(Luke 1:46-56, taken from the Song of Hannah, 1 Samuel 2) Luke 1:46, “And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed’” What are the events in life that make you want to sing? Can you remember a time when your heart was so filled with emotion that you just wanted to sing? In many ways singing is a natural reaction to the good things that happen to us in life. Today, as we examine this, Mary’s Life Song, let us try to identify with an expression of joy that comes not because of human achievements, but that comes from knowing the high favour and great mercy of our Heavenly Father. As we prepare for Christmas and look forward to celebrating our Saviour’s birth, let us learn from this humble woman that the birth of Jesus is God’s greatest gift to all mankind. Therefore, in every situation it gives us good reason to sing with “spirit and joy.” “Blessed are you among women...” (verse 42) But look at the preceding verses; “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.” The angel’s words to Mary earlier presented her with some difficult decisions. As a woman pledged to be married, it would have been natural for Mary to want to immediately go and see Joseph, her future husband. Certainly, the birth of a child involves him as well. But instead she goes to see her cousin Elizabeth. Mary probably wanted the advice of an older wiser woman. After all, Joseph may not believe her.... “What do you mean an angel came to you at night? He told you what?” She could not go to anyone else because they would logically assume that Mary had cheated on Joseph, an offence punishable by death. The pressure on Mary to make a quick decision based on her emotions or circumstance would have been great. But that’s not what she did.

Life Matters TV presents 'The Song of Mary – ‘A Life Song’', another teaching from Pastor Chris Demetriou at Cornerstone The Church. For more information visit our website at www.life-matters.tv

Today I want to focus particularly on understanding what it means to live meaningfully in the place God calls you to. What does God think about what you do? Not so much what you do here in this church on Sundays, important as that is, but what you do the rest of today, and the rest of the week. The other 166 hours. What about your job, your work, your family, your hobbies, the little things that bring you joy and make life interesting for you? What does God think about those things? And how do those things fit in with God’s calling on your life? What does God think about your leisure activities, or your school work, your eating habits, your sleeping habits, how you manage your home or business, and how you take care of your children? What does God think about those things? The everyday, mundane, trivial things that fill our time and make up what it means just to be “human.” Do those things really matter to God? And how do they fit in with the calling of God? These questions may have been burning a hole in your mind for a long time now. So let’s examine the subject to see whether we can gleam anything useful or beneficial. Most of you love your jobs and find it hard to see how you could feel close to being fulfilled doing anything else. But you always get the impression from fellow Christians that doing business or work doesn’t matter to God as much as things like prayer, and church, and Bible reading, and mission trips, and other more “spiritual” pursuits. What’s more, the heroes of the faith that you heard about in church weren’t businessmen, or high school students, or elderly bed-ridden people. Neither were they homemakers, bankers or lawyers, or regular people like that. They were saints, monks, missionaries, pastors, and other types of people who had committed full-time to serving the Lord. So you may be excused for feeling a little second-rate at times. After all, if you were really serious about God and His mission then you wouldn’t be in a regular job. Would you? Some Christians even say that working a job was good for paying the bills, “but it was not going to count for anything in eternity.”

If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; they loose their way. But when they attend to what God reveals, they are most blessed. (Proverbs 29:18 - The Message) So many people have no practical direction for their lives. Why do I get up every morning? What is the point of my life? That is probably the most important question anyone could ever ask themselves! So why is it that we very seldom consider this? Are we afraid of the answer? Or are we afraid there is no answer? Why are you here? Not here in church, but why are you here on the planet; taking up room, using up the air, consuming resources? It may sound crude but maybe it’s a pertinent question. I suppose, what I’m trying to get across is this - “What is the real purpose of your life?” When would you consider addressing this issue? Is it only the kind of thing you think about when you leave school or university? Or, if you've ever had a serious health crisis, did you pause to ask this "ultimate" question? And even if you did, soon after, you get caught up in those day to day activities and lose sight of the very purpose you discovered. Surely, you don’t want to stay so busy that one-day you look up and your life has passed you by. “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The psalmist said, “Lord, You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever” (Psalm 16:11).

If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; they loose their way. But when they attend to what God reveals, they are most blessed. (Proverbs 29:18 - The Message) So many people have no practical direction for their lives. Why do I get up every morning? What is the point of my life? That is probably the most important question anyone could ever ask themselves! So why is it that we very seldom consider this? Are we afraid of the answer? Or are we afraid there is no answer? Why are you here? Not here in church, but why are you here on the planet; taking up room, using up the air, consuming resources? It may sound crude but maybe it’s a pertinent question. I suppose, what I’m trying to get across is this - “What is the real purpose of your life?” When would you consider addressing this issue? Is it only the kind of thing you think about when you leave school or university? Or, if you've ever had a serious health crisis, did you pause to ask this "ultimate" question? And even if you did, soon after, you get caught up in those day to day activities and lose sight of the very purpose you discovered. Surely, you don’t want to stay so busy that one-day you look up and your life has passed you by. “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The psalmist said, “Lord, You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever” (Psalm 16:11).

Job 1:13-22, 42:12 Job was probably the most famous man on earth. He was extremely wealthy - the best of the best. Yet Job lost it all. Not only did he lose everything, he was also surrounded by carnal, judgmental friends, and even his wife urged him to curse God and die. Job quickly found himself in God’s waiting room. Some of you may be able to identify with Job because you are waiting to hear from God! In the Waiting Room you will experience three things: * The Difficulties Of The Waiting Room. * The Instructions For The Waiting Room * The Discoveries In The Waiting Room

Many of us have often used the phrase 'waiting on God.' We probably know how important it is to ‘wait upon the Lord’ but are not sure how it fits into our everyday lives. In Scripture, there are times when the actual word 'waiting' or the phrase 'waiting on God' is used, yet the principle is often present without the express words 'to wait upon the Lord.' The life of Hezekiah provides a practical example of waiting on God. Hezekiah was King of Judah (beginning 729 BC). He was a great religious and political reformer. He suppressed idolatry and reconstituted the temple services. In his reforms both in church and state he had the assistance of the great prophet Isaiah. The early part of the reign was prosperous. He made a successful expedition against the Philistines, and refused to pay the usual tribute to Assyria. Soon after came two Assyrian invasions. And after a time of great anxiety the city was at last delivered, probably by a plague that broke out in the Assyrian camp. A year later Hezekiah died, after a reign of 29 years. During his reign, Hezekiah heard some very shocking news - he had became terminally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live’." (Isaiah 38:1). When Hezekiah heard that he was going to die it left him desperate and shaken. Note, the time-frame for waiting here, compared to Abraham, is much shorter. We are talking about days rather than decades. Therefore, the emphasis is very different. Hezekiah's matter was truly urgent! So how did Hezekiah respond to this devastating news?

Life Matters TV presents 'Waiting on God', another teaching from Pastor Chris Demetriou at Cornerstone The Church. For more information visit our website at www.life-matters.tv