Join us this Sunday as we learn from the Bible’s Luke 1:26–38 about Mary, the mother of Jesus, receiving a message from God and how she reacted.

 

Mary’s story begins in the most ordinary of places. She wasn’t famous, powerful, or wealthy. She was a young woman living in a small town, going about her everyday life. Then God’s message arrived: she was chosen to give birth to something extraordinary. That moment reminds us that God doesn’t only call the people we expect such as leaders, experts, or the “religious.” God calls ordinary people, people like us, right in the middle of daily routines.

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Saying yes to that call wasn’t easy. Mary had every reason to feel afraid or uncertain. The news disrupted her plans, her relationships, and her future. But courage isn’t the absence of fear. It is choosing to move forward even when fear is loud. Mary’s “yes” shows us that courage is simply trusting that God’s good news is bigger than our doubts.

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And Mary didn’t just whisper her “yes.” Luke 1: 46-55 tells us that she praised God!  Her words, known as “The Magnificat,” burst out in praise: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” Mary’s praise is more than poetry; it’s a declaration that God rewrites the story. The proud are scattered, the powerful brought low, and the overlooked raised up.

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We live in a world where fear often tries to control the story: fear of failure, fear of not being enough, fear of what others will think, fear about poor grades or bad job reviews. Mary’s response shows another way.

 

Courage is saying yes when God nudges us to love someone, to step into a new opportunity, or to bring hope where it’s needed. Ordinary people become part of extraordinary stories when they choose hope over fear and join Mary’s chorus of praise: “My soul magnifies the Lord.”