Paul tells the Thessalonian church to ‘give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ (1 Thess 5:18) He goes even further to the Ephesian church, telling them to give thanks ‘to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph 5:20) It’s clear that thankfulness is hugely important to those who follow Jesus.

How can we do this? How can we give thanks when our world seems to be falling apart? How can we give thanks when there is so much poverty, suffering and injustice around us? The only way we can do this is to realise that God is good and He will work for the good of those who are called by Him (see Psalm 119:68, Romans 8:28). The Bible has much to say about suffering and sorrow, but it also affirms that God’s plans can’t be thwarted, and that history will culminate in a time when there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain. (Revelation 21:4) It is because of this hope that we can give thanks, no matter what.

As the countdown to Christmas really begins this week, we have reached the ‘T’ of ‘Advent’: ‘Thankfulness’. Thankfulness and gratitude are so important to living well. Research tells us that gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. It’s really about an attitude which helps us to see the bigger picture and understand our role in that.

The Christmas story reminds us that we are not at the centre of the universe. God is. It reminds us also that we are valued and loved, that we have purpose and meaning, and this helps us to live meaningful lives. We are not insignificant or unimportant; we matter to God so much that He gave His only Son to save us. The Christmas story is a love story. It’s not just about the love between Mary and Joseph or the love of parents for their child. It’s about the love of God the Father for humanity and about the extraordinary lengths He went to in order to invite us into His family.

That’s a lot to be thankful for!

I think it’s safe to say that most adults at church don’t particularly enjoy the spotlight being turned on them as we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them. But children often see this as something positive, being eager to celebrate birthdays! Today, one girl who will be 5 later this week decided it was worth being on the birthday box twice: once in our morning meeting and once in our evening meeting!

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we won’t be forgetting her either!

Garry spoke tonight from Matt 1:18-25, reminding us of the name given to Jesus, ‘Emmanuel’ meaning ‘God with us.’ We might say that this is obvious; Ps 139:7-12 makes it plain that we cannot escape from God’s presence anywhere, since He is omnipresent! But the presence of God with us possible since Jesus took on human flesh is different. Over recent years we have become familiar with Zoom, WhatsApp video calls and Face Time, all of which enable us to see someone whilst talking to them, which is a great help in communication. You can go further than this with telepresence (a set of technologies which allow a person to move as if they were actually present in a situation, such as is used in robotics) and with haptic technology where you can wear sensors and actually feel the bumps and shakes of a car in racing games, for example.

John 1:14 reminds us that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. He moved into our neighbourhood, so to speak, and Jesus (God in human form) experienced all we feel – human emotions such as joy, sadness, betrayal and grief. He lost his earthly father, Joseph, his cousin John and his friend, Lazarus. He experienced an agonising death for us. We can never say that Jesus does not know what it is to be human. God with us knows, feels, and shares in every aspect of our lives because He is truly God with us everywhere and for all time.

Our pre-recorded Nativity ‘God Is With Us – Everywhere!’ (by Fay Rowland) which featured in our carol service tonight told the Nativity story in rhyming verse. We are very grateful to church members who took the time to dress up and record these scenes! Our thanks also to Stephen who sang Chris Tomlin’s ‘Emmanuel, God With Us’ during the service.

Julie continued looking at the truths in Christmas carols, focussing today on ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem.’ The carol focuses on Bethlehem as the place where Jesus was born (see Luke 2:1-6), a town mentioned frequently in the Old Testament (especially in the book of Ruth and as the home town of King David) and one which acquired special significance through the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth there (Micah 5:2). Birth places are still recorded nowadays, but the choice of Bethlehem as the birth place of the Saviour – not the capital city of Jerusalem – reminds us that God’s ways are different to ours and that He often chooses ‘insignificant’ places (and people!) to fulfil His will (see 1 Cor 1:18-25).

The carol contrasts the darkness of the streets with the ‘everlasting light’ shining there, and this theme of light and darkness is frequently expounded in the Scriptures (see John 1:5, 1 John 1:5). We can be reassured that no matter how dark the world is, and how badly affected by sin, God’s light can still shine through.

The carol reminds us of the need for humility and does not just narrate historical fact. It makes these facts personal in the final verse, inviting us to experience the second birth Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus (see John 3:1-6) and reminding us that Jesus wants to abide with us permanently now.Jesus made it plain that whether we have eternal life or not entirely depends on our response to Him, whether we believe Him and accept Him as God’s Rescuer and Deliverer, or whether we reject Him and think we can manage on our own. We have to make a personal response, a personal choice, to the personal invitation of Jesus.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

For Christ is born of Mary; and, gathered all above,

while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n!

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n.

No ear may hear his coming; but in this world of sin,

where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell:

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.