Speaker 2: and wonder at God's goodness. My soul magnifies the Lord,
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Speaker 2: and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. As Mary worships,
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Speaker 2: she can genuinely realize her identity. This happens to us
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Speaker 2: as we give honor and praise to God. What we
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Speaker 2: worship informs our identity. The worship of money changes people
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Speaker 2: into greedy and prideful people. The worship of substances changes
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Speaker 2: people into shells of their former selves and slaves to addiction.
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Speaker 2: Worship of God transforms us from aimless wanderers to children
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Speaker 2: of purpose. During the Christmas season, when we celebrate the
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Speaker 2: birth of Jesus, we are reminded to pause in the
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Speaker 2: busyness of the season to take moments to worship, as
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Speaker 2: Mary did, to marvel at God's love for us revealed
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Speaker 2: in the gift of his son. This kind of worldship
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Speaker 2: is crucial for our spiritual, mental, and emotional health. It
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Speaker 2: draws us closer to God, reorients our perspective towards gratitude,
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Speaker 2: and helps us to manage life's challenges with faith and hope.
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Speaker 2: Mary's song mentions Abraham in Luke chapter one, verses fifty
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Speaker 2: four and fifty five. She sings, he has helped his
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Speaker 2: servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke
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Speaker 2: to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever. As
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Speaker 2: he spoke to our fathers to Abraham and his offspring forever.
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Speaker 2: This moment in Mary's song is one of them. Mary's faith,
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Speaker 2: like Abraham's, was not based on sight, but on the
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Speaker 2: promises of God. God promised Abraham that he would be
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Speaker 2: the father of many nations in Genesis chapter fifteen, verse five. Abraham,
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Speaker 2: looking up but the stars, believe God even though he
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Speaker 2: was childless. Then similarly, Mary, looking at her own condition,
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Speaker 2: accepted the angel's proclamation and behold, you will conceive in
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Speaker 2: your womb and bear a son, and you shall call
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Speaker 2: his name Jesus Luke, chapter one, verse thirty one. Her
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Speaker 2: faith filled response was, behold, I am the servant of
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Speaker 2: the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. Luke,
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Speaker 2: chapter one, verse thirty eight. Like Abraham, Mary believe God's
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Speaker 2: promise despite her circumstances. Her faith was confirmed and celebrated
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Speaker 2: in her song of worship when she said, He has
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Speaker 2: helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, as
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Speaker 2: he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his
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Speaker 2: offspring Forever. As we celebrate Christmas, let us be reminded
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Speaker 2: of the faith of Mary and ab They look beyond
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Speaker 2: the circumstances. They look beyond their circumstances to the promises
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Speaker 2: of God. Trusting in His goodness and faithfulness. Their examples
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Speaker 2: of faith filled worship continue to inspire us, nurturing our spiritual, mental,
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Speaker 2: and emotional health. So as we gaze upon the Nativity
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Speaker 2: scene this Christmas, let us lift our own songs of
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Speaker 2: praise and magnify the Lord for his indescribable gift. Let us,
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Speaker 2: like Mary and Abraham, have faith in God's promises, rejoicing
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Speaker 2: in His faithfulness and goodness to us during Christmas, during Christmas,
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Speaker 2: and throughout our lives. This episode left us with the
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Speaker 2: cries of Elizabeth, who's about to give birth to an
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Speaker 2: important figure, John the Baptist. Join us for our next
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Speaker 2: episode of Story of the Messiah as we explore the
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Speaker 2: greater depths of the Nativity
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