Don’t forget Sunday’s carol service ‘God Has Come To Earth’ this Sunday (20th December) at 6 p.m. Invite your friends and family to attend – it will be a fun-filled service with both traditional and newer carols, readings, stories, activities for all ages and the Word of God shared to inspire and remind us of the real meaning of Christmas. Free refreshments will be available after the service.

Hopefully the behind-the-scenes preparation will pique your curiosity:

Come along to find out more and bring someone with you if you can!

Read Psalm 119:129-136.

We all need passion for something in our lives. For some, a person is the object of our passion; for others, a job or a hobby becomes the focus of their lives. Passion is a driving force, a motivator, something which moves us to action.

For Christians, God should be our passion, our first love (see Rev 2:4-5). The psalmist knew something of this passion, talking of how he opened his mouth and panted, longing for God’s commands (Ps 119:131). The unfolding of these words from God allow light into darkness and give understanding to the simple (Ps 119:130). They allow us to have God’s insight and perspective on life, causing us to weep for the fact that so few are living by these laws (Ps 119:136). Our whole lives are shaped and motivated by God (Ps 119:129, 133-134).

Advent is a good time to dwell on the heat of our passion, on the fire of God and on the zeal burning within us. Are we hot, lukewarm or cold? (see Rev 3:14-18) What is the most important thing in our lives? It’s easy in our commercialised society to be seduced into the lie that Christmas is all about presents, food or even about family and helping other people. It isn’t. Christmas is about Christ. We need to be storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven, not living divided lives on earth (Matt 6:19-24). Our passion for Christ needs to be the driving force of our whole lives.

Read Psalm 119:121-128.

Children are usually so excited about Christmas that they find it difficult to sleep in the days leading up to Christmas. Their excitement buoys them up, making them hyperactive, keeping them awake past their usual bedtimes, waking them up at ridiculously early hours on Christmas Day itself. They can literally be sick with excitement (I spent most Christmases as a child existing on custard because I was too excited to eat normally…)

There is a pleasurable nervousness to the anticipation children feel about Christmas, but all of us know the feelings of apprehension mingled with anticipation when we wait for something momentous. This can be very similar when we wait for God to move on our behalf: ‘my eyes fail, looking for Your salvation, looking for Your righteous promise.’ (Ps 119:123) We feel like we can’t stay awake any longer in anticipation! Waiting is tinged with anxiety. The child’s fear is that there will be no presents waiting on Christmas morning. Our fear is that we are somehow not worthy of God’s intervention or that for some reason He will not come through for us. The child is usually coerced into good behaviour by well-meaning but ill-advised threats that the presents are dependent on their behaviour; we too often feel that it is our righteousness that earns God’s favour, that by standing up for what is righteous and just (Ps 119:121), we somehow deserve God’s help.

God’s help comes because of His love and mercy, not because of our righteousness, however. (Ps 119:124) We throw ourselves daily on His grace and mercy. We can never earn God’s favour, but His mercy is freely given to all. The Message version of this verse says ‘let Your love dictate how You deal with me.’

God is not mean, fickle or capricious. He loves to say ‘yes’ (Ps 119:127-8, The Message; see also 2 Cor 1:18-20). He is a father who knows how to give good gifts to His children (Matt 7:9-12, Js 1:17). We can be assured of His goodness, even as we wait for Him to eradicate evil and punish those who break His laws (Ps 119:126-128). Waiting is never easy (Michael Card calls it ‘the most bitter lesson a believing heart has to learn’ in his song ‘Maranatha’), but as we ask God to ‘teach [us] from Your textbook of life’ (Ps 119:125, The Message), we have to learn the art of waiting patiently (Ps 130), putting our hope in God’s Word, for with Him is unfailing love and full redemption.

Read Psalm 119:113-120.

Over and over again in Ps 119, the psalmist prays to be kept, preserved or sustained according to God’s Word (see Ps 119:50, 93, 107, 116). The promises of God are the bottom line for His people. Aaron Shust reminds us ‘it doesn’t matter what we see’ (‘Deliver Me’); these promises are our hope in times of trial, visible reminders that we live by faith and not by sight.

Faith is never a comfortable ride, for it involves believing what is humanly impossible. Mary, when confronted with an angelic visitation proclaiming a miraculous conception and a virgin birth, unsurprisingly didn’t understand! ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ she asked (Luke 1:34). The angel’s explanation required her faith, for it went beyond the limitations of human minds: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’ (Luke 1:35). Mary’s acceptance of God’s Word (‘may it be to me as you have said’, Luke 1:38) remains our example of living by the very words God speaks.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, it’s worth pondering the faith responses of Mary and Joseph, thrust into parenthood of the Almighty with only God’s Word to sustain them. They had to battle doubt, fear, uncertainty, ridicule and contempt, just as we do. God’s promises kept them through the months of waiting and they are still the only thing which keep us going. The psalmist prays ‘do not let my hopes be dashed’ (Ps 119:116). His request, his plea, is ‘uphold me and I will be delivered.’ (Ps 119:117)

Our whole lives are lived in trembling awe of God (Ps 119:120). If He does not fulfil His word, we are left flat on our faces, with no hope, for we have jumped off the cliff edge, so to speak. Faith is risky; it leaves us out of control and trembling… but it also leaves us safe in the arms of a God who constantly astounds us with His faithfulness.

Mary carried the promise of God within her for the nine months of pregnancy. She and Joseph knew, as no one else could have known, that the fluttering and physical changes within her had not been caused by their sexual union. They watched the visible signs of faith in her and waited for the birth of their Saviour. As we pause to remember that miraculous story, let’s remember that we serve the same God of miracles who will uphold us, sustain us and deliver us according to His Word.

Read Psalm 119:105-112.

There are many TV programmes which deal with heritage and genealogy (eg ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’), and seeking to find out more about our personal history has become something of a hobby for many. People have an innate need to belong; it matters to us where we came from and where we are heading. One of the great needs of the human heart is to find ‘our place in this world’ (Michael W. Smith) and to know that we have significance, that we matter.

Ps 119:111 says ‘Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.’ This ‘book on living’ shows us our place in this world, outlines what it means to be human, gives us directions for life and assures us of a blessed future with a God who loves us so much He sent His only Son as a baby born in Bethlehem to be the Saviour of the whole world. Christmas is an annual reminder that we matter to God, no matter how insignificant we may feel or how confused we may be about our earthly heritage.

God’s Word is ‘a lamp to our feet and a light for our path’ (Ps 119:105), illuminating the way we should go. Through suffering and despair (Ps 119:107, 109), it guides us safely and expertly. All that is required from us is a heart set on obeying it. (Ps 119:107, 110, 111) We can move forward in security because the light of the world has come into the world (see John 1:4-5, 9; Is 9:2) and His light gives us all the illumination we need, ‘enough light for the next step, enough light for the way ahead.’ (‘Enough Light’, Worship Central)

Christmas is a ‘must have’ time, according to the media, but it can be very difficult to get to the heart of the reason for the season if we allow ourselves to be influenced in that way. The nursery rhyme ‘Mary had a little lamb’ gives us insight into the true meaning of Christmas, for Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the real reason we celebrate at this time.

Matt 1:18-25 tells us that Joseph knew full well he was not the father of this child and needed angelic confirmation of Mary’s incredible story of a son who would be a Saviour. This ‘lamb’ would indeed be very special:

1. He was special because He was God’s own Son; his conception was totally different to any before or since (see Is 7:14, Luke 1:34-35), being born of a virgin. This is an essential doctrine, for if Jesus was not both fully God and fully human, He could not be our Saviour. He was untainted by Adam’s sin because of this virgin birth.
2. His conduct was special, performing miracles which caused everyone to marvel at Him (Luke 4:18). Even at a young age, people knew He was special (Luke 2:47). He always kept the Father at the centre of His life (John 8:29); He truly was one of a kind!
3. His claims were special, for He claimed to be the Son of God (see John 10:31-36, John 8.) Until we confess Jesus as the Son of God, we cannot be saved (John 14:9, John 10:30). His claims were offensive to the Jews and continue to offend today.

Mary’s lamb was a sacrificial lamb. The main purpose for Jesus coming to earth was to die for our sins; He came to seek and save that which was lost. He was a spotless lamb, without sin (see 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:14-16), and was also a submissive lamb who willingly followed His Father’s will. Ultimately, this lamb was sacrificed for us (Heb 9:22) so that He is a saving lamb (who has power to cleanse us from our sins, as 1 John 1:9 makes clear.) The heart is deceitful, but He is able to change our hearts and make us new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).

Christmas marks the fact that God sent His Son so that He could save us. It’s a time of great joy that the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world has come to earth!