Tonight’s carol service continued the Advent theme of love, looking at the theme ‘Love Came Down At Christmas.’ We had a variety of readings telling the Christmas story:

Grace also read a poem out:

Once upon a Christmastime
The angels sang with joy,
To herald the coming
Of a precious Baby Boy.
Their shouting filled the heavens
And shook the mighty Earth,
And sent the shepherds searching
For the place of His glorious birth.
And when they found the manger
And gazed upon His face,
They knelt in adoration
In that low and holy place.
Oh, Father, fill me with the love
That filled the Earth that night,
A love that reaches throughout the world
And fills it with Your light. (By Dona M. Maroney)

Christmas presents were given to all the children who attended and we celebrated a Christmas Eve birthday:

In addition, Mark brought a word from John 15 and we also gave thanks for Mark and Diane’s service and leadership over many years as they prepare to be involved in a more itinerant ministry in future, praying for them and giving them gifts:

There was plenty of cake (and mince pies!) to eat after the service. Our thanks to all who attended.

Stephen spoke this morning from 1 John 4:9-10 on the differences between human love and God’s love. Human love is delicate, easily broken. Agreements between countries to co-exist in peace can be easily shattered; marriages can break down; family rifts and sibling rivalry all show the fragility of human love. Advent love is divine love, which is not delicate or fragile, but robust and strong. God’s love is unfailing, unchanging and everlasting.

God’s love cannot be measured or fathomed, but is shown in God’s giving of His Son, which we celebrate particularly at Christmas. His love redresses the balance and is proactive, achieving results. God’s love goes further than our understanding, but helps to heal our hurts and wounds like an analgesic cream.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood‘s song ‘The Power of Love’ speaks of ‘the power of love, a force from above, cleaning my soul.‘ God’s sacrificial love puts right the wrongs caused by sin and helps us to live in the power of God’s love, not in the fragility of our own human love. God wants us to love as He loves. As we experience and live out His love, we can fulfil the challenge to love even as He loves. This kind of love is not just for Advent. It is for every day of our lives.

He needed a man…
Who would take him seriously:
His words, his ways, his priority.

And Joe took him seriously
Rich enough in integrity,
To let his betrothed go
For her presumed adultery.
But quietly, kindly, and shunning a show.

He needed a man…
Who could hear his voice
Through that long dark night of pain,
And make his master’s choice,
And go against the populist grain.

He needed a man…
Who would move at the drop of a dream,
Trust nothing, no one, except the divine scheme,
Stick to his girl, stick to his son,
Stay where he was til he heard from the One.

He needed a man…
Who could make a way in a foreign land
With just the skills in his calloused hands,
Trade myrrh for tools, watch the river flow,
Keep her safe, keep their profile low.

For that job, he needed a man.
He usually needs someone – a woman, a girl, a boy.
Sometimes a donkey will do. An angel. A few.
He’s always got something on the go.
Which is why, today, tomorrow, he also needs you. (Mark Greene)

Throughout the book of Psalms, the summons or call to praise God is generally accompanied by reasons to praise Him. These reasons basically fit into one of two categories: we praise Him for who He is (‘for His surpassing greatness’, as Ps 150:2 indicates) or for what He does (‘for His acts of power’, Ps 150:2).

As we reach the end of our studies on the book of Psalms and the end of 2018, it is a good exercise to write our own psalm of praise based on these two categories.

God is great (Ps 104:1, Ps 95:3-4) and this greatness extends to His love (Ps 86:13a, Ps 117:2), His mercy (Ps 25:6) and His faithfulness (Lam 3:23). We can also meditate on His kindness (Is 63:7, Jer 31:3), His goodness (Ps 119:68, Ps 13:6) and His righteousness (Ps 35:28). We can praise Him that He is slow to anger (Ps 103:8) and does not treat us as our sins deserve, but offers us forgiveness and redemption (Ps 103:9-10, Eph 1:7-8).

God’s people throughout history have praised Him for His acts of deliverance (see Ps 145:4, Ps 107). God is interested in people and works on our behalf. This year, we have seen new doors opening as we have worked in partnership with others (local churches, the Dearne Area Team and other organisations on the Summer Fun Days, 4FrontTheatre with the Christmas production ‘Job & Jingle’ and so on). We have seen God move people in new directions and have seen many answers to prayer. We all have our own reasons to praise. Why not share them with us and with others? As the redeemed of the Lord tell their stories (Ps 107:2), people will hear and be blessed. (Ps 40:9-10) If you’ve tasted afresh that the Lord is good this year or have experienced His acts of power on your behalf, please feel free to comment and let us rejoice with you.

A whole variety of musical instruments are mentioned in Ps 150, highlighting again the importance of music in the collective worship of God.

The trumpet (or ram’s horn) was associated with the grandest and most solemn events in Israel’s history, such as the giving of the law (Ex 19:16), the proclamation of jubilee (Lev 25:8-9), the coronation of Jewish kings (2 Sam 15:10) and the raging of war (Joshua 6:20) It is also referred to in the New Testament regarding the 2^nd coming of our Lord and the raising of the dead (1 Thess 4:16, 1 Cor 15:51-52).

The harp and lyre were stringed instruments played by the Levites and used in worship (see 1 Chron 25:1).

The timbrel was a percussion instruments, often played by women and associated with victory celebrations (Ex 15:20, Judges 11:24, 1 Sam 18:6). Cymbals were also percussion instruments, associated with loud, triumphant celebration.

The flute was a wind instrument and stringed instruments (mentioned only here and in Ps 45:8) were not associated with priestly worship, indicating that worship is to be by any means possible. The broad list of musical instruments tells us that God wants every class and group of people to praise Him, because these instruments were normally played by different types of people. “The horn was the curved ‘Shophar,’ blown by the priests; harp and psaltery were played by the Levites, timbrels were struck by women; and dancing, playing on stringed instruments and pipes and cymbals, were not reserved for the Levites.” (Maclaren) Praise is to be vibrant and varied. As someone once remarked, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” Music is a gift from God and our praise should include instruments, songs, shouting and dancing, all for His glory.

Psalm 150, the last of the ‘Hallelujah’ psalms and the last psalm in the whole book, is a summons to praise. Psalm 1 talks of the blessed life and is a summons to obedience; here, at the end of the book of Psalms, we have an exuberant call to praise the Lord with an orchestra of instruments and a wildness of wonder. Kilnam Cha says that “praise is the goal toward which the Psalter moves” and Brueggemann comments that it is “the most extreme and unqualified statement of unfettered praise in the Old Testament.” Literally everything that has breath is commanded to praise the Lord; once again, this psalm tackles fundamental questions about praise:

1. Who is to be praised (God)
2. Where God is to be praised (in His sanctuary)
3. Why God is to be praised (for His acts of power and surpassing greatness – what He does/ who He is)
4. How God is to be praised (with an array of musical instruments and dancing)
5. By whom God is to be praised (by everything that has breath)

Praise, in the experience of this psalm, is multi-sensory. It is aural (we hear the instruments and the music and the singing), kinaesthetic (for there is movement in dance and in lifting hands) and visual. It is something which engages the mind, soul and spirit; it is not something tepid and unexciting. Boice challenges us when he says, “Let’s be done with worship that is always weak and unexciting. If you cannot sing loudly and make loud music to praise the God who has redeemed you in Jesus Christ and is preparing you for heaven, perhaps it is because you do not really know God or the gospel at all. If you do know him, hallelujah.” We have so many reasons to praise God (in this psalm, we are urged to praise Him ‘for His acts of power’ and for His ‘surpassing greatness’) that it is really not hard to count our blessings! As 2018 draws to a close, look back and remember all the reasons to praise the God of the whole earth….and then get on and praise the Lord!