One of the things that makes the Christmas story so powerful and so beautiful is the way the people in the story responded to God. The Lord had chosen that moment in history to send His Son into the world. He was giving the world exactly what it needed—a Savior. The problem was that most of the people during that day and time didn’t know that they needed a Savior, and they were not interested in what God was doing. The world’s lack of concern with what God was doing is what made the world a dark place. By contrast Mary and Joseph’s willingness to follow God’s leadership provided light in a dark world. The vast majority of our culture today is not interested in what God is doing, and thus we live in a spiritually dark place. When you and I follow the Lord’s direction, His light shines through us. The title of the message is, “Brighter,” from Luke 1:26 – 38.