One of the things I love about the Christmas story is how it is totally inclusive. All of society gets to hear about the arrival of Jesus! – from the harassed workers (the innkeeper and the shepherds) to the rich academics (the Magi) to the king (Herod), not to mention how the line between heaven and earth is blurred as angels proclaim the good news and sights are seen that are rarely repeated in the rest of history.

The gospel is good news for everyone, as Rend Collective’s song ‘Rescuer’ makes clear. It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor, illiterate or educated, male or female: Christ came to be the Saviour of the world. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. There are simply no exceptions to this. It doesn’t matter if we’re disabled or healthy; it doesn’t matter what our nationality is; it doesn’t matter where we live in the world. All we have to do to receive everlasting life is to believe that God sent His Son to save the world.

Christmas reminds us that life isn’t just about the time we spend on earth. Life can go far beyond our earthly lifespan; it can encompass eternity. Christ existed before time; He is the eternal ‘I AM’ (Jn 8:58). He was, and is, and is to come. (Rev 1:8) We can all be included in this redemption story. The only thing that can prevent our inclusion is our refusal to believe.

One of my favourite verses about Jesus is tucked away in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, where he says, ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!’ (2 Cor 9:15) In this letter, Paul urges the Corinthians to be generous in their financial giving because God loves generosity (2 Cor 9:7); He also reminds us that God is a God of rich blessing. (2 Cor 9:8, 11) Jesus becomes our motivation and model for giving. Because God has not withheld His only Son from us, we are urged to give our all to God.

There is a human tendency, however, to like the people who are like us and to give to those we love. Jesus challenges this way of thinking, saying ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matt 5:44), going on to say, ‘If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?’ (Matt 5:46-47) Perhaps our greatest Christmas challenge this year is to give to someone undeserving of our time, love or money, because Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (Rom 5:8) He didn’t wait for us to be good and cleaned up before He came to rescue us. He didn’t wait for our gratitude and thanks before He went to Calvary. He came; He loved; He suffered; He died. We’ve received the most incredible gift – let’s pass it on!

One of the most encouraging things for our local churches is the way we work together. Dearne Churches Together is a group of local churches in Thurnscoe, Goldthorpe and Bolton-on-Dearne who work together to serve our local communities. This year has seen the start of ‘Churches Together’ prayer meetings every month, and we will be continuing these in 2018 on Tuesday 9th January (10.30 a.m. at the Salvation Army), on Wednesday 14th February (9.30 a.m. at Thurnscoe Pentecostal Church at Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe) and we will have a Day of Prayer in Lent on Friday 16th March (9 a.m. – 9 p.m.) at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne. Prayer meetings usually last an hour, but on the Day of Prayer, you can pop in at any time between those times and spend time in reflection, prayer and different activities as we think about the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and what that means for us and our communities. Please do join with us for these prayer meetings.

We also host community fun days. We’ll be holding a ‘Love Festival’ on Wednesday 14th February at Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe (10.30 a.m. – 2 p.m.) when there will be craft activities, crazy golf, free refreshments and much more as we think about Valentine’s Day and the true meaning of love… and how Jesus demonstrated this at the cross. Matt Redman sings, ‘This is how we know, this is how we know what love is: just one look at the cross’, so come along to find out more at this half-term event.

We are planning a special Good Friday event at different churches, exploring the meaning of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ (Friday 30th March) and also hope to be involved with Big Local Thurnscoe’s spring event, a Dinosaur Day at Phoenix Park on Sunday 15th April (12 noon onwards.) We’ll be doing craft-based activites looking at God’s wonderful creation and also exploring the question ‘Are Christians Dinosaurs?’ Is Christianity outdated and irrelevant to modern society, as dead as the dinosaurs, or do we still have a message of good news for everyone? Further details to follow shortly, but put the dates in your (new 2018) diaries now!

Finally, if you want to keep in touch with all that Dearne Churches Together are planning, why not take a look at our Facebook page or pick up the latest newsletter from church?

Christmas is all about Jesus (not the presents, food, drink, parties or even the songs!) and we will be looking at the many different names of Jesus and why there is no greater name at our carol service on Sunday 17th December at 6 p.m. We’re a family-oriented church, so our carol service is not perhaps as conventional as many, but there will be traditional carols (and mince pies and other refreshments after the service!) as well as games and lots of fun! Do come along and join with us as we have a great time celebrating the reason for the season. Do invite your friends and family and expect to see God working in our community as we celebrate Jesus.

Each of the visitors to Jesus at His birth brought gifts, and this remains the reason behind our tradition of giving gifts at this time of year. The shepherds brought lambs; the wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. It’s good to give gifts and money to serve others, but there are also many different ways of giving to explore at this time of year.

We might choose to give our time to something – like preparing food parcels at the Salvation Army (this will be done locally on Tuesday 19^th and Wednesday 20^th December in the mornings) or visiting an elderly friend or relative, serving as a volunteer in a charity shop or helping in a soup kitchen.

We might choose to give our money to something – a charity like Shelter or Prison Fellowship, for example.

We might choose to give our talents to something – helping to bake for someone or wrap presents for a neighbour whose arthritis means they are unable to do this task anymore or clean for someone who is struggling to keep on top of things.

We might choose to give gifts to someone – the Shoebox Christmas appeal is one such charity, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see how we can bless people, even with small gifts like a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates.

Practical help is not a substitute for the Gospel; it is the Gospel lived out, a Gospel which is good news for every individual.

Christmas is all about ‘good news to the poor’ (Is 61:1). Not only was Jesus born in a stable, not a palace, but the angels appeared to shepherds, the lowest of the low in terms of jobs in those days. (Luke 2:8-20) We may question why God worked in this way, but the truth is that He cares for those in need, and because of this, we must too.

In the Old Testament, God’s people were urged to be open-handed to the poor and needy (Deut 15:11) and to defend their cause. (Prov 31:9) A knowledge of God was defined as defending the cause of the poor and needy (Jer 22:16) and Amos had much to say in condemnation of those who oppressed the poor and crushed the needy (Amos 4:1). A consequence of a belief in the sanctity of life is that people are not valued according to their wealth, but according to the basic humanity they possess; as imitators of a God who cares for all, we are urged, therefore, to serve the poor as though we were serving Christ Himself. (Matt 25:31-46)

There are many charities which seek to do this, including the Salvation Army and the local food bank we support. Our support for this is vital, but all charitable giving has to be motivated by love and not simply by duty or to be known for our goodness (see 1 Cor 13:1-3; Matt 6:1-4). Maybe Christmas is a good time to investigate other ways of serving the poor and seeking to reach those who may never be considered worthy in worldly terms, but who remain loved by God and valuable in His eyes.