december 14, 2025
Welcome to Gateway! It’s such a blessing to worship with you today. If you’re new to Gateway, we want to extend a special welcome to you. Please visit GatewayOnline.org/nextsteps to get more connected.
A Weary World Rejoices: When Joy Feels Out of Reach (Luke 1:46-55)
Luke 1:46-55
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48
for 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—
holy is his name.
50
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
1) We need to enlarge our view of God.
God must become the lens through which we view everything else.
Important Question: Do you let your circumstances shape how you view God, or do you let God shape how you view your circumstances?
2) Remember God's faithfulness.
Mary was a nobody from an insignificant town, and she seemed amazed that God was mindful of her. It sounds a lot like David's words in Psalm 8:4: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
The more we reflect on what God has done, the larger our view of Him becomes.
3) We reflect on God's mercy.
Mercy is God withholding what we really deserve. We don't want what we deserve because what we really deserve is to be cut off from Him in this life and separated from Him forever in hell when this life is over.
Thankfully, God extends mercy through Christ. He never stops extending mercy from generation to generation (verse 50).
“If we never come to him, we will experience a judgment so fierce it will be like a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth at us. If we do come to him, as fierce as his lion-like judgment would have been against us, so deep will be his lamb-like tenderness for us. We will be enveloped in one or the other. To no one will Jesus be neutral.”
-Dane Ortland, Gentle and Lowly
A Prayer to Trust in Jesus:
“God, thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins and rise again. I confess that I'm sinful and I need You. I put my full trust in Jesus from this day forward. Thank you for saving me. Amen."
