Welcome to 2019! At the start of the year, my Bible reading plan (Bible In One Year) is re-set and I start again to read through the whole Bible throughout the year, reading a portion from the Old Testament, a portion from the New Testament and a portion from the book of Psalms or Proverbs each day. Today, as I focussed again on ‘the start’, God’s amazing act of creation, and on the genealogy of Jesus (that link between the Old Testament and the New Testament), it struck me how arbitrary our dating and timing systems are! Yesterday I was in Nehemiah and Revelation; now I’m back to Genesis and Matthew!

From midday yesterday (New Year’s Eve), I was receiving greetings from friends in Australia wishing me a ‘Happy New Year’. Friends in Canada and the U.S.A. haven’t yet started sending me greetings (they’re obviously not up early and didn’t stay up to ‘see in’ the New Year). This is all to do with time zones and meridians, which I struggle to understand! In the creation account in Genesis 1, we are told ‘there was evening and there was morning – the first day’ (Gen 1:5) and the Jewish practice is to count the start of the day as nightfall, rather than at midnight, as we do. In the past, even the time varied from one part of the country to another, which obviously makes life very complicated if you’re trying to arrange meetings at set times!

Whatever part of the world we’re in or whatever system of dating and timing we’re using, for most of us reading this, today is the first day of 2019 and we traditionally spend time on this day (a public holiday) reflecting on what has gone and pondering what lies ahead. As a church, we choose to spend a part of this day together, at our New Year’s Day party. If you’re free at 4 p.m., do join us for food, fellowship, fun and games. It’s our way of acknowledging that we are part of God’s family and that this year is another year to journey, not only with God, but also with each other. We don’t know what lies ahead in the future, but we do know God has promised to be with us, to lead us and guide us and to bless us and so we walk on in faith, secure in His love.

Life is a journey and we have not yet reached our destination! So often, we don’t enjoy the journey because we are more concerned with reaching the destination than taking in the scenery or enjoying the trip – hence the dreaded question, ‘Are we there yet?’

The Christian life is something of a paradox, for Christ most certainly has reached His destination. He is the victor; He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, having completed the work He was given to do (Eph 1:18-23). When He was on earth, many tried to stop Him, but they could not (see Matt 2:13, Lk 4:16, 24 – 30; John 5:16-18) and now we know that He has beaten sin and death and set us free from the curse of sin (death). Col 2:16-18 clarifies the total victory over the enemy which Christ has won; the fact that He is now seated at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (Heb 1:1-3) demonstrates the completeness of the work He has achieved.

The question now is not whether Christ is victorious, but whether we are. God promises many rewards to those who are victorious (see Rev 2:7), but there are warnings also for us en route (see Rev 2-3, 2 Cor 2:11). We need to be careful to keep to our first love (Rev 3:1-17) and to keep alert on the journey. This will involve:

1. Prayer (1 Tim 2:1) All spiritual growth begins with listening to and talking to God. Prayer changes us and changes situations too. As we learn to hear God’s voice, He will lead us and direct us.

2. Development (Gal 5:22-23). God brings the fruit of the Spirit to growth in our lives, leading us to develop and grow.

3. Reproduction (Matt 28:18-20) Our part in God’s victory is laid out for us here; we are to go and make disciples of every nation, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them everything Jesus taught us. The work of Jesus may be complete, but we still have a mission to complete!

For us, still journeying with God, there is a constant need to keep alert and be aware that this is no time for relaxation; we are still engaged in spiritual warfare and are still on active duty. The world is not friendly and our enemy still roars like a lion, seeking to devour us, but we serve a victorious Saviour and there are still victories and people to b won.

This morning, continuing the series ‘Battles and Blessings’, we looked at Ephesians 4:17-32 which talks about the blessings of a changed life. Paul is adamant that our beliefs have an impact on our behaviour and that those in whom Christ’s Spirit dwells will live differently to how the world lives. Without God, we live as if ‘blindfold in a world of lilllusion’ (J. B. Phillips’ translation of Eph 4:17-18, see also 2 Cor 4:4), but when Christ opens our eyes, this has an impact on our behaviour, responses and actions. It’s like taking off a set of old, ragged, dirty clothes and donning a new wardrobe! (Eph 4:22-24)

Paul focuses on how our faith affects our speech (Eph 4:25, 29), reminding us that lying, insincerity, slander, brawling, malice and anythng unwholesome (the word is also used of rotting fish!) all have to go. Our motivation in speaking must be to speak the truth in love (without love, our truthful speech can be cutting and hurtful; without truth, our love can be simply sentimental), always with the intent to build others up according to their needs (not ours.) Those who simply ‘have’ to say it as they see it need to learn self-control and patience (see Ps 141:3, Prov 15:1, Prov 12:18, Prov 15:26). Words can so easily wound and make relationships difficult to maintain, but God should be seen in our speech. The acrostic ‘THINK’ encourages us to evaluate our speech before we open our mouths!

Paul also reminds us of the need to control our anger, being willing to give up grudges and learn to forgive (Eph 4:26-27, 32), keeping short accounts so that the devil does not gain entry into our lives. Our responses need to reflect the fruit of the Spirit growing within us: showing kindness, patience, forgiveness and compassion to others. (Eph 4:32)

Paul also talks about changed actions, covering a wide range of practical scenarios (including stealing, sexual conduct, drunkenness and so on.) We are children of the light (Eph 5:8, 1 Thess 5:5) and our conduct has to reflect our beliefs. Our lives are living letters which are read by others. (2 Cor 3:2)

Ultimately, if God is living in us, He will have an effect on our speech, on the way we think and on the way we act. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are the new clothes we have to put on daily. As we learn to put on these clothes every day, we will find the blessing of a changed life affects not only our own disposition and actions, but has a profound influence and effect on others too. As there is integrity and authenticity in what we think and say and how we live, people will see an alternative way of living which is both compelling and intriguing. If we want to win our community for Christ, we need to live in the blessing of a changed life, knowing ultimately that we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. (Gal 2:20) Then the world will see and know that God is in us and that He is real.

At our Christmas Day service, we looked at two truths which Christ’s arrival on earth teaches us: that God is in control and that God is with us.

The fact that Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem because there was no room at the inn (Luke 2:7) makes us wonder if God is in control; we certainly would not want our child to be born in those circumstances! But Isaiah reminds us that God’s ways and thoughts are not the same as ours (Is 55:8-9) and Paul tells us that Christ came at exactly God’s set time (Gal 4:4). This reminds us that even when life does not look to be going our way, God is still in sovereign control, working His will out through every situation. God doesn’t do things our way – the cross demonstrates that even more plainly than Christ’s birth (see 1 Cor 1:18-25) – but that doesn’t mean He is not Lord. (Rom 8;28)

Linus, in the Peanuts cartoon, used to carry a blue security blanket everywhere with Him. The blanket gave him a feeling of safety and reassurance.

Christmas reminds us of the security blanket of God’s love, given to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of His names – Immanuel – reminds us that God is with us. We may feel forsaken and abandoned by God at times, but the truth is that the Lord is near (Phil 4:5) and Christmas means we never have to go through life alone again; Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. (Heb 13:5) Paul reminds us that nothing can now separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:35-39). God took on human flesh and shared our humanity in the person of Jesus Christ so that we never have to be alone again.

God is always working things out. He is always there. No matter how great the darkness, no matter how deep the pain, God is still on His throne, still working all things together for good, still triumphing over evil, even when evil rears its ugly head again and again. And God is always with us, always Immanuel, always there with His blanket of love and comfort and hope and joy and peace, to wrap us up tightly and sing over us songs of love. (Zeph 3:17)

Stephen sang the song ‘How Many Kings?’ tonight.

Mark spoke from John 15:12-17 tonight, looking at our love for one another and our love for God. It can be very easy to say the words ‘I love you’, but Jesus makes it plain that love is determined by actions more than words. Love is much more than words, more than hugs and kisses. He asked us to think of various definitions of love (‘love is…’) and, depending on people’s perspectives, the answers were very varied!

• Love is… being there no matter what.
• Love is having Karen Burgin cook everyone a Sunday dinner!
• Love is cleaning the pigeons out!
• Love is hairplay
• Love is making the bed in the morning
• Love is sacrifice

Love is ultimately loving the other person more than yourself, being prepared to die for the one you love. This is precisely what Jesus did for us; God loves us so much that He sent His Son to ‘take a bullet’ for us. The advent of Jesus means that we can be reconciled to God, for God hates all that is unlovely (sin) but loves us nonetheless. Love came down from heaven to earth at Christmas; love made a way through the sacrifice of Jesus for us to become friends with God. Our whole lives are built on God’s arrival in human form and on the reconciliation that Jesus’ death brings us.