[0:00] Yeah Amen.
[1:00] Amen. Amen.
[2:00] Amen. Amen.
[3:00] Amen. Amen.
[4:00] Amen. Amen.
[4:31] Amen. Amen. Amen.
[5:00] throughout our service this evening. But let's stand and sing, first of all, 206. Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King.
[5:10] Let's stand and sing 206. 206. Glory to the newborn King.
[5:35] We shall have mercy, God, and sinners reconciled. Joyful all the nations rise.
[5:49] And the triumph of the skies. We will turn in the still way. Christ is born in deathly hay.
[6:03] All the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King.
[6:15] First my eyes, said the Lord. Christ the everlasting God. Hark, the herald angels sing.
[6:35] Hail when fashioned the covenant sea. Hail whenzepam and laert IoT. Jesus, born again well to town.
[6:49] Jesus, our Emmanuel. All the herald angels sing. The rich and the new of me to be with us in this time.
[7:32] Most wonderful and gracious God in heaven, we thank you for the message that was brought on that first Christmas night. Not the message that the angels sang, not the message that the shepherds brought, but your message to our world.
[7:50] Your Son, Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, the message of God to this world. A message of love, a message of grace, a message that you are the God who is interested and concerned, that you are the God who is involved in the lives of the people of this world because you are the God who made us and created us, that we might know you.
[8:16] That's the very purpose for our being. And we thank you that this Christmas time as we think about you and your great gift, the gift of Jesus, we pray that you would help us.
[8:27] Help us as we sing these carols. For many of us, we've sung them year after year after year, but perhaps we've never really understood them. We've thought about Christmas, we've celebrated Christmas, probably from the very year of our birth, but again, we've never truly grasped and understood what Christmas means for us in the great gift of Jesus.
[8:50] Be with us then and help us as we hear your word, as we think about these things. Speak to us and may your message of Christmas come to our minds and hearts afresh and anew, for we ask it all, in and through Jesus your Son.
[9:05] Amen. Now, as usual in our carols, we'll have carols and readings and Mandy's going to bring the very first of our readings. Thank you. Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 to 25.
[9:22] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
[9:35] Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and didn't want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he'd considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
[10:01] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said before through the prophet.
[10:15] The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. They will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
[10:32] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to her son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Thanks, Mandy. Let's sing our next carol then together.
[10:45] Silent Night, Holy Night. 213 in the hymn book. We'll stand again as we sing.isations of glory.
[10:55] tore his hair in theable north to AAA come to your腹 in of the year 6.
[11:11] it is a Roman high song about all the Holy night.
[11:43] Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night, holy night Shelf must wave at the sight Glory strength of heaven afar Heavenly hosts in communion Christ the Savior is born Christ the Savior is born Pro-spir boiler fog
[12:57] Unto earth a child is born, unto earth a son is given, he shall reign in all the earth, he will be called Emmanuel.
[13:15] Unto earth a child is born, unto earth a son is given, he shall reign in all the earth, he will be called Emmanuel.
[13:29] Angel voices sing, hallelujahs ring.
[13:43] For today in Bethlehem the love of God has come to man, the Savior of the world is Christ the King.
[13:55] Unto earth a child is born, unto earth a son is given, he shall reign in all the earth, he will be called Emmanuel.
[14:10] Unto earth a child is born, unto earth a son is given, he shall reign in all the earth, he will be called Emmanuel.
[14:23] Leave your cares aside Seek and you will find For today in Bethlehem The love of God has come to men The Saviour of the world is Jesus Christ Unto us a child is born Unto us a son is given He shall reign in all the earth He will be called Emmanuel Unto us a child is born Unto us a son is given He shall reign in all the earth He will be called Emmanuel Come let us adore
[15:23] Now and evermore For today in Bethlehem The love of God has come to men The Saviour of the world is Christ the Lord Unto us a child is born Unto us a son is given He shall reign in all the earth He will be called Emmanuel Unto us a child is born Unto us a son is given He shall reign in all the earth He will be called Emmanuel He will be called Emmanuel Well done, that was really, really good
[16:27] And especially as it's really almost last minute You've been practising it, hadn't you, for 6.10 For their special nativity, which was a couple of weeks ago And then, well, we needed some extra singers And you came up, so really good I thought that was really super Thank you so much for that Well, it's our turn to sing once more together And we're going to sing number 220 While shepherds watched their flocks by night 220 Oh, we're going to sing met The Side of the Dark Isolution That is runway 814 21 20 20 19 20 20 20 20 20 restraint 21 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 this CHOIR SINGS
[18:21] Please be seated. Rachel's going to come and read. Come out. Luke chapter 2, verses 8 to 20.
[18:38] And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
[18:50] But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the Son of David a Saviour has been born to you.
[19:00] He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.
[19:18] When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
[19:34] When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what they had been told about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds had said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
[19:47] The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Thank you, Rachel. Now in a moment we've got another special musical event.
[20:03] But first of all, on the screen, we're going to do something on the screen together. And just thinking about Christmas. Sort of a Christmassy quiz, because I know that all of us like a bit of a Christmassy quiz.
[20:16] Now in our house on Christmas Eve, we have all the presents, all the Christmas presents, put under the tree. And the night before Christmas. I don't know if anybody else does something like that as well.
[20:28] Bring them all down from the attic and so on. But I wonder, are you tempted to see which of those presents are for you? Are you tempted to sort of have a little bit of a look, see which ones have got your name on the label?
[20:43] But the trouble is, of course, even if you do that, and you find a present with your name on it, then actually you can't tell what it is. That is, of course, unless it's wrapped in a particular way.
[20:54] So I've got some presents wrapped up for Christmas, and I wonder if we can work out what they are just by the shape of the present.
[21:04] Okay? So let's see. So what could this gift be? Okay. What do you think? What do you think? Jack! A bike!
[21:17] Yes, I think it's a bike, isn't it? So, yeah, that's not too hard. That's an easy one. A bit more tricky, this one. What about that one? A helicopter. What could that be?
[21:27] A helicopter. A helicopter. What do you think at the back? Helicopter. You, yeah. Helicopter. Helicopter. Helicopter. Helicopter. That's right. Right at the back. A helicopter. That would have taken a lot of wrapping paper.
[21:39] It's not a toy helicopter. That's a real helicopter. But it's camouflage. Camouflage. Never spot it. Okay, thank you. Okay, so let's see what else we've got. What other presents, can we guess, that they are wrapped up?
[21:51] Can you see that one? I'll give you a clue. This one's more of a dad-type present. Okay, this is sort of a dad-type present. Yeah, I know. We're very old-fashioned here in this. Let's see.
[22:04] Right at the very back. Way back. Way back. Yeah. Electric drill. Electric drill. That's right. Electric drill. Probably a rechargeable electric drill.
[22:16] Now, you're really going to hate me for this, because I'm going to say, here's one for the ladies. This is the sort of gift that a husband would buy his wife if he could get away with it.
[22:28] You know what the wife is doing. Yes, a few of us have been on the receiving end of that. What do you think? Anybody over this side? What about you, Emily?
[22:41] A pan. A saucepan. Yeah, a saucepan or a frying pan, something like that. I think it probably is. We're going to use some of them over Christmas, aren't we? We're going to need them. What about this last one?
[22:51] This is something that all of us are going to use over Christmas. Okay? Sorry to... What's that going to be? What's that? Go on then, Josh.
[23:04] A toilet. A toilet, yeah. A toilet. So, maybe you're getting a new bathroom. Maybe you're going to get a new bathroom. Maybe not. Okay. So, those were pretty easy to work out.
[23:15] Some of those wrapped up presents. Presents come, don't they? Gifts come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Different prices, of course. That helicopter, I imagine, was millions of pounds.
[23:27] And different uses. The toys or the gifts we have. Maybe clothes. Maybe food. Maybe a new phone. Something like that. However, all of those presents that we're going to open on Christmas Day, all those gifts, some are going to surprise us.
[23:43] Some we're not going to be all surprised about. Some are going to be really happy to receive. Some, well, yeah, that's okay. It's better than nothing. But, what about an indescribable gift?
[23:55] The Christmas gift. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. When we think about Christmas, we think about the giving of God's Son, Jesus Christ. I wonder if any of our gifts are going to be indescribable.
[24:09] In other words, gifts are going to make us go, wow. To be gobsmacked, silent, quiet before them, amazed or speechless. Well, Paul, one of the writers of the New Testament, when he was thinking about God's good gifts, he said, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.
[24:27] And we're going to think about that indescribable gift a bit later on in our carol service this afternoon. But first of all, the choir are going to come and sing for us. So I say the choir, we haven't actually got a choir, but we've got a group of people who are going to come and sing.
[24:42] So I'll hand over to Anne, the choir mistress, and we'll see what happens. Joy has taunt upon the world, Joy has taunt upon the world, God's grace.
[25:18] God's salvation now unfurled, Hope for every nation, Not with campers from above, Not with seeds of glory, But a humble gift of love, Jesus, born of Mary.
[25:54] Sounds of wonder fill the sky With the stones of angels As the mighty prince of life Sheltered in a stable As the starchy star in place Shaped the earth in darkness Lent now to her mother's breast Vulnerable and helpless Shepherds bound before the land Gazing at the glory Gifts of men from distant lands Prophecy the story
[26:55] Though the king is born today Incent's blood is with us Mary's death will make a way By his blood he'll win us Son of Adam, son of heaven Given as a ransom Reconciling God and man Christ our mighty champion What a saviour, what a friend What a glorious mystery Once a babe in Bethlehem Now the Lord of history
[27:56] That's super, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
[28:07] Right, let's sing again ourselves. We're going to sing number 211. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie.
[28:18] O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie. The old town of Bethlehem, Amen.
[28:59] Amen. Amen.
[29:59] Amen. Amen.
[30:59] Amen. Amen.
[31:33] And our final reading is going to be brought to us by Lawrence. Thank you, Lawrence. Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.
[31:49] And it's page 966 in the Pew Bible. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?
[32:19] We saw his star when it rose, and I've come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed. And all Jerusalem with him.
[32:32] When he had called together all the peoples, chief priests, and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied.
[32:46] For this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea.
[32:58] For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
[33:15] He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, So that I too may go and worship him.
[33:30] After they heard the king, they went on their way. And the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
[33:46] When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshipped him.
[33:59] Then they opened their treasures and presented with him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
[34:16] This is the word of the Lord. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Thank you, Lawrence.
[34:30] So, we're thinking about this indescribable gift. An indescribable gift. A gift that we can't really fully, absolutely describe.
[34:42] That we can't really explain. A gift that really is beyond our understanding. An amazing gift. So, what's so amazing about this? What's so indescribable about this gift that we're thinking about?
[34:57] Well, we go back to the angels. The angels that came to the shepherds on the night that the gift had been given. And they spoke to the shepherds and told them about this gift.
[35:09] But what do they tell us? What do they tell us when they tell us about this indescribable gift? They were the first ones to find out, the first ones to be told that God had sent this gift.
[35:22] The first ones to be informed. There they were, doing a night shift up on the hills around Bethlehem. Possibly they were told first because they were the only ones who were still awake.
[35:34] Everybody was in bed, asleep, tucked up for the night. They were there, guarding and watching the sheep. What do we know then about this indescribable gift?
[35:47] Well, the first thing is this. It's an astonishing gift. Astonishing gift. Listen to what the angels told them about the gift. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people.
[36:02] For all the people. The astonishing thing about this gift is that it's for everybody. Everybody. Not just for a few people. Not just for good people.
[36:13] Not just for bad people. But for all people. Great joy for all the people. Whoever we are. Whatever our background. Whatever our beliefs. Whatever our problems.
[36:24] Whatever our faults. Whatever our sins. Or our past. Whatever our worries. Whatever our intellects. Whatever our skills. No matter who we are.
[36:34] Or where we've come from. Or what we think. This gift is for us. For you and for me. For every single person on this planet. Whoever we are.
[36:46] There's none of us who can say, I don't need that gift. There's none of us who can say, It's not for me. I don't deserve it. There's none of us who can say, It's not for them.
[36:56] Just for us. This gift is astonishing. Because it's for everybody. It's a gift that God has given out of love for the world. Whoever we are.
[37:08] Wherever we are. This is a gift for all people. It's an astonishing gift as well. Because we're told, I bring you good news. Wow, that is an astonishing gift.
[37:21] Isn't it? Good news. We live in a world of bad news. I'm sure like me. You turn on the news. Six o'clock or whatever it is. And you think, When is there going to be any good news?
[37:32] When is there going to be anything that's really encouraging or nice? So rarely do we hear good news. We might hear the good news of a royal couple who are getting married.
[37:43] That's about it. Or we may hear the good news of somebody who's won the Euro Millions. And thinks that's solved all their problems. Or we may hear the good news of somebody who's reached 100 years old.
[37:56] But that's just good news for a few people. For the royals or for the rich or for the lottery winner or for the old. But this is good news for every one of us. Which of us doesn't want good news?
[38:08] Which of us can say, No, I'm really happy with the bad news. Thank you very much. Just keep feeding me the bad news. No, of course none of us do. We all want good news. We all want to hear something good that pertains to us.
[38:21] That involves us. That's for me. Good news for you. Good news for me. This is good news because This gift from God Is the cause of great joy.
[38:34] Listen again to what the angels said. I bring you good news That will cause great joy For all the people. Good news that causes great joy.
[38:47] Great contentment. Great happiness. Great delight. That's why we sort of celebrate Christmas. That's what we hope Christmas will be. We get all the booze in.
[38:59] We get all the food in. We buy all the presents. We arrange the parties. We arrange the visits. What do we want? A good time over Christmas. A fun time over Christmas.
[39:10] A happy time. That's why we wish one another A happy Christmas. Or a merry Christmas. We want you to enjoy Christmas. But we know only too well That all of those things Don't make a happy Christmas.
[39:23] In fact, too much of some of those things Whether it be the booze or the food Or the presents Can give us a very unhappy Christmas. Christmas. And the truth as well, of course, Is that Christmas is what?
[39:34] A day. If we're lucky, We can spread it out for a couple of days. We can maybe reach to New Year's Day Or New Year's Eve. But in the end, that's the end. We're back to the same old drudgery of life.
[39:46] Back to the same old nine to five of work. The same old looking forward to the next holiday. Or the next weekend. Or whatever it can be. But this is a good news That will cause joy for all the people.
[39:58] Not just for a moment or for a day. Not something that's fleeting. But something that's real and lasting. Twelve months of the year. Seven days of the week. Twenty-four hours of the day.
[40:11] We all have hopes for the new year. We all have hopes for the future. But what do we really want more than anything else? We want to be happy.
[40:22] We want to be content. We want to know joy. So this gift is astonishing Because it's good news That will cause, bring about Great joy for every single person.
[40:35] So this gift, I hope we're sitting up And paying attention. This is not just an advertisement For some new soap powder Or dishwasher tablets. It's not just an advertisement For Chanel number six.
[40:47] This isn't an advert to sell us something. This is a gift. A gift for us, whoever we are. A gift which is good news. Not just for a few.
[40:58] A gift which brings joy. Well what's this gift going to be like? It's got to be a pretty amazing gift, hasn't it? To be able to give joy and happiness to all people. So what's it about?
[41:08] It's an astonishing gift. It's also a small gift. A small gift. That can't be right, can it? When you go and look under the tree What do you look for?
[41:21] The biggest gift. I hope your name's on the biggest one. Because we often think Bigger's better, isn't it? This is a small gift.
[41:32] A gift that can bring joy to everybody, Whoever we are. And can, is good news for everybody on the planet. That would must be something, Something small.
[41:44] Something that can be shared out Amongst seven billion people. Can't be small. It's got to be huge. It's got to be massive. It's got to be enormous. But what are the shepherds told?
[41:57] The shepherds are told that you will find A baby Wrapped in cloths And lying in a manger. A manger's just like a place Where the animals feed was put.
[42:11] A trough, really. We call it ourselves nowadays. A gift that's about eight pounds in weight And about 18 inches long. Don't ask me what that is in metric.
[42:21] But about two and a half kilos And about 45 centimetres. Something like that. It's not very big, is it? That you can fit it in a little trough. But remember, this gift is An indescribable gift.
[42:37] Something that can't be explained. There's lots of things in our universe That are still indescribable. In fact, there's lots of things That once were indescribable That we never knew about And never understood about until recently.
[42:51] Think of DNA. That code. That genetic code That distinguishes every single one of us And makes every single one of us unique. It's revealed to us Just how complex And indescribable the human body is.
[43:07] Astonishing and amazing. The more we explore The more we find The indescribable world in which we live. But no matter what we do No matter how much study we make There's one person who still is indescribable.
[43:22] There's still one person that we can't really Pin down. And that's God himself. He's the creator of these Credible bodies. These indescribable bodies.
[43:33] God himself is indescribable. People have tried to imagine God And they've painted a painting. Or they've written a poem.
[43:43] Or they've studied philosophy. People have made their own types of gods In statues and in carvings. In carvings. But what's God really like? Can we possibly know This indescribable God?
[43:58] Well, that small gift. You'll find a baby wrapped in cloths And lying in a manger. That's God's indescribable gift to the world.
[44:09] Every baby's special, aren't they? If you're a mum or a dad Or a big sister or a big brother You know what it's like When the baby's been brought home Or a grandparent Every child is special.
[44:24] And every child is beautiful Even if they're not. And let's be honest There's some babies That aren't as beautiful as others. Or mine, of course, were. Because they had such a beautiful mother. And that's got me a big present for Christmas.
[44:39] But this baby This little toddler This child born and laid in a manger Is something more than special. He is God himself.
[44:51] This child born to Mary This one that brings good news Of great joy to all people Is indescribable Because he is God Who's become human. God who has himself Entered into our life.
[45:06] Entered into our world. On that first Christmas day The shepherds were told He's the Messiah The Lord The God who fills The whole universe The God who has no limits That nothing can contain him Brought himself down Made himself small Contracted himself To be that newborn baby.
[45:30] Small gift But something wonderful There inside The gift of God Himself That makes it a priceless gift I wonder how much You spent on Christmas This year Have you kept a record Of all the things That you've bought Have you kept the receipts So you can take them back If they don't fit Or you don't like them Or they're not wanted Most of us Will set a budget Perhaps for each person In the family Well they'll have so many pounds For each person But again We always go beyond it Don't we We always set a limit And we go beyond it We set that limit Because Well that's how much money Is in the bank Or that's how much We can afford But the truth is Unfortunately So many people Go into debt Don't they Over Christmas Well I'll just put it On the card Pay it on the never never Hoping that Well They'll forget about it
[46:30] Or somehow I'll get a bonus Or something else Many people Go into debt And extend their overdraft Which they know They can't pay back But this priceless gift This priceless gift That God Gave us in Jesus How expensive is that?
[46:49] What's that worth? God knew exactly What he had to pay When he gave the gift Of his son Who knew exactly What it would cost It would cost him Everything that he had He gave that Which was the most Priceless He gave that Which cost him The greatest He gave his son The Lord Jesus Christ Today in the town Of David A saviour Has been born to you He's the Messiah The Lord The good news Is that The thing that Gives us joy The good news For every one of us Is something We could never afford No matter how much Money we had No matter how hard We worked No matter how rich Our parents were No matter what lottery We won There's nothing That you and I Can do To afford Or to purchase This gift Of happiness And joy And peace Only God Could pay the price Because God alone Was willing To pay the price And so this
[47:50] One who was born Was born to be A saviour He was born Into this world Not just to live And to show us The reality That God has not Forgotten us But that God Cares about us He was born into This world With a mission With a purpose And that purpose Was that he might Die Don't think about Easter at Christmas But we can't Not afford to Jesus came To live And to die To die to pay The debt That we've accumulated By our selfish lives By our greed And our pride By our thoughtlessness By our evil You see In our lives We've bankrupted ourselves That's what sin does When we live To please ourselves When we live With opposition to God Then we find ourselves Ultimately Having to face God's court Bankrupt Unable to pay The fine Or the sentence On that day
[48:50] The Bible Tells us clearly That we must Stand before God And give an account For how we've lived And that we Should be found lacking And God will say Well what are you Going to pay with How are you Going to meet The fine How are you Going to pay Your debts And ultimately The sentence That will be passed On the majority Of us Will be a sentence Of everlasting sorrow And regret And shame But This indescribable gift Of God Jesus Christ His son Was given Out of love for us Out of love for us That even in our debt Even in our bankruptcy Even in our sin Even in our opposition To God He gave that Which was closest To his heart He gave his very self And at agonising cost He paid off Our debts He purchased Complete forgiveness For us And he paid That we might be Restored
[49:50] To the right Relationship with God That we were made for We've heard Good news Good news of God's love Good news of God's gift The question is really this What will we do With this gift This good news The angels were told About it The angels were told This good news today Of great joy For all the people A saviour's been born He's this babe In the manger How are they going To respond to that Well of course They were shepherds They were doing Their job We're too busy We're looking After the sheep If we don't look After the sheep We'll get in trouble From the boss If we leave them there And what about If a wolf comes Or a bear comes And snatches them And kills them We could lose our job We could lose our homes We could lose our pay No no The sheep are more important Our job and our career Is more important Money is more important And it's night time as well
[50:52] Don't want to go in the night time We'll go in the morning We'll go in the morning When we get off our shift We'll go in the morning When it's light To see where we're going Or perhaps They could have even said It's not true anyway Is it No of course not It's a lot of rubbish It's a lot of fairy stories There's no real God There's no real need For a saviour There's no real heaven No real hell No real day of judgment It's just make believe I wonder if we've used Those excuses ourselves When we've been presented With the good news of Jesus I'm too busy Life is too hectic I haven't got time I've got all my Christmas shopping to do To think about Christmas And Christ There's too much on the telly That's good Look at all these movies That are coming There's other things That are much more important But there aren't There isn't This is the one important thing This is the thing that we know
[51:52] That we've been looking for All our lives And searching for In our job In our family In our Christmas presents In our food In our booze This is what we've been looking for Peace And joy A right Contentment And satisfaction In life That nothing else can bring Now what did the shepherds do?
[52:14] They didn't ignore it They didn't leave it They didn't put it off We're told here They said to one another Let's go to Bethlehem And see this thing That has happened Which the Lord Has told us About Please Can I urge you This Christmas Don't let this Indescribable gift Slip through your fingers Don't let this wonderful Priceless gift of God Go unwrapped And left at one side Of your life There's several things That you can do At the moment The things that you've heard May seem to make Not a lot of sense to you But there's something there That is saying Could this be true?
[52:53] Could God really love me? Could God be interested in my life? Can I find that joy? That peace? That I'm searching for? Or is this just a load of waffle?
[53:05] Tosh? Rubbish? There's several things you can do Let me encourage you If you're a visitor here That on the seat around the back You'll find a little card Simply fill it in Asking to find out a bit more About Jesus Fill it in And just leave it At the back Or hand it to somebody You can come and join us again We're meeting again On Sunday next week And on Christmas Day There's a leaflet there That will tell you about Those events Or come another Sunday When you come Come and find out Rather than dismissing The message of Jesus Above all Can I encourage you please To take one of these little books They're a free gift A Christmas gift to you From us Here at Whitby Evangelical Church There's lots on the tables Downstairs And if you can't find one Then we'd gladly give you one It's a little book It's only take 10 minutes To read at the very most No big words Even I can understand it Take it and read it This Christmas Make just 10 minutes of time To find out about This book's called The Greatest Gift
[54:06] As a church From time to time We run a course Called Life Explored An opportunity informally To find out The reality The truth Behind the message Of Christmas We're hoping to run One of those In the new year If you'd like to come If you're interested It's nothing demanding Ask And we'd gladly arrange something To meet with you Please Don't Let this indescribable gift Become a gift That you've never Opened The gift is this It's God with us We feel that God Is far from us In Christ Jesus We've realised That God is with us He's come Into this world For you For me For all of us And if we miss that Then we'll miss Everything else That God has given us To enjoy Because only when He is part of our lives Everything else Falls into place
[55:07] We do want to Wish you a truly Genuinely Happy Christmas This year So let's sing Our final carol It's in our books Oh come all you faithful Joyful and triumphant 209 Let's stand and sing And at the end We're going to sing We wish you a Merry Christmas To one another At the end of our carol Okay 209 One new song Well You Have to sing Inside The song In your friends Come all you faithful Joyful and triumphant A new song About your left김 A new song And if you say Boys Who are you G нажiそ Do Hope To The czegoś śniegładu
[56:10] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[57:12] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS Sing in exultation, sing all ye citizens of heaven.
[57:42] Glory to God, member of Christ.
[57:52] O come, let us adore him. O come, let us adore him.
[58:05] Christ the Lord. We saved the last verse for Christmas Day morning. Let's pray together before we wish each other a happy Christmas.
[58:19] O Lord our God, we thank you for your indescribable gift of love. That gift for each one of us, whoever we are. Even if we don't think we want or need, you've given and given and given.
[58:35] And we pray, Lord, that this Christmas each one of us may really know the joy of Jesus your Son. The joy of him coming into our lives, bringing that gift of reconciliation, of friendship, of restoration of our relationship with you.
[58:55] May, Lord, we be like the shepherds and go and find out for ourselves. And may we find, O Lord, as we seek, that you are there waiting, ready to receive us, ready to make yourself known to us, ready to pour out into our lives the full gift of life eternal.
[59:17] And so we pray, bless the food that we're about to share in together. Bless and be with us and watch over us this Christmas. Our loved ones, our families and our friends. Keep them safe and us too.
[59:29] For we ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's sing to one another. We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas.
[59:41] We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. For tidings we bring to you and your King.
[59:56] We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Merry Christmas.