Luke 1:57-80

The birth and early life of John -- Luke 1:57-80: When Elizabeth's son was born her relatives and neighbors came on the eighth day to circumcise him. They called him Zacharias after the name of his father. They were surprised when Elizabeth said "No, he shall be called John." The people argued that no one in the family was named John. They motioned to Zacharias to find out what he wanted to name his son. He wrote, "His name is John." Immediately after this Zacharias started speaking and praising God. When others heard of this they knew the Lord was with this child. They wondered what he would grow up to be. Immediately when Zacharias began to speak he praised the God of Israel! He understood that these things were related to God giving the world a mighty Savior from the family of David. The coming of the Savior was the fulfillment of the covenant that God had made with Abraham. Our goal must be to serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life. John was to be a prophet of God who would prepare the way for the Messiah. John would make known to the people that they could be saved when their sins were forgiven through Jesus. As we look at Jesus God's mercy and grace shines forth like the brightness of the sun. As John grew up, God's Spirit gave him great power. He lived in the desert until the time he was sent to the people of Israel.

The point of Luke's gospel is that no one is a lost cause to Jesus. No matter how sinful you have been, Jesus loves you. He is willing to forgive you. He can then use you to share His love with others. Do you believe in Jesus as Savior? You can enjoy redemption in the blood of the Lamb and also forgiveness and hope because of the Savior preached by John. To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus as the Christ (Mark 16:16), repent of all sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10) and be baptized for remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) After baptism remain faithful to God. (Revelation 2:10) Life on earth is always better when we have Jesus as Savior and the hereafter with Jesus will be very far better!