Didn‘t we enjoy a brilliant Nativity and Christingle this year!Thank you to everyone who came to join in!Our Christmas Day Family service will commence at 10am.You are welcome to join us as we worship, whoever you are.May you be blessed richly with the peace of Christ on this very special Christmas Day.
Who believes the Christmas story? Really?Do you believe all of it, or skip over the bits you are not so sure about?What is the truth about the birth of Jesus? Was he, is he, the Son of God?Conspiracy theorists tend to take it as read that nobody is telling the straightforward, whole truth.They are looking for an agenda, an angle. Why do they want us to believe that?There are three broad categories:They may be selling us a line for nefarious purposes;They may want to draw us away from the real truth; orThey want to control our minds or our attitudes, to keep us in line.So let’s work this backwards.If someone believes the story of the nativity, might it be used for wicked purposes? I can’t see how, can you? We have a virgin giving birth to a baby she agreed to carry. We have some shepherds who have all been struck by awe. They’ve done no harm. They’ve gone to see the truth for themselves. And we have some wise men who came from abroad with expensive gifts all by themselves, nobody coerced them into it.If someone believes the story of the nativity, how might that be a lie to draw us away from the real truth? What then might the real truth be? That Jesus was born somewhere else? To another mother? That he wasn’t born at all? That he was born, but he wasn’t the Son of God so it wasn’t significant? Why make it up as a story then? It wouldn’t make sense to do that. Whether he was born in a stable or a mansion or had visitors would surely make no difference at all to whether we believe him to be born the Son of God.If someone believes the story of the nativity, how might that fit with the last of three categories, that they want to control our minds and attitudes and lives, to keep us in line?This category contains many intersecting threads which we might become entangled in, especially when we introduce the corner holders of Religion, Politics, Power, and Gain, and see that there have always been people pulling those strings who may not have been doing so for the good of all, for love of God and for humankind. It was this world which the baby was born in, each of the strings a strand of the straw in the stable. The corrupt human beings of the time oppressed and harassed and ultimately tried to destroy him and his message, but it is still alive. The goodness and love which flows from the baby in the stable has always been a far greater story than those of wicked individuals which may draw our attention away from the truth of the nativity.A tiny baby is born in a stable. Powerless domestic animals look on. Alongside them are those human beings who, whatever their background, are humble enough to bare their soul and come and see. To draw close. This is real. It is the straightforward, whole truth.Here is Jesus, the Son of God; at the very centre of our lives, of the Church, of the Universe.Born today!May the joy and peace of this Holy Day bless you richly.Amen.Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister
If you could choose when to be born and who your parents were: what would you choose? Certainly I would want midwives and doctors present with an excellent hospital near by. I would want to be born in an age of comfort, in a place of peace and prosperity.So why on earth did God choose Palestine of 2,000 years ago? Perhaps because his values are not our values. In this Advent Season let us take time to reflect on our lives. Are my priorities God’s priorities? So often we are selfish and self-centred whereas God calls us to be outward looking and considerate towards others. Mary didn’t consider herself when she answered the call of God to be the mother of Jesus. In todays terms Mary was a young girl probably aged between 14 and 16 and when presented with the challenge simply said yes. She didn’t know the full picture but kept taking the small steps that God called her to, steps that would lead her eventually to the foot of the cross and to witness the barbaric death of Jesus, her son.So what about us 2,000 years later. Do we make Mary so special and so important that we don’t need to follow in her footsteps? What is God calling you to do in your life? Remember Mary didn’t leap from the birth of Jesus to the cross, she made small steps trying to work out what God was calling her to do and be and not always getting it right. We must do the same, look at your life and ask yourself, ‘What can I change?’ Often the changes which are most dramatic appear at first sight to be small and insignificant. Who knows where God will take you in this new Church year.Have a happy and blessed year, and celebrate the birth of the Christ Child with a promise to try to listen more and more to what God is calling you to do and to be.May God bless us in this challenge. Andrew SSL
‘Restore us, O God. Let your face shine, that we may be saved.’ (Psalm 80:3) Hymn: Tell out, my soul...Micah 5:2-5a; Hebrews 10:5-10‘The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.’ John 1:9Let us confess our sins: Most merciful God, we acknowledge our failings. Forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Eternal God, as Mary waited for the birth of your Son, so we wait for his coming in glory; bring us through the birth pangs of this present age to see, with her, our great salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Luke 1: 39-55Please see the message from the minister.In joyful expectation of his being with us we pray to Jesus:Come to your Church as Lord. We pray for all to come to know your love, now and always. Come to your world as King of the nations. We pray for peace on Earth.Come to our community as a family member. We pray that our relationships will thrive.Come to the suffering as Saviour and comforter. We pray for those on our hearts and minds today. Break into our lives, where we struggle with sickness and distress, and set us free to serve you for ever.Come to us as shepherd and guardian of our souls. We remember those we have loved and lost.Come from heaven, Lord Jesus, with power and great glory. Lift us up to meet you, that with all of your saints and angels we may live and reign with you in your new creation.We join together in the words of the Lord’s prayer:Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.Hymn: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven came...May God himself, the God of peace, make us perfect and holy, and keep us safe and blameless in spirit, soul and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among us and remain with us always. Amen.As we await our coming Saviour, let us go in the peace of Christ. Thanks be to God.
