Story of the Month
Birth of John
Luke 1
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We will be posting three BibleTelling Christmas stories for September, October, and November. It is our hope that you will find these useful as you make plans for Christmas. We suggest that organizations select several people to learn these stories and prepare to present the entire Christmas story at a special service.
These stories will also be useful for those planning to host a Christmas Storytelling Gathering (CSG). This month's Tips for Telling give some instructions on how to host this event.
There was a priest named Zachariah. He and his wife Elizabeth were godly people who followed the Lord. Their one great burden was the fact that they were not able to have a child. In time, they became old, and well beyond the age of bearing children.
It was Zachariah’s turn to go into the Temple and perform priestly service before God. He did this while people waited outside and prayed. Suddenly an angel appeared before him, which caused the priest to be afraid. The angel said, “Zachariah, your prayers have been answered. Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John. He will bring joy to your heart and will be great before the Lord. He will prepare the way for Messiah.”
Zachariah was confused by this announcement. He said, “How can my wife and I possibly have children? We are too old.”
“My name is Gabriel, and I stand in the presence of God. He sent me with this message, and you have not believed me. Therefore, you will not be able to speak until everything I have said comes true.”
The people outside were wondering what was taking the old priest so long. When he finally came out, he couldn’t talk. Because of this, they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple.
Zachariah went home after his time of service was up. And in the course of time, Elizabeth became pregnant. With joy, she secluded herself for five months. She said, “The Lord has done this for me. He has removed the disgrace I felt among my people.”
In the sixth month of her pregnancy, that same angel went to a town called Nazareth in the north of Israel. He appeared to a young woman named Mary, who was from the line of David. She had kept herself morally pure, and was engaged to marry Joseph, who was also a descendant of David.
Gabriel said to her, “Mary, you have been blessed by God.” This startled her and she didn’t know what to say.
“Don’t be afraid. You have found favor with God. You are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. You are to name him Jesus. He will be great, and will claim the throne of David, but there will be no end of his kingdom.”
Mary just looked at the angel in amazement. “How can this be true? I have never had intercourse with a man.”
“The Holy Spirit will hover over you, and you will conceive. That Holy Child will be called the Son of God!”
“Mary, listen. All things are possible with God. Even your cousin Elizabeth is about to have a baby at her old age.”
With that, Mary bowed her head and said, “I am the servant of the Lord. I will allow it to happen just as you have said.”
After the angel left, Mary packed her things and went to where Elizabeth lived. As soon as she greeted her cousin, the baby inside of Elizabeth jumped and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out, “Oh Mary, you are blessed more then any other woman, and that child you are carrying is blessed. How is it I am worthy to have the mother of my Lord come visit me?”
Mary said, “My soul exalts God. He knew I was just a lowly girl, yet now I will be called blessed from one generation to another. God is truly great, and has been faithful to His people down through the years.”
Mary stayed with this wise older woman for three months, learning from her and receiving encouragement for the days and years that were before her. After three months, she went home to face her family.
After Mary left, Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy. Neighbors and family came to rejoice with the old couple. When it was time to name the child, they all said, “Oh, he looks just like his father. We ought to name him little Zechariah.”
Elizabeth said, “No, his name is John.”
“John! There is no one in your family named John. We’ll talk to Zechariah about this.” Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John!”
Immediately the old priest could talk. “Oh blessed be the God of Israel. He has finally sending the Promised One who will redeem us back to God. He has fulfilled His promises to Abraham, and is establishing the royal line of David.”
He picked up his little son and said, “You will a prophet of God! You will go before the Promised One and prepare the way. Our Messiah will bring us salvation and forgiveness of sin. He will bring us peace.”
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