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The birth of John the Baptist

God promises Zechariah and Elizabeth a son called John.
Contributed by Sweet Publishing
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, German, Hindi, Simplified Chinese
1
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. They had been unable to have children and were both very old. – Slide 1
2
While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing by the incense altar. Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear. – Slide 2
3
‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah!’ the angel said, ‘God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. – Slide 3
4
‘Your son will be great in the eyes of the Lord,’ the angel announced. ‘He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. He will be a man with the power of Elijah who will prepare people for the coming of the Lord.’ – Slide 4
5
‘How can I be sure this will happen?’ asked Zechariah. ‘I’m an old man, and my wife is also old.’ ‘I am Gabriel and stand in the very presence of God,’ the angel said, ‘God sent me to bring you this good news! But since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be unable to speak until the child is born.’ – Slide 5
6
The people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary and wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally came out out, he couldn’t speak to them. They realised from his gestures that he must have seen a vision. – Slide 6
7
Soon afterward, Elizabeth, became pregnant. ‘How kind the Lord is!’ she exclaimed. – Slide 7
8
Elizabeth’s gave birth to a son. After 8 days the family came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, ‘No! His name is John!’ ‘What?’ they exclaimed. ‘There is no one in your family by that name.’  – Slide 8
9
They used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. Zechariah motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, ‘His name is John.’ Instantly Zechariah could speak again. He began praising God and gave a prophecy about his son (Luke 1:68-79). – Slide 9
10
John grew up and became strong in the Holy Spirit. He lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to prepare the way for Jesus. – Slide 10
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Slide 11