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Welcome to Day 2291 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Characters of Christmas-2 A Christmas Miracle-Zachariah and Elizabeth \u2013 Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message \u2013 12/04/2022 The Characters of Christmas: A Christmas Miracle: Zachariah and Elizabeth \xa0 Last week, we began our Advent series exploring five characters of Christmas, starting with Joseph, The Unsung Hero of Christmas. \xa0 Today, we continue our Advent series as we explore A Christmas Miracle: The Story of Zachariah and Elizabeth. Our initial scripture for today is Luke 1:5-25, on page 1587 in the Pew Bible. Follow along as I read. \xa0The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold 5\xa0In the time of Herod king of Judea\xa0there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;\xa0/his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.\xa06\xa0Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord\u2019s commands and decrees blamelessly.\xa07\xa0But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 8\xa0Once when Zechariah\u2019s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,\xa09\xa0he was chosen by lot,\xa0according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.\xa010\xa0And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11\xa0Then an angel\xa0of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.\xa012\xa0When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.\xa013\xa0But the angel said to him: \u201cDo not be afraid,\xa0Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.\xa014\xa0He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,\xa015\xa0for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,\xa0and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit\xa0even before he is born.\xa016\xa0He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.\xa017\xa0And he will go on before the Lord,\xa0in the spirit and power of Elijah,\xa0to turn the hearts of the parents to their children\xa0and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous\u2014to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.\u201d 18\xa0Zechariah asked the angel, \u201cHow can I be sure of this?\xa0I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.\u201d 19\xa0The angel said to him, \u201cI am Gabriel.\xa0I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.\xa020\xa0And now you will be silent and not able to speak\xa0until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.\u201d 21\xa0Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.\xa022\xa0When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he