Making Disciples Sermon Outline / 1
Making Disciples–Luke 1:26–55 (The Announcement of Jesus’ Birth)
“All ThingsNew”Series
The concept behind this year’s Christmas Resources is to focus on who Jesus is through the framework of The Australia Southern Territory’s Four Mission Intentions: Transforming Lives, Caring for People, Making Disciples and Reforming Society.
The theme passage illustrates what the completion of Jesus’ work will look like; the full consummation of the Kingdom of God on earth. The theme phrase “All Things New” emphasises the kingdom mission of restoration and rebuilding, and the ongoing continuous nature of that work (Transforming Lives, Caring for People, Making Disciples and Reforming Society). Recognising the ongoing nature of Christ’s work and the mission of the kingdom should help corps enter into the Christmas story in a more immediate way, with ongoing relevance for everyday life and engagement in TSA mission.
How to Use This Outline
The emphasis of this outline is on the exegetical material for the chosen passage. It seeks to introduce the series as well as cover the material for the Transforming Lives. The emphasis of this sermon is on the following issues:
- Series Introduction – The goal of Jesus’ work is “All Things New”
- Believing God
- Submission to God’s Will
- Resting in God’s Promises
The outline will need to be customised and contextualised by each Corps Officer for the congregation to whom the sermon will be preached:
- Adding appropriate illustrations that will connect with the specific congregation
- Modifying language to be appropriate to the socio-cultural setting of the Corps
- Modifying sermon style if you prefer a topical rather than expository sermon style
- You may also wish to make the application more specific to your context.
PowerPoint slides have been provided for the following:
- Theme Slide– Title Slide for this Sermon
- Scripture Slide A – Luke 1: 26-55 (whole passage)
- Scripture Slide B – Luke 1:34, Luke 1:18 (highlight verse)
- Scripture Slide C – Luke 1:45 (highlight verse)
- Scripture Slide D – Luke 1:38 (highlight verse)
- Scripture Slide E – Luke 1:54-55 (highlight verse)
- Blank Slide – which you can customise if you wish
Making Disciples
Key Passage - Luke 1:26–55 (NIV)
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 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 the Son of God. 36 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. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
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. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”
Sermon Outline – Making Disciples
Introduction
- In the lead up to Christmas it can be easy to focus on the baubles, the tinsel and family time together. Even when we focus on the nativity story it can still be easy to lose focus of the big questions of “WHY” Jesus came, and to just enjoy a nice story about a baby in a manger. In the lead up to Christmas we are going to be looking at the question of why Jesus came, from the perspective of the Old Testament expectations of the Messiah, and the events leading up to his birth.
- The name of this series “All Things New” comes from the book of Revelation, and summarises beautifully why Jesus came. To make all things new, to establish His Kingdom on Earth as in Heaven. In The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory we have four mission intentions which we follow. They continue the work that Jesus did, and help to build his kingdom: Transforming Lives, Caring for People, Making Disciples and Reforming Society. We will be looking at what Jesus came to achieve through the lens of these four mission intentions.
- This week we will be looking at the theme of “Making Disciples” which shows us another aspect of Jesus’ relationship with us. A disciple was a student of a teacher, who learnt from their teacher and lived the way their teacher lived. Mary the mother of Jesus, is one of the first examples we have of a disciple of Jesus. We can learn some important things about discipleship from the way she reacted to the news that she would give birth to the Son of God even though she was a virgin.
- Read Luke 1:26-55
- So what can we learn from Mary about discipleship?
Believing God – Luke 1:34, 18; 45
- In the section of Luke before our passage today, a similar story is told. An angel appears to Zechariah and tells him that his aging wife will bear a son. The opening of barren wombs is a reoccurring theme in the Old Testament, so Zechariah really had no reason to disbelieve God on this. However, his response was “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (Lk 1:18). Basically he told the angel, “Yeah right, prove it. I’m old, my wife is old. A baby? Really?”
- In contrast when Mary is greeted with the same scenario, an angelic visitor announcing an improbable birth, with NO scriptural precedent, her response is “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Lk 1:34). The phrasing is similar, but the basis of Mary’s question is belief. “Ok, so how can I expect to see this unfold?”. “What a beautiful faith! Zechariah, godly and mature (vv. 5–6), had doubted the possibility of birth because of his age. This young girl, certainly still in her teens, never hesitated or doubted a supernatural birth, though she was single!There is a blessing for those of us who learn to believe in spite of doubt. There is blessing for those of us who respond as Mary did with perfect, childlike trust”[1]
- Later, when Mary visits Zechariah and Elizabeth, Elizabeth greets her “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Lk 1:45).
- Believing God as distinct from Believing IN God is the basis of a life of faith. We are told that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, James 2:23). Believing God then is the foundation of faith and discipleship. It is really hard to learn from someone without believing them.If we are going to be Jesus’ disciples, the first thing we need to do is believe Him, believe what He says, no matter how odd, unlikely or difficult what He says is.
Submission to God’s Will – Luke 1:38
- Having believed what the angel told her, Mary then submitted herself to the will of God. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” (Lk 1:38). “Mary’s faith-response is even more striking when we realize that, according to Old Testament Law, her pregnancy while still single might well be dealt with by stoning! And certainly her fiancé, who would know the child was not his, would hardly go through with the marriage. Yet all these things Mary was willing to trust God to work out!”[2]
- Sometimes the things God wishes to tell us or to teach us seem really hard or difficult. The angel’s message to Mary definitely falls into that category. She could be stoned for becoming pregnant out of wedlock. She could have lost her marriage to Joseph. And no other man would likely marry her. In her society that meant accepting extreme social exclusion at a minimum or death. Yet she trusted God and submitted to his will. And her trust in him was vindicated, Jesus was born as the angel said, and God protected her.
- Later, after Jesus had been born, and began his public ministry, he taught many difficult things:
- “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44)
- “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28)
- “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Mt 6:19)
- “the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves” (Lk 22:26)
- Love those who hate you. Reject sex, money and power even though those are the things that rule our society. Can it be done? Can we live free from the lure of sex, money and power? Can we really wait for marriage? Can we really stay faithful to our marriage partners? Can we be free of the desire for money? Can we find security not knowing whether we have enough money? Can we give up the desire to be in charge? To get others to do what we want? Can we really serve others with no self interest?
- This is what Jesus taught. Discipleship means submitting to his will. When we do that we find it isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds, and that God is faithful to look after us. Things worked out for Mary when she submitted herself to God’s difficult will. Things can work out for us too.
- A testimony from someone who has submitted to God’s will in one of these areas (love of enemies, sex, money or power), and who has seen God’s faithfulness in their submission would be appropriate here
Resting In God’s Promises – Luke 1:54-55
- Following Mary’s visit from the angel, Luke records that she sang a prophetic song, testifying to the goodness of God. We can learn one thing more about discipleship from verses 54-55. “He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”
- Referring back to the promises God made to Abraham is a reoccurring theme in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. During times of distress the people of Israel would remind God of his promises to Abraham and to the patriarchs. Despite the failure of Israel, God was still God, his character had not changed, he would not fail to keep his promises.
- Mary sees in the proclamation of the angel, the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:2-3). Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of the promise to Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”.
- Mary rested in God’s promises. The messiah had been a long time coming. God had been promising Jesus would come since the Fall, again to Abraham and the patriarchs, later also to King David. Now an angel had announced that she would bear the Son of God. She responded in faith, in the good tradition of Abraham her forebear. She was a true disciple she knew this was the beginning of the unfolding of God’s great redemptive plan.
Conclusion
- In the lead-up to Christmas it is important to consider why Jesus’ birth was a cause for celebration.
- Since the fall, the relationship of trust between God and humanity had been breached. Eve did not believe what God had told her about the fruit, instead believing the snake; neither did she submit to God’s will. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel looked forward to a Messiah who would fulfil the promise to Abraham, to be a blessing to all nations, to bring about redemption. In Revelation, Jesus says, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:1 NIV). This is what he came to achieve, the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, to make ALL THINGS NEW.
- The Salvation Army mission intention of “Making Disciples” is one way in which Jesus came to make ALL THINGS NEW. The good news of the birth of Jesus Christ is that we can enter back into a trust relationship with God. This is the journey of discipleship; believing God, submitting to His will and resting in His promises. It takes some hard decisions sometimes, to trust God when He asks difficult things. However, we can rest in His promises that He is working to redeem creation, to establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven and that He will do it.
- Invite people to the Mercy Seat
[1] Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher's commentary (644). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[2]ibid