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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Samantha: Welcome to Immerse
Luke and Acts, Day one, Week one
.
Uh, sacred saga.
The Bible is drama and six X.
The goal of Bible reading is to
understand the sacred writings in depth
so we can learn to live with them.
Well, There are several steps on
this journey to life-changing wisdom.
One is to recognize that the Bible
is a collection of many different
kinds of writings, stories, songs,
letters, prophecies works of wisdom,
apocalyptic visions, and more.
And since seeds writings are
complete, literary works.
They were best read as whole books.
Each with its own distinctive message.
Spiritual truths and literary character.
It's also important to remember that
these books were written to people
who lived in particular historical
situations in the ancient world.
So to understand them well, We need to
strive to understand each book and its
original historical and cultural setting.
Overall, the Bible has two
overarching goals to tell the
story of God's plan for his world.
And then to invite us into that story.
More than anything else.
The Bible is a saga.
The long dramatic history.
Of how God has been working with
humanity to achieve the thriving life
he's always wanted for this world.
So a major factor in reading
the Bible well is reading it.
As God's big story.
All of the books in the Bible come
together to narrate this story.
Past, present and future.
In concert, they take us
through numerous ups and downs.
Big moves forward for God's purpose.
Then devastating setbacks and losses.
But God's saving goal remains the
same throughout the redemption and
flourishing of his entire creation.
Reading the Bible as this story
requires that we recognize that it
is progressive in its revelation.
As the story advances, its light grows.
Greater redemption and deeper
fulfillment are revealed.
Act by act.
The full revelation of God's purposes
for humanity cannot be lifted
from any single page in the Bible.
The essence of stories
is that they move on.
To be specific.
The Bible's big story
is moving toward Jesus.
It is in the appearance and work of the
Messiah that we find the clearest and
most definitive revelation of who God
is and what he's doing in the world.
As the powerful opening of
the book of Hebrew says.
Long ago, God spoke many
times and in many ways, sorry,
ancestors through the prophets.
And now in these final days, he
has spoken to us through his son.
The sun radiates God's own glory and
expresses the very character of God.
God is summoning us all to
embrace the sacred words.
Learn his story and then enter into it.
The Bible saga unfolds as a
six act drama and its major
movements are outlined below.
Act one.
Worlds Genesis.
The Bible is drama opens with God
creating the heavens and the earth.
But at first they are
unformed and unfilled.
The first creation story reveals a God
who pushes back the power of anarchy and.
And disorder with his word.
God speaks and brings order by forming
the world into a well arranged structure.
Then he fills the space as he creates with
all the beauty and wonder of the universe.
At each step God has said to
observe that his world is good.
Then at the end, he observes
that it is all very good.
God creates one set of
creatures in his image.
Humans.
This means that we were made to
represent God's good life giving
rule to the rest of the world.
God built collaboration with us into
the story from the very beginning.
He is the creator, the most
powerful actor in the Bible stroma.
But he has decided to do things together
with humans as the story moves forward.
We are made to reign over the world, but
under God, The human race will determine
the shape and direction of things more
than any of God's other creatures.
What happens to the creation?
Depends on the role we play in the saga.
Then we learn another
crucial element in the drama.
On the seventh day, God had
finished his work of creation.
So he rested from all his work.
And the writings of the ancient world,
where deities were said to rest.
It meant that they had taken
up residence in their temple.
See Psalm 1 32.
This key moment at the world's
beginning, reveals to us that God
considered his world to be his home
and the place where he would live.
The entire biblical story will happen in
the place God has chosen for his temple.
Working with his image bearers
to achieve his purposes.
Heaven and earth were
always meant to be United.
Went home for God and his people together.
The Bible story is built on the
foundation of God's good creation.
Which includes full flourishing
life in God's world.
With all its members.
Properly related to their
creator and to each other.
Act two.
Humanities rebellion.
The image of well-watered creature,
like paradise is quickly shattered.
God, is there walking through the
garden in the cool of the day,
looking for the man and woman.
But they are hiding from him.
Fearful of the consequences of
their act of distrust and rebellion.
They have been misled and deceived by
God's enemy, the serpent and accuser.
Turning away from God to
become a law unto themselves.
Rather than following the wisdom
of the one who made the world.
The people have decided
to go their own way.
So Adam and Eve are thrust
from God's garden and blocked.
From returning, they will now face a land
and a life apart from God's blessing.
This is the first of many
exiles in the Bible's big story.
People forced from their homes
and away from God's presence.
And a real sense.
The Bible's entire story is about God's
work to bring humanity back to his garden,
his dwelling place, his temple home.
From this point on humanity's wrongdoing.
Is presented as a radical departure
from God's founding vision.
The story goes quickly downhill
with all the well-known failures
of human history on full display.
Jealousy hatred, vengeance, loneliness,
shame, and acts of violence.
All come to play their
destructive parts in the drama.
God's heart is broken.
And a major divine reset.
He even decides to wipe humanity
from the earth in a great flood
saving only Noah's family and a
pair of each of Earth's animals.
Humanity has fallen into disrepair.
They still rule the world, but very badly.
The creation is wounded
where abundant life in.
And with God was intended sin and
death now invade and infect everything.
God's efforts to overcome this
rebellion, create the primary
conflict in the Bibles ongoing drama.
Restoration and reconciliation
or what God will be striving for.
And always with humidity
as his intended partner.
But we're early in the saga.
And at this point it's more
about questions than answers.
We'll have God, in fact, be able
to quell the revolt can humanity be
healed and restored drawn back into
faithful relationship with the creator.
How could this possibly happen?
What will God's plan be?
What about everything else God made?
Does the rest of creation have
a future beyond this calamity?
Act three.
Israel's quest.
What happens in the Bible is a series
of ongoing steps by the creator.
To reestablish what he
intended from the outset.
God's story is big encompassing all
things, but it is also always personal.
God calls a man Abraham later
called Abraham from UR of the
N's and brings him to a new land.
A new future.
A new hope.
God starts by making promises.
You are small now, Abraham,
but I will make you great.
Your name, your family, and your
blessing, which will be for everyone.
The seed for humanities renewal
and the creations restoration
is planted with this one, man.
And the family and nation that will
come from him, the 12 tribes of Israel.
These promises from God.
At a regular pattern in the story.
Big moves forward happen when
God makes covenants or agreements
at key moments in the story.
These covenants start
with God making pledges.
But also include the expectation of
a faithful response by his people.
We see this next, when
Abraham's descendants.
Are in deep distress in Egypt.
They're outside of the land.
God promised them and have
become a nation of slaves.
So God comes down to act with
power to save his people.
Working with a new leader, Moses God
then makes a covenant with the entire
nation of Israel at Mount Sinai.
This decisive action for Israel
also creates another pattern
that will show up in the story.
Exodus.
The word means departure, but in the
Bible, it comes to represent all of the
elements of God's salvation for Israel.
Freedom from slavery and oppression.
A covenant relationship between
God, the father and his children.
The revelation of God's
instructions for living.
God coming down to live among his
people in the tabernacle or temple.
The provision of manna or
bread in the wilderness.
Offerings and sacrifices to atone for
sins and reconcile God and his people.
The gift of a promise new land
filled with God's blessings.
Israel is now to be a display
people, a nation of priests.
And a light to all nations
showing the world who God is
and what it means to follow him.
The land of Israel is meant to
be a recreation of God's garden
at the beginning of the Bible.
Working with one nation, God
sets out to recover his original
intentions for all creation.
Most of the first Testament is
commentary on Israel's faithfulness
or not to this vocation.
Sadly Israel regularly fails
breaking God's covenant by ignoring
his instructions for justice.
And right living.
And by worshiping other gods.
The people of Israel like Adam and Eve at
the beginning, often choose to do whatever
they think is right in their own eyes.
But God is patient and keeps
reaching out to his people.
Through his servants, the prophets,
he both invites and warned his
people to stay faithful to their
covenant relationship with him.
It makes another covenant with
Israel's great king David promising.
That his offspring will have an
enduring kingdom and will rule forever.
Israel's hope is tied to this Royal line.
The profits envision a future king
who will honor God teach God's
ways and defeat Israel's enemies.
Abraham's family has been raised up
to undo the downfall of Adam and Eve.
But Israel persist and idolatry
and injustice refusing to
repent and become the nation.
God called them to be.
In the anger and dismay.
God has compelled to force
Israel into exile in Babylon.
Away from his presence in the temple.
The nation is invaded.
Jerusalem is smashed and burned and
the people are once again, enslaved.
This is devastating for the Bible story.
Israel was meant to be God's answer.
The means by which blessing
comes back to all peoples.
But now God's plan seems in shambles.
Once again, the story is
filled with questions.
Can Israel be saved?
Can this entire drama be saved as
God's plan for redemption failed?
Can he find a way to bring his
favor healing, restoration and
life back to this broken world.
Act four Kings advent.
In the years before the birth of
Jesus of Nazareth, the empire of
Rome was already proclaiming its
own version of the good news.
The gods it said, had ordained that
the powerful and virtuous leader
Caesar Augustus should rule the world.
He is a savior for us and those
who come after us to make war to
cease, to create order everywhere.
The birthday.
Of the God.
Augustus was the beginning
for the world of the gospel.
Good news.
That has come to men through him.
From the pre-end calendar inscription
in Asia, minor circa nine BC.
The world is a place of competing stories.
And Rome story is the dominant one.
When Jesus enters our saga.
By the time Israel has been
suffering under foreign
domination for several centuries.
The people are wondering when
God will finally fulfill all
his ancient promises to them.
Different groups are offering
various visions of Israel feature.
The Pharisees and teachers of the
law urge people to get more serious
about following Israel's distinctive
way of life under God's law.
Zealots advocate, violent
rebellion against Rome.
The leaders running the rebuilt Jerusalem
temple, protect their power by making
compromises with the Roman overlords.
Into this tumultuous
world comes a new rabbi.
Uh, wandering teacher who makes
a single astonishing claim.
The reign of God is
returning to this world.
This means Israel's long exile is ending.
God is offering the nation
forgiveness and renewal.
Jesus demonstrates the truth of
this message with mighty signs.
Showing the God's spirit is with him.
Jesus heals, forgives raise the
dead and overpowers the dark forces
that have been harming God's people.
In both word and deed.
Jesus announces the
arrival of God's kingdom.
The leaders with other agendas, reject the
invitation and work to undermine Jesus.
So his words of welcome
turn to words of warning.
Uh, great catastrophe
will come upon the nation.
If this last and greatest
messenger from God has rejected.
The opposition persists.
And the conflict with Israel's
leaders comes to a head while
Jesus is in the city of Jerusalem.
In his final week.
Jesus' identity is revealed openly,
not just as a rabbi or prophet, but
as Israel's long awaited Messiah.
Jesus claims to be the son of David.
He had been baptized in the
Jordan river, symbolizing a
new beginning for the nation.
He had chosen 12 disciples as a sign that
the 12 tribes of Israel were being reborn.
Now he claims authority over the
temple and cleanses it by driving
out the merchant selling sacrifices.
There.
This happens during Israel's
annual celebration of the Exodus.
And Jesus shares a final
Passover meal with his disciples.
He means for this to show that
he is about to initiate a great
act of rescue and salvation.
A new Exodus.
Jesus tells his followers that his
death will launch the new covenant
with Israel promised by the prophets.
This is the decisive moment of
God's kingdom to come with power.
Finally Israel's leaders arrest Jesus and
hand him over to the Romans for execution.
He is nailed to a cross with a sign
that mocks him as the king of the Jews.
It certainly looks as though Jesus has
lost his bid to establish God's rule.
That he is no king after all.
But three days later, he has
vindicated rising from the dead
and appearing to the disciples.
It turns out that Jesus willingly
went to his death as a sacrifice
for the sins of the people.
Through the sacrifice.
He wins a surprising victory over
the spiritual powers of darkness.
Rome was never the real enemy.
Jesus had taken on sin and death directly.
Ironically through his own death.
Emptying them of their
power over humanity.
His resurrection confirms his triumph.
The unexpected story of Israel's
Messiah reveals God's longterm plan.
All the earlier covenants
were leading to this one.
The life and ministry of Jesus brings all
the narrative threads of the scripture
together into a single coherent story.
Through Jesus.
God has launched his new creation.
Act five communities calling.
Israel was chosen in order to
bring blessing to all peoples.
Israel's Messiah is the one through
whom this ancient promise comes true.
The life, death, resurrection,
and Ascension of Jesus to
the right hand of the father.
Now, with authority over all things.
This is the centerpiece and fulfillment
of the Bible's long and winding tale.
The work of Jesus sent by the father
and empowered by the spirit is where the
story finds the redemption and restoration
it's been leading toward all along.
But how will the world hear this
good news about the victory of Jesus?
When the risen, Jesus first
appeared to his disciples.
He said, Peace be with you.
As the father has sent me.
So I am sending you.
The followers of Jesus
have been given a mission.
To a world and slave by evil powers,
cut and wrongdoing and idolatry.
Now freedom and forgiveness
are to be announced.
To a world confused by
misplaced allegiances.
Jesus is to be proclaimed
as the Lord and king.
To a world divided by social,
ethnic and tribal differences.
A single new humanity in God's
family is to be disclosed.
Abraham's family renewed through
the Messiah is commissioned to
bring this message to all creation.
The mission of God expands.
Through the birth and growth of
new communities of Jesus followers.
Faith and loyalty to Jesus are now the
key marks of the renewed people of God.
These believers are God's new temple.
The place where he dwells.
God is worshiped in spirit and in truth.
God's justice is embraced.
His love is lived out.
By not only believing in Jesus.
But also following his teachings
and walking in his ways.
God's people are remade in his image.
They're called back to the original
human vocation of reflecting God's
gracious rule to the creation.
We are living in this act
of God's Bible drama today.
If we are true to our calling
and restoration in this
second, Adam, that is in Jesus.
We will follow his pattern of suffering
servant hood for the sake of others.
We are called to appropriately improvise
our own roles in God's saving story.
Based on what we have learned by
reading the scriptures in depth.
In community, we work out together.
What the way of Jesus looks
like in the new places.
And situations where God has placed us.
And we continued to pray and
long for the return of our king.
Act six.
God's homecoming.
The Bible story begins with God
pushing back the powers of chaos and
disorder to create a place of beauty.
And goodness.
But the powers returned bringing
wrongdoing and rebellion
into God's creation temple.
God's image bearers failed him.
The entire narrative since then has
been about God working, striving
and Eva fighting to cleanse.
And re-establish his intended home.
The decisive turn comes.
When the creator actually
becomes a creature himself.
Completely joining with his people.
To help and empower their
battle against evil.
The finale of this great
drama still lies ahead of us.
The servant king will
return to join his people.
Once again.
Jesus will appear as the world's rightful
judge and ruler setting all things right.
Evil will be destroyed
and creation renewed.
The world's bondage to sorrow and pain
and that slavery to violence, death
and decay will be overturned once.
And for all.
All things will be made new.
The glory of God will fill
the entire cosmos his temple.
The victory of the God
of life will be complete.
God's people will be raised
from the dead in fully human,
fully restored physical bodies.
They will.
Re-engage their first calling.
To be spirit-filled God worshiping
culture, making citizens.
Of God's new heavens and new earth.
People's from every tribe,
language and nation.
We'll walk by God's light.
And bring splendor and
glory into God's city.
The new Jerusalem.
God will come down and
make his home with us here.
In this re awakened creation.
Arizer Lord and enter your resting place.
Mayor loyal servants sing for joy.
From Psalm 1 32.
, Oliver: immersed in Luke Acts.
The longest story in the New Testament,
one that fills a quarter of its pages
was originally addressed to one person.
The author dedicates this two
volume series covering the life
of Jesus and the early church to
the most honorable Theophilus.
This Greek name shows that he was a
Gentile, non Jewish, and his title
suggests he was likely a Roman official.
This history of the early Christian
movement was written in the mid 60s A.
D., right around the time when
the Roman government first became
hostile to Jesus followers.
Theophilus may have been facing pressure
to forsake his allegiance to Jesus.
At the same time, some Jewish believers
were questioning the place of Gentiles in
a movement devoted to a Jewish messiah.
So Theophilus would no doubt
welcome the reassurance that what
he'd heard about Jesus was genuine
and that the good news really was
intended for Gentiles like himself.
Luke was in a unique position
to answer these questions.
He had worked closely with Paul,
who brought the message of Jesus
to Gentiles living throughout
much of the Roman Empire.
Luke was able to tell important
parts of the story from first hand
experience, and since he was educated
and literate, He could also research
and record the movement's history.
The good news of Jesus invited
Jews and Gentiles to unite
into a single new family.
So believers from all backgrounds
benefited from Luke's account of
God's story of salvation for the
whole world, which had come to
surprising fulfillment in Jesus.
The first volume, Luke, begins with
a prologue about the remarkable
circumstances surrounding
Jesus birth and early days.
From its start, the story shows how Jesus
was sent as both the long promised King of
Israel and the Savior of the whole world.
After the introduction, Luke is
divided into three main parts.
The first section describes Jesus
early ministry in Israel's northern
region of Galilee, where he announces
the good news of the kingdom of God.
Luke then portrays Jesus taking the
journey south toward Jerusalem, where
he fulfills his calling and destiny.
Along the way, Jesus continues to
show how the coming of God's reign on
earth means freedom for the oppressed.
And a welcome for outsiders.
The third section shows Jesus mission
coming to its climax in Israel's
ancient capital of Jerusalem.
During the Jewish Passover festival,
His enemies conspire to have
Him executed on a Roman cross.
But Jesus then rises from the dead
with royal authority, winning God's
great battle against sin and death.
The second volume, Acts, describes how the
first community of Jesus followers brought
the message about Him to all nations.
In six different phases, the good
news about Jesus breaks through some
significant barrier as it advances.
Each phase ends with a version
of the summary statement.
God's message continued to spread.
The number of believers greatly increased.
Phase 1.
The message breaks through a
linguistic barrier as the Jerusalem
community welcomes Greek speakers.
Phase 2.
The message breaks through a
geographic barrier by spreading
into Judea and Samaria.
Phase 3.
A significant religious and
ethnic barrier is broken when
the community welcomes Gentiles.
Phase 4.
Another geographic barrier is broken
when the good news moves into Asia Minor.
Phase 5.
Yet another geographic barrier is
broken when the good news spreads
into Greece, the cultural center
of the ancient Mediterranean world.
Phase 6.
The good news about Jesus the
Messiah reaches all the way to
Rome, the very heart of the empire.
In this way, Luke Acts
completes its two fold movement.
First, Jesus went to Jerusalem to
complete his great work through his
suffering, death, and resurrection.
Second, the persecution of his
followers brought the good news
about Jesus from Jerusalem to Rome.
In this combined story, it is revealed
that Jesus is Israel's promised
king and the world's true ruler.
Volume 1 of Luke, Acts.
The Gospel according to Luke.
Many people have set out to write
accounts about the events that
have been fulfilled among us.
They use the eyewitness
reports circulating among
us from the early disciples.
Having carefully investigated everything
from the beginning, I also have
decided to write an accurate account
for you, most honorable Theophilus,
so you can be certain of the truth
of everything you were taught.
When Herod was king of Judea, there
was a Jewish priest named Zechariah.
He was a member of the priestly order
of Abijah, and 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 unable to conceive,
and they were both very old.
One day Zechariah was serving
God in the temple, for his
order was on duty that week.
As was the custom of the priests,
he was chosen by lot to enter the
sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.
While the incense was being burned,
a great crowd stood outside praying.
While Zechariah was in the
sanctuary, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him, standing to
the right of the incense altar.
Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed
with fear when he saw him, but the
angel said, Don't be afraid, Zechariah.
God has heard your prayer.
Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you
a son, and you are to name him John.
You will have great joy and gladness, and
many will rejoice at his birth, for he
will be great in the eyes of the Lord.
He must never touch wine
or other alcoholic drinks.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Even before his birth, and he will turn
many Israelites to the Lord their God.
He will be a man with the
spirit and power of Elijah.
He will prepare the people
for the coming of the Lord.
He will turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children, and he
will cause those who are rebellious
to accept the wisdom of the godly.
Zechariah said to the angel, How
can I be sure this will happen?
I am an old man now, and my wife
is also well along in years.
Then the angel said, I am Gabriel.
I stand in the very presence of God.
It was he who sent me to
bring you this good news.
But now, since you didn't believe
what I said, you will be silent and
unable to speak until the child is
born, for my words will certainly
be fulfilled at the proper time.
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for
Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary,
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
and his silence that he must have
seen a vision in the sanctuary.
When Zechariah's week of service in
the temple was over, he returned home.
Soon afterward, his wife,
Elizabeth, became pregnant and went
into seclusion for five months.
How kind the Lord is, she exclaimed.
He has taken away my disgrace
of having no children.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth's
pregnancy, God sent the angel
Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in
Galilee, to a virgin named Mary.
She was engaged to be married to a man
named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
Gabriel appeared to her and
said, Greetings, favored woman.
The Lord is with you.
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried
to think what the angel could mean.
Don't be afraid, Mary, the angel told
her, for you have found favor with 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.
The Lord God will give him the
throne of his ancestor David, and
he will reign over Israel forever.
His kingdom will never
end, Mary asked the angel.
But how can this happen?
I am a virgin.
The angel replied, The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you.
So the baby to be born will be holy,
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,
but she has conceived a son,
and is now in her sixth month.
For the word of God will never fail.
Mary responded, I am the Lord's servant.
May everything you have
said about me come true.
And then the angel left her.
A few days later, Mary hurried
to the hill country of Judea, to
the town where Zechariah lived.
She entered the house
and greeted Elizabeth.
At the sound of Mary's greeting,
Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to
Mary, God has blessed you above all women.
and your child is blessed.
Why am I so honored that the
mother of my Lord should visit me?
When I heard your greeting, the
baby in my womb jumped for joy.
You are blessed because you believed
that the Lord would do what he said.
Mary responded.
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 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 with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel and
remembered to be merciful, for he
made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth
about three months.
And then went back to her own home.
When it was time for Elizabeth's baby
to be born, she gave birth to a son.
And when her neighbors and relatives
heard that the Lord had been very merciful
to her, everyone rejoiced with her.
When the baby was eight days old, they
all came for the circumcision ceremony.
They wanted to name him
Zechariah, after his father.
But Elizabeth said, No, his name is John.
What?
they exclaimed.
There was no one in all
your family by that name.
So they used gestures to ask the baby's
father what he wanted to name him.
He motioned for a writing tablet,
and to everyone's surprise,
he wrote, His name is John.
Instantly, Zechariah could speak
again, and he began praising God.
Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood,
and the news of what had happened
spread throughout the Judean hills.
Everyone who heard about it reflected
on these events and asked, What
will this child turn out to be?
For the hand of the Lord was
surely upon him in a special way.
Then his father, Zechariah, was
filled with the Holy Spirit, and
gave this prophecy Praise the Lord,
the God of Israel, because He has
visited and redeemed His people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of His servant
David, just as He promised through
His holy prophets long ago.
Now we will be saved from our
enemies and from all who hate us.
He has been merciful to our
ancestors by remembering his sacred
covenant, the covenant he swore with
an oath to our ancestor Abraham.
We have been rescued from our enemies so
we can serve God without fear, in holiness
and righteousness for as long as we live.
And you, my little son, will be called
the prophet of the Most High, because
you will prepare the way for the Lord.
You will tell His people how
to find salvation through
forgiveness of their sins.
Because of God's tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven
is about to break upon us.
To give light to those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.
John grew up and became strong in spirit,
and he lived in the wilderness until
he began his public ministry to Israel.
Oliver: This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.