Faith Like Mary
Many scholars assume Mary to have been a teenager—maybe even a younger teen—when she became pregnant with Jesus. That fact amazed me when I was in junior high. It amazes me even more now when I look around at the middle school students I know. Do they get younger looking every year for everyone, or is it just me?
I know her culture and ours are apples and oranges. Mary was engaged to be married, after all. Society expected more maturity of her than it does of the braces-wearing, iPod-equipped 14-year-olds in this time and place. Still, the amount of faith she exhibits in the face of visits from angels and an unplanned pregnancy is inspiring.
And that’s our hope this week, to prod our kids to be inspired by—and to aspire after—Mary’s faith. And we hold her up as a role model not because she was extraordinary (which she was) but because she was a normal human teenager just like they are. If Mary can trust God in the middle of a difficult opportunity, they can, too. We want our kids to catch that they, too, can trust God when it’s hard and be used by Him right now, often in unexpected ways.
It might be helpful to talk about Mary’s faith in God and willingness to obey after catching a church Christmas program or Christmas movie on TV. If you get a chance to read through Luke 1:26-45 together, even better.
Talking Points
- Does it surprise you when you hear people say Mary was probably a teenager when the angel came and told her she would become pregnant and give birth to Jesus? Why do you think we expect God to choose older people for really important things like this?
- Can you think of any other kids or teens God used in the Bible to do something big?
- Can you think of any modern kids or teens God has used to accomplish big things?
- Can you think of any current or historical kids or teens who did other kinds of important things?
- Do you think of yourself—at your age—as someone who is available to be used by God to do whatever He wants to through you? Why or why not?
- Do you think you’d ever want to have a conversation with an angel? Why or why not?
- Why do you think angels always had to tell people not to be afraid of them?
- How would it feel, do you think, to hear a messenger from God tell you that you are highly favored and the Lord is with you?
- Do you believe that because you are a Christian you really are highly favored? Do you believe God is with you? [Parent: Be sure to reinforce that God favored us so much He sent Jesus as a baby to grow into a man to die for our sins so we could be saved. That’s favor! Also talk about how God is always with every Christian now through His Holy Spirit.]
- Do you think you would have believed the angel’s message that you were about to get pregnant even though you’d never had sex? Why or why not?
- If you had believed the angel, what kinds of things would you have been tempted to worry about? [Parent: Many of us would wonder what our parents would think. Would people believe us that we had not had sex, that this was “God’s baby”? What would Joseph think? Does it hurt to be pregnant?]
- How much would it help to hear that one of your relatives was also pregnant with a “miracle baby”?
- Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” How close is that to our attitude toward God—that He can do whatever He wants to with us? How hard is it to keep that attitude?
- What are some of the ways you expect God to use your life—at your age—for His glory? Are you ready if the opportunity comes from Him to use your life in an unexpected way?
- Do you think of Mary as a valuable role model for how she trusted God and obeyed Him? Why or why not?
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