Here’s a traditional carol with a modern take on it!

‘Good Christian men, rejoice,

With heart and soul and voice

Give ye heed to what we say

Jesus Christ is born today.

Ox and lamb before Him bow,

He is in the manger now,

Christ is born today.

Christ is born today.

So rejoice, o rejoice,

Hallelujah, Christ has come.

So rejoice, lift your voice,

Sing Immanuel with us,

O rejoice.

Good Christian men, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice.

Now ye hear of endless bliss

Jesus Christ was born for this.

He has opened heaven’s door

And man is blessed for ever more

Christ was born for this.

Christ was born for this.

Good Christian men, rejoice

With heart and soul and voice.

Now ye need not fear the grave,

Jesus Christ was born to save;

Calls you one and calls you all

To gain His everlasting hall.

Christ was born to save.

Christ was born to save.’ (‘Rejoice’, Aaron Shust)

Guidance is always a hot topic among Christians and it remains true that God guides us in a variety of ways, including speaking from His Word, arranging circumstances and using others to speak into our lives, as well as through the gifts of the Spirit. The wise men were guided by the star which rose and they followed this star to worship Jesus. (Matt 2:2,9) Today’s song celebrates the Incarnation and looks at how Jesus Himself is like a shining star.

‘Shining Star, come and guide our hearts.

Shining star, come and guide our hearts.’ (‘Shining Star’, Rend Collective)

‘Unto Us’ (lyrics taken from Is 9:6-7) is probably my favourite new Christmas song of this year. Taken from Aaron Shust’s Christmas album of the same name, the song captures the wonderfully lyrical piano music I love and has a truly epic feel to it whilst being eminently singable!

‘Unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given,

God with us, go and tell: Immanuel has come from heaven

And His name will ever be the Prince of peace, the wonderful Counsellor.

He’s the great and mighty Lord.

Bow before our holy Saviour.

Unto us a child is born, hope to all the world.

Unto us the Son of God has come:

Sing hallelujah.

Everlasting Father, Name above all names,

God is with us.

Sing hallelujah.

He’s the Prince of peace.

He’s the Mighty God.

He’s the Saviour born to set the captive free.

He’s the Promised One,

The Messiah come

And His love will reign throughout eternity.’ (‘Unto Us’, Aaron Shust)

If you have time to listen to this webinar, it’s well worth it, giving the background to all the songs on the album and giving a glimpse into the stories behind the songs. And if you’re still looking for Christmas presents, this one comes highly recommended!

Tonight’s carol service took the form of a Christingle service. The Sunday school sang a song:

Dave spoke about how in the beginning there was no light and yet how God has always existed and spoke light into being. His light now is available to shine in us. The origins of the Christingle service lay in the Moravian church when all were encouraged to bring their gifts to offer to God. One family had very little to bring and so came with just an orange, a red ribbon tied around the orange with sticks and some fruit stuck on the sticks. People laughed at this offering because it was so meagre, but the priest reminded everyone that the orange is circular, like God’s world, and the red ribbon represented Christ’s blood, shed for all the world. The sticks demonstrated that God is ruling over His world from north, east, south and west and the fruit and sweets represent God’s graciousness in giving us food to eat. Now the Christingle orange reminds us of these truths and the candle attached to the top symbolises that Christ is the Light of the world.

Everyone then had the opportunity to make their own Christingles:

Some Christingles were more personalised than others:

We sang a song written for this kind of service (sung to the tune of ‘Show Me The Way To Amarillo’) and concluded our service by singing ‘Silent Night’ and waving our Christingles:

We also had a special birthday to celebrate:

Today’s carol service at Cherry Tree Court looked at the (very topical) question of the perfect gift. Giving a gift is an integral part of Christmas and can be extremely nerve-wracking! We choose gifts for people with loving care, but at times, the special moment is spoiled: perhaps the clothes don’t fit or are the wrong colour, or a toy gets broken in transit, or the person already has the gift we chose. Worst of all it when we realise the gift is really not what they wanted and instead of lighting up with pleasure, there is that momentary glimpse when we realise we have failed in our choice…

What can we possibly give to a king at Christmas? What can we give the living God as a present?

Micah 6:6 talks about the burnt offerings which were a requirement of Jewish law. Often, we look for quality in the presents we buy: the animals offered by the priests had to be without blemish, absolutely perfect. Or perhaps we go for quantity (see Micah 6:7). What we need to realise is that Christmas is about God giving us the perfect gift in His Son, Jesus Christ. (Luke 2:11) All God requires from us is to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with Him. (Micah 6:8) In other words, the perfect gift to give to God is ourselves. He wants us to give all we are to Him, for He has given everything He has to us.

Chris Tomlin’s version of ‘Joy To The World’ includes a new chorus added to the traditional carol:

‘Joy, unspeakable joy
An overflowing well, no tongue can tell.
Joy, unspeakable joy
Rises in my soul, never lets me go.’

The joy God brings is not the same as happiness, which often depends on our circumstances or moods. It comes directly from God: Jesus promised His disciples His joy (John 17:13) and urged us to ask for this joy (John 16:24). Nehemiah reminded the people that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10). Joy can’t be manufactured, but like so many things in the Christian life can be received with gratitude.