What Is Your Magnificat?

In one paragraph

On the Sunday of the children's Christmas pageant, Ray spoke briefly on Mary's song, the Magnificat, drawing on a visit the church made to Ein Kerem in Israel. He read through the song and asked the congregation to consider what their own Magnificat might look like, what God might be asking them to trust him with in their own lives. Ray opened by describing Ein Kerem, a small hill-country town in...

Read together

1. Luke 2:7 read aloud as part of the Christmas pageant: Mary wrapped Jesus in cloths and placed him in a manger
2. Luke 2:8-12 read aloud: shepherds in the fields, the angel announcing the birth of the Messiah
3. Isaiah 9:6-7 read aloud: a child is born, called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace
4. John 1:14 read aloud: the Word made flesh, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth
5. Luke 1:46-55 the Magnificat, Mary's song, read and discussed at length as the heart of the message
6. Matthew 2:10-12 read aloud: the wise men saw the star, rejoiced, worshiped the child and offered gifts, then departed by another way

Talk about it

1. Ray described Mary responding to the angel's announcement with 'May it be to me just as you have said.' What does that kind of surrender actually look like in a person's daily life, and what makes it hard?
2. Mary's song says God 'has had regard for the humble state of his bond servant' and that he resists pride but gives grace to the humble. Where have you seen that pattern play out, either in your own life or in someone else's?
3. Ray pointed out that the Magnificat is full of scripture Mary would have known, and that she 'just starts praising God again' when she sees Elizabeth. How does knowing scripture shape the way we respond when something significant happens to us?
4. The Magnificat moves between what God has done for Mary personally and what he has done across generations for Israel. How do you hold those two things together, the personal and the bigger story, in your own faith?
5. Ray closed by asking, 'What is your Magnificat?' meaning what is God calling you toward where you can say he has done great things for you. How would you answer that question right now?