Episode Details

Saying Yes to God: Luke 1:5-38: Hearing Jesus for Kids

Has anyone ever told you something was impossible? Today we start the story of Jesus in the book of Luke with two families who both received impossible news from the same angel. Kids will meet Zechariah, a priest who needed proof before he could believe, and Mary, a young girl who said yes to God without knowing exactly how it would all work out. It's a story about learning to trust God with the impossible things in our own lives too.

Who was Zechariah, and what happened to him? Zechariah was a priest in the temple in Jerusalem, and he had just been chosen for a job most priests only get to do once in their whole lives: going into the inner part of the temple to burn incense for God. While he was there, an angel named Gabriel appeared and told him something incredible. His wife Elizabeth, who was very old and had never had children, was going to have a son who would help prepare the way for Jesus. Zechariah asked the angel how he could know this would really happen, since they were both so old. Because he doubted, Gabriel told him he would not be able to speak again until the baby was born, and sure enough, when Zechariah came out of the temple, he could not say a word.

Who was Mary, and how did she respond?

A few months later, the angel Gabriel visited a young woman named Mary in a small town called Nazareth. Mary was probably only around 14 years old, an ordinary girl from an ordinary town who was engaged to a man named Joseph. Gabriel told her not to be afraid and said she was going to have a son named Jesus, who would become a king whose kingdom would never end. Mary asked a question too, but she was not doubting like Zechariah. She was trying to understand how it would work. When Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, Mary answered, "I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to Your word."

What is the difference between Zechariah's response and Mary's response?

Zechariah was not a bad person. He was a good man who had served the Lord faithfully his whole life, but when impossible news came, he needed proof before he could believe it. Mary did not have proof either, but she said yes and believed God anyway. God was gracious to both of them. He did not give up on Zechariah, and He kept His promise. He also chose Mary, knowing she was young and that nobody important knew who she was.

What does this story teach kids about facing impossible things?

God does not wait until things look possible. He often works right in the middle of the impossible. All of us face things in life that seem impossible, situations where we cannot see how they will work out. In those moments, we get to make the same choice Mary made: wait until it all makes sense before saying yes to God, or say yes to God before we can see how it will all work out.

Talk about it as a family.

Which response do you think was harder, Zechariah's or Mary's? What do you think you would have said if the angel came to you? Is there something in your life right now that feels impossible, where you could choose to say yes to God like Mary did?

A prayer to pray together.

Lord, thank You that You specialize in impossible things. Thank You that You did not wait until Mary had it all figured out before You trusted her with something that would change the world. Help us to be people who say yes to You even when we do not fully understand what You are doing, and help us trust that Your promises are true even when we cannot see the outcome yet. We love You, Lord. Amen.

Coming up next.

Next time on Hearing Jesus for Kids, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth and sings one of the most beautiful songs in the whole Bible.