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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. Luke 1:46-49

Read: Luke 1:46-55
Listen: Luke 1

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Mary, the mother of Jesus, sings the first Christmas song nine months before the manger. The song is called “The Magnificat,” from the Latin word for “magnify” (Luke 1:46). As the song begins, we see that “magnify” (or “glorifies” in the NIV) is exactly what Mary does as she begins to comprehend who the child is that she is carrying. Before she does anything else, Mary worships God for his goodness in selecting her to bear the Messiah. To be chosen as the mother of the Son of God was the hope and prayer of every Jewish girl for thousands of years.

God doesn’t choose Mary because she was the most deserving, most intelligent, best looking or from the wealthiest family. She was chosen just because God decided to send Jesus through her. God’s choice of Mary does not differ much from his choice to adopt us into his family. He doesn’t choose us because we are in great physical shape, have accumulated great wealth, have won multiple awards or are the most popular in your high school class. He chooses us because he wants to! The apostle Paul tells us, “For he chose us in him before the world’s creation to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…” (Ephesians 1:4-5). As Mary worships God for his goodness in choosing her, we can do the same when we think of our salvation through Jesus.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Watch as Fellowship Worship, a ministry of Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkansas, performs “Mary’s Song.” Use this song to draw your heart to worship God for choosing to adopt you as his beloved son or daughter.

2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.

December is CELEBRATION. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.