Mark Driscoll Audio

Mary is a chief example for us of faith and worship in response to God. She sings a song of praise to God, and in it lists at least 17 attributes of God and echoes a multitude of Old Testament Scriptures—even though she was likely illiterate. From her song, we are encouraged to replace worrying with worshiping, replace coveting with worshiping, and replace anxiety with history. Even though Mary has plenty to worry about, she worships God and is a happy worshiper. She knows that God has “done great things for [her],” and one practical way we can worship is by recording and remembering evidences of God’s grace—how he has done great things for us personally and for others we know.

Pregnant Mary walks many miles to visit pregnant Elizabeth so they can share in each other’s joy and be in community together. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptizer, leaps for joy when he hears Mary’s greeting, and Elizabeth prophesies that Mary is blessed. Thus, we see that a baby in the womb is indeed a baby, that children are a blessing from God, and that abortion is murder. We all, through sin, have bloody hands as murderers of Jesus, but he offers his nail-scarred hands—life for life—to save us. He died in our place for our sin, and the proper response is faith and worship, as exemplified by Mary, Elizabeth, and John.

Pastor Mark Driscoll kicks off this three-year sermon series, introducing us to Luke the book (the longest in the New Testament and containing 41 unique passages found nowhere else in the Bible), Luke the author (well-educated Gentile who also wrote Acts), and Luke the man (medical doctor and humble, faithful friend to Paul). Luke’s Gospel is written to Theophilus (which means “lover of God”), and all of us who are or would be lovers of God are encouraged to follow along Luke’s meticulous investigation of the facts and eyewitness accounts concerning Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. Theophilus’ generosity to fund Luke’s expensive investigation means that today, two thousand years later, we get to read the books Luke wrote, Luke and Acts. Thus, we are encouraged to follow the sacrificial examples of humble Luke and generous Theophilus.

This week we meet Mary, the mother of Jesus. Though many images of Mary throughout the centuries picture her as a thirty-year-old woman with perfect hair, no dirt under her nails, and a golden crown, the truth is that she was a teenager from an unremarkable town; a virgin, pledged to be married to a carpenter named Joseph. The angel Gabriel, who had announced John the Baptizer’s birth to Zechariah, showed up and told Mary that God was going to show her favor, or grace, and that she would conceive and give birth to a son, Jesus, the Son of God. In response, Mary asked a question, “How?” but she did not show unbelief like Zechariah had. Gabriel explained to her, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary responded in faith by saying, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Thus, Mary is not the object of our faith but a great example of faith.

John the Baptizer’s birth was prophesied in Malachi 3:1; 4:5–6. Then, after 400 years of silence, during the time of Herod “the great,” in the city of Jerusalem, at the Temple, we meet Zechariah, a priest, and his wife, Elizabeth. They were old, barren, poor, and righteous. Zechariah wasn’t a big deal; he was no one from nowhere doing, in the sight of the world, nothing. He was finally picked to go inside the Temple and burn incense, representing our prayers to God. While inside, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that his prayer was answered and he would have a son who would be great. The baby, John (meaning “God is gracious”), is named by God and filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb. But Zechariah did not believe the angel, so he was made mute. The couple returned home, Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she stayed home, praising God for taking away her reproach, or shame and disgrace, among the people.

When the Holy Spirit shows up, the church springs into being: people are born again and they become, together, the people of God. But what is church? And what do good churches look like? One of the most important decisions you’ll ever make is what church you’ll call home. And in order to find a good one, first you’ll need to know what a good church comprises.

Picking up where the Gospel of Luke left off, the book of Acts describes how Jesus, having finished his work on the Cross, begins to build his kingdom on earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. This power has been given to all Christians, to be used properly, following the example set by Jesus. How was Jesus empowered by the Spirit? How is he using this power to accomplish his mission?

How did the disciples begin executing the biggest mission in the history of the world? The Bible says that while waiting for the Holy Spirit, they devoted themselves to prayer—they talked to God. The apostles led by following Scripture—through it, God responded. Consequently, the early church experienced success—but not without undergoing failure first. What can we learn from what they did?