Advent 2024: Day 12 with Anthony

[00:00:01] Speaker A: He is with us. Merry Christmas. God is with us. Merry Christmas. [00:00:16] Speaker B: Welcome Back to the NextGen Advent podcast. We are so excited today to be able to just spend some time reflecting on what the season is all about and reflecting on if God is with us, nothing is impossible. And so I have a special guest with me here today. Special guest. What is your first name and what grade are you in? [00:00:32] Speaker C: Hi, my name is Anthony and I am in seventh grade. [00:00:35] Speaker B: And what's your favorite thing about seventh grade, Anthony? [00:00:37] Speaker C: That I can hang out with a lot of my friends, we can talk, know more about each other. [00:00:42] Speaker B: Yeah, like, you're kind of, like, building those friendships, getting to know each other on a deeper level. That's true. I love seventh grade, actually. It's one of my favorite grades. Anthony, what are you most excited about for Christmas? [00:00:53] Speaker C: I'm excited about Christmas because I personally think it's, like, the best season of all because Jesus was born to die and resurrect to save us from our sins. [00:01:04] Speaker B: And it's kind of like the first taste we get of that. Right. It's like the beginning of the story, kind of right. When he comes down to earth as a baby. And then we know it unfolds and has major implications on our life. What is one thing at Christmas that you are just like. It's way more better to do with other people than to do by yourself, honestly. [00:01:22] Speaker C: I like, me and my family, we get together at my grandma's house and we watch Christmas movies while drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn. [00:01:33] Speaker B: Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Like, when every year you're like, I wanna make sure we get to see this one. [00:01:38] Speaker C: Have you seen the Star? [00:01:39] Speaker B: Yes. I like that one. [00:01:40] Speaker C: That's that one. I like that one. [00:01:41] Speaker B: That's a sweet one. I like that one. [00:01:42] Speaker C: It's like kind of a Christian movie. That's how I like. [00:01:45] Speaker B: I like that one, too. All right, Anthony, when. You know, this year on the podcast, we're talking a lot about how God is with us and just the differ that makes when you imagine that God is with you, which is like, a truth. Right. But then we all have this way that we kind of, like, embody it or, like, figure it out. Right. Where do you imagine that God is and what is he thinking about you? [00:02:05] Speaker C: When I imagine God with us, I think of, like, a God who is always by my side and makes me feel safe and secure. [00:02:12] Speaker B: So he's like, by your side? [00:02:13] Speaker C: Yeah. He never leaves me. He's always right next to me, makes. [00:02:17] Speaker B: Sure I do good things and his presence is like. Yeah, it grounds you. Right. That safety and security, which is like such a truth. That's such a beautiful, like, outpouring of the way that that truth makes you feel. Right. Um, and when we're talking about him being with us, one of the favorite things I like, love to like, investigate is just like all these implications of what that means for our lives. And so today our theme is nothing is impossible. And we're going to be looking at the whole chapter of Luke chapter one, but particularly Luke chapter one, verse 18. Anthony, can you go ahead and read that for us? [00:02:51] Speaker C: How can I know this? Zechariah asked the angel, for I am an old man and my wife is well long in the years. Luke 1:18. [00:03:00] Speaker B: Alright, so how could it be that a man described as a righteous didn't believe the message an angel gave him inside the temple of the Lord? The answer is very easy. Zechariah was human. And even righteous people sometimes struggle to trust God with everything. Gabriel's message was clear, but Zechariah was filled with doubts. So the angel gave the priest a constant reminder of the truth of God's word by taking Zechariah's words away. Which is pretty creative, let's be honest. Zechariah had used his mouth to preach God's word his whole life. It must have been unimaginable to no longer be able to speak. It caused such a scene when he came out of the temple that everyone must have known Zechariah experienced something powerful from the Lord. One of the beautiful things God often does when making a promise is give a confirmation of the promise in some way. It was the one thing for Zechariah to hear with his own ears that God would allow Elizabeth to get pregnant. But when he saw his spouse showing physical signs of this pregnancy, that was confirmation of God's promise before his very eyes. And as Zechariah watched the baby grow, can you imagine the joy he felt and the assurance he would visibly see of God's provision and love? Elizabeth's story concludes this text by describing the disgrace that she felt from not being able to have a child. Let this be a reminder that God gives grace to his people. He loves, he blesses, and he gives grace. So Anthony, let's think through this together. What were the reasons that Zechariah shared for not being able to believe the angel? [00:04:32] Speaker C: Zechariah thinks he's like an old man and he can't have any children, like with his wife. [00:04:38] Speaker B: So he's like, I'm so sorry, Lord. I don't think you understand how this works. I'm too old. This is not going to be able to happen. Right? [00:04:44] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:04:44] Speaker B: Salvation lot, right? Yeah. He's like scoffing at the Lord, Right. He's like, you don't get how this works. This is not going to be what happens. And so is there another story that we read from the Old Testament that reminds you of this story? And how are the passages similar and how are they different? So anyone in the Old Testament who maybe has the same thing with. He's like, you're going to have a baby. And they're like, I don't think you know what's going on. [00:05:05] Speaker C: Abraham and Sarah, because Sarah was too old to have children. So that's kind of like dissimilar what's happening with Zechariah and Elizabeth. [00:05:16] Speaker B: That's exactly right. And so God makes a promise to Abraham that he's going to have all of these children and these generations that are going to come after him and it's going to be more than the stars. And he's like, is that a joke? I'm really old and my wife is really old. Right. And he's like, that's not a joke, actually. And so I think that they're very similar because it's kind of the same thing going on where the Lord is like, no, you watch me. I'm in charge of this, not you. Right. I can do miracles and I can make my promises happen. This is what's going to happen. Yeah. [00:05:45] Speaker C: And it's kind of like God with us. [00:05:46] Speaker B: Right. [00:05:47] Speaker C: And there's nothing impossible for him to do. [00:05:49] Speaker B: Exactly right. And we see that, like, all over this story and how those two kind of compare. And you're exactly right. And it's beautiful just to be able to watch the fact that we see, like, that promise work out. We see that Isaac is born and what becomes. And now here we are with Zachary and Elizabeth and we see that John the Baptist is born and that he's this beautiful messenger for Jesus and his cousin and. And he goes before him. And it's actually quite striking just to be able to see nothing's impossible. Exactly like you said, Anthony, when you think about things like for yourself, what are some things that you struggle to believe? Or maybe some of the people around you struggle to believe? And do you feel like there's some things that you. The people maybe like in your life around you? They're like, I just want to understand what the Lord has to say about that, or they're like, oh, that'll be impossible for him to do. Like, how do we get encouragement from the story for our own stories? [00:06:37] Speaker C: Alright, so one of my friends, he wasn't really much as a Christian, and one day I invited him to this, like, Christian, like, event and like all of a sudden he like, filled with the Holy Spirit. He decided to get baptized. And from that day on he started going to church knowing more about God and how nothing is impossible for God. [00:07:03] Speaker B: So I think initially when you saw his heart or you saw his story, you're like, oh, I don't know if he's going to be attracted to this. Right. Or he just doesn't even have really an interest in what's going on. Right. [00:07:10] Speaker C: I believed in him, that he could do it. [00:07:12] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, then the Lord got a hold of his heart, right? And he was like, yeah, I can take that heart and I can make it mine. Right. [00:07:19] Speaker C: Like with any other person. [00:07:21] Speaker B: Absolutely with any other person and all of our hearts, it just shows us that the Lord is actually like, who is in charge of our hearts and he's the one who's like, over and holds them. Right. And so when we've given our life to Christ, we're empowered by the Holy Spirit and the presence of God is in our life. This present helps us to have the fruit of the Spirit and helps us to know what to do. The word of God is confirmed by the Holy Spirit working in us. And we believe that God has forgiven us and that he loves unconditionally and that we're new creations in Christ. And so I love the fact that you just kind of give that example of your friend because you begin to see, yes, nothing is impossible for God, whether it's the fact that he's going to bring a baby into this world or whether it's the fact that he's going to save someone or really anything that anyone who's listening to us today has in their story that's challenging for them, that's maybe discouraging for them, that is maybe making them sad. Right? None of those things are impossible when the Lord is involved in what that is. Any closing words that you would just like to leave with our listeners today? [00:08:18] Speaker C: Anthony, whoever's listening to this, I want to say, believe that nothing is impossible for the one and only Jesus Christ. Because when you wake up, God is the reason why you woke up. Everything you do has to do with God in it. [00:08:38] Speaker B: That's right. That's right. All right, Anthony, would you just close us in prayer today that our listeners would just really understand that truth and that it would encourage their hearts today. [00:08:47] Speaker C: All right, thank you, God, to give us this opportunity to believe that nothing is impossible for you and that you created us and you made us have an amazing life where we can live and believe your word, study it and listen to it. That this Christmas may everybody celebrate Jesus birth and that he was born. He was born to die and resurrect to save us from our sins and restore the world from sin in Jesus name, Amen. [00:09:22] Speaker B: Amen. All right, Anthony, can you close our podcast today by wishing our listeners a Merry Christmas? [00:09:26] Speaker C: Merry Christmas to all the listeners out there. Believe that Jesus Christ is our one and only savior. Merry Christmas. [00:09:35] Speaker B: Amen. Merry Christmas. We'll be back again with you tomorrow. [00:09:52] Speaker A: Star is shining, angels sing Our Savior born the hope he brings in a manger the king has come God with us the Holy One through the silence light breaks through A tiny child A promise true in the stillness heaven's near God with us we shall not fear he is with us Merry Christmas. God is with us. Merry Christmas. He is with us. Merry Christmas. God is with us. Merry Christmas.