1. Luke 1:57-2:14

2. ‎ Luke 1:57-66 “When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.

3. When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. ‎ But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!” ‎ “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” ‎

4. So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. ‎ He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

5. Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.”

6. Luke 1:67-79 “Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: ‎ “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.

7. 2Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

8. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of His servant David, just as He promised through His holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us.

9. Colossian 1:12-14 “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.”

10. Psalm 132:17 “There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.”

11. Luke 1:72-73 “He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering His sacred covenant— ‎ the covenant He swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.” ‎

12. Genesis 22:16-18 "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son – blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, ‎

13. and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

14. Luke 1:74-76 “We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. ‎

15. “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.”

16. Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. … Says the LORD of hosts.”

17. Luke 1:77-79 “You will tell His people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy,

18. the morning light (Dayspring) ‎ from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

19. “Dayspring means “sunrise.”(morning light) The people were sitting in darkness and death, and distress gripped them when Jesus came; but He brought light, life, and peace. It was the dawn of a new day because of the tender mercies of God” Warren W. Wiersbe

20. “No salvation is possible without forgiveness, and so Zacharias says, "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins." The Lord could not forgive them on the ground of justice, and therefore

21. He did so because of His tender mercy— the tender mercy of our God, who has made Himself "our God" by the covenant of grace.” Charles Spurgeon

22. John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.”

23. The Birth of Jesus Christ

24. “The ‘fullness of time,’ ‘the hour,’ had come. With Augustan Era, pagan culture had reached its zenith, pagan crime its lowest depths. When Jesus Christ was born, the world’s outlook was one of unparalleled sorrow and sin.” Griffith Thomas

25. Luke 2:1-4 “ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

26. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. ‎ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,”

27. Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

28. “Justin Martyr, (one of the Church Fathers) writing in the middle of the second century, said that in his own day (more than a hundred years after the time of Jesus) you could look up the record of the same census Luke mentioned” Leon Morris

29. Luke 2:5-7 “…to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. ‎ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ‎

30. “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

31. Luke 2: ‎ 8-14 “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ‎

32. “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” ‎

33. “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” ‎

34. John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

35. 2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.”

36. Luke 2:13-14 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

37. 1Timothy 3:16 “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”