In Luke 1:68-79, we have a song of praise. Zechariah worships the Lord: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and He has redeemed His people (v. 68). This song of praise – from the father of John the Baptist - is directly connected to the song of praise which came from Mary, the mother of Jesus: My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour ... (Luke 1:46-55). Like Zechariah and Mary, we are to praise the God of our salvation. We are to give thanks to God for the gift of His Son - our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
* Christ is to be pre-eminent in our preaching.
Jeremiah warns us against the false prophets: ‘Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!’ (Jeremiah 23:1). We are not to be like the false prophets. We are to be faithful servants of the Lord. God is calling us to be faithful. To John the Baptist, God’s Word was spoken: “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him” (Luke 1:76). This is our ministry. We are to prepare the way for the Lord. We are to point away from ourselves, saying, “I must decrease. Christ must increase” (John
