There is a story in the Scriptures I would like to share with you before we close the service this morning. It is found in Luke 1:26-38. God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary. Gabriel says to her, “Greetings, you are highly favored! The Lord is with you . . . Don’t be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name, Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.”

Mary then responds, “How can this be? How can I have a child when I am still a virgin? I have never known a man. How can this happen?”

The angel meets Mary’s astonishment with these words, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over shadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of Go…