Silent Night // 2025 Christmas Series

We kicked off a new Christmas series by tracing the story behind Silent Night—from a water-damaged organ in Oberndorf to a battlefield ceasefire on the Western Front. Peace broke in where it made no sense. That’s the backdrop for a question many of us are living: what do you do when life doesn’t go as planned? Some of us are still carrying delays, wounds, and curveballs we never expected. So I turned to Luke 1 and the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Scripture calls them righteous and blameless, yet they lived decades in barrenness. Their story reminds us that a barren season doesn’t mean a broken life. Faithfulness isn’t a shortcut around pain; it’s how we walk with God through it.

Zechariah stayed at his post—serving before the Lord—while carrying unanswered prayer. That posture matters. Righteousness here doesn’t mean flawless performance; it means a heart knit to God. Blamelessness speaks to a wholehearted, steady yes, even when the outcomes lag behind the obedience. And then, in God’s time, the angel declares, “Your prayer has been heard.” The lesson isn’t that God finally noticed; it’s that faithful attention trains our hearts to hear again.

I challenged us to keep the conversation with God going. Not just lists and demands, but presence and alignment: “Let my heart beat to Your rhythm.” Don’t push your petitions; pursue His presence. Out of that presence comes a different way of preparing in dry times. Like Elisha told three thirsty kings, “Make this valley full of ditches.” Dig before the clouds gather. Prepare for what you can’t yet see. That’s what hope does—it builds room for God’s provision.

I closed with a simple seed story: a seed that refuses to break can never grow. The breaking isn’t the end; it’s the beginning—where roots go down and life presses up. In Jesus, barren dreams can become blessed days. Not always quickly. Not always the way we planned. But always under the careful hand of a God who builds, develops, and brings life out of unlikely soil.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Righteous, yet walking through barrenness Zechariah and Elizabeth were called righteous and blameless, yet they carried decades of unanswered longing. Holiness does not exempt us from hard seasons; it anchors us within them. Your season may be barren, but it does not define your standing with God nor the future of His work in you. How you walk through brokenness shapes when and how His planted purpose breaks ground. [10:36]
• 2. Obedience focuses me beyond circumstances Zechariah stayed at his post, serving before the Lord while sorrow lingered. Obedience doesn’t deny reality; it refuses to make pain the center of gravity. Keeping faith’s routines—worship, service, Scripture, community—reorders attention from what is loud to Who is ultimate. In that re-centering, strength returns and hope steadies. [16:11]
• 3. Keep the conversation with God open Prayer is more than a wish list; it’s a living attachment to God. Move from transactional asks to relational alignment—“shape my heart to want what You want.” In presence, petitions find their right size, and faith can breathe again even in fruitless fields. The Father hears you; stay in the dialogue. [21:20]
• 4. Dig ditches in a dry valley Faith prepares before signs appear. Obedience looks foolish until the water comes, but preparation is itself an act of trust. Start building capacity—habits, margins, reconciliations, generosity—that can hold what you’re asking God to send. Make room now for tomorrow’s rain. [25:55]
• 5. Embrace the breaking that brings life Seeds must split for roots to run. Surrendering to God’s process feels like loss, yet it’s how hidden life emerges. The harvest doesn’t come from avoiding pressure but from how we yield to God in the pressure. In His hands, the breaking becomes birthing. [30:52]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:05] - Christmas Truce: Silent Night
• [05:14] - When life doesn’t go as planned
• [07:46] - Introducing Zechariah and Elizabeth
• [10:36] - Righteous yet facing barrenness
• [13:20] - Blamelessness and wholehearted devotion
• [16:11] - Serving faithfully in disappointment
• [19:16] - Your prayer has been heard
• [21:20] - Conversation over petitions
• [23:44] - Three kings in a drought
• [25:55] - Make the valley full of ditches
• [27:57] - Provision without clouds
• [29:14] - The seed that feared breaking
• [30:52] - Breaking that births a harvest
• [32:43] - Closing and blessing

Bible reading (ESV)
Luke 1:5–13
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”

Observation questions

1. What exactly does Luke 1:6–7 say about Zechariah and Elizabeth’s character and their situation? How does the passage describe both their standing before God and their lived reality?
2. What was Zechariah doing when the angel appeared (see Luke 1:8–10)? How might that posture of service shape the moment of revelation?
3. The pastor said, “just because you’re righteous and blameless doesn’t mean you won’t experience hard seasons” — where he said that in the sermon and how did he connect it to Luke 1? [10:36]
4. What promise does the angel give in Luke 1:13 (“your prayer has been heard”)? How did the pastor explain the meaning of that phrase in the sermon? [19:16]

Interpretation questions (third-person voice)

1. How should the listener understand the phrases “righteous” and “blameless” in Luke 1:6—are these words portraying moral perfection, or do they point to a different kind of faithful posture toward God?
2. How should the listener interpret Zechariah’s choice to remain at his post (serving as priest) while still living with unanswered longing—what does that posture communicate about faithfulness in waiting? [16:11]
3. How should the listener understand Elisha’s command “Make this valley full of ditches” in relation to faith—does it mean God expects passive waiting or active preparation? [25:55]
4. How should the listener interpret the seed analogy the pastor used—does the “breaking” primarily represent loss, or is it better understood as a necessary step in the growth process toward the harvest? [30:52]

Application questions (specific, personal)

1. Identify one area of delay, disappointment, or “barrenness” in your life right now. What is one concrete action you will take this week to keep serving in that area rather than letting the struggle become the center of your attention? (For example: volunteer one hour, keep a daily worship habit, send a note of encouragement.) [16:11]
2. How do your current prayers tend to sound—mostly a list of requests or a conversation with God? Write one short prayer this week that focuses on alignment (“shape my heart to want what You want”), and commit to praying it every morning for the next seven days. [21:20]
3. Think practically about “digging ditches”: name one practical “ditch” you can start this month (a habit, margin, reconciliation, financial cushion, or skill) that would prepare you for future provision. List three first steps you will take to begin digging it this week. [25:55]
4. Where are you protecting a seed because you fear the “breaking” (an idea, relationship, calling, or gift)? What is one concrete act of surrender you will do this week to allow that seed to be planted (a conversation, a risk, a step of obedience)? [30:52]
5. Luke 1:6 says Zechariah and Elizabeth were “righteous” and “blameless.” How will you remind yourself this week that those words describe posture not perfection? Choose one tangible reminder (a phone alarm, a journal note, an accountability text) and set a specific day/time to use it. [13:20]
6. Who in this group will you ask to pray for you about a long season of waiting? Be specific: name the person, the need you want them to pray about, and what kind of help you need from them (prayer only, a practical check-in, or weekly accountability). [19:16]

(Use the Bible reading above for background before your discussion. Keep the conversation honest and practical—this passage and the sermon invite faithful waiting, practical preparation, and a reorientation of prayer from demands to relationship.)