The 2008 presidential race is heating up. On the Democratic side will it be Hillary or Obama? On the Republican side, will it be Romney, Giulliani, McClain, Thompson, or up-and-coming Huckabee? You've known me long enough to know that I don't use the pulpit for partisan politics. But I thought it would be helpful to explain some of the differences between Republicans and Democrats.

• Republicans say "Merry Christmas." Democrats say "Happy Holidays."
• Democrats get back at the Republicans on their Christmas list by giving them fruitcakes. Republicans re-wrap them and send them to in-laws.
• Democrats do much of their shopping at Target and Wal-Mart. So do Republicans, but they don't admit it.
• Republicans see nothing wrong with letting their children play "Cowboys and Indians." Democrats don't either, as long as the Indians win.
• Democrats' favorite Christmas movie is "Miracle on 34th Street." Republicans' favorite Christmas movie is "It's a Wonderful Life." Right-Wing Republicans' favorite Christmas movie is "Die Hard."
• Democrat men like to watch football while the women fix holiday meals. On this, Republicans are in full agreement.

I think we get caught up in the glamour of the big names in politics (like the names I just mentioned), in Hollywood (Ben Stiller, Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt), or in the athletic world (Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, A-Rod) that we become intimidated and think, "I'm just a peon in a star-studded world. I'll never amount to much."

I think we can feel that way even when we read the Bible, a book that is dominated by high caliber people like Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul. We read the stories of the heroes of the faith and instead of thinking, "I wonder how God wants to use me," we put these guys on a high pedestal and conclude, "I'm just a nobody."

But if you read all the stories in between these best-known stories, you will find that the Bible is filled with "nobodies" whom God used to impact the world. Who would have thought that a prostitute named Rahab would find her way in the annals of the Messianic line? Who would have thought that a humble foreigner from Moab named Ruth would marry a Jewish man and end up being the great grandmother of David, again someone in the Messianic line? And then you read about Epaphroditus in the New Testament who delivered Paul's letter to the church at Philippi.

God used many "unknowns" in the Bible to impact the world for His kingdom. He still does the same today. The title of my message is "God Can Impact." During these weeks of Advent Sundays we are looking at the question: "What is your impossible?" Even though we're looking at several parts of the Nativity story, we are focusing on one key verse: "For nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

Last week we looked at John 1 and talked about how God entered the universe as a baby and how He can relate to all that we go through in life. Today, I want us to talk about how God can impact the world through one ordinary life. Most of us will never reach headlines stardom. And I have a feeling that many (or most) of us this morning have never seriously contemplated the notion that God could impact the world through you. "Impossible!" you're probably thinking.

God loves to impact the world through ordinary lives. And that is exactly what He did in the story surrounding Jesus' birth. Today, I want us to focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke introduces her to us in Chapter 1. Of course, from our perspective today we look at Mary and say, "What a superstar of a woman. Wow! The mother of Jesus!" But this morning I want you to do your best to place yourself in the time that the events of Luke 1 occurred. Read 26-27.

"In the sixth month" refers back to the previous events in the chapter. One of Mary's relatives was pregnant with John the Baptist. So these previous verses tell us the miraculous events surrounding her pregnancy. The "sixth month" refers to the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

So, in this sixth month the angel Gabriel appears to Mary. As you read these two verses there is nothing extraordinary. Nothing is stated to give us an idea about who this Mary is. What little is told us merely confirms what I'm trying to teach this morning—that Mary was just an ordinary person. What do we know about her? She lived in a little town called Nazareth, a little community maybe like Plains, Georgia, a town whose name everyone recognizes now. But 40 years ago, very few knew where it was. There was a little sarcastic remark people often used in their street talk—"nothing good comes out of Nazareth."

So, we know that she lived in Nazareth. We also know her name was Mary, a very common, ordinary name. Nothing like Oprah, O.J., Paris, or Mariah, names that immediately identify who you are talking about. Just Mary. She was engaged to a man named Joseph. In addition, there are two further pieces of information given that are critical to the storyline. She was a virgin, and Joseph was a descendant of David.

Outside of these tidbits the story gives no further details. What did she look like? Was she pretty? Did she come from a good family? What did her Dad do? How did she meet Joseph? Just an ordinary girl in an ordinary town. Yet what we read next changed the course of history.

Read verse 28. The angel said to Mary, "What's up?" That's the 2007 version. Actually, "Greetings, you who are highly favored." Whoa! Ordinary Mary maybe had never heard such words of affirmation. "Highly favored? Who? Me? Are you sure you have the right person? Are you sure that's not the other Mary down the street?" Then the angel added, "The Lord is with you." That just made Mary wonder more—what in the world is going on here?

How do I know that Mary was taken aback by these words? See for yourself in verse 29: "Mary was greatly troubled at his words." Then the angel assured her there was nothing to fear; instead, there was something to get excited about. She was going to give birth to the very Son of God. Yes, ordinary Mary. Read the exact announcement in verses 30-33. Why Mary? Certainly, there were other women who had married descendants of David. Why her? Why now? Because God loves to impact the world through ordinary people.

The conversation with the angel continues. Mary asks in verse 34, "How will this be…since I am a virgin?" "Okay, I understand what you're telling me. But there is one problem. You say I'm going to have a baby. But I've never slept with a man. And quite frankly, even though I'm pledged to marry Joseph, I'm not going to sleep with him until everything is official. So, talk to me, Gabe." In other words, Mary is saying, "Gabriel, all you're telling me sounds good. But it's impossible."

I know I'm reading between the lines, but I believe Mary's question here goes beyond just the actual biological impossibility of having a baby without a sexual relationship. I think she is experiencing overwhelming emotions—a baby, Son of the Most High, a king over the throne of David? Me? Don't you know I'm just Mary? Plain and simple Mary. How can all this really be true…about me?

I still wonder at the grace of God who called me into the ministry. I was raised in a "nobody" kind of family. My dad was a fireman. My mom held a myriad of jobs—newspaper office, country treasurer's office, dentist office. We didn't have much money. And what little we had my dad blew on alcohol and drugs. My senior year of high school we had to move out of our three-bedroom home in the suburbs because my parents couldn't pay the mortgage. So we moved to a much less favorable section of town to a two-bedroom rental house.

Through the help of my grandmother who after years of being a widow married a good man with a little money, I was able to attend college. But I had no direction whatsoever. I didn't even know I needed to choose a major when I went to orientation. And when my next door neighbor said she was going to major in math, then I thought, "I'm pretty good at math," so I chose a math major.

Without going into details, let's just say my first year at college was all fun and very little meaningful study. I think I could have easily turned into a problem drinker dropout. But God had other plans. He put the right people in my path at the right time. And then during my junior year, He called me into the ministry. A couple of weeks ago I was recording the names of people I had baptized that day. And I noticed on the records that more than 800 men, women, boys and girls have been impacted through the ministry God has given me. Who am I to deserve those kinds of blessings? God impacts the world through ordinary people. How does that happen?

We find the answer back in our story. Mary raised the question, "How can these things be?" The angel responded in verses 35-37, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." It's not Mary. It's the Holy Spirit. It's not Ken Kelly. It's the Holy Spirit. It's not Billy Graham or Andy Stanley or Perry Noble or Rick Warren. It's the Holy Spirit. It wasn't just ordinary Mary He was using to impact the world. He was also using ordinary Elizabeth. And then the angel spoke these words that he is trying to communicate to you and me today: "For nothing is impossible with God."

What keeps me in ministry is seeing God transform lives. God taking ordinary folks, transforming them, and then using them for His kingdom. Today, I've invited Pam Jeffcoat to come and tell a little bit of her story. [Pam's story]

You see, God takes an ordinary person, transforms her life, and uses her to impact the world. What experiences have you gone through in your life? God wants to use your experiences to help others. Have you miscarried a baby? Have you lost your job? Have you battled cancer? Have you gone through a divorce? Have you faced a major surgery? Have you dealt with teenage drug addiction? Has your child been in trouble with the law? Are you dealing with aging parents? All of these things are matters which shape your life. They can be extremely painful. But they are things that happen to ordinary people like you and me. And God specializes in using ordinary people to impact His world. The question is: Are you willing for God to use you?

You need to move beyond the mindset that God can't impact the world through you. He can. And He wants to. Just like Mary, the key to making an impact is to allow the power of God's Spirit to consume your life. Let me close by looking at one more verse in our text, verse 38. I love the New Life Version's rendering of this verse: "I am willing to be used of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38).

Mary didn't understand everything. In fact, it was mind blowing what the angel had communicated to her. But she resolved that whatever the Lord wanted to do through her, she was willing. Do you have that kind of attitude? God wants to do the impossible through your life. He wants to impact the world through you. Are you willing? Are you ready right now to give Him your life completely and ask Him to use you?