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Zechariah’s song praised God for raising up the mighty Savior John would herald. Then the "mighty Savior" arrived—as a poor infant announced to night-shift shepherds, and laid in a manger. Pastor Adam Hamilton noted in his book The Journey: A Season of Reflections that the shepherds were sent to find the newborn king "in a parking garage (that’s what a first-century stable was), lying on a bed of straw where the animals ate."

• A recent Christmas song says, "This is such a strange way to save the world." If you were God, would you trust a poor family to parent and protect the Messiah? Would you first tell night-shift shepherds, among the lowliest outcasts in their society, of the child’s birth? In what ways do God’s values challenge our society’s values? Do your personal priorities more closely match God’s values or those of the culture around us?
• "Angel" meant "messenger," God’s messenger. Luke stressed that God revealed the meaning of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds ("the Lord has revealed to us"—verse 15; "what they had been told" —verse 17; "just as they had been told"—verse 20.) What are some of the main ways God reveals truth to you? In what ways have you learned to trust God’s revelation, while also using the power of thought and analysis God has given you?