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Bible Study Discussion Questions

Subject: God Does the Impossible Through the Willing

Learning Objective 1: Understand that God reveals His plans through unexpected means and messengers, requiring faith rather than human ability

Question 1: Read Luke 1:26-33. What specific details does the angel Gabriel reveal about the child Mary will bear? What titles and descriptions are given, and what do they tell us about who this child will be?

Question 2: Read Luke 1:34-37, then compare with Genesis 18:10-14. In the Genesis passage, what impossible situation did Sarah face, and what question does God ask in response to her doubt? How does Gabriel’s statement to Mary echo this same truth? What does this pattern teach us about how God works?

Question 3: Read Hebrews 11:1-3, 6. Based on these verses and what we’ve seen in Luke 1, what role does faith play when God calls us to participate in something beyond our ability?

Learning Objective 2: Recognize the difference between unbelieving doubt and faith-filled questions when confronted with God’s plans

Question 1: Read Luke 1:18-20 (Zechariah’s response) and Luke 1:34-38 (Mary’s response). Both asked “how” questions when given impossible news. What was the outcome for Zechariah, and what was the outcome for Mary? What might account for the difference in how God responded to each?

Question 2: Read Mark 9:21-24. How does the father in this passage express both doubt and faith simultaneously? How does Jesus respond to this kind of honest struggle? What does this teach us about bringing our questions to God?

Question 3: When you face situations where God’s word or God’s calling seems impossible, do your questions tend toward challenging God’s ability or seeking to understand His ways? How can you cultivate the posture of Mary who believed first and then asked for understanding?

Learning Objective 3: Understand that willing surrender to God’s plan requires a prior commitment to follow Him as Lord

Question 1: Read Luke 1:38. Mary calls herself “the servant of the Lord” (Greek: doulos, meaning bond-servant). Now read Exodus 21:5-6. What did it mean for a servant to voluntarily commit to permanent service? What does Mary’s use of this term reveal about her relationship with God before this moment?

Question 2: Read Luke 9:23-26 and Luke 14:26-33. According to Jesus, what must someone be willing to accept before becoming His disciple? How do these passages help explain why Mary was able to say “yes” so quickly to such a costly calling?

Question 3: Mary’s “yes” to God brought her the greatest honor in history but also brought social shame and misunderstanding for most of her life. Read Galatians 1:10 and consider: What decisions have you already made about following God that will determine how you respond when obedience costs you the approval of others?

Learning Objective 4: See that immediate obedience to God’s revealed will is the proper response of faith, regardless of personal feelings or readiness

Question 1: Read Matthew 1:18-21 and then verses 24-25. What emotions or concerns might Joseph have been experiencing based on verses 18-19? Once he received God’s word through the angel, how quickly did he respond, and what did his obedience look like practically?

Question 2: Read James 1:22-25 and James 2:17. According to these passages, what is the relationship between hearing God’s word and acting on it? How does Joseph’s immediate obedience in Matthew 1:24 illustrate the kind of faith James describes?

Question 3: Joseph’s obedience required him to act before he fully understood how everything would work out, and before his circumstances felt comfortable. What is one area where you sense God calling you to obedience, and what would it look like to take one concrete step of obedience this week rather than waiting until you feel ready?

Learning Objective 5: Appreciate that God accomplishes His purposes through unlikely and imperfect people who make themselves available to Him

Question 1: Read Matthew 1:1-6, noting the women mentioned: Tamar (Genesis 38), Rahab (Joshua 2:1), Ruth (Ruth 1:4), and Bathsheba/“the wife of Uriah” (2 Samuel 11). What do you know about these women’s backgrounds or circumstances? Why is it significant that Matthew includes them in Jesus’ genealogy?

Question 2: Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. According to Paul, what kinds of people does God typically choose to accomplish His purposes, and why does He choose them? How do Mary and Joseph fit this pattern?

Question 3: Both Mary and Joseph were ordinary people from an insignificant town (see John 1:46), yet God chose them for an extraordinary purpose. Read 2 Corinthians 4:7. What does this verse say about why God works through “jars of clay”? How does understanding this truth free you from feeling you need to be “enough” before God can use you?

Christmas Impossible 1