In her inspired exclamation of praise commonly referred to as the Magnificat, Mary magnifies the Lord for looking on her humble estate, and granting her favor in the hearts and minds of generations to come. She declared that God has shown strength with his arm, scattering the proud while exalting the lowly and humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. God has remembered his covenant with his people Israel, and with Abraham and his offspring. The faithful God has kept his word and will bring deliverance to his people Israel, to his church, and to his creation forevermore.

The Advent season highlights our waiting for a savior. Just as Israel in the first century waited for the Messiah, so we await his second coming. However, we may magnify the Lord and rejoice! God sent his Son. From where we stand, we know that Jesus of Nazareth, the baby born of the Virgin Mary, is Christ and Lord. It is he who saves us from sin, death, and hell.

Faithful God, we praise you for being true to your word. You sent your Son for us and for our salvation. Send him again to make all things new.

“Worship in the New Testament is a comprehensive category describing the Christian’s total existence. It is coextensive with the faith-response wherever and whenever that response is elicited. Consequently, ‘our traditional understanding of worship as restricted to the cultic gathering of the congregation at a designated time and place for rite and proclamation will no longer do. This is not what the New Testament means by worship.’”

~ David G. Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992. pp. 18-19

Let God Arise! Seasonal Focus
Emmanuel, God with Us, Matthew 1.18-25

Book Reading
Peterson, Engaging with God