Have you thought recently about the “good news” of the gospel, and what it means to you? Maybe you are reluctant to believe that you can be right with the perfect and holy God just by believing His promise. Maybe you are reluctant to think that the powerful Supreme Being who created all things really means it when he says “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Maybe you are reluctant to trust that the God who existed before time began is aware of your problems, and He not only can provide, but that he has provided an answer to them. If this is the case, then you are in good company. It is very hard to be a believer in Jesus Christ and the promises of God – precisely because they are so unlike what we experience every day around us. All that is in us yearns to get “what we deserve” and to believe only what we can see. When the God of the Bible breaks into our lives with the unbelievable promises of mercy and grace, it can seem too good to be true. And that is where the story of Mary comes in. Not the un-earthly Mary, who is without any sin (and is, therefore, not really human), but the simple, real, young girl who heard unbelievable news and did an incredible thing: she believed God.

I.   An Unexpected Visit
A.  Not the Place We Expected
B.  Note the Mary We Expected

II.  The Angelic Announcement
A.  Jesus the Great
B.  Jesus the King
C.  Jesus the Divine

III.  Response of Faith
A.  Willing Obedience
B.  Trusting Faith

Questions for consideration:  (1) Why do you think we have a tendency to magnify the people who are in the Bible? What problems can that cause?  (2) Why is it important to know that Jesus was born of a virgin? What alternatives are we tempted to believe? (3) Think about the last time you were prompted to obey God but did not. How can this passage help you with such struggles?