The second week of Advent looks at ‘peace’ as its theme. Peace is one of the central messages of Christmas; the message of the angels to the shepherds was ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’ (Luke 2:14)...

As the story progresses, we see that Mary (who will be the mother of Jesus) is related to Elizabeth, and so the reason for this other angelic announcement about a boy called John becomes clearer. (Luke 1) The hopelessness of Israel is about to be changed, starting...

The Gospels do not always plunge straight into the birth of Jesus, again showing us God’s preparation in giving us a Saviour. Matthew’s Gospel starts with a family tree, showing us that Jesus is connected with people right back to the first man, Adam. Luke’s Gospel...