Good News!
This year has been a year of almost unremitting bad news, but the Christmas story is definitely a story of good news: in the words of the angel to the shepherds: ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’ (Luke 2:10)
News means ‘newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events.’ How many times have people scrolled through news briefings this year looking for the most up-to-date news, looking for newly received information? But sometimes, we need good news that brings great joy even if it is not newly received or a recent event. Each year, we re-tell the Christmas story, not because it is recent or newly received, but simply because it is good news!
Christmas is a time when we remember that God cared enough to enter our world, to take on human flesh, to embrace humanity. It’s a time when we remember that God has a human face and that face is called Jesus. It’s a time when no matter how hopeless things seem, no matter how dark, we see light shining. (Is 9:2) Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, there is hope; there is peace; there is great joy. We need to be a people who embrace Jesus and His good news with courage and faith and joy.
The Christmas story is not just a fairy-tale to be dusted off out of sentiment; it is a story packed with good news and truth and is capable of bringing great joy. Jesus was born to conquer the grave, as one of the songs heard tonight declared. (‘Christmas Day’, Chris Tomlin) This year, more than ever, when death statistics have been rammed down our throats on a daily basis, we need to know that there is good news which defies death, and the fact that Jesus came as that baby in Bethlehem reminds us of this truth. Not even death can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
The angel’s message to the shepherds reminds us there is no need to fear. Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) In God, we can know freedom from fear and can receive a joy that gives us strength. (Neh 8:10) Be careful what news you listen to. Embrace the good news of Jesus Christ.
Carol Service 2020
We had people attend our carol service tonight in Christmas jumpers.
We also anticipated two birthdays (one on Christmas Eve and one on New Year’s Eve):
In addition to our ‘Good News Nativity’ (recorded by church members and edited together by Garry), we also used percussion to be involved in carols:
We had readings and read out carols as well as ending our service outdoors where we could sing heartily (‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ and ‘Joy To The World.’)
Where Is God? (2)
The answer to the question ‘Where Is God?’ is that He is both everywhere and here with us. But it can be really difficult to believe God is near to us when we do not feel His presence. One of the hardest things we face as Christians is a sense of abandonment, a feeling that God is not with us, that we are alone. This is often called ‘the dark night of the soul’, a phrase coined by St John of the Cross in the 16th century in a poem he wrote describing the anguish he felt at what he perceived to be God’s absence. Almost anything is bearable if we can sense God’s presence with us and can glimpse something of His plans and purposes for us, but there are times when we can struggle with a sense of meaning in the world, when life seems to be purposeless and we don’t feel God’s comfort and presence.
Mother Teresa wrote of the silence of God and the emptiness she felt in letters that were only published after her death. She wrote, ‘In the darkness . . . Lord, my God, who am I that you should forsake me? The child of your love — and now become as the most hated one. The one — you have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want, and there is no one to answer . . . Where I try to raise my thoughts to heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul. Love — the word — it brings nothing. I am told God lives in me — and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.’
We may be surprised to hear these words, for people very often don’t talk about these feelings for fear of rejection or simply because they feel so forsaken. Outwardly, Mother Teresa was the very model of what it means to be a Christian, revered by everyone as a saint. Inwardly, she struggled to ‘feel’ the presence of God with her. That did not stop her, however, from serving God and from loving Him and the world. The key to Christian life is to understand that feelings don’t have the last word.
Feelings are often a most unreliable guide to reality, because they are essentially subjective, as Eugene Peterson remarks, “Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. Feelings are important in many areas but completely unreliable in matters of faith.” (‘The Journey’, Eugene Peterson) As Casting Crowns put it:
‘I can’t live by what I feel,
But by the truth Your word reveals.’ (‘East To West’, Casting Crowns)
What we have to do in those times when we don’t ‘feel’ God’s presence is to align ourselves with the truth of God’s word. In essence, we say (as Mother Teresa did) that it doesn’t matter what we feel; it doesn’t matter what we see. What matters is that God has told us He is near, that He is always with us, and therefore we will continue to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7)
Where Is God?
In continuing with our series on ‘Questions’, today we looked at the question, ‘Where Is God?’ This is a question that has deep resonance through the ages, and in this present bewildering time, many feel confused about God’s presence in the midst of our suffering and pain.
The simple answer to the question lies in God’s omnipresence: He is everywhere. But in exploring this question, we have to look at both God’s transcendence and His immanence, truths which Scripture hold in perfect tension. God’s transcendence means that God is exalted, above, beyond us. He is ‘other’, not the same as us. He is far greater than us. The Bible often talks in terms of God being ‘exalted’ or ‘lifted up’ (see Ex 15:1,21; Ps 46:10; Ps 57:5, 11; Ps 92:8; Ps 97:9) This is not so much a geographical location for God as the reminder that He is Lord. Two key verses are Ps 115:2-3 (‘Why do the nations say, “Where is their God? 3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.’ ) and Deut 4:39 (‘the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’)
God’s transcendence can lead us to feel that He is so far above us that He does not care about us and is indifferent to our suffering. Nothing could be further from the truth. God’s immanence means He is near us (Phil 4:5); He has promised always to be with us. (Matt 28:20; Heb 13:5) God is closer than a brother (Prov 18:24); He is ‘God with us – Immanuel’ (Matt 1:23). We have the assurance of God’s word that when we gather in His name, He is there with us. (Matt 18:20)
The truths of God’s transcendence and immanence mean that we have a powerful and mighty God who is always with us, tenderly caring for us and sustaining us at all times. Whether we feel His presence or not is ultimately irrelevant. What is true is that the answer to the question ‘Where is God?’ is that He is ‘here’ with us and His presence makes all the difference.
The Jesse Tree (4)
This week we looked at the final decorations on our Jesse Tree. The writing tablet representsJohn the Baptist. He was a relative of Jesus. His birth was also miraculous, for his parents (Zechariah and Elizabeth) were too old to have children naturally. An angel appeared to Zechariah to announce they would give birth to a son and told him that his name was to be John; this baby would be a messenger who would point people to Jesus. Zechariah didn’t believe the angel at first, and so he was struck dumb and was unable to talk throughout Elizabeth’s pregnancy. When John was born and they were asked what they wanted to name him, Elizabeth said John, and Zechariah wrote that name down so the others would believe her. When he did that, he was able to talk again, because it showed he had listened to God in the end! John was known as John the Baptist, and he was a relative of Jesus who always told people that Jesus was the Lamb of God and the Messiah. He was the messenger sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way of the Lord.
The hammer and a saw represent the carpenter, Joseph, chosen by God to be the earthly father of Jesus. Like his ancestors before him, Joseph had great faith and trust in God. Even when his fiancée, Mary, told him that she was expecting a baby and he knew he was not the father, he obeyed God’s command to take her as his wife and look after her and the baby, Jesus. He was with Mary when Jesus was born, and, when the wise men came to worship the new-born child, they found Joseph there, taking care of him. He did all that a father was supposed to do and cared for his family. Joseph was a carpenter by trade and probably taught Jesus these skills as well. During this past year, we have seen afresh the importance of key workers, people with crafts and skills, and we are grateful for the fact God has made each of us unique, all with different skills.
The flower is supposed to be a white rose (to symbolise the purity of Mary), but ours is a multi-coloured flower! Mary was just a teenager when the angel Gabriel came to her to tell her that she was highly favoured of God and would become the mother of Jesus, even though she was a virgin. Mary responded with great faith and courage and was willing to do what God wanted, even if it meant people thought she had done wrong. The flower represents her purity and obedience to God.
The star reminds us of the star that guided the wise men to where Jesus was, but ultimately, the star reminds us also that our Saviour, Jesus, is the Light of the World. Years before His birth, a prophecy was given that ‘a star will come out of Jacob’ (Numbers 24:17), and we see how God is able to use any part of His creation to point us to Jesus.
We also put a star on top of our tree!
Always In Date
Stephen spoke tonight about the relevance of Christmas – and indeed all of God’s word – to our lives today. When we buy food nowadays, there is often a ‘use by‘ date or ‘best before date’ on the packaging, which determines when it can be eaten.
