‘The Joy of Jesus Christ, this Christmas’ (Matthew 2:1-12)

On Christmas Day, Rev Russ Grinter asked, “Who do you worship?” Who or what is worthy to give yourself to? We all worship but worshipping people, stuff or self leaves us incomplete. In Matthew 2:1-12 we read about the Wise Guys who came to worship Jesus, the Wrong Guys who didn’t and see that Wise Guys today worship and have the joy of Jesus.

‘Keeping the miraculous alive in the Christmas story’ (Luke 2:15)

In this message, Rev John Sutherland explores the often overlooked aspect of the miraculous parts of the Christmas story in Luke’s gospel with the hope that believers may have a greater sense of wonder and awe at the great events that make up the birth of Jesus. We have no need to apologise that the very basics of our faith are founded on miraculous events, no matter how many of our own generation may scoff at these things. In our minds we can readily join with the shepherds who had seen the vision of angels and who received the glad tidings of the Saviour’s birth. “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass.”

‘He walked on earth…in our shoes’ (Hebrews 4:14-5:10)

When white man John Griffin made himself up and lived as a black man, he found out the hard way what many experienced in 1959 racist America. When Jesus came to earth as a human, he too experienced the nature of life as we know it. Hebrews 4:14-5:10 tells us of his experiences – how he endured human frailty, suffering and even death. Though He was fully God, yet he entered into the realm of our pain and through that pain and eventual death secured an eternal salvation for his people. At Christmas time we remember the wonderful truth that God became man and as man he still lives to be our great High Priest in heaven – fully able to understand what we must endure.

‘The focal point of the prophets, the apostles and the angels’ (1 Peter 1:10-12)

At Christmas time, it is good to remember that long ago the prophets had some idea that God was going to do something special in the future when His Messiah would come to earth. What the prophets looked forward to is what the Apostles proclaimed about the death and resurrection of Jesus. These things are told to us in 1 Peter 1:10-12, with Peter even giving us the amazing truth that angels long to understand the fulness of such truths. Thankfully, we have the Word of God that tells us everything God wants us to know!