Sunday Worship Service February 5, 2023

Call to Worship Psalm 71:20
Hymn JBC # 94 We are called to be God’s people
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Offertory Prayer
Scripture Luke 1:39～56
Prayer
Sermon “The Mighty One has Done Great Things for Me”
https://youtu.be/8okezvTQNMs
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 455 Jesus is tenderly calling thee home
Doxology JBC # 672
Benediction


　The stories in the Bible are filled with a variety of people. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the people in these stories have a variety of personalities and traits.
　In the Old Testament, we have Adam and Eve, the first humans created by God. There are also Adam and Eve's two sons, Cain and Abel. We see the shocking story of Cain killing his brother Abel in a fit of anger in Genesis.
　I think it portrays how tragic and terrible the consequences of human emotions such as anger and jealousy can be.
　There is Noah, who built an ark and saved himself, his family, and many animals from the Flood.
There is also King David, the great king of the Kingdom of Israel. The Bible tells us that this King David also made a great mistake.

　Every human being is a sinner who makes mistakes and sins - that is one of the truths that the Bible teaches us.
In the New Testament, Peter (originally named Simon), who became Jesus' first disciple, and the other direct disciples of Jesus (the 12 disciples), are each portrayed as having a unique character.
The Gospels tell us of the shocking fact of Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 disciples, betraying Jesus by turning Him over to the chief priests (Jewish religious leaders) in exchange for 30 pieces of silver.
Paul, who had initially persecuted Christians who believed in Jesus Christ, encountered the resurrected Jesus Christ and became a great evangelist of Christ to the Gentiles (non-Jews).

Many other people are also mentioned in the Bible. So, who is the "main character" in the Bible? Should we say that there is no one main character in the Bible because it contains many different stories with many different characters?
Not at all. The Bible clearly has a main character. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, the Bible's main character is Jesus Christ. Throughout the entire Bible, we see and read about Jesus.

In the gospel of John 5:39, Jesus himself says
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,

Jesus himself does not appear in the Old Testament. However, throughout the Old Testament, the Scriptures point to and testify about Jesus Christ, who would come as Savior to the world. Jesus Himself said so.
Therefore, the Old and New Testaments contain many stories, records, and teachings from God to us, but we Christians believe that they all bear witness to Jesus Christ.
The Bible is a book that teaches us about Jesus Christ in its entirety. It is through the words of the Bible that God speaks to us spiritually, even now.
We share with other believers the Word of Jesus Christ our God, who still speaks to us in this way. We share the Word of God with other believers because it is a great joy for a believer in Christ to share the Word of God.

The two women in today's passage, Mary and Elizabeth (we read that they were relatives), were also filled with great joy as they shared the news from the Lord God.
In today's passage, Mary is told by the angel Gabriel, "You will give birth to a son who will be a great king and will rule over Israel.” Afterwards, Mary goes to see her relative Elizabeth.
Mary was also told by the angel that her relative Elizabeth, despite her old age, is pregnant with a son. (1:36)

Verses 39-40 at the beginning of today's reading say the following:
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

The Bible hides many rather surprising facts in seemingly inconspicuous verses, and verse 39 is one such verse.
A casual reading of verse 39 likely will only reveal that Mary went to see Elizabeth (the home of her husband Zachariah), who lived nearby.
However, Mary lived in a town called Nazareth in Galilee. It was in Nazareth that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would give birth to Christ.

From Nazareth of Galilee to the "mountains of Judea" (we don't know exactly which part of Judea) where Elizabeth and her husband Zachariah lived was about 120 to 160 km to the south.
So Mary going to see Elizabeth was, in fact, no simple matter.
　It would have been an arduous journey that would have taken at least several days. Traveling in those days involved many more dangers (robberies, attacks by beasts, etc.) than it does today.

Mary was a woman and pregnant. Some have speculated that Mary traveled to Judea as part of what we would now call a "travel group" in order to travel as safely as possible.
　But Mary wanted to see Elizabeth to the point of undertaking a long and dangerous journey. It was for the two of them to share about the work of grace the Lord had done for them.
Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit and was to give birth to Jesus Christ, the one who would eventually become the Savior of the world. And her relative, Elizabeth, became pregnant despite her old age.
Elizabeth's child was none other than John the Baptist, the one who was to prepare the way for Jesus's ministry.
Sharing God's grace with others is something worth doing, even if it means making a perilous journey of hundreds of kilometers. It was something that any believer would sincerely desire to do.

　Many missionaries throughout history have traveled far from their native lands, braving many dangers to spread the gospel of Christ to foreign lands beyond the seas.
It is because of the work of such missionaries that we now have the Bible and faith in Christ.
Through the work of the many missionaries with the God-given zeal and desire to evangelize, the gospel is now being preached throughout the world.
　Let us too become vessels to carry the Gospel of Christ and His light to the people we meet every day in our own neighborhoods, even if we are don’t go abroad or don't go beyond 100km.
We read in verse 41 that when Elizabeth heard Mary's words of greeting, even the child in her womb danced with her and rejoiced. There we see how much joy the news of God's great work can bring to a person.

Then Elisabeth says in verse 45
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Elisabeth said to Mary, "Blessed are you." Why? Because Mary believed "what the Lord has said (promised).
We can trust in what the Lord God said, His Word, and His promises - that is true happiness for us.
When I think about it, I realize that I, as a pastor, have a very happy job. I can read the Bible and trust that the words of the Bible are true.
And I can declare (preach) to the world that "This Word is true. We should rejoice in it together.”
I was reminded again of the grace and joy that you, the people of the church, have entrusted me the pastor with this task, and I wanted to thank you all for it.

　　And of course, even if you are not a pastor, it is entrusted to every Christian to believe the Word of God, and to share and communicate it to others. Let us all share the gospel with great joy.
Beginning with verse 46, we find "Mary's Song (hymn)" (a song of praise to God), in which she praises God.

From verse 48 to 49
　he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me?

“The Lord took notice of me, even though I am so small", she says. Mary praises God from the bottom of her heart, saying, "The Lord, the Mighty One, has done great things for me”.
“From now on all generations will call me blessed-" These words of Mary indicate that what happened to Mary (and Elizabeth) here was not only about Mary, but about God's promise given to all people.
The work of God's grace, the Word of God, is eternal, Mary declares here. She proclaims God's promise to all of us is here.
Thus, we can trust that God has done great things for Mary, and that His promises are available to us today as well.
Let us believe and rejoice with all our hearts that the Lord God took notice of us, no matter how small we may feel, and did great things.
Let us continue to share the words of the Bible that tell us how much the Lord God cares for and loves each one of us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and let us continue to share in God's grace.