The Gift. 'A Song'
Sunday - December 14th   

This Sunday, Simon Lace brings us the talk in the latest of our EBC services. We encourage you to reflect on the bible text and join us in the prayer that follows below.

 
Here are some questions to consider:

Reading
Luke 1:26-56 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised)
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’  Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’  Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.

Prayer
Loving God, than you for the prayers you have already answered this year. Father, I pray that for those things we long for, those that align with your will, would come true. I pray that for our collective vision for this your church and I pray it for all the desires of our hearts, spoken and unspoken, that you already know about. Heavenly Father we know that nothing is impossible with you, and that you, O God, are never late. Amen.

Questions to Consider

1. Do you want to see more of God? Do you want God to be the BIG thing in your life?

2. What might you do to “magnify the Lord” in your soul? (not that God actually becomes any bigger, but as with a magnifying glass, what you look at becomes bigger in your sight, you see it much more clearly, you can marvel and wonder at its intricacy and complexity…).

3. What are the great things God has done for you in your life, maybe in the last year?

4. Have you taken stock of all that has happened in 2025? Have you thanked God for His blessings?

5. What are your hopes and dreams for the year ahead? What great and impossible thing might God have in store for you? Is there anything in your life that you are utterly stuck with, or you’ve given up on because it’s quite beyond you? Perhaps some dream that seems so far off, so ridiculous, that you’ve given up?

6. Are you praying and fasting on these things? Do you have people praying with you, each for the other, as well as praying on your own?

7. What part might you play in building God’s Kingdom at EBC?