Ordinary People, Unstoppable Plan - Luke 1:26-56

A backwater town, a teenage girl, and an angelic message collide to change the course of history. We walk through Luke 1:26–56 and watch Mary move from fear to faith, from question to consent, and from silence to song. Gabriel’s announcement names the child Jesus and unveils the heart of the gospel: the Son of the Most High will reign forever, and nothing is impossible with God. Along the way, we see the Trinity’s fingerprints on the incarnation—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working in perfect unity to bring salvation near.

The visit to Elizabeth bursts with wonder. John the Baptist leaps in the womb, the unborn prophet pointing to the unborn Messiah, while Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, recognizes Mary as the mother of her Lord. This is how revelation works: the Spirit opens eyes, the heart believes, and the mouth confesses Christ. Mary’s Magnificat then lifts our gaze to the Great Reversal at the center of God’s kingdom. The proud are scattered, the mighty are brought low, the humble are exalted, and the hungry are filled with good things. Mary does not claim sinlessness; she claims a Savior. Her song is Scripture-soaked, anchored in God’s promise to Abraham and pulsing with hope for all who fear the Lord.

We explore why God delights to use ordinary, overlooked people to carry out his unstoppable plan, why obedience can be costly yet joyful, and why saved people sing. You’ll hear practical reflections on trusting God when plans are interrupted, honoring the sanctity of life, and living between the first Advent and the second with steady hope. If you’ve ever wondered whether God sees you, this conversation insists he does—and that his mercy reaches farther than your fear.

Transcript

Setting The Stage In Luke

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, good morning. If you have a copy of God's Word, would you go ahead and open it up and find Luke chapter 1 beginning at verse 26? Luke chapter 1 beginning in verse 26. We are beginning a brand new series that'll take two years. We will walk through the Gospel of Luke together. Now you will notice that we only did the first four verses last week, and we're picking up in verse 26. So if I may, for just a brief moment, let me summarize what takes place in verses 5 through 25. Long story short, we are uh introduced to a man named Zachariah, who's an older man. The Bible says he's advanced in years. Another way of saying he's old. He is married to a woman named Elizabeth, who is also advanced in years, and she is barren, and they have been unable to have had any children. It's been a prayer of theirs for a number of years to have a child, and yet they've not been able to. Well, Zechariah is a priest. He enters the temple and he goes to the altar of incense, where he is met by the angel Gabriel, who is a messenger from the Lord to tell Zechariah that he and Elizabeth will have their first child. That child, in fact, will be John the Baptist, who will prepare people's hearts for the coming Messiah. Zechariah has trouble believing that, and as a consequence, the angel tells Zechariah that he will be mute during all of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Which you might think for just a moment, that might sound nice to Elizabeth, but honestly, that would be very difficult. In fact, he was taught to trust the Lord because the first few months, of course, Elizabeth wasn't showing. She probably had, didn't have a baby bump and there was no sonogram technology, and so he had to trust the Lord and be quiet. You might think that bitterness would spread in his heart because of his inability to speak, and yet the first time that he speaks after his baby boy was born, he praises God. It is there in verse 26 that we meet a woman named Mary. But before we get into our passage this morning, it is fitting for us to read from Psalm 8, and you will soon see why. A very well-known Psalm, and I'll read it aloud, Psalm 8, beginning in verse 1. Listen to the words closely. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? There are two reasons I begin this morning's message with this introductory psalm. The first is because it speaks and tells us that it is through the mouths of babies and infants that God can and does share and show his majesty out of the mouth of babies and infants. The second reason I share the beginning of Psalm 8 in the beginning of this morning's message is because when I look at God's creation, all the things he's put in place, the beautiful sunrise in the early morning or the sunset in the early evening, all the things that I cannot understand, and all the things that I see that just cause me to stand for a minute in awe. I am amazed, as should you be, that the God who created these things not only knows us, but has set his mind on us and that he cares for us. I don't know if you've ever said to the Lord, Who am I? Who are we? That He would care for us. What we're gonna see this morning throughout the sermon is that God delights in using ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish His unstoppable plan. I'll repeat that. God delights in using ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish His unstoppable plan. We'll see that on Wednesday night as well. And our only response to that truth can truly be Who are we? Who are we? In our text this morning, we'll cover the announcement of the Lord's arrival by an angel, the prophet's praise in the presence of the Lord, and the servant's song of salvation to the Lord in three parts. Here's the first. If you have notes, it's on your outline. When God interrupts your plans, will you trust his word? You may have a plan, the Lord may have a different plan. Will you trust him? Mary is an example of submission when things seemed scary. Verse 26, if you'd follow along, we're going to cover a lot of text this morning. In the sixth month, that is the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. And this is a very small backwater town. Maybe a couple or a few hundred people lived there. And the angel was sent to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. And he was of the house of David, and her name was Mary. Let's get some context here for just a moment. Mary was a rather poor, working-class young girl living in a small backwater town, and she was engaged to a man named Joseph, who we suppose was a rather poor carpenter. We learn from her story that she is a God-fearing Jew. She is an Israelite, and she is anticipating the day when God will accomplish his promises. That is, he will vindicate his people, Israel, he will bring vengeance against their foes, he will do all that he asked, all that he was pro all that he promised, and all God's people asked. She knows what God has done for Israel, and she knows what God has promised to Israel. And that angel, verse 28, came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled, like, what's going on? And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, a phrase that means God has seen your humble estate and has chosen to give you grace, mercy. You found favor in his eyes. Verse 31. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, which implies he will save his people from their sins. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, which let's just make a comment on that for a moment. That has taken place now. Jesus is the promised one from 2 Samuel 7, who sits upon David's throne now and forever. After he ascended to the right hand of the Father, he went to sit on David's throne, where he now has all authority in heaven and on earth. That has been accomplished. The text continues to say, He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. So now we're pointing forward into the future where God's kingdom will not end. He sits there and he will continue to rule forever. Mary says to the angel in response, How will this be, since I am a virgin? Now, if we're to contrast her response to Zechariah's response, where Zechariah is asking questions to the angel in unbelief, it does not seem as though Mary is asking in unbelief because of the angel's good response. She's not asking if God can do this, rather, she's asking how it's going to happen. Maybe she's thinking, like, what do I need to do? The angel answered her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. I want you to notice here, you have the three persons of the Trinity mentioned in this announcement from the angel. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High, that is the Father, will overshadow you, and the child you will give birth to is the Son of the Most High. So let's just take a moment again. Jesus is coming to save God's people, his people, from the punishment of their sin. That is the meaning of his name. The savior to come. Theologically, because Christ is truly God or fully God, and truly man or fully man, he is the perfect Savior. See, Jesus had to be truly God to supply the righteousness humans could never achieve. But he also had to be truly man to offer the sacrifice that humans owed God. So Jesus becomes or became for us the only mediator between God and man. The God man, Jesus. And because he's the only mediator, the only go-between between God and man, the only way for men to come and have a relationship with a holy God is through the Son, the one mediator, Jesus the Christ. And though this all may sound difficult to understand, both for Mary and for us, the angel Gabriel tells Mary, for nothing's impossible with God. Look at it with me, verse 36. Behold, your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God. Hear me for a moment. Elizabeth's pregnancy serves Mary as a sign that she can confirm what the angel has told her. Like she can go to Elizabeth and say, You're pregnant? And Elizabeth will say, Yes. And Mary will know, okay, I can trust the announcement from the angel because it's going to be some months until I show. Secondly, not only as a sign, but Elizabeth's pregnancy also serves as an example to Mary. In her old age, conception seems impossible. But she will learn nothing is impossible with God. God can do amazing things in unlikely circumstances. Verse 38. Without seeing yet the sign for herself, what is her response to God? Behold, I am a servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. I don't know if you've ever seen The Princess Bride. It's one of my favorites. I think it's hilarious. I think it's just a it's just a great story. If you've seen the movie, which I hope you have, if you haven't, it's not really a Christmas movie, but maybe after Christmas happens, you can you can watch the movie. What takes place in the very beginning is you're introduced to two characters. The two characters are Wesley and Buttercup. Buttercup gives tasks to Wesley, this servant boy, for him to do. For example, fetch me that pitcher, farm boy. And he always responds with three words. As you wish. He is not yet the dread pirate Roberts. He's not yet the man in the mask, but his response to her is a way of serving her as you wish. This is kind of like Mary's response. She is there to serve God. That has been the purpose of all of her life. And so when God gives her a task and a very great one, her response is my desire is to serve you. Your desire, God, is my delight. That's what we see here. Mary probably had a plan for her life.

unknown 14:53

Right?

Nothing Is Impossible With God

Costly Trust And Obedience

Mary Visits Elizabeth

John Leaps, Elizabeth Prophesies

Confessing Christ By The Spirit

Saved People Sing

Mary’s Magnificat Begins

Doctrinal Clarity About Mary

SPEAKER_00 14:54

She's getting married. In modern days, she probably had all of her colors for the wedding picked out, all of her bridesmaids, the right food, the right flowers, the order of the ceremony, what her hair was going to look like, her dress. I mean, she was going to be Miss Joseph. And in a moment, her life changes radically. Radically. One minute she was a 13 to 16-year-old lower-class working girl, betrothed to a carpenter, and the next she, a virgin, is carrying a baby not from her future husband. And that baby is to be the Lord of heaven and earth, is the son of God. This would have been crazy and very hard to take in. I mean, think about it. She now faces the potential of public shame. She's a baby, not from her husband. What will Joseph's response be? What will he do? Will he break their engagement? Will she ever be married? If Joseph leaves, will she be forced away from her home and from her family? Will she be destitute? Will we should she be able to provide for the baby? And yet, in this moment, what does Mary do? She resolves to serve the Lord. As you have said, I will do. I will believe. Mary is not only blessed, but a great example of trust in God. A great example of trust. She teaches us what trusting God looks like when obedience is costly. Costly. Here's the application for us. I hope that we can see Mary's faith in a moment and we might imitate it in our life. Genuinely. What an example for us. Like I may make plans for my life, but if the Lord calls me to serve on the mission field, that's where you're going to find me. May we not be like the individual in Luke 9, who says he wants to follow the Lord and yet he puts his hands to the plow to serve God and looks back at what he's missing. May we serve the Lord eagerly without reservation. May we be eager to listen to the Lord and eager to obey his plan in our lives no matter the cost. Maybe trust his plan is better than our own. And may we trust God that he will provide for us as we obey him. Simply, faith is not understanding everything, it's trusting the only one who does. Mary was an otherwise unknown girl from an insignificant town. But what did we say from the beginning? God delights in using ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish his unstoppable plan. What an example. Second thing I want you to see this morning is that when God opens your eyes, I want you to ask the question, will you confess Christ? In salvation, that is exactly what takes place. Our eyes have been darkened, are blinded to the beauty and majesty of the gospel. Until God does a profound work by his spirit and opens our eyes to see Jesus for who he is, will we respond in adoration? Young kids in the room or people who do not know Christ, may God open your eyes to see his beauty, see him for who he is, that you might respond in confession and in adoration. And now seeing Christ Church, may you always adore him. That's Elizabeth, full of the Holy Spirit. Verse 39. Now Mary goes to see the sign that the angel Gabriel had told her. Mary arose, she went with haste into the hill country to a town in Judah. She entered the house house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed the Lord, that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her. Can I just give you like two quick reasons why this moment is just absolutely incredible? Here's the first. Mary arrives at Elizabeth's home, John the Baptist, the unborn prophet, whose job it was to point to the coming Messiah, leaps in praise, pointing Elizabeth, his mama, to the Messiah in Mary's womb. Why is this so special? Because even in the womb, the prophet is already pointing others to the promised one. Mom, look! He's come. It gets even better. Without any foreknowledge that Mary was pregnant, Mary did not send her a letter. She just heard that she was pregnant. She's not showing it. She just went to the hill country. Elizabeth not only recognizes that Mary is pregnant without any indication, but she's full of God's Spirit to both recognize that and also proclaim that the baby in Mary's womb is none other than Christ the Lord. I'll just be honest, this section of scripture is absolutely fascinating to me. And it should be to you, because God is not only able to display his majesty through the lives of infants, like it says in Psalm 8, but he is able to display his glory in the lives of unborn children. Mom, look. Jesus has come. Oh, how beautiful. Jesus isn't even born, and yet he's already being worshipped. For us who hold high the sanctity of human life. John the Baptist, full of the Spirit of God, is directed to a baby in Mary's womb, who has just been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and says, That baby is Jesus. How did Elizabeth know? How did she know? Well, the text tells us she was full of the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians chapter 12 tells us that no one can truly call Jesus Lord except in the Holy Spirit. So in this moment, the Holy Spirit speaks through Elizabeth, opens her eyes to see that the unborn child Jesus was Christ the Lord. In the same way, every day, God's Spirit is opening blind eyes to the truthfulness of who God sent, that he is in fact Jesus Christ the Lord. That he is the one who's come to save. So have your eyes been opened? And if they have, do you marvel like Elizabeth does? He is come to visit me. Or even he dwells in me by the power of God's Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. What does Elizabeth say? Why is this granted to me? Why me? What have we heard? God delights in using ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish his unstoppable plan. You see it on the screen, you see it in your notes once more. God delights in using ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish his extraordinary, unstoppable plan. Why me? Why is it granted to me, Elizabeth says? The third and final question I want you to ask yourself is when grace overwhelms you, number three, will you magnify the Lord? When you are struck once more with the joy of the truth of your salvation. Will you direct your attention to God again and say thank you? And if the joy is not there, would you ask the Lord, restore to me the joy of my salvation, that I might delight in you again? Real joy often leads to singing, doesn't it? It does. Maybe you've been texting someone, and you can imagine for a moment, you like them, and you finally kind of say, I like you, and they respond, I like you too. I mean, joy. If you're not around anybody and you're in the car, you're gonna crank up the volume of your car and sing. You're so happy. Maybe uh, you know, you just propose to your significant other. Well, you may not sing right in front of them. Some years have to pass until they can hear maybe how not good of a singing singer you are. But when you get back in your car, you crank the volume, you sing, you think. I mean, your heart's just singing. In the Bible, often the result of being filled with the Spirit is singing. Ephesians chapter 5. It tells us, do not be drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. And then it goes to what that looks like: be filled with the Spirit, addressing others in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. We sing to God. Saved people sing. That'd take a moment just here for a moment. You know, I've seen Christians who say that they love theology and they read books on God, and yet I see them in a worship service, and they just look stoic. And I'm thinking, man, God give this individual the joy of your salvation. Again, renew a right spirit within him. Sing to the Lord. He saved you. Save people, sing. Should be happy in the Lord. So hearing Elizabeth identify Jesus in her womb, confirming angel's message, Mary's overwhelmed with joy. She sings praise to God for what he's about to do and the part she's privileged to play in it. Jesus is not just announced, he's adored. I've said this so many times. God does not merely want to be analyzed, he wants to be adored. He's adored. She sings. And Mary said, verse 46 My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Christian sermons often need a moment of doctrinal clarity. And so I'm going to take a moment of doctrinal clarity here. Though it is not the emphasis of this message, it is important for us. So let's have a needed doctrinal moment. There are many different people and religious groups who claim to follow Christ alone and yet have over time deified Mary to a position she never puts herself in. While Mary was, as we have just established, a great example of faith in costly circumstances and blessed, and we should consider her blessed, she bore the Messiah. She recognizes herself in this text as an undeserving recipient of God's saving grace. I'll say that again: an undeserved recipient of God's saving grace. So while the Catholic Church recently has, by the grace of God, clarified their doctrinal position that Mary is not a co-redemptress, they and other small groups aside from them elevate Mary to a position continually that the New Testament and the early church never gave her. Let me say very clearly a couple of doctrinal things. Mary was not sinless. The Bible never says this in any part, not anywhere. In fact, the Bible explicitly says otherwise, no one is righteous. That's why Jesus is so unique. There is only one sinless person who has ever walked the face of this earth. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, which keeps him from inheriting the sin of Adam, mankind's federal head. Oftentimes the argument is Mary needed to be sinless in order to reproduce a sinless human being. However, just logically, that doesn't make sense. Because if one needs to be born from a sinless individual to be sinless, so it follows Mary's parents would have to be sinless, and then her parents would have to be sinless, and then they would have to be sinless, and they would have to be sinless, and so on, and so on, and so on, and so on. Again, the Bible mentions none of this. Jesus is the only sinless person who has ever walked the face of this earth. Second, it must be said that Mary does not function for us as a second mediator. Praying to Mary is foreign to the New Testament and foreign to early church practice. One of the most popular Catholic apologists today that you will see on YouTube or on social media is a man by the name who goes by the name of the voice of reason. And he, along with many other Catholic apologists who I've listened to, defend the praying to Mary by saying something to the effect of Jesus is very busy overseeing the world and everyone in it, that Mary receives prayers for him so that he might continually focus on the rest of all that he has beneath him. But if we were just to imagine that to be true, though it's not in the Bible anywhere, if Jesus is overwhelmed, would Mary not be? Second, biblically, we have but one access to God, and that's through his son. The reason we do not have priests in the New Testament church is because priests function, as we see in the Old Testament, as mediators. They bring people who cannot approach God to God. Hear me, that position is now reserved for Jesus and Jesus alone. Hebrews writes very clear, Jesus is the great high priest, the end of the priestly system. Jesus is the one who gives us access to God the Father through his cross by his spirit. Hebrews tell us that he is the great high priest who entered the Holy of Holies, who offered himself as a sacrifice, and through that sacrifice the temple curtain was torn in two. He now functions as the curtain himself. Through him we have access in one spirit to God the Father. And so if we are to approach God, we only approach God through the one way, Jesus the Christ. Jesus is the only mediator between us and God. She recognizes herself as an undeserved recipient of God's saving grace. God, my savior. He is looked upon the humble estate of his servant. He came to save me. She is overjoyed with this and perplexed at the same time. But what have we seen over and over and over? God delights. He delights in using ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish his unstoppable plan. That's that phrase we keep looking at. God delights in this. So she sings. And here's her song. Can we look at it together? In the song, I just want to point out that in verse 51 through 53, we see a future work of God's son here. Verses 51 through 53. A future work of God's son, but with the certainty that it will take place, written like it's a past event. God has, even though he will continue and will. Okay? His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. A lot of this is a future promise that God will humble the proud and exalt the humble. This is what Luke says repeatedly. There is a great reversal coming. It began when God would look upon people like Mary. But it already happened in the Old Testament where God would look upon Israel. It happened when God would choose the twelve otherwise ordinary men to accomplish his great plan. And it happens now, he saved you. You. Who are we? This is the great reversal. God will humble those who in pride stand against him or try to stand above him, who do not recognize him, and who oppose him. Just look at the verses. I'll describe them. The humble are described as those who acknowledge their desperation. The proud feel as though they don't need God. The humble rely on God's control despite persecution in the scriptures. The proud seek to control things for their prosperity. The humble in the scriptures cry out for God's mercy. The proud are not merciful themselves. The humble seek to serve, the proud seek to be served. The humble direct attention to God and not themselves. The proud direct attention to themselves and not to God. And here's the reversal: God will exalt those of humble estate, but he will scatter the proud. He will show mercy to those who fear him, but he will bring down the mighty. He will fill the hungry with good things, but he will send away the rich empty. The Bible says God will tear down those who stand up against him. Those who seek to be glorified, he will bring to nothing. You see this in Nebuchadnezzar. Unless you recognize, until you know the Most High reigns, you will be cut off from the land of the living. You will be cut off from your kingdom. You will become like an ox of the field eating grass. You will become the beast you are inwardly, outwardly. He says the same thing to Pharaoh. Until you recognize the Most High reigns and gives kingdoms to whom he wishes, your kingdom will be stripped from you. All foreshadowings of a future day when God will ultimately level the proud. Here's the difference. Pride walks into a room saying, What do I deserve? Humility walks in asking, What mercy have I been given? What do you see in Mary? What do you see in Elizabeth? Who am I? Who am I? The Bible says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Those who come to Christ downtrodden, those who come to Christ desperate, will be lifted up and find joy. Let's continue. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his offspring forever. Let me just say this in brief. Mary is acquainted with the scriptures. She knows the Old Testament. She knows that from the very beginning, Genesis 3.15, that God promised a Savior to come in the presence of sin's consequences. She knows that God over time had drawn near to people who did not deserve it, to Abraham, that Abraham's people were a people of faith, the faith of Abraham, that God would make Abraham's family more numerous than the stars. She knew that God had established a system in which people could draw near to him through sacrifice. She knew of a coming Messiah who would come to save people from their sins, a coming king who would reign on high. And we know today that he's not only come for his people Israel, but he's come for us, his people. For Galatians chapter 3 tells us, all who draw near to God in faith in his son are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise. Who is Abraham's children? Those with faith in the Son of God. He came to you. Oh, is your heart singing? We praise him because God kept his promise. And there are still promises to come. So let me just kind of bring to conclusion here. As Mary awaited with anticipation Jesus' first coming, may we follow her example as she is an example for us to wait faithfully, eager for his second coming. The second coming, when Christ returns, when he will judge the living and the dead, when we're given new resurrected bodies, when there will be a new heavens and new earth without the stain of sin, sickness, sorrow, or strife, when we will then dwell with the Lord forever. Like Mary, as she faithfully served the Lord in anticipation of Jesus' first coming. May we faithfully serve the Lord no matter the cost in anticipation of his second coming. So let's be faithful while we're waiting. Remembering that God delights to use ordinary, overlooked people to accomplish his unstoppable plan. Who are we? That he is mindful of us and that he cares for us and that he's come for us. Let's pray. Oh Jesus, we look to you during this Christmas season with joy. You have brought peace to earth. Peace between us and your Father. You have reconciled us to God by the blood you shed on your cross. You lived a righteous and perfect life for those who were far from it. You died a sinner's death, though you are far from being a sinner. You died the death we deserve for the sin we committed to give us life we do not deserve forever. So, Lord, help us to draw near you in faith and continue to pursue you all of the days of our lives until you return again. May we see Mary as an example of faithful obedience. Thank you for seeking even us. Who are we? We are your children. We are yours. We have been forgiven. We will be resurrected. We will enjoy your presence forever. Who are we? Undeserved recipients of your saving grace. We thank you, Lord. You suffered on our behalf. We thank you, Lord. In your name we pray. Amen.