We celebrated the first Sunday in Advent by lighting the first candle on our Advent wreath, made up of handprints from church members:

We also distributed Advent calendars which included a child’s activity booklet all about Christmas to the children in the church.

Dave reminded us that Jesus came to earth when we did not expect it – God’s perfect timing did not find people prepared! Jesus will come again at a time known only to the Father and we need to be ready. (1  Thess 5:1-8) Casting Crowns’ adaptation of a famous Christmas carol makes this point abundantly clear:

‘Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you’re lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping?
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping?
The Saviour of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we’re sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we’re lying in the dark
There’s a shout heard ‘cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping?
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay?
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King?
Will we be sleeping?
Will we be sleeping?’ (‘While You Were Sleeping,’ Casting Crowns)

If we simply look at what goes on in the world at this time of year, we gain a very skewed perspective of what Christmas is all about: glitter, lights, spending vast amounts of money, overeating, noise and toys. Christians celebrate Christmas, however, because this is the time when God broke into the world, appearing in human form.

Is 9:6-7 reminds us of the fact that hundreds of years before Christ’s birth, God told Isaiah of His great plan of salvation, that the Wonderful Counsellor would come through a virgin, not to inaugurate a political reign (to the dismay of the Jews under Roman oppression), but to bring about God’s kingdom on earth. We live ‘between the times’ of Christ’s first coming as a baby at Bethlehem and His second coming as glorious Lord of the Universe, and both perspectives need to be held by us as we contemplate the positive plans God has for us. (Jer 29:11)

God has a plan for good for our lives, even when circumstances are far from good and all around us looks miserable or hostile. Sacred truth is always lived out in the secular realm. We are called to live our lives in the real world, not just when we are in church, but in our ordinary, everyday lives. History may tell us that it was the Roman census which determined Jesus’s birthplace, but Micah 5:2 reminds us that history is His story, for God predicted Christ’s birthplace long before Roman rule! God orchestrates everything we call life so that all that seems random to us is actually part of His plan! (life is ‘intentionally haphazard’, as Eugene Peterson says.)

Luke 2 reminds us that Christ’s birth came at an inconvenient time in an inconvenient place, but Gal 4:4 reminds us that this was God’s perfect timing and part of His perfect plan. Our lives were presented with a future and a hope because of Christ’s birth, and the fact that God chose shepherds – whose everyday exposure to dead animals as part of their job rendered them unclean according to Jewish laws and who were regarded as the lowest of the low in some respects – to be the first evangelists reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways and of the need to revise our opinions of social classes. The good news needs to be told to all groups and classes and the shepherds demonstrate to us the blessings that come from simple obedience! (see John 13:17) We too are blessed when we obey God and tell others of all He has done for us.

Throughout Advent, I’ll be trying to help us to focus our thoughts on the arrival of Christ as a baby at Bethlehem through a variety of songs. The first one is from Aaron Shust’s new Christmas album ‘Unto Us‘ and is called ‘Advent Carol’:

No more sadness, now nor fasting,

Now we put our grief away.

God came down, the Everlasting,

Taking human flesh today.

God came down on earth, a stranger,

Working out His mighty plan.

God was cradled in a manger,

Very God and very Man.

There were shepherds once abiding

In the fields who watched by night

And they saw the clouds dividing

And the sky above was bright

And a glory shone around them

On the grass where they were laid

And a holy angel found them

And their hearts were sore afraid.

‘Fear ye not,’ he said,

‘For cheerful are the tidings that I bring.

Unto you so weak and fearful,

Christ is born, the Lord and King.’

As the angel told the story

Of the Saviour’s lowly birth,

Multitudes were singing

‘Glory be to God and peace on earth.’

Angel hosts sing ‘Hallelujah’

Heart’s redeeming love proclaim

Led by church in every nation

Sing the glory of Thy Name.

Today is the first Sunday in Advent, and Stephen spoke this morning from Micah 5:2-5. The Old Testament saints were in a time of waiting and preparation, looking for the arrival of the Messiah. Now, we are in a time of waiting and preparation: first of all, looking back to the first coming of Christ and secondly, looking ahead to His return in glory.

Christmas speaks to us of the revelation of God in Christ whereby all creation is reconciled to God. We can look back on Micah’s prophecy as fact: we know that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem (‘house of bread’) and that God has fulfilled His promises to us. This encourages us as we wait in faith for His other promises to be fulfilled. We can know God’s protection, guidance and peace in our lives, and the fruitfulness implicit in the word ‘Ephrathah‘ can be ours as we abide in Christ. (John 15:1-14)

Most of us will have experienced the anticipation and joy of opening the doors on Advent calendars:

The beauty of Advent calendars is the surprise waiting behind the numbered door (often a chocolate or toy.) Advent reveals the gift of God to us, His ‘indescribable gift’ (2 Cor 9:15). Let’s celebrate and be excited during this season, for Jesus has arrived; hope is here!

Advent officially begins on Sunday 30th November and this period is one full of anticipation and expectation as we prepare for Christmas and remember our Lord’s arrival in Bethlehem as a baby and anticipate His second coming in glory as King and Ruler of all!

The parish church is holding a Christmas Fayre today (29th November) from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., so you can call at our coffee morning and make your way there afterwards if you’re planning on doing some Christmas shopping!

Don’t forget that we are holding a Christian bookstall selling Christian books, CDs, gifts and cards after the evening service on Sunday 30th November. This is in partnership with the Christian bookshop CLC in Sheffield and is the ideal way to do some Christmas shopping without having to brave the traffic and crowds of Sheffield! Bibles, devotional readings for the New Year, testimonies and Christian music and gifts (eg mugs) will be on sale and this is a great opportunity to buy something which will last long beyond the chocolates and mince pies!

We have lots of special events coming up in December, so do keep listening and looking out for updates in the days to come!

1 John 5:16-17 contain some of the most disputed verses in the New Testament. John, in urging us to pray for others, talks about ‘sin that leads to death’ and ‘sin that does not lead to death’. Interpretations of these verses have varied over the years, looking at the question of whether a believer can lose their salvation. Is John referring to physical death or spiritual death? Is he talking about believers or non-believers? Whilst it is impossible to be wholly positive about his meaning, it seems clear that the majority of this letter was written to encourage believers to stand firm in the face of opposition which John categorises as ‘antichrists’, those opponents who refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and who, therefore, were cut off from the forgiveness and salvation offered by His sacrifice for us. John seems to be at pains to stress that confidence and assurance can be the experience of believers.

In 1 John 5:18, we read ‘We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.’ The Christian does not make a practice of sinning (see 1 John 3:9). We dwell in Christ and though we do still sin, we have God’s nature now living within us, steering us away from sin. The relationship between believers and Christ is emphasised by the phrase ‘born of God’; we rely on Christ to protect us and ensure our safety. We do not have to live in anxiety, wondering if we have committed the ‘unforgivable sin’ (see Matt 10:33, Mark 3:29), for God keeps us from falling and will present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. (Jude 1:24) Jesus Himself prayed for our protection (see John 17:11, 12, 15) and assures us that no one can snatch us out of His hand. (John 10:28) Peter reminds us that Christians ‘through faith are shielded by God’s power’ (1 Pet 1:4-5) We need not fear, for God protects us (see Ps 32:7, Prov 2:8) and will strengthen us and protect us from the evil one. (2 Thess 3:3)