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"CHRISTMAS FAITH
Believing God Against All Odds"
Pastor Rob Carlson • Sunday, December 19, 2004
Luke 1:26-38 [pages 1012-1013 in Pew Bible]

3 Components of Faith

1. Believing when you can't see it.

Hebrews 11:1--Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Romans 4:21--…being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Luke 1:31-37--You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[c] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”


2. Trusting when you can't feel it.

God is always going to the wrong people!
1. Fatherless Abraham
2. Stammering Moses 
3. Undisciplined Samson 
4. Little David 
5. Unholy Isaiah
6. Uncooth John the Baptist
7. IRS Agent Matthew
8. Crooked Zacheus
9. Unstable Peter

1 Corinthians 1:26-29--Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one many boast before him.

3. Following when you can't control it.

Luke 1:26-29--In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 

Luke 1:38--“I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Mary's Risks:
1. Family rejection and disapproval.
2. Public disapproval. 
3. The loss of her fiancé Joseph.
4. The Possible Loss of Her Own Life.

Small Group Discussion Questions

1. How would you describe "faith?"

2. Review the points and Bible verses from this lesson. 
What personal application can you make from this week's teaching? 

3. In what ways have you seen or experienced God doing the impossible?

4. Take some time right now to pray for the needs of those in your small group.

*Scripture is quoted from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
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