Galatians 6:7-10
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Let us not become weary in doing good…
This was clearly something on Paul’s mind, he repeats almost the same phrase exactly in his letter to the Thessalonians (2 Thess 3:13)
He knows that as Christians we find it easy to become weary and tired of doing good.
We get weary because no one notices our doing good; weary because our doing good gets greeted not with thanks but anger and frustration; weary because it’s hard to do good sometimes (well most of the time!); or weary at the moment because we’re almost in Lockdown yet again…

Yep, I think Paul is on to something here – it is easy to become weary of doing good.
Are you feeling weary of doing good?

Look again at Galatians 6 as Paul dishes out a few reasons to help encourage our weary selves:

1. V7 God cannot be mocked – in the context we see a God who knows and sees what we do, so let us not become weary in doing good, even if no one notices our Father does!
2. V7-8 A man reaps what he sows… whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  It’s classic farming really, you put in wheat, you won’t get barley, you’ll get wheat. Sow a life by the Spirit by doing good; this is how we grow in holiness. We take a  thousand baby steps towards Christlikeness by doing good today and tomorrow, so let us not become weary in doing good.
3. V9 Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
   I love this. The hard times of doing good will pay off in the end. There is a harvest to come. The harvest of the Spirit filled life – Eternal life. Our Christian life and doing good may look foolish to some and downright ridiculous to others but a glorious future is coming to God’s people, so let us not become weary in doing good.

 
So church family, let us not become weary in doing good particularly in difficult times.

Today, look for opportunities to be good to all people and especially to those who belong to our church family. What could you do? How could you go out of your way to do good, to bless someone, to actively love someone?

Let us not become weary in doing good.

Stephen

​Mary must have been quite a thoughtful soul. Which is possibly just as well, given the staggering revelations she was given before Christmas Day, on Christmas Day and after Christmas Day.

Before Christmas Day the archangel Gabriel announced that Mary would as a virgin become pregnant and give birth to the Son of God. Mary’s reaction ends up with her saying “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)

On Christmas day the shepherds came to Mary and Joseph with their new-born, and told of angels and a great company of the heavenly host praising God for Jesus’ birth, and in Luke 2:19 “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”.

After Christmas at the Temple, an old man called Simeon said that he could now die in peace because he had seen his salvation. Mary and Joseph “marveled at what was said about him.”
Christmas Day is now over, although the season is still very much with us. Maybe things have quietened down in your house? What will you be doing these coming days? Time for some pondering? That might just be one of the very best things you’re able to do this Christmas time!
​Phil

​That’s it. Christmas is over. The light at the end of the year faded away for another year.
Normally this is the time of year when we munch on those tins of biscuits we’ve been given, catch up with family and friends and look ahead to what the new year may hold.
But this year is different.
This week doesn’t feel that different to any other, we still can’t mix and if the science is right then the start of 2021 might not be the best and brightest.
But there is hope… and I don’t mean the vaccine. Because we may have finished celebrating Christmas, but Christmas is not finished with us.

No, the Lord Jesus, a babe meek and mild grew to become a man in first century Israel. A man who died upon a green hill outside of Jerusalem for you and for me, who rose from the dark tomb to win new life and is now ascended and seated at the Right hand of the Father.

This year, this week may feel different, but Jesus, the King of Christmas is still the same.

And what is he doing now? Jesus is praying for you. He is praying that today in your weariness and tiredness of more of the same that you may know the never ending, never giving up love of the Father for you. Jesus is praying that we may see that we may live out our identity as forgiven sinners because that is who we are.

However you feel today, whether you are on top of the world, at the bottom of the pit or somewhere in between.

Jesus is praying for you today.

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.  (Hebrews 7:25)
​Ben

Saving the Planet this Christmas
“We need to save the planet this Christmas.” Seems a reasonable statement, and in what follows, please don’t get the wrong end of the stick. Humans are stewards of God’s creation. So we don’t wreck it, this Christmas time or ever.
But there’s also a problem – do you really think that we can save anything? Let alone the planet.

The thing about Christmas is that it’s here in order to save the world. And by that, I mean not just people, but the planet. Because we can’t.

And this is how it happens:
We tell people about Jesus who came to this earth to be our Saviour. They believe in him, become Christians and get involved in the biggest adventure of their lives. Because God has a plan, not only to save the likes of you and me, but in the end to completely restore creation. On the last day, you (ie Christian people) will be saved, and so will the physical world. There will be a new heaven and earth, where all of God’s creation will live in harmony with itself and with its creator. And at Christmas we see the plan beginning to unfold. For the restoration of the whole of creation to its creator.
​
So, have a very eco-friendly Christmas. And on top of that, get involved in saving the world this Christmas-time: tell someone about Jesus.
Romans 8:21 “…the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
2Peter 3:13 “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
​Phil

Happy Christmas!
What a great day, and despite the restrictions, today we will celebrate!

Because as we read in Titus 32 today we celebrate the appearing of “…the kindness and love of God our Saviour…”. It’s not that this little baby pointed us to God’s kindness and love, or that he was a good example of God’s kindness and love, or that he spoke about God’s kindness and love – although all those are of course true as never before. No, he was the appearing of God’s kindness and love. He was, and is God’s kindness and love. The embodiment of it, the presence of it amongst us, the perfect human example of God’s kindness and love.

Jesus was of course all these things before he was born, in a perfect past eternity. And then somehow, wonder of wonders, those perfect attributes of God, took human flesh, and lived amongst us, until human beings in their sickness, nailed him to a cross, attempting to extinguish him forever.

But we know that was not the end, more like the beginning. And today from our perspective we celebrate the beginning of the beginning, the appearing of the kindness and love of God our Saviour.
 
Celebrate well; it is the most wonderful day.

​Phil

Nativity Time
‘I am the Lord’s servant’ Luke 1:38
Alison, my wife taught in a local nursery school until she retired last year. Every Christmas, she read the Nativity story to the children, and every year, without fail, they sat in rapt attention. There’s something compelling and utterly wonderful in the story of the Lord’s birth isn’t there? Whether you are two or ninety two.
 
I still get goose bumps when I read Luke’s account of the unbelief of old Zechariah and the disbelief of young Mary when the angel Gabriel paid them a visit. Zechariah was an elderly priest and had worked his whole life in the service of God. He and his wife Elizabeth were true believers and were ‘righteous in the sight of God’ (Luke 1:6). Yet his reaction to the angel’s message was of unbelief. ‘How can I be sure of this’ (v18). Surely he had read about Abraham and Sarah conceiving in old age? Gabriel was not impressed!
 
But Mary - humble young thing that she was – her reaction was not ‘unbelief’, but ‘disbelief’. ‘How will this be?’ Note the difference. Gabriel explained, she believed, and, of course, the rest we know is history!
 
It’s OK to react in disbelief to God’s Word. After all, it’s so astounding. But it’s not ok to react in unbelief. That sadly is the quick way to upset Archangels.
 
Can you respond to God’s Word as Mary did and make her words your prayer today? ‘I am the Lord’s servant, may your Word to me be fulfilled’
 
Season’s greetings to all
Phil

I just wanted to say a few words about Christmas. Everywhere it seems that we are hearing that the government has ruined Christmas – that they promised something and then snatched it away last minute. I recognise that Christmas celebrations this year are going to be massively different.

People I would normally have at my house, or would have gone to visit I will not and have not seen apart from on a screen...and that makes me more blessed than many! Services in the building without being able to sing and touch are constraining. I don’t just object because I love Christmas and always have...                           

I object because Christmas hasn’t changed. It’s a fact of history. Christmas remains the best, mind-blowingly, heart-thumpingly, world-changing, BESTEST [I know it’s not a word but it should be!] news ever. It’s about a promise kept, a Saviour sent to a broken, desperate, hopeless world that SO needed and still SO needs one. It’s good news of hope and joy and of reconciliation and relationship with the God who created us and has never stopped loving us.
So, although we may have to change the way we celebrate this brilliant news...celebrate we must! God created a new star to tell far away outsiders – He sent a host of angels displaying his glory, brighter than any neon sign, to tell despised shepherds – and He sent those same marginalised men to tell everyone they met that God had acted in history to bring peace and salvation and they praised Him and gave Him glory...surely, we can’t do any less?

Yes, it’s been a grim  year.                                                                                                                         Yes, there is much to lament and grieve over for all of us...and much more so for many of us.  I don’t underestimate how hard this year has been. We weep, frequently, with those who weep.

But there is good news and hope...not in vaccines, although we thank God for them...but in Jesus, God in flesh, come to seek and to save...God who knows and understands our deepest need and heartfelt longings has done everything required to put us right with Him and to give us forgiveness and eternal life and His holy Spirit.
So, hang tinsel on everything, string lights and streamers and blare out carols and find any way you can to celebrate and tell others the glorious, good news.

The Dawn of Hope
 
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
(Galatians 3:13 NLT)

Trees must be one of God's most amazing creations; they give us so much. They give us oxygen to breathe, fruit to eat, shade to cool, wood to build, and so much more. But no tree bore such love as the one used for the cross of Jesus.
When we see Christmas trees, we usually notice the lights and ornaments. But this Christmas, may they remind us of so much more. May they remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made giving His life, as He was nailed to a tree – the cross. Jesus did not have His life not taken from Him; it was freely given because of His unconditional love for each one of us. (John 10:18)

For anyone who may be feeling unloved this Christmas, may every Christmas tree be a reminder of the Cross of Jesus Christ and the price He paid because of His love for us. May the lights remind us that the Light of the World came to show us the way back home to the Father. May the round ornaments on the tree remind us of His never-ending love for us. May the red decorations remind us of the blood of Jesus, poured out for us in payment for our sin. And may the green of the tree be a reminder of the new life offered by Jesus! (John 10:10; John 3:16-18)

This advent season, may the Christmas tree remind us that the Christ Child did not remain a baby but grew into the perfect sinless Son of God, dwelling in flesh and taking the wrath and punishment of God on our behalf, and surrendering His life. Then, by the power of the One True God, Jesus rose to life again so that we may find new life in Him!
The Cross was the first real Christmas tree... bearing God's Greatest Gift – Jesus!
 
Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king;
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring:
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine own sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.
“Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus” by Charles Wesley
Simon

Due to the change in government guidelines on Saturday we are having to ask all those that have booked for the Christingle services to rebook.  If you have booked a place (before Sunday) you will have received an email yesterday asking you to rebook.  Please look out for the email and follow the instructions. Any problems please contact the church office.

Please click on the link below for their lastest email update:
mailchi.mp/baeea2c16a70/noticias-3920650?e=714c4585fc

In my recent bible reading I’ve gone back to the beginning! Reading through the first book of the Bible in the lead-up to Christmas has hugely reminded me of the incredible promises that God gave to his people right from the very start and how he fulfilled so many of them at Christmas, thousands of years later.
Abraham’s story is filled with similarities to the events of the first Christmas. In Chapter 12v1-3 God gives him a calling to go into a new land, promising him blessing just as he did with Mary and Joseph. In Chapter 15v3-4 we see the ultimate Christmassy link of a baby being promised into an impossible situation. While Mary and Joseph, in their early-mid teens seemed impossibly young to be having children, Abraham and Sarah were very much in their twilight years, definitely too old to conceive. In chapter 17v19-20 we hear about the greatness of God’s plan for their child and how he is going to choose Abraham and his offspring to establish kings, provide land, and create nations. Then in chapter 21v1-3 we see the promise finally fulfilled, and God’s salvation plan kicks into gear here on Earth.
The plan to rescue and redeem his people through the line of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. The plan to make his presence known among his people from generation to generation. The plan to send his son down at the first Christmas to live as a man, allow people to hear the message of salvation, and to die on a cross to fulfil that promise. The promise for Abraham and the promise of Christmas both mean the same thing for us. That we are able to be brought into God’s family through his choosing of us to be his children, descendants of Abraham, and through being redeemed by the perfect life and death of his son.
The classic Christian tune of ‘Father Abraham Had Many Sons’, as well as being a great sing-a-long, is also an incredible reminder of our place within this promise as fellow descendants from the line of God’s chosen people, “I am one of them and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord”
 

 spotted a magazine in Tescos the other day that promised ‘Ideas and recipes for the Christmas you deserve’. Their adverts similarly tell us that ‘after this year, you deserve it’. “Every Good Boy Deserves Food,” as my piano teacher taught me, but so, apparently, do people who have had a difficult year. Since the 1970s critics have been divided about the final lines of Greg Lake’s song ‘I believe in Father Christmas’  which ended with the ominous words, “Halleluiah, Noel, be it heaven or hell, the Christmas you get you deserve.” But do we really deserve Christmas?
In Luke 7 we find some people pleading with Jesus to visit a Roman soldier who has asked for his help. “This man deserves to have you do this,” they told him. However the officer himself had a different perspective. He wanted Jesus to heal an employee who was important to him but his request relied on  Jesus’ kindness and authority not on his own deserving nature. His message to Jesus was quite clear: “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.”
His response delighted Jesus who praised his faith and remotely healed his servant without hesitation.
We do not deserve to have Jesus come to us. We don’t deserve the grace that sent a Saviour to dwell among us and become one of us.
After the life he lived and the indignities he suffered, Jesus deserved the ringing endorsement of heaven but what he got was the isolation and suffering of the cross. The Christmas we are offered is the one He deserved on our behalf.
Let’s remember and rejoice and thank the LORD who gives us the Christmas we don’t deserve.

​If you could sum up Christmas in one picture what would it be?
 
As part of our Christmas Day service this year we would love you to send in your pictures so that we can show them at the start of the service.
 
You could dig up an old picture and send that in… you could take a picture of a scene or place that makes you think of Christmas…  you could even take a picture of the Tesco delivery man (with his permission) coming with all your food… or you could show the children carefully wrapping presents.
 
Whatever sums up Christmas in one picture we would love to see it!
 
Please be aware that any pictures you send in we will show, so please be mindful with your submissions.
 
The place to send your photos is [email protected]
 
If you could submit them by lunchtime on 24th December (although the earlier the better) that would be a great help.
 
Looking forward to seeing your pictures!
 
Ben