Hi Everyone,

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”

Three of the four advent candles are lit, children are rapidly running out of doors on the advent calendar, we’ve had our community carol service and we’ve already had two Christmas parties in Positive Steps with at least three more to go. If you’re anything like me you can also add to the list: a pile of Christmas cards that have not quite made it to the post box, presents still to be wrapped, a feast to prepare and a complex matrix of visits to organise. The build up to Christmas can be a magical time that is filled with wonder, hope, love, joy and peace but it can also be a time that is filled with stress, worry, grief and loneliness. Often Christmas films fill our imaginations with a perfect ideal of what Christmas “should” be. We are offered images of the perfect gift, the perfect decorations, the perfect romance, the perfect family - Hollywood raises our expectations but reality is often somewhat different.

Probably the best Christmas film ever is “It’s a Wonderful Life”. It shows a life fraught with challenges and yet, just when George Bailey thinks that the world might be better off without him, he sees that actually his life means quite a lot. He discovers that it is in the small everyday decisions that he made in his life that other people’s lives were made better. In amongst all of the strain and stress he realises that he matters. I thought long and hard about what I wanted my Christmas message to you all to be and it is simply this - you matter. God loved the world so much that he sent his son into the world to be God with us. 

Whether your Christmas is a thing to rival a Hollywood film or if you’re having the Nightmare before Christmas remember that you are loved beyond measure. And if your Christmas is a bit of a simple affair, it’s okay, don’t forget that the first Christmas was too.

This weekend we will be holding a Christingle service in place of our normal 10:45am service. Do come along and listen again to the message of God’s deep and enduring love for the whole world. Then on Christmas Day, why not join us to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

With love

Jess

P.S. if you are struggling this Christmas and the season is a bit much for you, please don’t suffer in silence come and speak to myself or Simon or Mo - you really do matter.

The song going round my head this last week, follows the theme last Sunday’s service where as part of our journey trough Advent, we focussed on the prophets in the Old Testament. The song goes as follows;

Who are the prophets, and what do they say?
They’re messengers from God, sent to show us the way.
They tell us of Jesus, the King of all Kings,
and they call us to live, in the peace that He brings

We’re called to: be right (be right), do right (do right),
Be right with God, and do the right thing

The prophets preached the virtues of justice and peace to the nation of Israel offering hope in times of trouble. As we find our own nation in a troubled times, lets pray that both voters & candidates in tomorrow’s election may be inspired and challenged to do the right thing.

Whatever the next few days have in store for us, I look forward to joining up with congregation and community alike for our carol service this coming Sunday evening at 5.00, as we celebrate and prepare to welcome the real hope who entered our world that first Christmas.

God Bless 

Simon

PS, it’s a rarity for me to write full sermons these days, but as a reminder of last Sunday’s sermon, here’s what I shared when preaching on the prophet Isaiah if you fancy the read.

Hi Everyone,

I am notoriously impatient and rubbish at waiting. Whenever we order a takeaway I am watching the clock from the moment the order goes through. As soon as it hits the time that our food is supposed to be delivered, if it hasn’t arrived, I start to get a bit edgy. “Why isn’t it here?”, “This is terrible service!”, “I’m never using them again!”, "Maybe we should call them and find out where they are.” There is very little grace or understanding in my attitude to waiting and yet waiting is exactly what we are called to in this season of Advent.

On Sunday evening we thought a bit about waiting and as we looked at Psalm 27:13 - 14

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

Christian waiting is a bit different to me waiting for my takeaway because we are waiting for someone who can be completely relied upon to keep his promise. I don’t know if the takeaway delivery driver will turn up on time or even at all. I don’t know whether they will bring the right stuff or whether the food will still be hot or whether it will definitely taste good (I’m sure most of us have experienced a disappointing takeaway at some point). The type of waiting we undertake in Advent is a hopeful and joyful wait because we can trust in God’s love, his faithfulness, his goodness and that he will do exactly what he says he will. 

In some ways it is easy to wait in Advent because we know that Christmas is coming and we know exactly when it is coming. Waiting for some of the more tricky stuff, like all the funds to be raised for our Refurb:Building Lives project or perhaps one of those prayers that we hung on our Christmas tree on Sunday, can be much harder. Yet the message is the same - be strong and courageous and wait for the Lord with faith in his goodness.

Have a great rest of the week whatever you are doing.

With love,

Jess

P.S. Don’t forget our festive film at 2:30pm in church in Saturday afternoon!