John the Baptist is one of the great characters of the Bible. His purpose was simple,

to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said of John

that he was the greatest of those born of women.

This greatness was not in himself, not his personality, not talent,

but his greatness was in his task, introducing people to Jesus.

Join Scott Pauley now as he leads us in a study of this great man.

Music Pauli now as he leads us in a study of this great man.

Aren't you grateful to God for family? The Bible says in the Old Testament that the Lord seteth the solitary in families.

You see, God always designed that we be connected to one another. That's why in the

Garden of Eden, he established the home, he established family. No one stands by themselves.

You didn't get here by yourself, you're not going to make it by yourself. We're journeying right now with

John the Baptist, and though he is a very prominent

character, I'm showing you now the setting, the context of his life, the home that he grew up in,

if you will, the place where so much was put into him that would be drawn out of him the rest

of his life. We're looking at John the Baptist family. We looked at

this first family on our last episode, and we talked about this couple serving the Lord

faithfully together, a dad who knew how to pray, a mother who was a humble, holy woman.

And yet, in that home, it's very important to notice that Zacharice and Elizabeth took their responsibility for raising John the Baptist very seriously.

We read most about this family in Luke chapter number one.

And if you come to the end of Luke chapter number one and verse number 80, the Bible says of John the Baptist,

and the child grew

and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts to the day of his showing unto Israel.

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