Advent: Fear Not (Luke 1:26-29)

What is your greatest fear? Many people recall childhood fears like fear of the dark, but as adults many of those who consider themselves to be Christians also fear the things that God are calling us to do. How many of you have at least a little fear that God might call you be a missionary in some other part of the world? God has a tendency to interrupt our lives, and rather than seeing these interruptions as impositions, God is inviting us to see these interrupts and invitations in to something greater God has in store for us.

Mary experienced an inconvenient interruption when the angel Gabriel visited her as a teenager. Luke 1:29 says Mary was “confused and disturbed.” Confused that God would desire to use her, and disturbed that this was going to change everything for Mary’s life! God still interrupts us today. We can see God’s interruption as inconvenient — and it might be! However, God is leading us to see his holy interruptions as an invitation into the purposes he has for us.

“Nothing is impossible with God,” says the angel (Luke 1:34). This is also still true today. God desires to use you, change your plans and to give you true purpose. As we talked about at the end of the sermon yesterday, the outcomes are God’s responsibility — obedience is our responsibility.

What is God asking you to do or believe today?