No sooner does Christmas arrive, it very quickly goes, and is soon forgotten until it comes around again after another year. Many will fall for the trap of observing Christmas, but never knowing Jesus, the ‘reason for the season’. The gospel writer, Luke, does not want us to do that. After he wrote of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:1-20, he added further information about the events that happened soon after in Luke 2:21-52 – particularly the events all took place in the temple where Jesus was presented, received and began to grow. And because Christmas happens at the end of one year and the start of another, these events remind us that there is an ongoing need for God’s people to be ‘growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour’ (2 Peter 3:18) with each successive change of the calendar.

Full service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Tell Out My Soul
00:17 Introduction
00:47 Prayer
06:48 Children’s talk (with thanks to Kidswise)
Song: Who is He in Yonder Stall?
10:43 Bible reading: Luke 2:21-38
Song: Good Christians All Rejoice
13:17 Bible reading: Luke 2:39-52
Song: O Little Town of Bethlehem
14:52 Sermon: Luke 2:21-52
Song: More About Jesus
36:55 Closing