RAP SHEET Luke 1:5-25

SERIES: The Chosen King

SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:5–25

REVIEW

This week, we began The Chosen King by looking at the story before the story—the birth announcement of John the Baptist. In writing the most thorough Gospel account, Luke doesn’t start with Jesus. He starts with John. Why? Because John was the herald—the one God sent to prepare the world for the arrival of the final King.

We met Zechariah and Elizabeth, a priestly couple described as righteous in God’s sight but burdened by decades of infertility. Despite unanswered prayers and 400 years of silence from Heaven, Zechariah continued faithfully in his priestly duties. On one ordinary day, God broke that silence through the angel Gabriel with news that would shake history: Elizabeth would conceive, and their son would be named John. He would be filled with the Spirit, walk in the power of Elijah, and prepare the way for the Lord.

God was not absent during the silence—He was setting the stage. And when the time was right, He moved in a way only He could. John’s birth wasn’t just a miracle—it was a message. The herald had come. John’s bold, counter-cultural voice in the wilderness is the very template for the Church today.

Just as John prepared the world for Jesus's first coming, we now prepare the world for His return. We are His heralds, His ambassadors. And when fear whispers, when opposition rises, when our culture pushes back, we don’t grow silent. We raise our voices and clear the path for our coming King.

APPLY

God used Zechariah and Elizabeth not despite their pain but through it. What is ONE area where you’ve been tempted to give up waiting on God, and how can you reframe it as preparation, not punishment?

Do you, like Zechariah, struggle to trust that God wants to use your life for his Kingdom? How can you learn to trust God despite your shortcomings?

What application step is God calling you to this week through His Word?

PRAY

Take time to pray through these prompts:

• “God, help me stay faithful even when I can’t hear Your voice.”

• “Jesus, make me bold like John — willing to speak up, stand out, and live differently.”

• “Lord, prepare me to prepare others for Your return.”