Here are some photos from the community carol service on Friday:

Our thanks to Rich and Joy who helped with community choir practices and to all who came and sang with us!

More photos from Friday:

Handing out goody bags:

Taking photos!

Beating the donkey:

Craft helpers:

Mother and daughter chatting:

Home baking:

Alan took some photos which give a flavour of what was happening on the market itself:

A climbing wall:

Other entertainment:

Hog roast to eat:

Market stalls:

Many traditional Nativity scenes and paintings show all the characters in the story arriving at the stable to worship and adore Jesus at the same time. The Biblical story does not support this view, for it’s clear from Matt 2:1-11 that the wise men or magi arrived some time after the birth of Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem.

This morning at the Cherry Tree Court carol service, Stephen spoke about these wise men and the gifts they brought. Gold is still a popular gift today, for it still represents wealth and expense; in Biblical times, it was associated with greatness, for often kings were the only ones who could afford this gift. Its presence shows us that this baby was not just a baby, but was God Himself, King of all Kings, worthy of the most precious metal found on earth. Thomas reached the conclusion after the resurrection that Jesus was ‘my Lord and my God’, but these wise men recognised Jesus’ deity and worth even at His birth.

Frankincense is the aromatic resin obtained from certain trees and was burnt in the temple by the priest as an offering to God. In Rev 5:8, we see golden bowls of incense representing the prayers of God’s people. Frankincense, therefore, pointed to Jesus’s role as our high priest, offering prayers for His people and ultimately offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin (see Hebrews 7-10).

Myrrh is another form of resin used as incense and as a perfume, particularly associated with death and suffering (it was used in embalming since its strong aroma masked the stench of death.) Suffering is an inevitable part of life in a sin-stained world, but this gift foreshadowed the suffering of Jesus when He died for our sins.

The gifts brought at Jesus’s birth carried both symbolic value and spiritual significance, pointing to Jesus as King, Lord, Priest and Sacrifice for sin. They foreshadow our custom of giving gifts at Christmas-time, but Christmas is more about the greatest gift that God has given the world than about any gifts we may give (see 2 Cor 9:15). The question we must answer is ‘have you accepted this gift?’ God’s gift is Himself, given in the form of Jesus, who was God incarnate. We are wise when we accept this gift.

Last night we enjoyed playing the game ‘Risk’ with a friend who lives in Malaysia. He introduced us to the game a number of years ago, and so it has become a bit of a tradition that we play the game when he’s around. ‘Risk‘ is a strategy board game where the aim is to occupy as many territories on a political map of the Earth (divided into 42 territories) as possible, where players control ‘armies’ with which they attempt to capture territories from other players (with results determined by dice rolls.)

The game can last a very long time and fortunes fluctuate frequently. Our friend chose yellow as his colour, and early on in the game, was doing really well:

However, by the end of the game, there were no yellow armies on the board at all:

Nicky Gumbel, in his commentary on readings for today in the ‘Bible In One Year’ reading programme, writes “In an interview in Time Magazine, the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth recounted that he advised young theologians to ‘take your Bible and take your newspaper and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.’ When we read, watch or listen to the news it could be easy to get depressed. It sometimes seems that evil is triumphing over good. The plans of ‘the wicked’ seem to succeed, while others are subject to the ravages of terrorism, war, poverty and injustice. This is why we desperately need to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and listen to the word of God. As we study the Scriptures, we see the triumph of good over evil.”

We may well lose battles as we journey through life, but we can be confident because we know that God has won the war. God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We know that every setback and failure can be turned into victory. We need to take a long-term perspective and realise that our confidence is in God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:57, see also Ps 60:12, Ps 118:15, Is 63:1, 1 Jn 5:4) No matter what battles we face, we can trust in God.

More photos have been sent to me from the Christmas Market yesterday. Here are the volunteers with the raffle prizes:

People in the activities’ corner:

The lollipop game:

Not many cakes left now!

Full house, with Gemma from CRT looking after the egg game:

Kitchen activity:

All in all, a great day!