Scripture Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1–13 | Psalm 8 | Revelation 21:1–6a | ​Matthew 25:31–46

“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:5).
 
These words from the last book of the Bible offer us all a powerful image of the Christian hope: that the story of all things ends with the Living God upon the throne, and that His reign entails the restoration of all things. At the heart of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, lies the claim that God’s good Kingdom will have the final word, and that, regardless of how dark the present can seem, the Risen Lord will reign forever.
 
But just because we know how the story ends, that doesn’t mean that all the ups and downs and events in the middle of the story, where you and I find ourselves, are unimportant. That what we do with all our days doesn’t really matter to God’s larger story.
 
Rather, as our Scripture readings this morning remind us, each in their own way, understanding the end of our story serves to guide and shape what we do with today, drawing us closer to the life of God here and now, because how we live here and now really does matter.
​
Our first reading this morning comes from the book of Ecclesiastes: a poetic exploration of the meaning of human life, which looks closely at many of the common goals and priorities we people pursue… things like success, pleasure, and knowledge… and makes the case that in the end, everything we chase after is like vapor or smoke… just as we reach out and grasp after them, they  drift right through our fingers and disappear.
 
This may sound bleak, but this ancient wisdom sheds light on the important fact that much of what our world pours its energy into is not of ultimate lasting value… and if we live like success, or pleasure, or comfort, or knowledge are what matter most, our lives will get off track, and out of line with the true story.   
 
So while in our reading, the author of Ecclesiastes speaks of a time for all things, their overall message is one of clarifying our priorities: of putting first things first, which for them means living in line with the Living God. Ecclesiastes ends with these words: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Keeping in mind the One on the throne, live each day following God’s ways.
 
This reminder of just and divine judgement points us to our reading today from the Gospel of Matthew: a powerful depiction of the Son of Man, God’s Messiah, sorting out once and for all, not just His covenant people Israel, but all the nations… bringing into the light what everyone has done with the time given to them.
 
One thing worth noting about this passage is how it cuts through all our present attempts to sort out the good from the bad, the insiders from the outsiders… us and them. Rather than asking if they belong to the ‘right’ group, the ‘right’ movement, or even the so called ‘right’ side of history, the Son of Man alone sorts out the nations, based on the shape of their lives… based on how their choices and actions in life lined up with the character of the Living God.
 
This picture drives home the point that God is not just interested in making our lives easier or better, but of drawing us deeper into God’s eternal life… meant to shape how we live today! Among other things, Christ is offering a warning here to not waste our lives, but to do what we can to live God’s way with whatever time we’re given.
 
Turning now to our second reading from Revelation, we’re given a vision of what God’s New Life is all about: the ultimate union of heaven and earth, accomplished as God’s gracious gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord.  
“‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:3-5).
 
This is a beautiful, hopeful, and powerful vision, which also drives home the point that our lives and response to God’s gracious gift truly matters, especially if we keep reading. A few verses later, the author of Revelation makes a very clear connection between those who miss out on this beautiful destiny, and their choices in this life:
 
“Those who conquer [that is, remain faithful to the end] will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:7-8)
 
Again, Scripture offers a pretty strong warning that we need to take with all seriousness. Much more could be said about this passage, but in one sense the message is clear: God’s gracious Kingdom is coming, and so how we live today in the light of the Good News of Jesus really does matter! Our faith in the Gospel of Christ is mean to take shape in our lives here and now.
 
So what might we do to actually help adjust our lives to the light of the Gospel? How can we begin to go from talking about God’s New Life to actually living it?

Of course, today seems like a great time to talk about new beginnings… pursuing new goals, and making new commitments. For many, today marks the start of their New Year’s resolution: starting a new year off trying to make positive changes in our lives, breaking old habits, or taking on new practices.
 
There can be lots of good things about New Year’s resolutions, inspiring us not to simply keep going with the flow (unless that’s what you’re trying to start doing, of course), but to be intentional with our time on this earth, and to make even difficult changes that we believe will be worth while in the end.
 
But rather than just recommending that we all make New Year’s resolutions to try to be more faithful to God’s ways this year, I’d rather invite us to take up a Rule of Life.
 
What’s a Rule of Life?
 In a word, a Rule of Life is an intentional set of guidelines people adopt to help keep them focused on and following a particular pattern and way of life. They can be simple. They can be detailed. They can be adjusted over time. But their intention is to help keep those who make use of them in line with what matters most.
 
Now, lots of people create and make Rules of Life, not just Christians. But Christians have made use of these practices for centuries, and they have deep roots in our own Anglican tradition.
 
But before we get too far off track, I want to point out one key difference between a New Year’s resolution and a Christian Rule of Life:
 
A resolution is basically a personal attempt to become the kind of person that I want to be. It’s inherently self-focused, and self-imposed. Not necessarily selfish in its goal… but in its process. That is, the only reason to take up a resolution is because I want to change the course of my life. I have a goal I want to pursue. My will is at the centre.
 
A Rule of Life, on the other hand, is an intentional attempt to realign my life… not around my goals, but with the Living God and His will for me, and for His work in the world. It’s an attempt to respond faithfully to what God has already done by adjusting my actions and priorities to help me to follow Jesus. It is not me focused, it’s Christ focused… seeking to draw me closer to, and become more like our Saviour, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
 
So, at the heart of a Christian Rule of Life is an attitude of openness to God: of humility, and trust, and the desire to be obedient to God’s will.
 
But let’s be clear: this is not at all an attempt to earn God’s favour, or our own salvation. The Gospel tells us that God loved us even when we least deserved it, and sent Christ to rescue us from our sins as a gift… as a gracious and self-giving act of mercy.
 
We don’t need to adopt a Rule of Life to get into God’s good books, or receive eternal life. These are God’s gifts to us in Jesus Christ. But if we want to receive these precious gifts, and practice them in our day to day lives, a Christian Rule of Life can be a very helpful aid… making it easier to develop good habits that reinforce our faith, habits that might seem new or strange at first, but then soon become second nature.

And as I mentioned before, this practice has deep roots in the Christian Church, and in our own Anglican tradition, where creating a Rule of Life was at one time seen as an important part of everyone’s spiritual growth.
 
The following is taken from our own Book of Common Prayer on page 555.  
 
“Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself a RULE OF LIFE in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel and the faith and order of the Church; wherein he may consider the following:
 
The regularity of his attendance at public worship and especially at the holy Communion.
 
The practice of private prayer, Bible-reading, and self-discipline.
 
Bringing the teaching and example of Christ into his everyday life.
 
The boldness of his spoken witness to his faith in Christ.
His personal service to the Church and community.
 
The offering of money according to his means for the support of the work of the Church at home and overseas.”
 
This is just a basic framework, but it invites all Christians to take seriously the several ways our faith is taking shape in our daily lives, and what we might need to do to support it even more.
 
The BCP envisions every Christian doing this individually “from time to time”. But to be honest, creating and committing to a Rule of Life on our own can be really challenging. And just like with New Year’s resolutions, they can be easily set aside without the gift of a community of others on the same journey… who
can support one another by sharing a way of life, instead of doing it all alone.
 
In essence, that was how many monastic communities began: with someone deeply committed to following God’s will in a particular context, adjusting their life accordingly, and inviting others to share in their efforts. People from the ancient days of the Church, like St. Benedict of Norcia, St. Basil, and St. Augustine, all created rules that were picked up by whole monastic communities and orders, guiding the shared lives of nuns and monks for centuries.
 
In more recent times, Brother Roger of Taizé created a Rule of Life for the 20th Century monastic community he helped found in France, which is made up of Christians from very different traditions… Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox, all living together despite their significant differences in order to live as a sign to the wider Church and world that God’s reconciliation is at work here and now.
 
Their Rule of Life is very different from St. Benedict’s, or St. Basil’s, but it’s one that helps them in their context keep their lives in line with the Gospel, and with Christ’s particular calling as a community.
 
Here at St. Luke’s, we don’t have a common Rule of Life. But this year, we created a Mission Vision Group that has spent time together exploring what it means for us to share in God’s mission here in Gondola Point. And a part of that work has been to consider a Parish Vision Statement: a simple guide to keep us focused on where we believe God’s calling us to go.  
 
More will be said about this ahead of our upcoming Annual Meeting, but we are proposing the following as our new Vision Statement: Living Faith | Growing Love | Sharing Hope.
 
While not exactly a Rule of Life, this Vision Statement, or similar guides, can help keep whole communities like ours from getting off track, or distracted from what matters most.
 
Speaking of staying on track…
So, what does it look like to create a Rule of Life today?
 
Well, it all starts with looking to Jesus. With remembering all that God has done and is doing through Him; that He is Himself the gift that saves us, and that alone we do nothing to earn God’s favour. We need to remember that In Christ we know that the Living God longs for us to receive His rescuing love, and share His New Life here and now.

Then, in response to this Good News, we need to honestly look at our current life with God… where we’re starting from, so to speak.
 
We can use the structure given in the Book of Common Prayer as a basic guide: inviting us to reflect on… 
 
Our participation in public worship.
 
Our practice of private prayer, reading Scripture, and cultivating self-control.
 
It can hep us ask ourselves: How does my life line up with what Jesus shows us about God’s ways?
 
Where am I afraid to follow Jesus’ way today?
 
How can I take part in Christ’s kingdom work, in the Church and everywhere else?
 
How am I able to offer my money to support the work of God, here and around the world?
 
Finally, we can prayerfully ask God to help us identify how we can draw closer to Him in our daily life, and what the next steps may be on this journey.
 
Don’t start off by aiming for the finish line, but for the next step or the next leg of the journey… start with choices or actions we can take that actually help us be more open to God’s love, and His saving work in and through us.
 
We may find this easy to do alone. Or we may find it helpful to do along with someone else, sharing a simple Rule of Life, to support each other.
 
Maybe we try this with those in our household, or with a close friend… or a small group we’re a part of, like the ACW, or Choir, or Book Club, etc.
 
But whether we do this alone, or with others, the point isn’t to become focused on following rules, but to intentionally keep our eyes on Jesus and God’s saving love, so that we can faithfully follow our Saviour the Risen Lord of all… which is what really matters most. Amen.
 

May this coming year be blessed, and draw us all deeper into the fellowship of God's eternal family.

Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, and Sermon this week can be found here:

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 52:7–10 | Psalm 98 | Hebrews 1:1–12 | John 1:1–14

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
 
What do you want for Christmas?
What gifts are we looking for today?
 
Setting aside all of the stuff we can find in stores… or shop for online… all the presents that we can wrap up and put under a tree, or into stockings… what is it that you and I and our neighbours are truly longing for today? If we could have anything, anything at all, what would we ask for?
 
For a deep sense of community? For friendship, and fellowship? To be truly known, and still truly welcomed.
For happiness? Fulfillment? To feel completely free from drudgery or despair?
 
Maybe for stability? For healing, and wholeness… both in ourselves, and our relationships. For a bright future, for ourselves, our loved ones, and our world… or even just a light to guide us through a dark season of life?
 
What do we really want for Christmas?
What are we longing for today?
 
What if the gift that we need most of all has already been given? What if it’s just waiting to be remembered… and received for all that it has to offer?
 
The whole story of the Holy Scriptures tells of God’s gracious generosity… of His strong desire to bless and bring beauty and abundant life to His beloved Creation. And when we humans chose to cling to the darkness instead of embracing His light again and again, the Bible recounts how our Heavenly Father faithfully continues to give us far more than we could ever ask for or deserve.
 
Giving us Hope, not just for eternity, but for today too… offering us the courage to carry on, knowing that even when we walk through the darkest valleys… even through the shadow of death, we need not be afraid for we are not alone… the God of life walks with us.
 
He gives us His Peace which goes beyond all understanding, bringing our shattered lives together again… so we can take part together in the harmony God has in store for heaven and earth.
 
He gives us Joy, knowing that all our world’s many sorrows have been bourn by our mighty Saviour, who will not rest until every tear has been wiped away, and all the world has been made new.
 
And He gives us His Love, reaching out to embrace us all, even when our hard hearts had turned Him away… a love that led Christ Jesus to the cross, dying to bring us true life… a love that proved even stronger than death, as Christ Jesus was raised again from the grave, to share in His Father’s glory, and share His own resurrection life with us.
  
All that we truly need… all that our hearts yearn for has already been given: Christ Jesus is God’s great gift to us: heaven and earth all wrapped up in the body of a little babe, laid in a manger long ago, to bring us into God’s light.
 
This Chosen One, who is the Word of God, who from the beginning was with God, and was God, became one of us… became one with us… taking on our frail humanity, our flesh and blood… becoming a human child, given to all, so that all who believe in Him might become God’s children too. That in Him, we too might be filled with the Hope, and Peace, and Joy, and Love that Jesus has always shared with His Heavenly Father, and with the Holy Spirit.
 
In the gift of Jesus, the Christ child born this day, God gives us Himself. All that the Living God is has been shared with us in His Son… in Emmanuel, God-with-us.
 
What else could we want than what God gives to us today? To share in the divine life of the Trinity, the source and Creator of all Hope, and Peace, and Joy, and Love… not only on some distant day, but now, today? To glimpse now the glory, and grace, and truth of the LORD, and to live even now in His light?
 
Jesus Himself is the gift we all need today… those gathered here at St. Luke’s, and those who will never darken our doors.
So may we receive all that God gives us in Him, and may His gracious light shine through us so that all those in our lives might come to receive Him too.  
 
I’ll end now with a sonnet by the Rev. Malcolm Guite:[1]

O Emmanuel
 
O come, O come and be our God-with-us,
O long-sought with-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name,
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness,
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.

Amen, and Merry Christmas.​



[1] Malcolm Guite, Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year (Norwich, UK: Canterbury Press, 2012), 13.

Our service of Lessons & Carols and Bulletin can be found here:

Here are some links to the Carols listed in our service, found on Youtube:  

Our Gospel Reading for today is from the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. There is a whole lot to unpack in this passage.

If you would like to explore it a bit more, check out this great Visual Commentary video from the Bible Project: 

Scripture Readings: 1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26 | Psalm 148 | Colossians 3:12–17 | Luke 2:41–52 

“He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’” (Luke 2:49).
 
Merry Christmas!
That’s one of the things that I love about churches like ours that follow the Christian calendar: Christmas is not just one day, it’s a season of 12 days!
 
And on this first Sunday of the Christmas season we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: giving thanks for the common life that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph shared together… as God raises up a humble human household to participate in His plan to redeem the world, and draw all peoples into His heavenly family.
 
We don’t have that many stories of the family life of Jesus, and our Gospel reading this morning gives us the only one we have from when our Lord was a child… and it’s kind of a strange episode: the holy family makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When Mary and Joseph leave with the rest of the pilgrims, Jesus stays behind in the Temple.  His parents eventually notice He’s missing, and desperately search for Him for three days. But when they find Him, Jesus does not respond as we might expect. He’s not worried, even though He had been left alone for all that time. And He’s not contrite either, seemingly unconcerned by His parent’s feelings, or their expectations of Him as their son. Instead, He seems confused that they didn’t know where to look for Him. That they didn’t know that He would be caught up in what was happening in His Father’s house.
 
It’s an odd part of His story, but Luke shares it with us because he wants us to understand something about this boy and what He’s all about. And interestingly enough, it might help us if we reflect on the story of another young boy from Israel’s early days: the story of Samuel, which we heard briefly in our Old Testament reading this morning.
 
Samuel was born before Israel had any kings. When they were supposed to be guided by Israel’s priesthood, but time and again we’re told that the people kept turning away from God’s ways, and would “do what was right in their own eyes”, which kept leading them to disaster.
 
In our reading we catch a glimpse of the boy Samuel, being raised by Eli, the priest, who served with His sons in the Tabernacle: the sacred Tent where sacrifices to the LORD God were made, and where, before the Temple was built, God’s presence dwelt with His people.
 
Samuel had been dedicated by his mother to the LORD because the LORD had answered her prayer and had given her a son. Samuel served God faithfully even as a child. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Eli’s own sons, who blatantly disgraced the priesthood, and took advantage of those who came to worship God. Our lectionary skips this part of the story, but we are supposed to see this huge contrast between the boy Samuel and Israel’s unfaithful leaders: 1 Samuel 2:22-25.
 
“Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. If one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord; but if someone sins against the Lord, who can make intercession?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father; for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.”
 
The early chapters of Samuel’s story play out this turn of events: the downfall of the corrupt leaders of God’s people, alongside the rise of a faithful miracle-child who serves by helping God’s people to turn back to their LORD. Through this boy Samuel, who from birth had been caught up in the work of the LORD, the Living God was drawing His scattered people back to Himself, so that they all might walk in the ways of His holy love.
 
Returning now to Luke’s Gospel with the story of Samuel in mind, this strange story of Jesus as a boy in the Temple starts to take on a whole other dimension.
 
The picture we’re given is that this young boy is completely caught up in the things of God… completely at home in the House of the LORD, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46-47).
 
Unlike Samuel, Jesus, had grown up far from Jerusalem, and the Temple, but as we know Jesus Himself was the ultimate miracle child… conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary… and more than that, as John’s Gospel tells us, this child is God incarnate… God in human flesh… this boy is Himself the meeting place of Heaven and Earth, God’s dwelling among us… the reality that the Temple and Tabernacle pointed to.
 
And like Samuel, Jesus was growing up at a time when Israel’s leaders, and in particular it’s priesthood had become corrupt, failing to serve the LORD or His people faithfully. The rise of Jesus, for Luke, will coincide with the failure and fall of the faithless guides of God’s people, who constantly clash with our Lord in later days, and who will lead the conspiracy that brings Christ to the cross.
 
But again, we know that there’s more going on at the cross than meets the eye. It was the way that Jesus broke the power of death, and freed us from the grip of sin… opening up the way of God’s New Life when after being lost to us for three days, Jesus rose again from the grave.
 
And again, like Samuel, Luke wants us to see that Jesus, even as a young boy, is the one through whom the Living God Himself is at work rescuing His people, returning their hearts to Him, so that we might walk in His holy ways. In Jesus, the Living God has come and dwells among us to draw us to Himself… to reconcile us, and restore us as His faithful people… to make us, to make you and I, a kingdom of priests, and holy nation, a faithful family, together with our sisters and brothers from every nation, walking together in the holy love of the Lord forever.
 
We live in a time when we’re all encouraged to just “do what’s right in our own eyes”, but Christ has come to open up for us the way to God’s New Life: so that we too might be caught up in what God is up to… living today as God’s faithful family, sharing in His holy love.
 
In our New Testament reading today, St. Paul tells us what this looks like in practice. Let’s listen again, and let the message really sink in:
 
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
 
It can be easy to think of Christmas as a story of the promised child, and the holy family gathered serenely around the manger. But our Scriptures today remind us that this promised child has a clear purpose: to bring about the restoration of Israel, and all nations… to draw all peoples everywhere into the family of God… to offer His life on the cross as the sacrifice to deal with all our sins, and set us free to truly be God’s faithful children forever.  
 
As Christians, we have been adopted into the family of God, sharing in the New Life of Jesus Christ through His Spirit at work in us. So, this Christmas season, may we remember that Christ was born into our human family, so that in Him, all of us might live even today as God’s faithful children. Amen.
 
 

Merry Christmas! Today, the first Sunday of the Christmas season, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: giving thanks for the shared life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and that God has given us His Son so we might become His children.

It is a beautiful message of the Church that God has chosen to work through human families, as broken and messed up as they can be at times, to bring about His rescue mission for the entire world. 

Here is a surprisingly beautiful song based on the family tree of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew by the band Poor Bishop Hooper entitled Christ. 

​Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, and Sermon can be found here:

And our Songs can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 62:6–12 | Psalm 97 | Titus 3:4–7 | Luke 2:1–20

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11).
 
Merry Christmas. Today’s the day.
All throughout the season of Advent, and for some of us, even longer, we have been looking forward to today with building anticipation. The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord, and all that His birth means for our lives and for our world.
 
But I know if we’re being honest, this Christmas has also been really challenging. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic, with cases in our region rising rapidly… making it almost impossible to celebrate in the ways we long to. All of us are facing a great deal of uncertainty as we try to do our part to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and neighbours… having to make major changes to our everyday lives, not to mention our treasured traditions. Though we still have lots to celebrate today, far more than we likely imagine, it’s safe to say this isn’t the kind of Christmas season that we would have planned.

But honestly, Christmas has been that way since the very beginning: a surprising celebration that none of us would have planned.
 
Take Joseph and Mary: First came the life-changing visits from the Angel Gabriel, telling them that Mary was going to give birth to God’s Messiah, the Christ. But then, just as the baby was about to be born, the Emperor, off in faraway Rome, decides to call for a census and suddenly they have to make the journey to Bethlehem.
 
I’m sure they would rather have stayed at home in Nazareth surrounded by family and friends. And they would never have planned to stay in a stable on the night that Mary was to give birth to her firstborn child.
 
And what about the shepherds?
They had no clue about the promised child… they had their hands full enough with the business of daily life… with simply making a modest living, which was getting harder and harder to do.
 
The shepherds were completely caught off guard by the angels and heavenly choir… but were compelled to drop everything and run to Bethlehem to see this ‘Good News for all people’ the angels spoke of with their own eyes.
 
But even though Mary and Joseph and the shepherds would never have planned it that way… even though it all seemed like chaos, inconvenience, and surprise, that first Christmas was the work of the wonderful plans of the Living God.    
 
God planned for the promised child to be born in Bethlehem, in King David’s city, to bring hope to His oppressed people, fulfilling His promises and telling them that their Saviour King had come at last.
 
And God planned for His Son to be born among those who have no place… among those who are refused welcome… among the outsiders, and all those in need. The Prince of Peace was born as one who is poor, who would Himself know rejection and need, that He might lift up the lowly, and redeem all who place their hope in Him.
 
God planned for the Good News of the birth of the Messiah to be shared first with those whose lives had lost almost all sense of joy. To those ground down by the weight of the world, the LORD gave a glimpse of heavenly beauty, music, and light… lifting their hearts to share in a vision of life beyond anything they could imagine.
 
And God planned for these humble shepherds to be drawn near to Mary and Joseph. To come together with those who had once been strangers and share in this gift of God’s love for our world… that they might then go and share this Good News with everyone else as well.
 
Today we can celebrate even in the midst of our struggles, our disappointments, and our fears, because we remember that the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ came about through the wonderful plans of the Living God, who shares His love with our lonely world… who shines His healing light in the midst of the deepest darkness… and announces Good News of great joy especially when we need it most.

Jesus Christ is born! The Living God is with us! May we rejoice and celebrate this wonderful truth today. Amen.

​Here are some links to the Carols listed in our service, found on Youtube:  

Merry Christmas! Here is our Bulletin & Sermon for Christmas Day