Steve Webb 0:01 Hello and welcome to day eight of the 2022 encore of the 2009 season of the Lifespring Why Christmas show hosted by James Cooper, creator of whnchristmas.com, and me, the OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Be sure to keep listening because James and I will be announcing a contest that's coming up on this Friday show the ninth of December, every day from now to Christmas day you'll hear an episode from the 2009 season and if you're not yet subscribed, or following the show, you can do that at LifespringwhyChristmas.show. And if you enjoy the show and would like to give some value back you can do that at Lifespring Why Christmas dot show slash support. And now here's the show enjoy. Steve Webb 1:01 Welcome back to the Lifespring Why Christmas show. It's day eight in my name is Steve Webb. Today we learn a little bit about how Jesus mother Mary found out that she would bear the Son of the Most High. Mary was very young to be having a baby by today's standards about 14 to 16 years of age when she gave birth to Jesus. But this was a very common age for young women to be engaged in marry in biblical times. So the Son of God was the son of a teenage mother. Joseph is thought to have been slightly older around 30 or so. Joseph and Mary were a very average couple in Israel at the time. They were probably quite poor. Joseph was a carpenter and his job was seen by some religious leaders as a religious duty rather than as a profession. both Mary and Joseph were descendants of King David of Israel, but at this time, his family was in the poorest state it had ever been. And Mary was also related to the traditional priest families of Israel through her cousin Elizabeth, Nazareth, the town where they lived was a small hill town on a caravan route through the country. So a wide range of people would travel and visit a town like Nazareth. Now under Jewish law and engagement, like Joseph and Mary's was treated almost like a marriage and could only be broken by an official divorce. One day the angel Gabriel visited Mary Gabriel is a very special angel since He is God's chief messenger Angel, and only appears two very important people in the Bible. The first thing that Gabriel spoke to Mary was greetings you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. And these are very important words, because highly favored means God's holy grace is upon you. And this is a divine blessing from God, something that would have never normally been said to a peasant girl like Mary, she would most likely been very scared by this. And that's why Gabrielle said to her, Do not be afraid. He went on to tell Mary that she would become pregnant and would have a son whom she was to give the name Jesus, and he would be a great man, and he would be called the Son of God, and that God would make him king and that he would reign forever. Well, since Mary had never been with a man, she asked Gabrielle how this would come to pass. And then Gabriel told her one of the most amazing and wonderful things ever said, Gabriel told Mary, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. And then Mary, being the humble girl that she was said, I am the LORD servant. May it be to me as you have said, and with that the angel left her. And then Mary gave one of the most beautiful expressions of praise ever given. I don't have time on today's show to share it with you, but you can read it for yourself and the New Testament book of Luke, First Chapter, Verses 46 through 55. Thank you for joining me today. Tomorrow, James and I will both be here and we're going to tell you how you might win a signed copy of Brian Duncan's Neil's soul Christmas CD is going to be fun. Today, I'd like to leave you with perhaps my favorite Christmas song ever. It's sung here by the writer of the lyrics, Mark Lowry with the Gaither vocal band. I interviewed mark a couple of years ago and we talked among many other things a bit about how he wrote this beautiful song. You'll get a taste of what he said in our interview as he introduces the song here to a live audience. I'll leave you with the song. So for now, I'll say see you tomorrow with James Cooper. Enjoy the song. Mark Lowry 4:39 I'd love to sit down with Mary I want to know some things. Mark Lowry 4:43 Be able to ask her those questions. I'll get to heaven. But I did write a few of them down two years ago. Mark Lowry 4:51 And Mark Lowry 4:55 on the Gaither bus one weekend, I handed this lyric to you Mark Lowry 5:00 Laurie green Mark Lowry 5:02 and he called me on Monday and saying this to me over the phone Mark Lowry 5:07 Mary teach you know Mark Lowry 5:11 that your baby boy Mark Lowry 5:16 will one day walk on walk Anwar Mark Lowry 5:22 Mary did you know Mark Lowry 5:25 that your baby Mark Lowry 5:30 will save her son daughter Mark Lowry 5:35 Did you know that your baby boy has come Mark Lowry 5:44 to make you knew Mark Lowry 5:48 this child that you deliver Mark Lowry 5:53 will soon Mark Lowry 5:56 de lever you? Mary did you know that your baby boy Mark Lowry 6:06 book gives sight Mark Lowry 6:08 to a blind man Mark Lowry 6:11 married Did you Mark Lowry 6:14 that your baby Mark Lowry 6:18 will calm a straw with this hand Did you know that your baby boy has walked away angels tried when you kiss your little baby Mark Lowry 6:41 you've kissed the face of God Mark Lowry 6:47 the blind will see the deaf will hear Mark Lowry 6:59 the Les Willie Mark Lowry 7:03 will speak Mark Lowry 7:26 teach you Mark Lowry 7:31 that your baby Mark Lowry 7:36 is Mark Lowry 7:39 of all creation Mark Lowry 7:44 Larry, did you know Mark Lowry 7:48 that your baby Mark Lowry 7:52 will one day Mark Lowry 7:54 rule the nation Mark Lowry 7:59 know that your Mark Lowry 8:04 baby boy, his heavens Mark Lowry 8:12 this sleeping child Mark Lowry 8:15 you're holding Mark Lowry 8:18 is the great I AM Transcribed by https://otter.ai