Remember: participation is up to whatever level you can manage. Just reading through and thinking about it as you do, writing your responses down in your personal journal, leaving a comment or question in the comments section or emailing thoughts to me. You could chat to a local friend about what comes up or if you get really excited you are welcome to use these questions for your family or small group study time. I'd love to know if you do so let me know!
So go and grab your Bible, a cup of tea and a some biscuits and whatever else you might need and let's get into studying the character of the wonderful woman Mary, the Mother of our Lord.
Brainstorm
What do you already know about
Mary?
What sort of picture of her
do you have in your mind?
Read
Luke 1:26-38
Q1. What
guesses can we make about Mary when Gabriel tells her in v 28 that she is ‘most
highly favoured’?
Q2. What
attributes of a highly favoured woman do you have or would you like to work on?
Q3. v
29 says that she is troubled by the greeting Gabriel gives her. Why might that be?
Q4. The
angel’s announcement is pretty amazing.
How do you think you would respond?
Q5. Shadows
are usually a scary image so what does the angel mean in v 35 when he says that
‘the Most High will overshadow you’? (see Psalm 17v8, 36v7 & 91v1-2 for
help)
Q6. In
v 36 Gabriel tells Mary about her relative (exact relation unknown) Elizabeth
being 6 months pregnant even though she is ‘old and barren’. In v37 he then says ‘For nothing is
impossible with God.’ Why else
might he mention Elizabeth?
Q7. Mary
asks the angel only one question (v 34) before responding with ‘I am the Lord’s
servant. May it be to me as you
have said.’ What might her
response teach us about her character?
Q8. Do
you think she fully realizes at this stage what her future holds?
Q9. What
does her response teach us about being God’s servants?
Q10. What
does her response teach us about faith? (see also 1 v 45)
Q11. If
nothing is truly impossible with God what area of your life do you need to turn
over to him at the moment? What is
holding you back?
Reflect
It
is interesting here to reflect briefly on Mary’s future as the mother of Jesus
and the role she would have had as his teacher, especially in his early
years. While Jesus is of course
fully God we see here that being born of Mary he is also fully human. As with all children their first port
of learning everything is in the home.
It is where we learn to reach, grab, crawl walk, laugh, talk and
communicate. It is also where we
learn and are influenced by the attitudes and beliefs of our family.
Mary’s
own beliefs and attitudes would have had as much of an impact on the child
Jesus as any parents on their children.
When Mary shows her heart of service to the Lord in declaring in v 38
‘May it be as you have said’ it is easy to see that if this is her response to
something so major it must surely have filtered through her daily life and into
her family.
Indeed
when we later come to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is praying in
Matthew 26v39 & 42 Mary’s son echoes her servant heart and even her very
words when he says to his Father ‘yet not as I will but as you will’. Or as
Mary said ‘May it be to me as you have said.
Q12. What
attitudes do you hope to impart to the people in your life?
Mary... young but wise and faithful way beyond her years.
ReplyDeleteLove the reflect section. Very moving and beautifully written x
ReplyDeleteA young woman's unquestioning faith and acceptance can be lost with years of worldly pressures. It is good to once again reflect on this and look at one's own journey with God. How would I react to seeing and angel and hearing him speak? I have no idea. Great first installment. thanks Rachel E
ReplyDeleteRosemary
Thanks so much for this Rachel, I really enjoyed this first part! I think sometimes we forget just how wise beyond her years Mary was - so faithful and obedient! Great reflection questions too
ReplyDeleteTammi
I loved being reminded of exactly who Mary was. That she wasn't some prominent, well known, highly educated woman in the lime light. She was a very average young girl with a humble and willing heart. I am encouraged that it's okay to feel like 'unformed clay' because our potter is the Master at taking the very ordinary and making it into something extraordinary for His glory.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this Rach xx
Ok, so I'm behind ... :)
ReplyDeleteI went over this lesson last night, and pondered the word "favored" and wrote down a few things. I thought about that it meant that she had been a good Jewish girl -- based on her past. And God knew she would be good mother, etc.
And I thought about it meaning that God was giving her a great privilege -- for her future.
Then, since I love word studies, this morning I looked up favor and favored. They're both from the root charis, which means grace, gifted, favored, etc.
This week, we watched The Nativity Story. In it, they did a good job of showing just how tough it was for Mary to be pregnant, and what it took for Joseph to take her as his wife. Very humbling.
Back to favor: Um, don't do me any more favors, huh, God. {sarcasm}
Wow! And you know Mary caught on instantly, but she still said, “I am the Lord’s slave,” (HCSB).
O, that I can be so willing to die to self.