Birth Of John the Baptist Foretold

Birth Of John The Baptist Foretold Luke 1:5-25 It all begins with a Jewish priest, Zechariah. He lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zechariah was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, His wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old. One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple and an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was overwhelmed wit fear. But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And your are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth, for he will great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth, and he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom." Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I know this will happen? I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years." "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! And now, since you didn't believe what I said, you won't be able to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time. Meanwhile, people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple sanctuary. He stayed till his of service was over then he went home to his wife Elizabeth, and she shortly afterward became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. "How kind is the Lord. He has taken away my disgrace of having no children!" What a great start to our Christmas story!