Curry's Chapel Church
20251221 Advent 4 - LOVE
  • Theme: Embracing the Mystery
    Isaiah 7:14 NLT
    14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
    Text: Luke 1:26–38

    Introduction: When Love Arrives Unexpectedly

    Let’s talk about mystery. Not the Sherlock Holmes kind. Not the “who ate the last cookie” kind. I mean the sacred kind — the kind that makes you pause, breathe deeply, and whisper, “How can this be?”
    Advent is full of mystery. A virgin is told she’ll bear a child. A child who will be the Son of God. And she says, “Let it be.”
    This week, we enter the story of Mary. Not as a distant figure in stained glass, but as a young woman caught in the tension between fear and faith. And through her, we learn what it means to embrace the mystery of love arriving.

    Main Teaching

    1. God Enters the Ordinary

    Luke begins: “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee…” (Luke 1:26)
    Nazareth? Not Jerusalem. Not Rome. A backwater town. A place people joked about.
    Joke: It’s like saying, “God sent an angel to Maxwell, Indiana.” Not New York. Not LA. Not Greenfield. Just… Maxwell. (No offense.)
    You See: God enters the ordinary. Because love doesn’t need a stage or a podium — it needs a heart.
    Mary is not royalty. She’s not a priest. She’s a teenager. And yet, God chooses her.
    Illustration: It’s like choosing a high school sophomore to carry the Olympic torch. Everyone asks, “Why her?” And God says, “Because she’s ready.”

    2. The Greeting That Shakes Her

    Gabriel says: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)
    And Mary is… troubled. “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29)
    Of course she was. Angels don’t show up every day. And when they do, they don’t usually say, “You’re favored.”
    Joke: If an angel showed up in your kitchen and said, “You’re highly favored,” you’d probably check your coffee for something stronger.
    But Gabriel isn’t flattering her. He’s announcing something deeper: God sees you. God is with you. God has chosen you.

    3. The Promise That Defies Logic

    Gabriel continues: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31)
    And then… - the bombshell: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:32)
    Mary’s response here is honest: “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)
    She doesn’t say, “No way.” She says, “How?”
    Illustration: It’s like being told you’ve won a Nobel Prize for a book you haven’t written yet. You don’t reject it — you just ask, “How?”
    Mary’s question isn’t doubt. It’s wonder. And that’s the posture of faith.

    4. The Mystery of Divine Love

    Gabriel answers: “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35)
    This is mystery. Not biology. Not mechanics. It’s divine love choosing to dwell in flesh.
    Illustration: Think of a sunrise. You don’t see the mechanics. You just see the light. That’s incarnation. God doesn’t explain every detail. He just arrives.
    And then Gabriel says: “For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37)
    That’s the anchor. In mystery, in uncertainty, in fear — God’s word does not fail.

    5. Mary’s Response: Let It Be

    Mary says: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)
    She doesn’t ask for a contract. She doesn’t negotiate terms. She just says, “Let it be.”
    Joke: It’s the opposite of how most of us respond to big news. We say, “Let me think about it,” “Let me pray about it,” “Let me ask my spouse?” or “Let me ask my therapist.”
    Mary says yes. Because love requires surrender.
    Illustration: It’s like stepping into a dance when you don’t know the steps. You have to trust the One leading.

    6. Embracing the Mystery Today

    We live in a world that wants answers. We Google everything. We fact check everything. We demand clarity. But Advent invites us to mystery.
    To say yes when we don’t understand. To trust when we can’t see the path. To believe that love is arriving — even in us.
    Illustration: Think of a seed planted in the winter. You don’t see growth. But something is happening. That’s Advent. That’s incarnation.

    Closing Application: How Do We Embrace the Mystery?

    Pause before you explain. Let wonder live. Not everything needs a spreadsheet.
    Say yes to divine interruptions. Like Mary, be open to the unexpected.
    Trust God’s word over your understanding. His promises don’t fail — even when they confuse.
    Let love arrive in you. Not just in theory. But in practice. In surrender.
    Be a bearer of Christ. Mary carried Jesus physically. We carry Him spiritually.

    Closing Prayer

    God of mystery, You do not arrive with fanfare, but with quiet love. You do not demand understanding, but invite surrender.
    Help us to say yes. To trust Your word. To welcome Your presence.
    Let our hearts be wombs of hope. Let our lives be vessels of love. Let our souls echo Mary’s song: “Let it be.”
    This Advent, may we embrace the mystery, and prepare for the miracle. Amen.

      • Isaiah 7:14NKJV

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