ADORE

Part 1: Worship With Faith

Scripture

Luke 1:26-55

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² 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 father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ And the angel answered 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 called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; ⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Sermon Recap

This week, Pastor Pete Dahlem opened our Adore Advent series with the message “Worship with Faith” from Luke 1:26–55. He contrasted the spirit of Thanksgiving—celebrating harvest, abundance, and visible results—with Advent, a season of anticipation, waiting, and “not yet received.” While Thanksgiving celebrates what we have, Advent teaches us to worship in what we hope for. Looking at Mary, a young, betrothed Galilean woman suddenly confronted with a world-shaking call, Pastor Pete showed how God’s promises can land on ordinary people in very costly, confusing ways. Mary’s initial response was honest—“How will this be?”—but she ultimately surrendered in faith: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

We then saw how God confirmed His promises through Elizabeth, who blessed Mary and declared, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Mary’s response was not self-protection, but worship. In the Magnificat, she magnifies the Lord, rejoices in God her Savior, and praises Him for His faithfulness from generation to generation—bringing down the proud, lifting up the humble, filling the hungry, and remembering His promises to Israel. Pastor Pete reminded us that worship shifts our eyes off our limitations and onto God’s character, especially in seasons when we don’t yet see the outcome. In Advent and in our everyday lives, we’re invited to respond like Mary: not by fully understanding, but by fully trusting.

The

One Thing: Worship with faith that God is true to his promises.

Discussion
Questions

Connecting

When you think about Advent, what emotions or memories come to mind—excitement, stress, nostalgia, longing? Why?
Can you think of a time when someone else’s faith—like Elizabeth’s—encouraged or strengthened your own?

Considering

What stands out to you about Mary’s response to God’s call compared to Eve or Sarah? What is different about her faith?
How does Mary’s song (Luke 1:46–55) shape your view of who God is and what He cares about?

Confessing

When God calls you into something hard, unknown, or costly, are you more likely to respond with “How will this be?” or “Let it be to me according to your word”—and why?
Where are you currently more focused on your own limitations, reputation, or comfort than on God’s promises and character?

Committing

What is one concrete way you can integrate worship into your daily or weekly rhythm this Advent (e.g., a song, a psalm, a short evening liturgy)?
Who is one person you can encourage—like Elizabeth encouraged Mary—by reminding them of God’s promises this week?
What is one specific area of struggle or uncertainty where you will choose to respond with worship and trust that “nothing will be impossible with God”?

Next Steps

As part of our annual theme, Deep & Wide, we invite our church family to go deeper in relationship with God so that we can be the greatest blessing to one another and the world around us. Each week, we will follow up from the sermon with simple, practical steps to help us receive God’s blessing and apply the truths of the gospel more deeply into our lives.

Part 1: Worship with Faith

What is one concrete way you can integrate worship into your daily or weekly rhythm this Advent (e.g., a song, a psalm, a short evening liturgy)?
Who is one person you can encourage—like Elizabeth encouraged Mary—by reminding them of God’s promises this week?
What is one specific area of struggle or uncertainty where you will choose to respond with worship and trust that “nothing will be impossible with God”?