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My Soul Magnifies the Lord: Mary Visits Elizabeth

Luke 1:39-56; 1 Samuel 2:1-10 New Testament PrincipleHumility

Elizabeth throws her arms open with joy as Mary arrives at her door.

After the angel visited Mary, she hurried to the hill country to see her relative Elizabeth, who was going to have a baby in her old age. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby jumped for joy, and the Holy Spirit filled her. "Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" she said. Then Mary sang a song of praise – "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!" – because God had looked on her humble state and was keeping His promise to send a Savior. God lifts up the humble, and humble hearts praise Him.

Humility is seeing how great God is and knowing we need Him. God lifts up the humble, so we don't have to make ourselves big; we can make Him big with our praise.

  1. CreationGod made it
  2. FallWe broke it
  3. RedemptionJesus fixes it (this lesson)
  4. RestorationJesus makes it new

Memory verse

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”

Luke 1:46-47 BSB

Christ Connection · Promise

Mary sang that God was "remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He spoke to our fathers." The baby she carried was that promise. And Jesus Himself is the greatest picture of humility: He "humbled Himself" to come as a baby and to die for us, and God exalted Him above everything.

Luke 1:54-55; Galatians 3:16; Philippians 2:5-11

The Big Story · Redemption

God promised Abraham that through his family the whole world would be blessed. Mary's song praises God for keeping that promise: the Savior was coming, and God was lifting up the humble to do it.

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After the angel came, Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth, who was going to have a baby too. When Elizabeth heard Mary say hello, her baby jumped for joy! Elizabeth said, "Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord came to me?" Then Mary sang a song of praise. She said God had chosen her, a humble girl, and He was keeping His promise to send a Savior. God lifts up humble people, and humble people praise God.

Start here

Let kids look through a magnifying glass. Ask, "What does it do?" Say, "It helps you see how big something really is. Today Mary sang a song to help everyone see how big and great God is!"

Bible story 6 min

The angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mom of Jesus. He told her one more thing. Old Elizabeth, from her family, was going to have a baby too!

So Mary got ready fast. She walked a long, long way to the hills. It took many days.

Mary went in the house and said hi. Right then, the baby inside Elizabeth jumped! God's Spirit filled her. "Mary, God has blessed you!" she said. "Why is the mom of my Lord here with me? When I heard you, my baby jumped for joy!"

The rest of the story, discussion questions, songs, Live It and prayer are for members.

Try an activity

The visit 10 min

You’ll need: Small paper bags

  1. Choose a narrator, Mary, Elizabeth, a silent Zechariah and travelers.
  2. Act out the skit. Everyone jumps for joy when Mary says hello.
  3. Switch parts so more kids get a turn.
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More lessons on Humility

The same principle in other Bible stories.

In the BeginningThe Tower of BabelGenesis 11:1-9; Genesis 12:1-3People tried to make themselves great without God, but God brought their tower down and began His own plan to bless every nation.Old TestamentHumilityMake Way for Jesus: John the BaptistMark 1:1-8; John 1:19-34; John 3:26-30God sent John the Baptist to get people ready for Jesus. John lived in the wilderness, wore camel's hair and ate locusts and wild honey. Crowds came to hear him, and people turned from their sins and were baptized. Leaders asked, "Who are you? Are you the Christ?" John said, "No. I'm just a voice getting the way ready. I'm not even worthy to untie His sandals." When Jesus came, John pointed and said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" Later he said, "He must increase; I must decrease." Humility means making much of Jesus, not of ourselves.New TestamentHumilityKings and ProphetsNaaman Is Healed2 Kings 5:1-19Naaman, a proud army commander with a serious skin disease, was healed when he humbly obeyed God and washed seven times in the muddy Jordan River.Old TestamentHumilityKings and ProphetsGod Chooses David1 Samuel 16:1-13God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a new king, and instead of the tall older brothers, God chose David, the youngest shepherd, because the LORD looks at the heart.Old TestamentHumilityThe Writing on the WallDaniel 5:1-31King Belshazzar of Babylon threw a huge party. He drank from the gold cups taken from God's temple and praised idols. Suddenly, the fingers of a hand appeared and wrote on the wall! No one could read it, until old Daniel came. Daniel said, "You knew how God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar, but you did not humble yourself." The words meant God had ended the king's rule. That very night, Babylon fell. God is the true King, and He wants us to walk humbly with Him.Old TestamentHumilityJust Say the Word: The Centurion’s ServantLuke 7:1-10A Roman army officer in Capernaum had a servant who was very sick. The town leaders told Jesus, "This man is worthy of Your help." But the officer sent word, "I am not worthy for You to come to my house. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed." Jesus was amazed at his faith, and the servant was healed. When we come to Jesus humbly, we can trust His powerful word.New TestamentHumility