Light of the World

I was invited into the local primary school this week to talk to Year 3 classes. They've been thinking about Christmas and Christian symbols associated with Christmas...in particular, light.

What an invitation.

To be invited in to talk on Jesus being the light of the world.

As I prepared I re-read some of the Bible verses that speak of this and realised what a beautiful and simple gospel message these verses describe.

"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5)

But humans decided they preferred the darkness. "...but men loved darkness instead of light..." (John 3:19), and as Isaiah puts it, "The people walking in darkness..." (Isaiah 9:2). 

God is light. But people prefer darkness. And if people prefer darkness they're never going to come back to the light of their own accord. So, the light has to come to the darkness.

And that's the message of Christmas...

"The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world." (John 1:9)

"Light has come into the world..." (John 3:19).

And as Jesus himself says, "I am the light of the world." (John 8:12)

Christmas is about light. The Light of the world coming into the darkness.

As one Christian song puts it, "Light of the world you stepped down into darkness".

And if you're part of the Neighbourhood family, do you know what Jesus says to you?

"You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14)

Or as Paul writes in one place, we are to "shine like stars in the universe" (Philippians 2:15).

As we celebrate the Light of the World this Christmas, let's remember that as He shines in us, we are to shine to those around us.

A Baby Threatens No-One

Someone once said to the former Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, "I've finally worked out why people like Christmas".

Tom Wright replied, "Really? Tell me."

The reply came: "A baby threatens no-one".

Really?

Why did King Herod order the massacre of hundreds of boys under the age of two when he heard the news that a baby who was to be 'King of the Jews' had been born?

A baby threatens no-one.

Really?

Why do people today refuse to acknowledge the truth about Jesus?

Now I don't know for sure....but I wonder if it's this: that if Jesus was true, if they discovered he was who he said he was, then they know that would threaten them. That would cause disruption to their lives. They would need to change. It would have implications for them.

Sure, you can bury your head in the sand and pretend it's not true. But if you are prepared to investigate the person of Jesus and discover that he is true...then that's a threat.

Everything you've ever known...ever believed in...ever based your life in...ever placed hope in...is going to change.

A baby threatens no-one.

I'm not so sure.

Getting Ready for Christmas

So December starts in two days. 25 days to go.

What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

Decorations. Tree. Presents. Cards. Food. Office party.

Cheesy Christmas sweater?

Yeah. Yeah. All the normal stuff.

But what about really getting ready for Christmas. Taking time out to think afresh upon the Christmas message. Making sure you're preparing your heart.

Are you doing that? Do you have a plan for doing that?

Can I encourage you to do so.

One of my favourite Christmas songs is called Labour of Love (by a guy called Andrew Peterson). There's a line in it that says "the baby in the womb, he was the maker of the moon".

That line gets right to the heart of the Christmas story for me....the Incarnation....Immanuel...God with us. The mystery of Christmas is that in the human baby of Jesus, God was beginning the process of revealing himself. Fully man. Fully divine.

I don't know about you, but I need to pause...i need to reflect...to soak in it again. It's too big not to.

"the baby in the womb, he was the maker of the moon".

Too big.

So with that thought in mind, here are a few suggestions to soak in the Christmas story again. And to allow it to soak through you.

1. Read the story again. In Matthew, Luke and John. Read it in different versions. Don't just read it once. Read it over and over.

2.  Find some Christmas music you like and allow it to take you into the story. For me, Andrew Peterson's album Behold the Lamb of God, gets played often during Christmas. He's taken the Christmas story and set it to music.

3.  In the spirit of God coming to us, why not go visit someone. Someone who needs a visit.

4.  Be generous. Find a charity or some different causes you want to give money to. It doesn't have to be big amounts. But allow your heart to get caught up in giving. For us, we've set aside a small amount of money and we're going to involve the girls in deciding how to use it.

5.  Find a Christmas devotional book, and use it to help you capture the mystery of Christmas again.

6.  Pray. Ask God to soften your heart to His truth again this Christmas. Ask Him to allow the Word, Jesus, to speak to you...to work in you...to soften you...to mould you.

7.  Buy yourself an Advent calendar, and each day as you open a window, read a bit of the Christmas story. Pray.

Okay, these are just a few suggestions....you may have some more of your own. If so, I would lvoe to hear them. Share them with me, with your small group, on the FB page, on a Sunday.

"O Come Let us Adore Him" together this Christmas.

love you family.

Simon

43 days....

...till Christmas!

Okay, you probably didn't want to be reminded of that in the first half of November, but I wanted to get in early...before the rush begins...before the madness...before we get caught up in, you know, it being just another Christmas.

I wonder if we sometimes need to stop and think ahead of time about how we're going to celebrate something.

Bear with me as I attempt to unravel my train of thought...

I've been reflecting on some Christmas passages lately. In Isaiah 9 the prophet tells of the day when God will send his Messiah....and he says the child will be the Prince of Peace. Peace. Shalom. Wholeness. Completeness.

Jesus. Bringer of Peace.

In Luke 2 the angels sing of the peace that God is bringing through the baby.

Jesus. Peace.

Not just peace in the sense of absence of war...but complete peace. Shalom peace. Wholeness, completeness...all things restored to a rightness with God.

Back to the Old Testament. Jeremiah 29. The Israelites are in exile in Babylon. They don't know how long they'll be there for. They're waiting for God. And then God speaks...through Jeremiah. 

v7. God says to the exiles, "seek the peace of the city"...literally...the "shalom".

God's people are to seek for...to work for...God's peace in the midst of the places where he has set us. 

My question to myself...to us is this: What does this look like? If the message of Christmas is that in Jesus, God was with us...that in Jesus, we see and know peace...that in Jesus, God was reconciling all things to himself...God was bringing about peace...then how do we celebrate and live out this message...this truth? If the peace of the city that Jeremiah talks about, finds its fulfilment in Jesus...then how do we take the peace of Jesus and with it and through it seek the peace of our 'city'?

Family, we have to ask these questions....we have to wrestle and step out. We have to seek the peace of our city. If in Jesus, God is reconciling all things, then it's Jesus who is the answer...for broken homes...for broken people...for hurting and hopelessness...for loneliness...for injustice...for slavery...for animosity and hatred.

This Christmas, and beyond, how are we going to live out and share the Prince of Peace? How are we going to be peace-makers?

43 days to go...let us make this Christmas one of Peace...for us and for our 'city'.

Love you family.

Carol service

Great to have such a good turn out for carols this year... Happy Christmas neighbourhood. Ben