YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVOURED

 

YOU WHO ARE HIGHLY FAVOURED

Passage: Luke 1:26-38

Key verse: 38

 

1. You have found favor with God (26-38)

God sent his angel Gabriel to Mary, a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph.

They were in the midst of marriage preparations and preparing for their future

home. Gabriel’s greeting, “You who are highly favored,” troubled Mary because

she knew God’s grace was often a costly blessing. The angel explained that she

would give birth to a son, Jesus. He would be great, the Son of the Most High. He

would be a descendant of David and his kingdom would never end.

 

2. I am the Lord’s servant (34-38)

Mary asked a question. She wanted to know how she could bear a son in her

situation. The angel explained the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. Even Elizabeth

would bear a son in her old age, for nothing is impossible with God. Mary trusted

God. It was too great a calling, but she was willing to accept it by faith despite the

personal sacrifice.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for your favor. Help me accept your costly grace upon my

life, and use me for your great salvation plan.

One Word I am the Lord’s servant!

 

ZECHARIAH AND ELIZABETH

 

ZECHARIAH AND ELIZABETH

Passage: Luke 1:1-25

Key verse: 13

 

1. Zechariah and Elizabeth (1-7)

Luke wrote an orderly account of Jesus’ life. He wrote to Theophilus, who loved

God. Luke begins with the account of an old couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth.

They were faithful people of God who remained upright before God even

though the world was a dark place and despite also suffering personally from

childlessness. This latter point should have made them bitter or angry. But they

prayed, lived according to the word of God, and did not give up their faith and

love for God. They were a lamp to that generation.

 

2. Your prayer has been heard (8-25)

Zechariah was chosen to burn incense and pray for the people in the temple.

An angel appeared and announced the birth of his son, John the Baptist. His son

would give them much joy and also be a blessing by turning many back to the

Lord and by preparing them for the Christ! Zechariah could not believe it, so the

angel gave him a quiet mouth to meditate on these words and pray more.

 

Prayer Lord thank you for your work in dark times. Help us, young and old, to love

you faithfully and study your word thoroughly. Make us your light. Help us

receive answered prayers and your favor.

One Word Your prayer has been heard

GOD’S EVERLASTING COVENANT

 

GOD’S EVERLASTING COVENANT

Passage: Genesis 9:1-17

Key verse: 16

 

1. I will surely demand an accounting (1-7)

Because of man’s sin, God restored creation order under new terms. Man would

rule creation by fear and dread. Man would be carnivorous, and animals would

become protective of their species. In this predatory environment, God would

demand an accounting for the lifeblood of a man because his image lies in a man.

God is man’s only protector. In this hostile world, men need faith and God’s mercy

to be fruitful and to multiply.

 

2. God’s covenant with Noah (8-17)

God established his covenant with Noah and all creation and promised to never

again destroy the world with a flood. God gave them his covenant of grace to

encourage them to make a new beginning and lay new foundations. As a sign of

his promise, God bent light to form a colorful rainbow that would grace the clouds

after a storm. Only by trusting in God’s everlasting covenant could Noah and all

mankind rebuild the world by faith and with hope.

 

Prayer Lord, help me to trust you and your covenant as the foundation of my life.

One Word God’s covenant is the only hope for the world

GOD REMEMBERS NOAH

 

GOD REMEMBERS NOAH

Passage: Genesis 8:1-22

Key verse: 1

 

1. God remembers Noah (1-17)

After destroying the sinful world with a flood, God remembered Noah. God sent

a wind to make the waters recede, and the ark came to rest on a mountaintop,

which safely cradled the ark while the earth dried out. Noah sent out a raven and

a dove. When the dove brought back an olive leaf, hope sprung in Noah’s heart.

The second time, the dove did not return, but Noah waited until God commanded

them to come out of the ark. Then God blessed them to be fruitful and multiply

and renewed life on earth through them.

 

2. Noah thanked God (18-22)

One year after he entered the ark, Noah came out onto dry land. Noah’s first

act was to build an altar and sacrifice a burnt offering to thank God for saving his

family from judgment. God smelled the pleasing aroma of Noah’s offering and

accepted it. God knew the fundamental problem of sin was not solved in man’s

heart, but because of Noah’s faith, God promised he would never destroy the

world by a flood and that the seasons would never fail.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for remembering your servants and preserving us as a

holy remnant.

One Word God remembers those who trust in him

NOAH ESCAPES THE FLOOD

 

NOAH ESCAPES THE FLOOD

Passage: Genesis 7:1-24

Key verse: 5

 

1. Noah entered the ark (1-10)

God judged Noah’s generation and found Noah to be righteous. He told Noah to

enter the ark with his family and bring along with them pairs of animals and sets

of birds. By faith, Noah obeyed all the Lord commanded him and trusted God’s

promise to save them from imminent judgment. God provides a way of salvation;

those who trust and obey his plan will escape judgment.

 

2. Only Noah was left (11-24)

In the 600th year of Noah’s life, the floodgates of heaven were opened. Nature

responded, and the animals came to Noah’s ark for safety. It rained for 40 days,

covering the highest mountaintops. There was nowhere to hide. God’s judgment

was sure and complete. Everyone and every living thing died, except Noah and

those with him in the ark. The time for God’s final judgment will come, and only

those who have trusted in God’s righteousness will be saved.

 

Prayer Lord, help me to trust and obey your redemptive plan.

One Word Trust God’s plan of salvation

 

NOAH FINDS FAVOUR WITH GOD

 

NOAH FINDS FAVOUR WITH GOD

Passage: Genesis 6:1-22

Key verse: 9

 

1. The Lord was grieved (1-7)

When men of God compromised and married whomever they pleased, the

Lord’s Spirit was troubled, and he shortened man’s lifespan. The offspring of these

unions were heroic, but the spiritual consequence was a very wicked mankind in

which the inclination of man’s heart was evil all the time. The Lord was grieved at

this, and his heart was filled with pain. So he pronounced judgment on the world.

Marriage tests a person’s faith. People must bear this great blessing by choosing

to please God, not themselves.

 

2. Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (8-22)

One man Noah found favor with God. He was righteous and blameless and

walked with God. Having shared with Noah his plan to judge the world by a flood,

God commanded Noah to build an ark and gave him the blueprint. Then God

made a covenant of grace with Noah to save his family, and through him, the

animal kingdom. Noah believed God and obeyed everything God commanded

him.

 

Prayer Lord, help me to find favor in your eyes and be a source of blessing to the

world.

One Word Find favor in God’s eyes

MEN WHO BORE GOD’S IMAGE

 

MEN WHO BORE GOD’S IMAGE

Passage: Genesis 5:1-32

Key verse: 24

 

1. In God’s image (1-17)

Genesis 5:1-2 restate that God created man in his image and that God blessed

mankind. The lineage of Adam through Seth’s descendants follows. Though Adam

sinned and Cain rejected God, God’s salvation plan was not thwarted. God’s

image was still in mankind. Seth bore the image of God and passed on a quiet,

yet powerful, inheritance to his descendants. Among them was a stream of faithful

men who kept the image of God.

 

2. Enoch walked with God (18-32)

Among Seth’s descendants was Enoch, who “walked with God” (24). These

words imply his personal faith and struggle to please God in an increasingly

ungodly world. Enoch is noted as a hero of faith (Heb 11:5) and as a preacher of

judgment (Jude 14-15). God took him to heaven, and he did not experience death.

In Seth’s line, there is also another man named Lamech. In a cursed world, he did

not despair, but put his hope in God and named his son, “Noah,” which means

comfort.

 

Prayer Lord, please help me to have faith to walk with you and put my hope in

you.

One Word Have the likeness of God

MEN WHO CALL ON THE LORD

 

MEN WHO CALL ON THE LORD

Passage: Genesis 4:16-26

Key verse: 26

 

1. Cain’s descendants without God (16-24)

Cain went out from God’s presence, married, and had children. His descendants

built cities, formed civilizations, developed technology, and advanced culture.

Humanly, they were impressive, but without God in their lives, they were pitiful.

Sin spread quickly into men’s hearts and mentalities, as seen through Lamech, six

generations from Adam. Lamech’s polygamous lifestyle corrupted the pure form

of marriage God had established. Also, he tried to justify murder as revenge and

twisted God’s words to save himself.

 

2. Men who call on the Lord (25-26)

Adam and Eve had another son Seth who had faith in God and passed on an

inheritance of faith to his son Enosh. Henceforth, there was a line of men of faith

who called on the Lord, different from the rest of the godless society. Compared

to Cain’s descendants, they may seem unimpressive, but spiritually, it is infinitely

greater to raise a line of men of faith who call on the name of the Lord.

 

Prayer Lord, please help me to call on you and raise my children to have personal

faith.

One Word Leave a heritage of faith

CAIN AND ABEL

 

CAIN AND ABEL

Passage: Genesis 4:1-15

Key verse: 2

 

1. If you do what is right… (1-7)

When Adam and Eve had sons, they taught them to offer sacrifices to God,

who blessed their labor. Abel offered the first and best portions of his flock

out of thankfulness and was accepted by God. But Cain superficially offered

some fruits of the ground, and God was not pleased. When Cain became angry

and downcast, God counseled Cain to do what is right and then he would be

accepted. Cain needed to master sinful pride, which was like a ferocious beast in

his heart.

 

2. Cain killed his brother Abel (8-15)

Cain did not accept God’s word, so sin grew and possessed him with evil rage

and jealousy and drove him to murder his innocent, righteous brother Abel. When

God visited him and tried to help him to repent, Cain seared his conscience

toward his own brother. So God punished Cain to become a restless wanderer.

When Cain could not bear his guilt and fear of punishment, he cried out. God

then marked him with his sign of protection, in hope of Cain’s repentance and

restoration.

 

Prayer Lord, help me to accept your counsel and repent of my sin of ingratitude.

One Word Do what is right and thank God

 

GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION

 

GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION

Passage: Genesis 3:14-24

Key verse: 15

 

1. God’s hope of redemption (14-15)

After cursing the serpent, God promised to send a Savior through the offspring

of woman who would crush Satan’s head, though Satan would wound him. God

planned a way of redemption that was man’s only hope.

 

2. Mankind under a curse (16-19)

As a result of sin, all of God’s blessings would become cursed. For woman, her

mission to be a suitable helper would turn into cursed desire for her husband’s

love. Child-bearing, her pride and joy, would come at great cost and pain. For

man, work would become a painful, interminable struggle to survive, after which

he would return to the dust.

 

3. A new beginning (20-24)

Adam named the woman Eve, respecting her key role as mother of the living.

As a display of his unconditional love, God provided animal skins to clothe them.

Righteous God banished them from the Garden, and cherubim guarded the tree

of life so that sinners could not reach it.

 

Prayer Lord God, your promise of salvation is our only hope. Help me to rise

above this cursed world and trust only in Jesus’ salvation.

One Word Trust in God’s hope and salvation

 

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

 

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

Passage: Genesis 3:1-13

Key verse: 9

 

1. Temptation and sin in the garden (1-7)

The garden was not without spiritual struggle, and the devil appeared in the

form of a serpent. God’s enemy sought to destroy God’s children and world.

He was very crafty and twisted God’s command. The woman revealed her weak

understanding of God’s words, which allowed the devil a foothold. The serpent

denied the absoluteness of God’s word and tempted the woman. Ungrateful and

proud, the woman was led astray by her desires, feelings, and intellectual curiosity.

After eating the forbidden fruit, she gave some to her husband, and he also ate.

Disobedience led to sin and rebellion entered the world; and the immediate result

of sin was shame.

 

2. God visits lost mankind (8-13)

The Lord God, knowing everything, visited his lost children in the garden. He

came gently in the cool of the day to help them repent. But fear and shame drove

the first couple to hide from God. Out of love and mercy, he called, “Where are

you?” and they came out and confessed their shame. But although God exposed

their sin problem, they only blamed others. Sin destroys relationships with God

and with others.

 

Prayer Lord, protect me from temptation. Thank you for seeking me when I was

lost in sin.

One Word God is seeking his lost children

GOD ESTABLISHES MARRIAGE

 

GOD ESTABLISHES MARRIAGE

Passage: Genesis 2:18-25

Key verse: 18

 

1. God saw that man was alone (18-20)

Man was in Paradise, but something was not good according to God’s eyes.

God made man to love and to be a social creature. God saw that man needed

a suitable helper. “Suitable” means matching; “helper” implies support. In his

wisdom, God gave man a mission to name the animals, birds, and other creatures,

and while doing so, Adam came to realize that he needed someone on his level.

God knew!

 

2. God unites the first family (21-25)

God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, extracted a rib, and formed a new

model with the rib - woman! God closed up Adam’s flesh and brought the woman

to him. He accepted her as his own body and sang the first love song ever. Their

union established the rule to come: a man shall leave his parents and be united

to his wife. Additionally, there was complete trust between the first couple (25).

Marriage was the climax of God’s blessing to mankind.

 

Prayer Lord, thank you for establishing marriage in the Garden. Help me to

cherish this blessing of yours highly.

One Word God established marriage

 

GOD PUT MAN IN THE GARDEN

 

GOD PUT MAN IN THE GARDEN

Passage: 2:8-17

Key verse: 8

 

1. God put man in the garden he made (8-12)

The garden was made to provide for all of mankind’s needs. God knew best how

to provide for man. The trees in the garden provided for man’s needs physically,

aesthetically, and spiritually. The rivers flowing in all directions revealed God’s

hope for the garden to spread to the entire world. And rare, precious stones

decorated Paradise, the priceless home Father God gave his children.

 

2. God gave man a choice (13-17)

God knew man’s deeper needs: to have meaning, truth, life, and love. First, God

gave man the garden so that he could have a productive life. It was a privilege and

a choice to serve God’s purpose. Second, God planted the tree of life and tree of

knowledge of good and evil. With them, came a command: eat freely of the tree

of life and live eternally, but do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,

or you will die. Out of love and thankfulness, man should choose to obey God’s

command and trust God and have spiritual order with God as Lord in his heart.

 

Prayer Lord God, you know my needs. Help me to choose your mission, obey

you, and trust you fully.

One Word Trust God for all my needs

MAN BECAME A LIVING BEING

 

MAN BECAME A LIVING BEING

Passage: Genesis 2:1-7

Key verse: 7

 

1. God rested on the seventh day (1-3)

God completed his creation work. It was perfect; there was nothing left undone

or needing change. So God rested and commemorated his handiwork on the

seventh day; he blessed the seventh day and made it holy. Likewise, man must

finish his work and set aside the Lord’s Day each week. Then mankind can

experience God’s blessing.

 

2. No man to work the earth (4-6)

This account of creation sharpens its focus on the creation of man. There were

no shrubs and trees , no rain falling from the skies, and no man to work the earth

yet. Still, the earth was made for man, and man was made to be a steward of the

earth.

 

3. God made man into a living being (7)

God made man from the dust; man was created as a physical being with

physical traits and desires. God also breathed his life into man’s nostrils, making

man a living being. Hence, man was formed as a spiritual being. Man’s life comes

from God and belongs to God, so man must have spiritual fellowship with God.

 

Prayer Lord, help me to finish my work, rest in you, and be blessed with real

spiritual life in my soul.

One Word Man’s life comes from God