Gabriel The Shepherds

Miracles–God’s Messenger Spreading the Good News/Evangelism

And there were shepherds living out in the fields
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with
nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An
Prayer: Lord, thank
God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him
Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of you for giving the
the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will
reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring first invitations
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
you good news that will cause great joy for all the
people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been
to see, worship
born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be and celebrate the
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and lying in a manger.”… coming of the long
and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth
has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, …When the angels had left them and gone into awaited Savior to the
but she’s now in her sixth month. heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go
to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
lowly and humble
For nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1:30-37) which the Lord has told us about.” shepherds. Help
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and us to be like the
Prayer: Lord, help us to always have our eyes and ears open to the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they
had seen him, they spread the word concerning what shepherds and
your divinely appointed messengers in our lives, and give us the had been told them about this child, and all who spread the Gospel
faith to believe the impossible. heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to
them. (Luke 2:8-12, 15-18) message to everyone
in our path.

Zechariah Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be

Spirit-filled Prophesy
sure of this? I am an old man and my wife
is well along in years.”
The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I
stand in the presence of God, and I have
been sent to speak to you and to tell you
this good news. And now you will be
silent and not able to speak until the day
this happens, because you did not believe
my words, which will come true at their
appointed time.”…
…Then they made signs to his father, to
find out what he would like to name the
child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to
everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His
name is John.” Immediately his mouth
was opened and his tongue set free, and
he began to speak, praising God. (Luke
1:18–19, 62–64)
His father Zechariah was filled with the
Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of
Israel,because he has come to his people
and redeemed them. He has raised up a Simeon & Anna
horn of salvation for us in the house of his
servant David (as he said through his holy
Patience & Faithfulness Rewarded
prophets of long ago), salvation from our
enemies and from the hand of all who hate
us—to show mercy to our ancestors and At that time there was a man in the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke
to remember his holy covenant, the oath Jerusalem named Simeon. He was 2:25-32)
he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue righteous and devout and was eagerly
waiting for the Messiah to come and …Anna, a prophet, was also there in
us from the hand of our enemies, and
rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon the Temple. She was the daughter of
to enable us to serve him without fear in
him and had revealed to him that he Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and
holiness and righteousness before him all
would not die until he had seen the she was very old. Her husband died
our days. And you, my child, will be called
Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led when they had been married only seven
a prophet of the Most High; for you will go
him to the Temple. So when Mary and years. Then she lived as a widow to the
on before the Lord to prepare the way for
Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to age of eighty-four. She never left the
him, to give his people the knowledge of
the Lord as the law required, Simeon was Temple but stayed there day and night,
salvation through the forgiveness of their
there. He took the child in his arms and worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
sins, because of the tender mercy of our
praised God, saying, She came along just as Simeon was
God, by which the rising sun will come to
talking with Mary and Joseph, and she
us from heaven to shine on those living
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant began praising God. She talked about the
in darkness and in the shadow of death,
die in peace, as you have promised. I child to everyone who had been waiting
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
have seen your salvation, which you have expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
(Luke 1:67–79
prepared for all people. He is a light (Luke 2:36-38)
to reveal God to the nations, and he is

Prayer: Lord, help us to believe the impossible and not

question you. As you empowered Zechariah, please Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you reward
empower us with your Holy Spirit that we may speak faithfulness. Help us to persevere in faith,
words of hope and life this Christmas in accordance never giving up, and to confidently wait on
with your Spirit. your promises like Anna and Simeon did.
Lord, help us to be a people just like Anna,
who talk about you to everyone.

The Wise Men
& The Star
Guidance & Worship/Giving your Best
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod, Magi from the
east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is
the one who has been born king of the Jews?
We saw his star when it rose and have come to
worship him.”…
…After they had heard the king, they went on
their way, and the star they had seen when it
rose went ahead of them until it stopped over
the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child
with his mother Mary, and they bowed down
and worshiped him. Then they opened their
treasures and presented him with gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11)
Gold – represented Kingship – hearts of
sacrifice
Frankincense – holy oil (purity, godliness) –
represented the presence of God among His
people
Myrrh – embalming oil – represented Christ’s
future death and sacrifice
Prayer: Lord, please
make us people who
listen attentively and
obey decisively just
like Joseph.
Jesus
The Promised Messiah
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep
darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And
he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the
greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that
time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Jesus said: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Prayer: Lord, help us to seek you diligently
as the wise men did, knowing that you will
always lead and guide us in the direction of
your will. Help us to live pure and godly lives.
Oh God, enable us to worship you fully, giving
you our very best.
Joseph
Listening/Obedience
…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph,
son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary
as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the
Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name
him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”…
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord
commanded and took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:20,24)
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his
mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for
Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the
night and left for Egypt. (Matthew 2:13-14)
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and
his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were
trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the
land of Israel. (Matthew 2:19-21)
Prayer: King Jesus, may we always worship and adore you for who you are and for
what you have done for us. Thank you for coming down to earth at Christmas to
be our Immanuel– God with us! Make us a people who spread your Christmas
message to the lost and hurting in our lives.
Mary
Trust/Submission/Praise
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May
your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took
notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now
on all generations will call me blessed. For
the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great
things for me. He shows mercy from generation
to generation to all who fear him. His mighty
Prayer: Lord, help us to trust you and
submit to your plans for us just as
Mary did. And may we magnify your
Holy Name for who you are and what
you have done for us!
NATIVITY
arm has done tremendous things! He has
scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has
brought down princes from their thrones and
exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry
Praying to Be Like the
with good things and sent the rich away with
empty hands. He has helped his servant
Characters of Christmas
Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he
made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham
and his children forever.” (Luke 1:46-55)
This season of advent,
we invite you to encounter the characters
of Christmas just as they were revealed
in the Scriptures long ago. Each character
conveys a particular aspect of the Christian
life that God is calling us to reflect in our
own lives.
Let’s pray together that God would shape
us to become more like these characters,
a group of ordinary people who chose to
believe God and act upon His prompting.
Their legacy of simple faith has changed
human history forever.
AJ Picard
Pastor of Prayer
Instructions:
❖ Try focusing on one character at a time
❖ Read the scripture passage, and consider
the unique attribute of the Christian life that
is revealed by this character
❖ Read the response prayer and begin to pray
it out as a way of engaging your own heart
with God
❖ Continue to dialogue with God about how
he is inviting you to embrace this attribute
in your own life, as the Spirit is leading you