Now while [Zechariah] was serving as priest before God … he [entered] the temple of the Lord … And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord … the angel said, “Do not be afraid for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son…And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord…he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to God”
And Zechariah said, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”
(Luke 1:8-20 ESV)

A few quick observations on faith this morning.  This is the account of the John the Baptist’s birth being foretold by the angel Gabriel.  And I wanted to note a few observations on the nature of faith taken from Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father) and his interaction with Gabriel (the angel giving the news to Zechariah).

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