So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”      Matthew 2 : 14 - 15

This week’s reading : Matthew 2 : 13 - 23

Thought for the week

What's in a name? We know how much care we take when choosing names for our children. Well in the Bible, it's everything! In the Bible, a person's name describes their character and personality.

God has a name too, and at Christmas we learned that Mary's baby was to be called Jesus - 'God saves'. Over the years they spent with him, his disciples learned what God's personality was like, through Jesus, most clearly when he gave his life for our salvation.

As Christians, we too bear the name of Christ. What does that mean for us? How will people be able to see the likeness of Christ in what we say and do in this New Year?

Rev Stella

Prayers for this week

God in Trinity, eternal unity of perfect love:

gather the nations to be one family,

and draw us into your holy life through the birth of Emmanuel,

our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen

God our Father

In love you sent your Son that the world may have life

Lead us to seek Him among the outcast and find Him among those in need

For Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen

‘The Work of Christmas’

When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among the people,

to make music in the heart.

"The Work of Christmas” by Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader.