Yesterday we got to celebrate Betty’s 90th birthday! She is an inspiration to us, radiating faith and positive gratitude every week. We pray God’s continued blessings on her and her family.

A surprise is ‘an unexpected or astonishing event or fact’. God frequently deals with us in unexpected or astonishing ways, but this is largely because of the difference between His thoughts and ways and ours (see Is 55:8-9). Because He is God, He knows everything and therefore nothing can take Him by surprise! As Castings Crowns sing,

‘When I’m lost in the mystery,

To You my future is a memory

Cause You’re already there,

You’re already there.

Standing at the end of my life

Waiting on the other side

And You’re already there

You’re already there.’ (‘Already There’, Casting Crowns)

God’s omniscience is a blessing to us. It means we know nothing can happen to us that will take God by surprise. All the chaos of our lives is actually part of God’s picture-perfect plan and we can be sure that He is working for our good in every situation. (Rom 8:28) It may well not look like this at the time (I can imagine Joseph wondering how fleeing to Egypt from a murderous king could be part of God’s plan), but far from being terrifying, God’s omniscience provides a framework of stability for our lives.

Our thanks to Alan for these photos of the actual Christmas market. There were 64 stalls and it looks like there was lots to browse and buy!

We enjoyed our community carols on Friday. Thanks to Alan for these photos.

Meanwhile, indoors, people were enjoying some good conversations!

Even our youngsters got in on the act!

The RAC (Royal Automobile Club), founded in 1897, offers breakdown and rescue cover to drivers in the UK. It’s great to have comprehensive cover which ensures you get to your destination, even if your car or vehicle breaks down, and even better to have cover which can get you home again! In some ways, though, their cover is nowhere near as good as God’s RAC Rescue Plan!

Life is often described in terms of a journey, with people walking with God (see Gen 5:22, Gen 6:9). Enoch and Noah were just two of many people who are described as walking with God. In the New Testament, Jesus described Himself as ‘the Way’ (John 14:6) and in other places, the journey is described as a race (1 Cor 9:24-27). This metaphor of life as a journey implies purpose and meaning. Peter tells us that God’s plan is to redeem us ‘from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors’ (1 Pet 1:18), reminding us that without God, life can be aimless and without purpose.

God’s RAC Rescue Plan involves redemption and commitment. 1 Pet 1:18-21 outlines how this redemption was brought about (through the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect) and what is required now is our commitment to this plan. God provides all we need for salvation; in some ways, the infilling of the Holy Spirit is like the stuffing that brings teddy bears to life in the Build-A-Bear factories! We need God in us so that we can follow Him, walk with Him and live for Him.

It’s not cheap to have the best insurance cover and this cover has to be renewed annually. But God’s RAC Rescue Plan involved Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice (Heb 9:26-28) and is offered to us freely. Will we give Him the commitment He deserves?

To talk about Christmas as ‘God’s Great Rescue Plan’ begs the question, ‘What’s the danger? What do we need rescuing from?’ Just as most of us in our area live quite comfortable lives, we can be the same spiritually, not aware of any danger or peril at all.

Recent floods. however, shook us up and made many of us think again: it was bizarre hearing familiar place names like Meadowhall, Bentley and Fishlake make the national news as we experienced heavy rain on 7th November which causes much localised flooding, necessitating the emergency services having to rescue many people from cars or homes. For many, the danger was all too real and the consequences devastating. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said that they had taken more than 2409 emergency calls on 7^th November and carried out around 219 rescues, many of them directly related to the flooding.

Spiritually, we are all in need of rescue, for all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23) and there is no one righteous, not even one. (Rom 3:10) God sent Jesus to be our rescuer; even His name tells us this, for it means ‘he shall save his people from their sins.’ (Matt 1:21) The baby in the manger at Bethlehem may look an unlikely rescuer, but He is both fully human and fully God (Mary conceived when the Holy Spirit came upon her) and could therefore be the sinless sacrifice for sin.

God’s method of rescue seems odd to us, for Jesus ended up nailed to a cross, suffering humiliation and shame. A dead rescuer doesn ‘t sound like much of a plan, but the story doesn’t end in the stable or even on the cross. God’s great rescue plan included resurrection: the triumph of Jesus over death and the proof that His sacrifice was accepted by God. Jesus now lives for ever, and because of this, we too can have eternal life.