Let me tell you about three presents I’ve received over recent years.

• A pair of National Trust polyester socks with the oak leaf emblem on the ankle 

• A walkman with radio and speakers

• A wallet

Each of these presents had varying degrees of usefulness. The socks never saw the light of day, I considered them sartorially ‘dodgoire’, they were just too embarrassing to keep anywhere but the drawer. I used the walkman for a while but I’ve grown up. I listen to CDs and so it’s outlived its purpose. The wallet however, is with me all the time, admittedly it doesn’t get opened that often - ask my friends. But the wallet and me are inseparable. That’s the kind of present that’s worth having.

The kind of gift we want is something that becomes indispensable. Tonight we’re thinking about God’s gift to humanity of his son.

God’s gift has been regarded by many as too embarrassing to ever let out in the open. To others it’s something we’ve simply outgrown as our tastes have matured. But to others it is indispensable and they couldn’t imagine life without it. I ‘d like to explain this evening why many have come to that conclusion using the reading we’ve just had.

Luke’s material records the scene from the fields outside Bethlehem where a group of shepherds tend their sheep. Their nocturnal vigil is unexpectedly disturbed by the arrival of an angel who tells them to go to Bethlehem where God has been born. The presence of miraculous activity in the events that surround the birth of Jesus cause some to question its authenticity. Let’s be honest: pregnancies without intercourse, messengers from heaven and guiding stars are not a part of everyday life. For some, the appearance of angelic figures in the countryside outside Bethlehem is a step too far and leads them to conclude that what we’re dealing with here is fiction and not fact. I have some sympathy with their concerns. The claims of Christianity can seem too outrageous to take seriously. But does the appearance of angels stretch the limits of credibility beyond what could be expected of any self-respecting rational human being? I don’t think so. We’re not being asked to commit intellectual suicide and believe something that isn’t true. Though at first sight it appears as though these events are an embarrassment to the modern scientific mind there’s more than enough evidence to convince even the hardest of sceptics that what’s recorded here, though unusual, is reliable history. Consider the following

• Luke was convinced he was recording eyewitness evidence

At the start of his gospel account he writes,

‘1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.’

If we conclude that what he wrote isn’t true means we eiether think he’s stupid or he’s deceitful. But the gospels received world-wide acceptance in the lifetime of Jesus’ generation. If what he had recorded was untrue he would have been discredited and the book of which he was an author would have been dismissed as fanciful speculation. But it wasn’t: it was accepted as reporting what actually happened. Non-Christian writers attest the main details of Jesus’ life that Luke records His birth, teaching ministry, miraculous activity, death by crucifixion and a large following of people who claimed that he rose from the dead are all found in non-Christian writers of the same period. Luke is demonstrated to be utterly reliable in what he wrote. He doesn’t invent material to make Jesus sound impressive - he doesn’t have to!

So what are the angels doing? The word ‘angel’ simply means messenger. These are messengers from God to humanity. They mediate revelation from the heavenly sphere to the earthly domain. Which is a technical way of saying that they are simply newsreaders announcing the news from heaven.

I read last week about research that suggested attractive female newsreaders are a distraction to the news. Apparently 75% of men questioned couldn’t remember a single detail from the 1st 30 seconds of a broadcast and they only remembered 40% of the entire news story when an attractive female presenter gave the news.

I have no idea what gender the angel was. However, the news it announced clearly got the attention of the shepherds. But the point is that it’s possible to get distracted by the newsreaders and neglect the news. And I’m keen that we should avoid that. The angels announce three things.

1. the birth of Jesus is good news for all people

Look at verse 10. When the angel appeared out of nowhere the shepherds immediate response was one of fear not only because they’d been scared witless by his sudden arrival but because the angel was accompanied by the glory of the Lord. They came into contact with the searing purity of God’s holiness and realised they were totally unworthy to be in his presence. They feared for their lives. Immediately the angel attempted to calm their fears and explained that what he brought them was good news for all people. Now that’s a surprise isn’t it? When most of us think about Christianity we don’t think that it’s good news for all people, we think it’s either good news for a few people or bad news for many. Most of us think XNTY is bad news because it’s just so negative about everything. It’s negative about human nature because Jesus says that our natural inclinations are towards self-centredness, he bangs on about sin. To say that is just so destructive because it produces serious guilt in people. It’s negative about other religions because Jesus says that there is only one way to God and that’s through him, therefore other religions lead us further not into truth but error and to say that is just so divisive. It’s negative about life because Jesus says that there ought to be limits to our belief and behaviour. Jesus says that some things are wrong and that’s restrictive and narrow-minded. In a culture that tends accept all things that’s not going to go down well and it’s just so dull and dreary. Most of us don’t think ‘Christianity is for all people’ but just for some. If we’re honest we think it’s not for me it’s just for others! The others for whom it’s for are the people that need it, and for them that’s fine. Christianity is for the sick, the sad and the lonely and it’s good news for them because Jesus helps them cope with whatever they’re going through. It’s not for the young able city worker, with partner, mortgage, car and career. It’s not for those whose self-esteem is intact whose friends and hobbies keep them occupied at weekends and whose mental faculties mean they won’t be gullible and naïvely believe a line pedalled by the church. I’ll concede this: Christianity is only for those who need it, for them it’s good news, but the truth is that the angel of God reckoned Jesus Christ was good news for all people because all people need him whether they realise it or not. Given that Xnty is good news for all people we ought to leave here tonight, and on every subsequent visit to church glad that we’ve looked at the bible and thought about Jesus Christ.

2. the birth of Jesus is the arrival of a saviour

In verse 11 the angel announces that the baby born in the shed in Bethlehem was a saviour - Christ the Lord. Bethlehem was a nondescript satellite conurbation 5 miles south of the capital Jerusalem, a little bit like Croydon. However, unlike Croydon something exciting had happened there. It was the birthplace of David, Israel’s greatest ever King. The Old Testament part of the Bible, that bit written before Jesus’ arrival looked forward to a time when a new king descended from David would come from that city to rule over God’s people once again. Jesus is David’s descendant and the new king. As Lord he carried all the authority of God and as Christ, the anointed king he would rule and save his people. The extraordinary thing about this new king is that the Old Testament said he would save his people by dying for them. That’s unusual. Let me explain. Our refusal to let God be God over us and direct our lives, provokes his righteous anger. God has promised that a day is coming when justice will be done, he will judge, convict and punish those guilty of rebellion against him. They will experience his anger and condemnation. The king however, would die as a substitute in the place of others, endure God’s wrath and save them from God’s condemnation. By suffering on the cross, Jesus swapped places with us, suffered the punishment and saved us. He got it in the neck from his Father so that we wouldn’t have to.

I read this week about a Glasgow shopping centre that has been experimenting with a concept known as The Shopping Boyfriend. It’s a pilot scheme that lets a woman drop off her usual boyfriend at the grown up equivalent of crèche whilst she goes and does her shopping with a substitute, The shopping boyfriend. He acts as a substitute. He is chosen to be the ultimate retail therapist, enthusiastic, attentive, admiring and complimentary. For a man like me who buys all his presents from Amazon that sounds attractive. Someone stands in as my substitute to endure the torment of shopping whilst I get to sit in adult crèche read the paper and drink coffee.

Jesus was born to be a saviour who would substitute himself to save others, that’s why it’s good news for all.

3. the birth of Jesus is a reason to praise God

In verse 13 the heavenly host joins the angel to praise God. He sends the choir to add their testimony to what is taking place. In verse 14 they honour to God and celebrate the peace he brought through the birth of this saviour because they reckon that it’s something so wonderful it’s worth singing about.

A Welsh friend of mine came back from Twickenham a couple of years ago having been on some corporate jolly. He moaned about the lack of atmosphere compared to the Millennium stadium in Cardiff. Despite being Welsh & therefore inherently biased and genetically predisposed to rubbishing the English I suspect he was telling the truth. But anyone who’s seen any of the three Autumn internationals against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa would have seen a stadium alive with grown men in full chorus celebrating the performance of an outstanding England side [this was written in 2002!]. What would possess grown men to do that? They felt they had something worth singing about some of the rugby England produced was phenomenal and they wanted everyone to know it.

I doubt the shepherds were predisposed to choral arrangements. These were tough men. But look at verse 20. Something in that angel’s announcement and the birth of Jesus gave them reason to sing. They’d discovered the saviour for the world and they wanted everyone to know it. You see a proper understanding of the significance of Jesus Christ unavoidably leads people to declare what they’ve understood. That’s why Christians have that really irritating habit of annoying everyone by talking about Christianity all the time. They’ve been convinced by the evidence that in Jesus they’ve found the saviour for the world and they want others to know it.

Conclusion

Now it may be that much of what we’ve thought about is new to you and you’d value the opportunity to think further about these things. It’s probably true that most of us haven’t thought seriously about Jesus Christ as adults and you may want to enquire further into what I’ve been saying. There are three ways we at CCB can help you investigate. I gave the same advice last week so for those of you who are back you’ll be reassured to know I’ve not changed my mind!

Buy a book to read over Christmas, Christianity Explained is written by a friend who loves rugby and Jesus. For the price of two pints at the Exhibit it’s yours - £5. If you’ve come with a Christian friend get them to buy it for you for Christmas so that if you think it’s a rubbish book you won’t have wasted any money on it!

You could always come to church. Doesn’t have to be ours. But pick a good one. It’s just that if you wanted to find out about rugby you’d go to a place where they worship it, a rugby club. Therefore and if you want to find out more about Jesus the obvious place is church isn’t it? It’s quite normal for us to have people at church who don’t agree with us and we welcome it.

Try Christianity Explored, our 6-week introductory course that we’ve been running for about 5 years at our church in Wimbledon. A number of people here have done it and enjoyed it, there’s no pressure, and it’s simply a forum within which to ask questions, discuss conflicting views and consider the evidence. We’ll be running a course in the New Year so you could always join others on that. If you did want to do that course the way to let us know is by indicating it on the feedback form.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that a shepherd is their role model but that’s what the writer Luke intended them to be. They leave the sheep, go quickly to Bethlehem and check out what the angel had announced. In the light of this extraordinary announcement concerning the birth of the saviour they investigate. Can I urge you to do the same and not let something as significant as a saviour’s birth go neglected? The one thing we must not do is remain in the fields, distracted by our work, missing the action and fail to investigate the arrival of God’s Saviour. Will you allow me to be provocative? The field is for sheep, creatures that without thought do what the next creature does, and as humans we’ve got to be brighter than that haven’t we? Let’s get to the shed and investigate the birth of the saviour.

Christmas is a time for lying. Always has been. I reckon it’s beyond most of us to pull off a deceit free Christmas. From time eternal lies like these have been heard throughout the world.

• Thank you so much it’s exactly what I was hoping for
• I’ll be back pretty early, the office Christmas do is usually a quiet affair
• I’d be delighted to spend Christmas at your parents
• I’m not really watching the film so do turn over for the Queen’s speech
• Mum I’d love to come to midnight mass
• No of course it doesn’t make you look fat

Any of those sound familiar? Christmas is usually a time of year when we might stretch the truth a little for the sake of keeping the peace. For a few moments this evening we’re going to think about the first lie ever told at Christmas. It’s recorded for us in (8) when king Herod says to the travelling wise men, ‘Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him’

It would be fair to say that Herod is being economical with the truth. His intentions are not honourable but murderous; it was a blatant lie.

• The birth of Jesus

Now this prompts the question of why would the birth of Jesus cause such a strong reaction? The clue is given in the request of the wise men in (2) when they ask, ‘where is the one who has been born the king of the Jews?’ The birth of Jesus is the birth of a King with a rightful claim to Herod’s throne because he’s been born in the direct line of Israel’s king David. Herod knows he hasn’t because he’s been placed there by the Romans and all he’s left with is his murderous plot. It is worth noting in passing the efforts that the writer Matthew takes in order to reassure us that what we are reading is historically reliable and not fanciful speculation. Look at (1). ‘Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men came from the east to Jerusalem’. Matthew, the converted accountant, wants us to know that this event can be located in terms of geography and history. The birth of Jesus actually took place at a particular place and a particular time. The point is that the birth of Jesus is not in the same category as Santa and his red nosed reindeer, one is fantasy and myth and the other is historical fact supported by verifiable evidence. We’re not being asked to leave our intellectual faculties at the door and believe something that’s not true. This is not another Christmas lie. The birth of Jesus is not only one for which there is considerable evidence but it was also anticipated for longer than the usual 9 months. Throughout the OT part of the Bible, in the period of history prior to the birth of Jesus, God promised that he would arrive himself as a perfect king to rule over his people with justice and peace. The Jewish people had been waiting for God to arrive for hundreds of years. The claim of the New Testament writers is that Jesus is the one they’ve been waiting for. Matthew supports that assertion. One of the ways he does so is by recording the names that were to be given the baby. I wonder whether you spotted them? The baby was to be called Jesus because it means ‘he will save people from their sins’. The baby was to be called Immanuel because it means ‘God is with us’

My elder son is called Rufus. I’m happy to concede that it’s an unusual choice. It’s better than the one time front runner, which was Travis on account of my surname being Perkins! Apparently Rufus means red haired and because of a strong ginger gene on my side of the family it’s become true! I suspect he’ll be teased and my job is to prepare him for that by helping understand it’s not ginger, it’s terracotta or my current favourite, African sunset!

The point is that the names give away who the baby is; he is God our Saviour. That’s an extraordinary claim, as outrageous as it may seem the Bible is claiming that the small child born in a shed is God, shrunk down to occupy human flesh. Like us becoming a slug God becomes a human being. Please don’t think I’m naïve at this point. I am well aware that it sounds completely barking. It sounds as barking as the kind of American cult who claim the spaceship is coming to the mountain at 5.45 tonight to meet us and take us away. However, I would not believe it and I am not asking anyone else to believe it unless there is sufficient evidence to maintain its credibility. I don’t want to believe anything that’s not true. And God is not asking us to believe anything for which there isn’t proof. And there is. Pages pages of it. Both in the Bible and corroborating evidence in non Christian writers of the contemporary period. They report that the child Jesus grew up to become a man and for 3 years in public ministry he pulled off the kinds of things only God could do. Amongst others he walks on water, turns a kids sandwich lunch into a feast for 5,000 and raises the dead to life. The birth of Jesus is the arrival of God in human flesh. He came in order to save people from the consequences of their sinful rejection of God. But how do you react to that?

This passage sets before us 2 responses to the news that God was born in Bethlehem, one from the king and the other from the wise men.

1. the birth of Jesus provoked Herod to reject him

Herod’s deceit is triggered by news brought to him from a group of eastern astrologers who’ve pitched up totally unannounced on the palace doorstep. They’re searching after the new child king and have even gone to the trouble of bringing a collection of Christmas presents for the boy. They have no idea where the King was to be born. They just assumed that Jerusalem, as the capital city was the obvious place. The best hospitals are there, the Harley Street Gynaecologists and after all it’s the place of the Queen’s official residence. You’d expect the king to be born there. Herod is as clueless as they are about the venue for this child’s arrival but he gathers a group of experts to help him out. He suspects something is up and knows that with the arrival of this King his days are numbered. The theological college professors, ecclesiastical lawyers and local clergy confirm that the Old Testament promised that God’s king would be born in a tiny insignificant town called Bethlehem. Matthew quotes the prophet Micah who 700 years before the birth of Jesus predicted his arrival in this small Jewish town. Acting on this information Herod summons the wise men and plots the destruction of the baby. Herod hasn’t got to grips with the mission of this child. He can’t see beyond the birth of a rival to his throne. The fact that this child is God come to save people from sin has not dawned on him and he sets out to kill him. That has to be one of the most foolish conclusions to come to.

One of my friends from the rugby club works for a publishing firm who, probably for legal reasons, shall remain unnamed. But a few years ago they were approached by a young female author with the manuscript for a story about a small boy who happened to be a wizard. The author was unpublished and unemployed. The conclusion they came to was that there was nothing to be gained from her arrival, there was nothing valuable in her writing. She was rejected and shown the door. A hasty decision they came to regret with every passing year. The author of course was JK Rowling and the book Harry Potter. It was a foolish decision to reject her.

Can I suggest that we ought not to come to the same conclusion that Herod did, that would be a foolish thing to do. Whilst his reaction is extreme the phenomenon of rejecting Jesus is not uncommon. It is popular in our culture to mimic the rejection exemplified in Herod, clearly not to the same degree but in principle it’s there in each one of us. By nature we reject Jesus and his right to rule over us. Under no circumstances will we let him be God over us and direct our lives. Jesus is simply a rival whose claims to the throne of our existence is to be repelled at all costs.

Can I suggest that that there’s a much better way of reacting to Jesus?

2. the birth of Jesus provokes wise men to worship him

The wise men leave the capital and head off to Bethlehem on Herod’s advice. They are guided on their way by this mysterious astrological phenomenon. I don’t get the star and how it can simultaneously go before them and rest over Jesus’ home. But let’s be honest it’s not the weirdest thing happening that day, if God can become a baby I’m happy to leave the star to him. The wise men arrive at a house, meet the mother and prostrate themselves before a small baby. I’ve spent a bit of time in antenatal wards and this is not the usual response to the birth of a child! But as far as they are concerned this child is worthy of their respect, praise and worship. Now we’re not exactly sure why they’ve come to this conclusion. It may be that since they have come from the east they are inhabitants of the Babylonian Empire. Therefore since the 6th Century BC deported Jewish immigrants taken from Israel under military exile would have taught that the Old Testament expected a new world leader to come from this tiny Middle Eastern country. It may be that they picked up on this and the appearance of the star confirmed this expectation. However, they know that there is something about this baby that means it’s right to humble themselves in his presence and treat him in a way quite different to any other human being. In one sense the wise men and Herod are alike. They’ve both realised that someone more important than them has been born. However, as Matthew makes clear it’s their reaction that is the correct one. He wants to commend this sort of activity to his readers. If we’re not sure what we should think about Jesus Matthew gives some strong hints, since he’s God in human flesh metaphorically get on your knees, submit to him and give him the respect he deserves.

Conclusion

What does the birth of Jesus provoke you to? Does it provoke you to Apathy? Does it lead us to conclude it’s just not for me, it doesn’t rock my world and is never likely to. Can I suggest that if God the supreme ruler of all that there is really did enter the world in Jesus to save people from their rejection of him as I’ve been suggesting the one thing we can’t be is apathetic. This demands a strong reaction.

Are you provoked like Herod to Rejection? Let’s be honest, this is the popular response. But when did popularity ever make anything right, it is possible for lots of people to be wrong – Diana became our third greatest Briton of all time and Michael Crawford, the Phantom of the Opera got in the top 50. That’s got to be wrong hasn’t it? Impressive people but great?! Popularity can sometimes mean a lot of people are not alone in their stupidity. The consequences of rejecting this King are serious. You can’t expect to be an enemy of God and get away with it forever.

Are you provoked like the wise men to Worship? This is the wise response. This takes account of the evidence and recognises that the baby whose birth we remember every year at Christmas is not like any other human being. Now it may be that much of what we’ve thought about is new to you and you’d value the opportunity to think further about these things. It’s probably true that most of us haven’t thought seriously about Jesus Christ as adults and you may want to enquire further into what I’ve been saying. There are several ways we can help you to do that.

Buy a book, Christianity Explained is the one I’m recommending at the moment. It’s written by a friend who’s an overweight vicar in central London. He used to be an athletic prop forward and has let things slip! If you’ve come with a friend get them to buy it for you for Christmas so that if you think it’s a rubbish book you won’t have wasted any money on it!

You could always come to church. Doesn’t have to be ours. We don’t want your money, we’re not on a recruitment drive and I’m not on performance related pay. It’s just that if you wanted to find out about rugby you’d go to a place where they worship it, a rugby club and if you want to find out more about Jesus the obvious place is church. It’s quite normal for us to have people at church who don’t agree with us.

Try Christianity Explored, our 6-week introductory course that we’ve been running for about 5 years at our church in Wimbledon. A number of people here have done it and enjoyed it, there’s no pressure, you don’t have to be a Christian to do it nor even have to become a Christian at the end of it. People value the forum within which to ask their questions, discuss conflicting views and consider the evidence. We’ll be running a course in the New Year so you could always join others on that.

Whatever we do, let’s not repeat the error of Herod who let his ignorance and pride stand in the way. He missed the good news that the birth of Jesus was the coming of God to save people from sin. The appropriate response to a king like that is to accept him and submit to him. That’s what the wise men did. That’s what wise people still do.

I wonder whether you’ve heard the story about the man in a local gym? He was happily showering when a mobile phone went off. Calm as you like he stepped out off the shower and answered the phone. A female voice greeted him at the other end ‘Hello darling are you in the gym?’ ‘Yes, I’ve just got out of the shower to answer the phone’. ‘Look I’m in Selfridges and I’ve just seen a coat to die for, can I have it, it is Christmas?’ ‘How much is it? He enquired. ‘It’s £1000’. ‘Sure, treat yourself’. Growing in confidence she asked ‘I popped in to HR Owen earlier on just to look at the new BMW convertible, can I have it?’ He replied ‘How much is it?’ ‘35K but it come with all the extras. Oh come on, it is Christmas’. ‘OK fine’. The other men in the gym stood around astounded. He looked around and asked, ‘does anyone know whose phone this is?’

The woman in that story made it pretty clear what she wanted for Christmas. Personally I’m always grateful for any major hints. But if you could ask him what do you reckon God wants for Christmas? What do you think he desires more than anything else?

There are of course the safe options. World peace, protection of the vulnerable and provision for the needy would be entirely in character. But what if God were to get a bit more ‘me-centred’ about things?

• Do you think he’d like to be more popular? He’d love to have full churches wouldn’t he because in this country at least, the church is going down the pan.

• Do you think he’d like a bit more attention? It’s must be hard for him to get a look in these days because there’s just so many other things to occupy our time.

• Do you think he’d like a little more effort? People just don’t seem to work as hard as they used to trying to be good. But we don’t have to guess.

Verses 3&4 tell us what’s top of God’s Christmas list every year. God wants every single one of us to be saved. That’s extraordinary. God wants to save us from living a life without him so that we’d live a life in relationship with him. He presupposes that to live a life without him is very dangerous. But that’s not our take on things is it. Most of us live quite satisfactorily without him and don’t feel any imminent threat to our existence. But the Bible teaches that if we die without a relationship with God we will persist in that state for the rest of our eternal existence. And Jesus warned that this would be more miserable than words are capable of expressing. But the top of God’s Christmas list is a desire that everyone one of us should be saved from that. The way in which God does that is to bring us to knowledge of the truth. In other words God tells us true things to convince us so that we’ll be persuaded by them and believe them. Therefore it ought to be our experience that if we decide to investigate the Bible we’ll discover things about God, about us and about life that are true. At one level that’s surprising isn’t it because most people think that at best Christianity is concerned with opinions and not certainty and at worst Christianity is concerned with lies to deceive the gullible. But instead God wants us to confront us with what’s true so that as we understand what he’s teaching in the Bible it’s like putting on a pair of glasses and seeing for the first time what’s really been there all along. We may think we’ve got a pretty good grasp of what the Bible teaches alternatively we may be able to sympathise with the confusion of these primary school children. The following are extracts taken from their Religious Studies exam

• The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert.

• Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the 10 amendments.

• When the three wise guys from the East End arrived they found Jesus with the manager Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption

We may take some convincing that what God desires more than all else this Christmas is our salvation and so Paul gives us 3 pieces of evidence that establish that God wants all people to be saved. there’s one God for us all Look at the first part of (5).

1. There is one God for us all.

He’s the only God that there is and he doesn’t want anyone to miss out on knowing him. Though there’s only one God he’s not without rivals. Different religions posit the existence and encourage the worship of alternative gods. However, the Bible teaches that these rivals to God do not exist except in people’s minds. Though they are depicted as real, though millions worship them, they are nothing more than sophisticated figments of people’s imaginations. They are merely human inventions. I’m aware that we may find what the Bible teaches at this point obnoxious. Our culture is unwilling to entertain the idea that some religious thought may be completely wrong and people are devoting their lives to a lie. That’s hard to believe when millions seem to be so sincere in their allegiance to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or other forms of religious expression. But we mustn’t be naïve. We must be rigorous in our investigation of all religions to see whether they stand up to the issues of truth. If we were to do so we’d find that there is no reliable evidence for the existence of any of the pretenders to God’s throne. All the reliable evidence points only to the existence of the God of the Bible who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. I don’t imagine that I’ll be able to convince you of this in a 20 minute talk. But if we want to be persuaded that there is one God the place to start is with the life of Jesus Christ for he claimed to be God in a human body.

Let me try and illustrate what I’ve been saying. Sometimes I pick up my son from nursery. I go in, lay claim to my child and he comes running. And I can because I’m his only Father. I can’t go in and demand to take every kid home, they’re not mine and I have no legitimate claim on them. There are other Fathers looking forward to picking their kids up. If I was the only father in the world and nursery only looked after my children then it’d be perfectly understandable for me to go in and lay claim to every single one of them of them. In fact it would be cruel if I only went searching after some.

God wants to save us from confusion on this issue. It’s a lie that there are many gods and he wants everyone to believe the truth. There is one God and he wants everyone to be saved. The next two points are less contentious! The 2nd piece of evidence to convince us that God wants to save everyone is that

2. There’s one mediator for us all.

Look at (5) again. Jesus Christ is a mediator between God and men. In other words he is a go-between to broker reconciliation between two warring parties. Few of us perhaps have realised that our relationship with God is so bad that we needed outside help. But in God’s opinion our relationship with him is so rubbish that he had to undertake to send his Son to sort it out. But though we’d never admit it to anyone else I suspect that in our heart of hearts we know that to be true. Deep down we know we don’t treat God as God. We may be willing to concede that he exists but we’re certainly not willing to allow him to tell us how to live. The Bible calls that refusal sin and it’s a rebellious attitude that provokes God to anger. But he doesn’t want this breakdown in our relationship with him to be permanent and so he took the necessary steps to seek win us back. To do this God had to provide a mediator that would be acceptable to both sides. As we would expect, Jesus is uniquely suited to the task. Christmas is the time when we remember that the babe in a manger was God in a human body. He is the only combination of God and man that there has ever been, he can represent each party to the other.

In recent times the FA and its players have had various fallings out. It seems as though every time they get together for a game someone throws a spanner in the works whether it’s Rio Ferdinand or Alan Smith. I don’t know who they ended up using as the mediator in that dispute but it strikes me that you could do a lot worse than someone like Trevor Brooking. On the one hand he is an ex-player, he’s played at the highest level and he understands the demands of being a professional football player and so he’s acceptable to the England squad. On the other hand he’s an articulate reasonable men blessed with intelligence and wisdom and so he’s acceptable to officialdom. He’s the perfect mediator to broker peace.

God wants everyone to be saved and so he provided a mediator acceptable to both sides, Jesus Christ. He’s the one mediator God has provided. There are no alternative ways to get back in the right with God. There’s just one way and God wants everyone to come to him through his Son Jesus Christ. The 3rd piece of evidence to convince us that God wants everyone to be saved is that

3. There’s one ransom for us all.

Look at (6). The concept of a ransom is pretty familiar. It’s the price that has to be paid in order to set a captive free. Paul describes Jesus Christ as a ransom price that God had to pay in order to release those he wants to save. Notice however, that Jesus gave himself as a ransom. It wasn’t a decision forced upon him, the Father didn’t coerce him into it. Jesus Christ willingly sacrificed himself in complete possession of all his faculties and in complete knowledge of the horror that lay before him. All of this presupposes that we’re captives. The Bible teaches and our experience reinforces the truth that we’re imprisoned to a godless way of life. If we’re honest about the way we live it’s pretty obvious to us, we can’t change and nor do we want to. Worse than this captivity to our rebellion against God is that we’re ultimately captive to God’s condemnation on this godless way of life. Any potential reconciliation between God and us will take more than an introduction from Jesus and a friendly handshake. God is so provoked by our atrocious behaviour that he demands punishment appropriate to the demands of justice. God satisfies his passionate concern for justice by demanding our life. Therefore each one of us lives under a death sentence from which we’re unable to escape. God must act to set us free. And so he sent his Son into the world to be born as a baby, to grow up as a man to then die on a cross. On that cross he paid the price demanded for our release. God demands a life for our release. He can have ours or he’ll take his Son’s in exchange, which is it going to be?

Conclusion

I realise I’ve had my time. I’m reminded of the notice in the church magazine that said, ‘the Rev Merriweather spoke briefly, much to the delight of everyone’. So let me conclude. We’ve thought about what God wants for Christmas and discovered that the top of his Christmas list is that he wants everyone to be saved. Three pieces of evidence support that claim.

• He’s the one God, with a monopoly on everyone and he doesn’t want to lose any of us.

• He’s sent one mediator to put our relationship in the right with God and without Christ we’ve got no chance.

• He’s paid one ransom price to liberate us from our death sentence, God sent his Son to die as the payment that was required.

How do we react to the discovery that we’re at the top of God’s wanted list this Christmas?

Some of us here will be completely disinterested in this offer. Thanks for coming this evening, I hope you’ve enjoyed it, it’s been good to have you with us.

Some of us here will be more open minded and are willing to listen to persuasive arguments. One of our priorities here at CCB is to help people like that. We have regular sermons at church that take a part of the Bible and explain it each week, there’s nothing flash, nothing manipulative, just plain explanation. Church is a good place to start thinking about Christianity. You could set aside some time to read a gospel or a book like this that attempts to explain the Christian message in words and using concepts we can all understand. They’re a fiver and we’ve got some on sale outside. However, it may be that you’d benefit from a smaller group in which you can ask your questions and Christianity Explored is an ideal setting in whicg to do that. Not everyone who’s done our courses has decided to become a Christian, many haven’t. Some have and some are still thinking it through and come to church to do that. But of all the courses we’ve run no one has ever said they didn’t enjoy them.

Some of us here have already been saved by God and I guess I’m talking to the regulars. How does it feel to have been the top of God’s Christmas list? That’s pretty special isn’t it? Of all the things in the universe that God has his eye on he decided that he wanted us. So this Christmas, among the great things that we’re able to do at this time of year, don’t forget to find time to thank God that the babe in the manger was the start of God’s rescue plan to save us.

As you might expect the themes of the Christmas Number Ones reflect the cultural perspective of the times in which they were written. Sometimes that’s a good thing.

In the 70s & 80s the two hot topics were Christmas and love. I’m all for those. But it’s 14 years since we had a Christmas number 1 with a festive theme.

It wasn’t much better even in the 50s there were only three in that decade. One of the favourite band names from that period, Emile Ford and the Checkmates asked, ‘what do you want to make those eyes at me for?’ If you take the name of your French pen friend, the make of your 1st car and the end point in your favourite board game you may end up with something similar. Mine would be Pierre Rover & the Battleships. In 1957 Harry Belafonte sang ‘Mary’s Boy Child’. He gives us religious view of Christmas so ably carried on by Cliff.

• In 1955 Dickie Valentine sang about ‘the Christmas Alphabet’. Not sure what he was getting at there. But if he’d spent any time on Oxford Street the letter Q should have had some prominence. Shortly followed by the letter Y. Do you see what I’ve done there. I guess he gives us the materialistic view of Christmas.

• In 1954 Winifred Atwell sang, ‘Let’s have another party’. She’d represent the hedonistic view of Christmas.

• In 1958 Conway Twitty gave us the most popular view of Christmas that persists to this day. She sang, ‘it’s only make believe’.

We’re tempted to feel that all this stuff about shepherds, angels, wise men, miraculously pregnant women belongs in the realm of make believe. However, none of the gospel writers would agree with us. Take Luke, our gospel writer for example. He wrote this, ‘Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught’. Luke’s gospel is his attempt to compile another ordered account. This implies that there were others that could corroborate his. His gospel consisted of carefully investigated eyewitness information. This implies first hand reliable knowledge of what happened. His gospel concerned things that fulfilled ancient promises. This implies that something very significant was going on. Luke was not operating in the realm of make believe, he thought he was writing history. And so he records one of the first century number ones.

Simeon’s song is known as the Nunc Dimittis from the Latin meaning ‘Now Lord’. We don’t know a lot about Simeon but what we know is impressive. He’s an elderly city dweller, he’s well respected and he’s religiously minded. He’s the kind of man many of us would like to become. God had promised Simeon that he would stay alive long enough to see the Christ. Christ is not Jesus’ surname but a title. It means king and throughout the Old Testament God promised that he would send a king to save His people. Contextual Introduction The incident that provoked the occasion for the song took place on the steps of the temple. Following the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem to perform the religious rituals required by the Old Testament Law. As they arrived in the Temple Simeon confronted them and burst into song. Rarely will a complete stranger come up to a new born, compose a song and then perform it for everyone else’s benefit! But Simeon grabbed their little baby boy and did just that. It’s a short song of praise addressed to God but it’s all about a baby boy.

He’s got 2 clear ideas that he wants to get across.

1. Jesus is God’s salvation for all people (29-31)

Looking straight at Mary’s baby Simeon said that he’d seen God’s salvation with his own eyes. That’s a strange thing to say about a baby. ‘He has his Mothers nose’ might be risky but it’s acceptable. He’s the saviour for the world is maybe a little presumptuous! But Simeon realised that Jesus was the Christ, the one through whom God promised to save his people.

a. God sent Jesus as a saviour

God sent Jesus to be a saviour because he thinks that we’re in great danger. God wants to save us from living a life without him so that we’d live a life in relationship with him. He presupposes that to live a life without him is very dangerous. But that’s not our take on things is it? Most of us live quite satisfactorily without him and don’t feel any imminent threat to our existence. It doesn’t feel risky not to be a XN. But if we die without a relationship with God he warns that we will persist in that state for the rest of our eternal existence. That’s the danger from which Jesus came to rescue us. There’s no point in denying our predicament. God doesn’t. He is brutal in his assessment of human nature and the consequences we face for our rejection of him. And Jesus lovingly warns us that this fate will be more miserable than words are capable of expressing. In fact he frequently resorted to graphic imagery to fully convey the horror of what he was talking about. It’s possible for us to be blind to our predicament because of our view of ourselves. I used to think that I was basically a good bloke with a few unattractive characteristics but despite that God was lucky to have me showing an interest in spiritual things. I wasn’t quite sure why God needed to go to the trouble of sending a saviour. I don’t think I’m alone in my thinking. I get the impression that lots of us think like that. Simeon was clearly an extraordinary man yet he knew that he needed a saviour. He didn’t suffer from the same delusions that some of us do. But God sent Jesus as a saviour. God thinks that we’re in some sort of danger. At which point we may be tempted to think, ‘trust the Christians they’ve even managed to take the fun out of Christmas’. I don’t think that’s fair. Just because society refuses to acknowledge God’s warnings about the place Jesus called hell, we can’t blame Christians for talking about it any more than we can blame the newsreader for the news. We’d be right to have a go at Christians if they never got round to talking about the saviour but I don’t think that’s an accusation that can stick either. One of the reasons churches love Christmas so much is that our calendar gives us an excuse and an opportunity to talk about God’s rescuer. Christmas is one of the times in the year when the country let’s us talk about Jesus. Even the Sun, that noble guardian of the country’s morals has stuck up for us! But we’ve got to talk about the danger of our situation so that we can appreciate the wonder of the rescue.

Do you remember [or will you admit to remebering] the Michael Buerk show 999? I think it’s gone for good now, passing into the annals of TV history. But imagine if all that they were allowed to explain was who the rescuer was but they weren’t allowed to talk about the situation they were rescued from or how they did it in case people were offended. It’s ridiculous. People appreciate that a rescue presupposes danger and you can’t understand one without the other.

We’ll never understand the salvation provided by Jesus Christ unless we’re prepared to consider the danger of life without him. Jesus saves us by dying for us. It’s not the events at his birth that are the most important but those at the other end of his life.

b. Jesus is a saviour for all people

Jesus is the saviour that God has provided for all people. There is an extraordinary diversity in the people of this world. But there is one saviour for them all. Regardless of our age, our race our social class Jesus is the saviour we need. However, we don’t think like that probably because there are so many alternative religious philosophies. We’re tempted to think that each religion provides it’s own saviour. Therefore it doesn’t matter who you choose because they all work just as well. But we mustn’t think of the religions of the world as though they were the divine equivalent of a breakdown service. The religions of the world are not like the AA, the RAC or Green Flag. With those companies it doesn’t really matter who you belong to so long as you belong to one of them. Regardless of who you’re with on Christmas Day when you’re travelling to your parents your company will come to your rescue. It’s not like that with Jesus. With him it’s more like the emergency services. If you want to be rescued from a fire then there’s only one rescue service you need. In the same way God’s got a monopoly on spiritual rescue. He is the only saviour that God has provided. If we don’t sign up with him then we’re stuffed. God has provided no other saviour but Jesus Christ.

Some time ago during the war, a famous American art collector learnt that his Son had been killed in action saving the life of another soldier. The following Christmas the surviving soldier and who himself was an amateur painter, gave the art collector a simple portrait he’d sketched of his son. It was nothing special but the man treasured it in his old age. Not long afterwards the art collector died; and according to his will his paintings were to be auctioned on Christmas Day. To everyone’s surprise the auction began with a painting which no one had ever heard of or seen. It was the painting of the art collector’s son. "Who will open with $100?" the auctioneer asked. Nothing was offered. It was suggested they move on. But the auctioneer said: "No! We must sell this painting first." Eventually a friend of the old man, not a collector, and not very rich, offered a small sum: "I knew the boy, he said, so I’d like to have it." "Will anyone go any higher?" the auctioneer asked. There was silence. So the auctioneer said: "Going once, going twice, gone." There was a huge sigh of relief around the room as people hoped they could now get on with the real business. But the auctioneer stood up, looked at the audience and declared that the auction was over. There was stunned disbelief. "It’s very simple," said the auctioneer. "According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son….gets all."

God only had one Son. He sent him as a saviour for all people. If we take the Son we get everything the Father offers. If we ignore the Son we don’t get a thing. The 1st idea in Simeon’s song is that Jesus is God’s salvation and the 2nd idea that Simeon sings about is

2. Jesus is God’s revelation to all people (32)

Look at (32).

a. Jesus is a revealer

Simeon described Jesus as a light for revelation. It’s a potent image isn’t it? A light brought into a dark place brings illumination so that we can see what’s been there all along. In the same way Jesus’ arrival in the world displaces ignorance and brings understanding of the God who’s been there all along. Jesus reveals God not because he’s fearsomely clever and can fathom the mysteries of the world. He reveals God because he knows God like a Son knows a Father. He can speak authoritatively about God as easily as most of us can talk about our Fathers. If we want convincing that God exists and what he’s like we have to look at his Son.

b. Jesus is a revealer for all people

This revelation is for all people. The world was divided two ways in Jewish thought. You were either a Jew if you were born in Israel or a Gentile, regardless of where else you came from you were classified as. It’s like saying, ‘do you live in London or the provinces’. Most people in the world are completely confused about what God is like. If we were left to our own devices we would remain ignorant of God. If God had not spoken then all we could do is speculate. The religions of the world ignore God’s revelation in Jesus Christ and therefore the religions of the world are the speculative thoughts of humanity about God. But God brought an end to speculation once and for all when he sent his son into the world. The claim that Jesus can uniquely tell us what God is like isn’t popular but when has that ever been the standard for truth. It’s possible for millions of people to be very wrong. The religions of the world say completely contradictory things about who we are, what life is about, who Jesus is, what happens beyond the grave and how we can be saved.

Consider the following. Muslims say that there is one god called Allah. Buddhists say that there is no God but we must search for the divine within ourselves. Hindus say that there are hundreds of gods. Christians say that there is one God but He is three persons. Those differences matter. Ask any one of the adherents of those faiths. Through tolerant debate we ought to be allowed to critique the views of others. But for some reason our culture has decided to deny the differences, cease the debate and pretend that we’re all talking about the same thing anyway. But the belief that all of these ideas are describing the same reality is preposterous nonsense. One or more of them is wrong. They contradict one another and therefore they cannot simultaneously be true.

At some stage in our adult life we need to work out who we think Jesus Christ is. Many of us dismissed Christianity in our teenage years because we were bored to death by inaccessible church services and unbelievably dull sermons. Lots of us have been there and we know how it feels. Hopefully that’s not where you are at this moment! But you can let me know about that on the feedback forms.

Conclusion

Let me conclude. Simeon knew that in Jesus Christ God had brought to an end our search for salvation and our need for revelation.

Some of us here might feel totally disengaged from those concerns. Thank you for coming this evening, it’s been good to have you with us and have a good Christmas.

Some might be a little more open minded and willing to explore things further. Inevitably in the time that we’ve had this evening we’ve not been able to deal with these issues exhaustively. There’s more that needs to be said and there are questions that would need to be answered. Let me suggest two things that you could do to chase these issues up further.

a. Come to church: it doesn’t have to be ours but find a good one. Sadly there are some churches that will be no use at all in helping you understand the significance of Jesus Christ as it’s explained to us in the Bible. It’s quite usual for us to have people in church that don’t agree with us, we’re comfortable with that and encourage people to come along. A good church is an obvious place to think about Jesus Christ.

b. Try Christianity Explored: You may well have objections that require a more thorough treatment than I’ve been able to give in the time we’ve had available. Christianity Explored has proved extremely popular in the 5 years that we’ve been running it. The course runs once a term either in the school or the Bedford. It’s an informal opportunity to consider the evidence for and claims of Jesus Christ. The evenings usually include food, a short talk and a relaxed time for questions and discussion in small groups. There’s no pressure applied, no praying required, no previous knowledge necessary and no commitment demanded! Not everyone who’s done it has become a Christian. But no one has done it and not enjoyed it. There’s a web site you can look at for more information and the details of our next course are given on these postcards available on the way out. Thank you for listening, have a great Christmas and it would be lovely to see you again in the New Year.

If you had the chance to write a Christmas hit what theme would you choose? Statistics suggest that choosing something festive is no guarantee of success. Over the last 40 years less than 20% of Christmas number ones have had a seasonal theme. At this time of year the British public seem to have a fondness for songs about unusual characters. Consider the following Christmas number ones.

In the 1972 Donny Osmond sang about a follicly enhanced amorous scouser with the classic, ‘Long haired lover from Liverpool’. The previous year Benny Hill sang about a deliveryman with an appetite for speed and a preference for Somerset in his song ‘Ernie the fastest milkman in the west’. St Winifred’s School choir sang about the uniqueness of their octogenarian relative in their 1980 song, ‘There’s no one quite like Grandma’. And in 1993 for some unknown reason the public’s imagination was fired by the autobiographical musings of an eight-foot tall inhabitant of Crinkley Bottom when Mr Blobby sang about well, Mr Blobby. It’s time for some honest introspection. How did we let that happen?

It’s bizarre what people choose to write about at Christmas. In 1969 Rolf Harris might have got the ball rolling when his best selling single ’Two Little Boys’. But he wasn’t the first to write a song on that subject. About 2,000 years earlier a Palestinian clergyman called Zechariah had beaten him to it. The popularity of Zechariah’s song might have been hampered by the absence of accompanying artwork but it was clearly significant enough to make it into the best selling book of all time.

Luke, our gospel writer decided that it served his purpose perfectly. In the opening section of this historically attested account of the life of Jesus Christ, Luke’s aim is to help us understand the significance of the events of the first Christmas. Zechariah’s song helps him do that. It’s a song about two baby boys. It has two parts.

• Verses 75-79 are concerned with Zechariah’s son, John.
• Verses 68-74 are concerned with Mary’s son, Jesus.

Although the song is about the careers of these two small children, the theme of the song is salvation. It’s expressed as redemption in (68), salvation (69), being saved (71), showing mercy (72), being delivered (74) and salvation (77). Zechariah’s song is a song about salvation. It’s about God’s rescue of the human race. Therefore it’s a song in which each of us is implicated and involved.

Zechariah considers the contribution of each of the baby boys in turn.

1. Jesus is the saviour who accomplished God’s salvation (67-75)

Somewhat surprisingly Zechariah begins his song by extolling the virtues not of his own son but of someone else’s. In Zechariah’s opinion the two babies are not of equal importance the former is superior to his own son. And so look at (68) where he writes ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people’. Zechariah is talking about a baby in whom God had visited and redeemed [rescued] his people. Throughout his song he uses the past tense even though the things he describes hadn’t happened yet. The Bible writers often do this because things promised by God were so certain to happen that they felt able to speak about them as though they already had. Zechariah describes the 1st baby somewhat obliquely as ‘a horn of salvation from the house of David’. To say that this baby is the horn of salvation is not to suggest that he’s some sort of wind instrument. The image is taken from nature. The horns of an ox are a sign of his might and strength. This baby though born in weakness would be a mighty saviour. When Zechariah says that this baby is born in the house of David he’s not suggesting that this was a home delivery. It’s not ‘house’ as opposed to ‘hospital’. To belong to David’s house is to be a descendant from the royal house of Israel. It’s like saying Charles was born into the house of Windsor. It’s a claim to royal status. This baby though born in humility would be a king. The baby Zechariah was talking about was Jesus. His point is that God would accomplish his plan to save people through this mighty king. There are 3 aspects to the salvation that Jesus brings.

a. In fulfilment of God’s promises (70)

This salvation fulfils God’s promises. Look at (70), ‘as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old’. The story of the bible from the beginning of the OT to the end of the NT is about salvation. That’s why the Bible’s such good news. In the OT God gave his people a partial experience of salvation when they lived in the Promised Land. But this was only ever meant to be a temporary arrangement and an illustration of something greater that God had in store. Through his mouthpieces, the prophets, God promised that through his saviour king he would give his people a greater salvation that would last forever not on this earth but in heaven. In the birth of Jesus God was making good on those promises.

To really appreciate the saving work of Jesus we need to understand the Old Testament. He’s not a saviour who can be easily understood in isolation from history. The prospect of trying to become acquainted with the Old Testament is a little daunting. It’s enough to prevent us from starting. But that’s what churches are supposed to be doing. One of our responsibilities is helping people to understand what the Bible is about. Sadly our experience may be that many churches confuse and obscure what the Bible is saying. It was only when someone took the trouble to explain things to me in language that I could understand that things started to click into place. If you’ve not done so as an adult can I encourage you to investigate the Old Testament so that you might better understand Jesus?

b. From our enemies (72)

The salvation that Jesus brings is salvation from our enemies. Look at (71), ‘that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us’. In the Old Testament part of the Bible salvation is usually described in physical categories. When God provided salvation for his people he rescued them militarily from the oppression of their enemies. But in his greater salvation Jesus he will defeat everything that prevents us from participating in heaven. Those enemies are not specified here but Zechariah describes them in a moment. It’s clear that they’re not military or political enemies. He didn’t liberate Israel from Roman rule. His teaching on the XN attitude to the state authorities was revolutionary because he taught not civil disobedience but submission. His task as God’s saviour king was a spiritual liberation and rescuing people for heaven.

c. So that we can serve God (74)

The salvation that Jesus brings had an ultimate purpose. Look at (74), ‘that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days’. The reason for which Jesus saves people is so that they can serve God. Notice which way round it is. Jesus saves people so that they can serve God. It’s not we serve God so that Jesus might save us. All too often we commence a fruitless enterprise trying to earn God’s favour. But that’s ridiculous. We cannot save ourselves. If we could then why did God send a saviour?

To serve and know God was the original purpose for which he made us. But we’ve rejected it, preferring independence. Some of us do that in very obvious ways but most of us quietly give God the brush off. We live with the consequences. We’ll always feel confused about life’s purpose and ultimately dissatisfied with our existence until we realise that our purpose and satisfaction are found in him. We may have come to the point where we’re prepared to concede that there’s something in that. That our relationship with God is not all that it should be. If that’s the case then Jesus’ saving work is wonderful news isn’t it?

Let me summarise where we’re up to so far. Zechariah sings first of all about Jesus Christ, a mighty saviour who saves people from their enemies so that they can serve God.

Let me illustrate that. When God sent Jesus into this world it was as though he was sending a lifesaver to rescue a drowning swimmer. Imagine that to escape the British winter we head to the Southern Hemisphere. In defiance of all the advice of the local authorities we decide to go swimming. As was predicted in the warnings we discover that a rip tide takes us a long way from the safety of the shore. Suppose an alert lifesaver notices our predicament and shouts instructions. His words promising to come and rescue us are all that we have to cling onto whilst we remain in the water waiting for the lifesaver to make good on his word. When the lifesaver comes to rescue us he removes us from danger dragging us out of the water and onto his surfboard. But he doesn’t stop there his rescue isn’t complete until he takes us back to the safety of the shore so that we can get on with living. The first baby boy has done the spiritual equivalent of that. Just as God said he would, He sent a saviour to rescue people so that they might get on with living forever with him.

2. John is the prophet who announced God’s salvation (76-80)

We won’t spend as long on this. Only now does Zechariah turn his attention to his own Son. He would be a prophet and therefore he would announce the salvation that Jesus would accomplish. He’s like the voice over man if you’ve ever watched the darts! You haven’t? Treat yourself! Once again there are 3 aspects to the salvation that John announced.

a. The forgiveness of sins (77)

The salvation that John announced concerns the forgiveness of sins. Look at (77), ‘to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins’. It’s here that Zechariah clarifies the salvation that Jesus accomplished. Jesus’ salvation involves the forgiveness of sins. This is the biggest enemy we face because it excludes us from heaven. We haven’t got time to describe what sin is in detail but we don’t need to because I assume that we all know what this feels like in practice. Each one of us knows what it is to fail to keep our own moral standards. Each of us knows the reminder from our consciences that we’re not what we’d like to be. This is God’s way of reminding us of something far more significant. We’ve failed to keep His greater moral standards. We’ve fallen short of what he’d like us to be. The Bible calls it sin. Our modern use of that word implies debauched excess but Jesus used it to describe the ordinary life. We think that a few very wicked people are sinners but Jesus thought it described everyone who ever lived. But the great news of Christmas and it is great news, is that God has provided a saviour king so that he could forgive us for our sins. Therefore though we may have drifted a long way from him and perhaps it’s been many years since we gave him a second thought God will forgive us. Because of this baby boy God has eradicated forever any offence we have caused against him or against anyone else.

b. Motivated by the mercy of God (78)

The salvation that John announced was motivated by God’s mercy. Look at (78), ‘because of the tender mercy of our God‘. When God forgives us our sins it’s because of his compassion. He couldn’t look at us in our state of distress and do nothing. Even though he was under no obligation to help us he couldn’t stand idly by.

Many of us may have a picture of God as a vindictive judge rather than a compassionate Father. But that’s not fair. In the depths of his being God loves us. Christmas is a time when God reaches out to us in the disarming image of his Son to convince us that it’s true.

c. So that we can live in peace (79)

The salvation that John announced would enable us to live in peace. Look at (79), ‘whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace’. The arrival of Jesus as a saviour enables his people to live a peaceful existence so that not even death can cast a dark shadow over us.

And so the salvation that John announced concerns God’s forgiveness of our sins, motivated by God’s mercy so that we can live in peace. Now that’s pretty attractive isn’t it? Nowhere has Zechariah described how Jesus will accomplish the salvation that John announced. We’ll find it in the Old Testament and it becomes clearer throughout the gospels, you may want to read on over Christmas. Understanding how Jesus accomplished salvation was the thing that changed my view of him. It was as though someone had switched on the lights and at last I could see what Christians were so excited about. Let me explain. We’re all familiar with the concept of a swap. When Jesus died on the cross he swapped places with us. He died for all the sin of others and was punished by His Father for others so that we could be forgiven. Jesus died to save us.

In October 2002 Christopher Vince and his elder brother Ben were out walking the dog in the fields behind their house. It was a stormy day and as they played a tree came crashing to the ground. 12 year old Christopher shouted at his 16 year old brother and then lunged forward pushing him out of the way. As he saved his big brother the tree crushed him and killed him instantly. Ben Vince walks around today knowing that he’s alive because his brother died to save him. I guess the Vince boys were normal brothers, they irritated each other, argued and occasionally fought. But whatever Ben thought of his little brother when they were growing up, I bet it’s different now.

Every Christian will tell you the same thing. Having understood that Jesus dies to save us we cannot think of him as we used to.

Conclusion

Let me finish. Despite the popular view the birth of Jesus was not the birth of someone who would grow up to be a legalistic preacher. Most people think that Jesus has come to restrict our liberty and force us into a straightjacket of religious conformity. But it’s not the case. The birth of Jesus was the birth of a saviour. Zechariah grasped it and his heart spontaneously burst forth in song. I’m not about to suggest we do the same. But in a very British and reserved manner it’s worth getting a little bit excited about isn’t it?

But for some of us our image of Jesus Christ rarely gets beyond the crib. We just won’t let Jesus grow up. We’re happy to leave him as a baby and visit him again in the same condition the following year. But this baby grew up and became something. He became the saviour of the human race, which means God thinks we’re in trouble, and we need rescuing. If you’d like to think further on that can I suggest you might do two things.

Come to church. It doesn’t have to be ours but pick a good one. There’s something here that you just can’t leave for another year without investigating.

Try Christianity Explored. We’ve touched on some big issues tonight and we can’t expect to do them justice in such a short space of time. Christianity Explored is a course for people who’d like to take things on the next step and investigate a little further. 

This is a Christmas Number 1 that’s stood the test of time. The theme that dominates this song is one that will never date. It will always appeal to the human heart because we all need and sometimes crave the salvation of which it speaks.

Most songs have a theme.

• In the reworking of the 1980s single by Tears for Fears, Michael Andrews and Gary Jules sang last year of a mad world. It wasn’t exactly festive but it was popular.

• The Louie Walsh TV manufactured girl band Girls Aloud beat One True Voice to the top spot with their song, ‘Sound of the Underground’. I’m not familiar with their work but I assume it’s a musical anthology of tube driver announcements. Things like, ‘mind the gap’, ‘the next station is Clapham South’ and ‘this service has been delayed due to a body on the line’ with a cheerful melody.

• The song that this country chose to enter the new millennium with extolled the virtue of DIY. Ever the opportunist, Bob the Builder no doubt felt that he could tap into the growing national appetite for home improvement. What he didn’t tell us in his song was the job would take twice as long and cost twice as much than first envisaged.

The theme of Mary’s song is God’s mercy. Look at (54). The motive behind God’s help for Israel is his mercy. Look at (50). ‘And God’s mercy’, that is the mercy Mary has been talking about in the previous verses, is extended to every generation. This is a song about God’s mercy.

The New Bible Dictionary says that mercy means, ‘compassion to one in need or helpless distress or in debt and without claim to favourable treatment’. In other words when God is merciful to us he is being compassionate to us in our state of distress even though he’s under no obligation to do so.

It’s worth asking whether that’s something you can sing about? Does a merciful God interest you? It ought to but too many of us have been brought up on the myth of Father Christmas. Santa is anti-mercy because he teaches us that we get what we deserve. He rewards us according to our merits. But do we really want God to treat us that way? If what the Bible says about our sinfulness and His holiness is true I’m not sure that we do. Therefore though this is a 1st century number one this is a song with a contemporary message.

What we’re looking at this evening comes from Luke’s gospel. In the opening verses of chapter 1 our writer explained his purpose for writing. He attempted to construct an orderly account of eyewitness evidence of what took place almost 2,000 years ago for his friend Theophilus. He recognised that the events concerning Jesus of Nazareth had significance far beyond their geographical and historical context.

Luke carefully records three songs and includes them in the opening section of his gospel where he’s concerned with the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary is one of three singers plucked from relative anonymity who dominated the 1st Century charts. Well perhaps that’s overstating it.

Mary, the plucky Palestinian peasant girl was first up with her number called the Magnificat. Zechariah, the senior Jerusalem clergyman went next with his rendition of the Benedictus. And the elderly Simeon was expected to go down a storm in the local nursing home and sell well among the blue rinse brigade with Nunc Dimittis. We’ll be looking at these 3 songs over the next 3 weeks.

By the time we arrive at the lyrics of Mary’s song, she knows what’s going on inside her. The angel Gabriel had visited her and brought her up to speed on what God was doing. Look at (30). Mary is told that she’s giving birth to the man who will rule over God’s eternal kingdom. Everyone has high hopes for their children but establishing the universal rule of God isn’t usually one of them. Most of us would be freaked by the news that the baby has this sort of future but not Mary. Whatever has happened in between Gabriel’s unexpected announcement and her trip to her cousin Elizabeth the anxiety has gone and there’s a bubbly enthusiasm about her. This song is Mary’s response to what God would accomplish through her baby. It’s a song of praise. It was definitely not a song in a minor key. Mary develops the theme of mercy within the song. There are 3 discernible developments in the song.

• In 46-49 Mary is concerned God’s mercy shown to her in her own situation
• In 50-53 Mary turns her attention to the extension of God’s mercy to every generation
• In 54&55 Mary recognises that God’s mercy has historical significance

Let’s look at those in turn.

1. God’s mercy was shown to Mary in particular (46-49)

46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Mary is beside herself with excitement. She cannot contain how magnificent she thinks the Lord is. The reason why this is such a happy song is that she can’t quite believe that God has been bothered with her of all people. She knows that she’s only a working class peasant woman, has no aristocratic pedigree and has very little to commend her. And yet she knows that God has done something for her that means that everyone else from now on will call her the Blessed Virgin Mary. And yet it would be misleading to assume that her excitement is because God has fulfilled her middle class aspirations for a greater social status and an improved standing in the neighbourhood. Being a single Mum didn’t go down a storm in Israel. Her excitement is not simply the thrill that soon she has become a Mother. But what excites her when she spontaneously bursts into song is that God has become her saviour. Her excitement is that the baby growing inside her is the person that God sent to save her. If we thought it was tough discovering that you’d become pregnant without intercourse imagine how tough it was getting your head around the fact that your baby will grow up to be your saviour! Notice what we learn about Mary from the text that conflicts with official Roman Catholic teaching. Mary is the victim of undue exaltation by some. The Bible supports the uniqueness of Mary because no one else bore the Son of God. However, the Roman Catholic doctrines of her sinless life, her perpetual virginity and her work as a co-redemptrix with Christ have no warrant from the New Testament. Looking only at this passage we learn that Mary thought she needed saving. Though she knew that subsequent generations would call her blessed it was not because she was special but because God decided to be merciful to her. Mary would have been horrified to have experienced the attention showered upon her because her song is all about the magnificence of the Lord.

In these verses Mary has sung about God’s mercy shown especially to her.

Whilst the validity and actuality of the event await confirmation, imagine for a moment that David Blunkett had intervened in the visa application for his lover’s nanny. It’s quite a remarkable thing though isn’t it? He’s the Secretary of State for home affairs, one of the most powerful men in the Government. She’s an Indonesian immigrant who earns a living taking care of other people’s children. There is complete disparity in their worldly status. Yet it would seem that the Home Secretary took great interest in something that others might have assumed was beneath him. In some small way that illustrates what God did in the life of Mary when he acted to save her. If we wanted the illustration to work even better David Blunkett would need to give the nanny a baby who would then grow up to be Home Secretary to then sort her application out.

Mary’s song is supposed to be our song. It’s not only the Mother of Jesus can sing this song. She sang of God’s mercy shown to her through the gift of a baby she just happened to be the Mother. This is the tune that’s supposed to be the soundtrack to our lives. But is it? If the thoughts of our hearts were put to music what would it sound like? There are times when it would be more of a dirge than an anthem of joy. Why is that? I think it’s because we take our eye off the ball. The salvation that God provided in Jesus Christ is no small thing and yet it occupies so little of our thoughts. If we stop seeing life through the lens of the saving work of Jesus it’s like looking at life in grey, and who wants to sing about that. If we look at life through the perspective Mary enjoyed life is full of colour and we can’t help but sing.

2. God’s mercy is available to all who fear him (50-53)

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.

Mary understood that God’s mercy to her was no different to his intent to be merciful to every generation. This mercy would not be distributed indiscriminately. God is selective about who receives his mercy. It’s only for those who fear him. When we read a word like ‘fear’ it can throw us into temporary confusion. Is Mary really suggesting that God is only merciful to those who are scared witless by him? That’s like suggesting that I’ll only ever be kind to my children if they come cowering before me. And isn’t faith in the Jesus Christ supposed to remove the fear? The work of Jesus on the cross was supposed to turn aside God’s anger so what is there to fear? The English word ‘fear’ has a fairly narrow definition. But in the original language it’s a word that implies respect or reverence. It reminds us that even to be a friend with God is not to enjoy the companionship of equals. What it means to fear God is described for us in the verses that follow. Whilst these words are written in the past tense and we might be tempted to imagine that they function as a summary of God’s past activity it’s more likely that they refer to God’s future activity. Often in the Bible the past tense is used to describe the future so that we realise that it’s so secure it’s as good as done. Although many descriptions are given there are in essence only two groups of people. On the one hand there are the proud, the mighty or the rich. This first group represents the independently minded who refuse to yield to God’s rule. God will knock them down a peg or two and they will be excluded from his kingdom. On the other there are the humble and the hungry. This second group represents the dependent who recognise that their only hope is to yield to God’s rule. God will exalt them. This cannot mean that God will save the poor and the disadvantaged apart from them expressing faith. It’s just that God is for the underdog and the way into his kingdom seems more open to those who aren’t the world’s success stories. Probably because they’re predisposed to an honest assessment of their lives and recognise that they need God to save them. It’s not what you’d expect is it. The kingdom that this baby will bring about is upside down. The influential movers and shakers don’t get it but the excluded and the marginalised will.

Perish the thought, but if God were to have Hello magazine in heaven the people who get covered would be very different. The front page would entice us to open up and read articles about the primary school teacher, the nurse or the civil servant rather than the CEO of a large multinational, the heiress of a family fortune or a Prince from the Royal family of a small Middle Eastern state. The heroes of the faith are those who depend on God not the self-achievers that our world reveres.

But God doesn’t act like the world. He esteems and rewards the humble. He’s merciful to those without too high a view of themselves. We ought to thank God that our natural sinful tendency towards independence isn’t reinforced by worldly influence. The world rewards the successful but being successful is spiritually disastrous. It can bring delusions of grandeur. It’s harder to fear God when this life has afforded us wealth, status and power. The need for God seems less pressing when the resources for survival and prosperity in this world are at our disposal. There’s more to be thankful for than we may have appreciated in the lowly circumstances of our lives. Our culture encourages us to take a very negative view of low self-image. It’s just possible that we’ve bought into that view without thinking it through critically. None of us would be positive about the crippling effects of an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and any accompanying psychological distress. But it seems to be that the people whom Mary thinks will be exalted in God’s kingdom are those whom we regard as suffering a low self-image. Christians have an unbelievably low opinion of themselves but a very high opinion of God. Those who receive God’s mercy are those who do not think too highly of themselves. Christians are those who have a very low opinion of themselves. The view we have of ourselves is unbelievably low. But because of the value that God has given us in creating us in his image and redeeming us through his Son. It’s the humble who fear God and they will therefore receive God’s mercy.

3. God’s mercy has come in fulfilment of His promises (54-55)

54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

The imminent birth of the Messiah, though at the time unexpected, should not have been the surprise that it was. The constant refrain throughout the Old Testament was that God would send a Saviour in order to bring about his Kingdom. In the birth of Jesus therefore God was not acting out of character. He was as verse 54 puts it, ‘acting in remembrance of his mercy to help his servant Israel’. God had always promised that he would be merciful to his people. His promise to Abraham was that through his descendants he would be merciful and would bring salvation to the nations. This promise was reiterated throughout the Old Testament period. Mary knew her Old Testament. Perhaps she’d done a Bible Overview course. But she knew that the baby inside her was the means God would use to do what he’d promised.

It’s fair to say that God had taken his time to fulfil his promises but he did. We must recognise that there’s a world of difference between delaying in delivering your promises and failing to deliver on you promises. We need to understand the significance of this baby in the light of what’s preceded his arrival in the Old Testament.

Conclusion

The image we’re left with after reading verse (56) is that for 3 months the heavily pregnant Elizabeth had to put up with her cousin singing the magnificat though the house. Mary was not going to be separated easily from her song about God’s mercy. It’s surprising that what occupies Mary’s thoughts is not the social stigma of having ‘one in the oven’ but the imminent arrival of God’s promised Saviour. God’s mercy is surprising because

• It was shown to a nothing woman
• It will be shown to the nothings of this world
• It has come in fulfilment of his ancient promises

Let me ask us is that a theme we’re happy to sing about?

A one off kid’s slot for Christmas. Props required are a large wheelie bin, a briefed and willing small child, several items that’ll become self evident and an indoor firework]

Good morning everyone. Great to see you. I’m the incredible Dr Rocktrin! [Ham it up with fake wig, specs and white lab coat]

I’ve heard that it’s a very special time year. Who knows what time of year it is?

I’m going to do an experiment this morning. I want to find out what makes Christmas go with a bang. In other words, what makes Christmas so brilliantly special. 

I’ve got hold of a special formula that should help our experiment. [Unfurl a long formula using letters if the kids are older or pictures if not]

I’ve got a special electronic test tube [the wheelie bin]. We’ll put the various ingredients in the mix and wait to see what happens. Let’s follow the formula.

What do we need first? [Point at pictures or letters and then put items in the wheelie bin]

• Family & friends - put a willing briefed volunteer into the wheelie bin
• Food and drink - put a turkey in
• Christmas music - DVD playing Jingle Bells
• Presents - wrapped boxes

That should do it. But we need to plug in the electronic test tube. But the cord won’t reach so we need some other source of power. I need a volunteer, who wants to help out? [put volunteer on an exercise bike or as we had a lateral thigh trainer - don’t ask! Speak to volunteer - one of the older lads] Your job is to generate some energy by cycling as fast as you can.

The dim the lights, switch on the spotlight, feed the level of expectation, pause and then say that nothing’s happening. Get the person cycling to work harder!

Why didn’t it work? What have we left out? I thought we follwoed the formula. Let’s check the list again. [Unfurl the formula a bit more to reveal Jesus Christ as the first part of the formula].

What’s this? We’ve left something out. It’s the first and most important thing. Can anyone tell me what it is? [Put a doll or nativity scene into the wheelie bin]

Of course, we can’t have Christmas without Jesus Christ. He’s the most important part of Christmas. Let’s try again and see what happens… [Lights dim, spotlight on, build sense of anticipation and then at this point the willing volunteer inside teh wheelie bin explodes the firework]

Wait for noise to subside [there may be crying but you can’t make an omeltee without breakng  a few eggs!!!]

Fantastic! The invention worked this time because we remembered that for Christmas to go with a bang you need Jesus. All the other things are brilliant and a great part of Christmas but we can’t leave the reason for Christmas out of the equation can we? Christmas is all about Jesus. It’s His birthday that we’re celebrating.

Christmas is all about Jesus coming from Heaven to Earth and being born in a stable so that he could make us friends with God. So we must remember that the reason we celebrate Christmas is Jesus!

Let’s pray

Part 3 of a 4 part series running up to Christmas using the Advent Calendar and solving the question who is this baby by looking at the clues behind the windows

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a baby. In the Bible God gives us lots of clues about who this baby is. Over the last 2 weeks we’ve thought about 2 of those clues

• From Jesus’ family history we learnt that God sent Jesus to bless the world and to rule the world
• From Jesus’ place of birth we learnt that he was born in Bethlehem because he came as a king and he was born in a stable because he came to suffer

Let’s open up the advent calendar window and see what the next clue is. [Open the window and take out the clue].

What is it? It’s a birth certificate. This one is mine and it says what I’m called. Choosing what to call a baby is very difficult. We’ve just had a baby and it took ages to decide on a name.

Why was it easy for Mary and Joseph? Because God sent an angel and told them the names to give the baby.  

Did you realise that names mean something? Who wants to know what their name means? [Use a babies names’ book and have a few comedy ones up your sleeve]

The baby would be given two names and they help us understand who he is.

1. He was called Jesus because this baby is a saviour

Does anyone know what you want to be when you grow up? Your name doesn’t really tell us that does it?

God wanted his son to grow up to be a saviour. And so God called him Jesus. The name Jesus means God will save us. A saviour is someone who saves people who are in trouble.

Like this man: Fireman Sam. [Short clip on DVD or PowerPoint Picture]. He saves people from fires.

Jesus came to save us because we’re in trouble with God because we don’t always do what he wants us to do.

2. He was called Immanuel because this baby is God

God knew that his son would grow up to be like him. And so God called him Immanuel. The name Immanuel means God is with us. Jesus is God’s Son and so he is just like his Father. This name tells us what someone is like.

Like this person: Mr Noisy. [Short DVD clip or PowerPoint Picture]

Conclusion

So what do we learn about this baby? We learn that this baby was God who came to save us. Let’s pray.

One of a series in which a huge advent calendar with windows is constructed and progressively opened as the weeks go on. Behind each window is a clue to the baby’s identity. This week it’s a tea stained parchment with Jesus’ Matthean genealogy.

This morning we’re beginning a new series of slots that will take us up to Christmas. At Christmas we remember the birth of a baby. But who was this baby? Some of us probably know already but not everyone does. In the Bible God gives us lots of clues about who this baby is. And even if we already know that the baby is Jesus God teaches us lots of things about him.

Let’s open up the advent calendar window and see what we can find. [Someone to open the window on the advent calendar with multiple windows depending on how long you want the series to be]

It’s Jesus’ family history. Let’s read it. We can learn lots about people from their family background. Look at this [your own family history].

Jesus’ family history sounds quite complicated but Matthew wants us to know that Jesus has some very famous people in his family.

Did you recognise any of the names? Did you hear who Jesus’ Great x 11 Grandfather was and who his Great x 25 Grandfather was?

1. Someone from Abraham’s family would bless the world

Bless is an unusual word isn’t it. The blessed people in the world are those whom God looks after in a special way. God promised that someone in Abraham’s family would come and bless all sorts of people in the world. Matthew wants us to know that Jesus comes from Abraham’s family. So Jesus is the person that God sent so that God could look us after in a special way. And if we follow Jesus that’s true isn’t it? God looks after us when we follow Jesus.

2. Someone from David’s family would rule the world

Rule is a word we probably understand. When someone rules they’re in charge and they can tell us the best way to live. And so Jesus can help us know how to live. God promised that someone in David’s family would come and rule over the whole world. Matthew wants us to know that Jesus comes from David’s family. So Jesus is the person that God sent to run the world.

Conclusion

So what do we learn about this baby? We learn that this baby called Jesus, whom we remember at Christmas, was sent by God to look after us in a special way and to help us know how to live. Those are two very good reasons to get excited about Christmas even though it’s still November!

This is a Christmas Kid’s Talk for pre-schoolers and perhaps infants. For this to work you need to build a stable [shed from B&Q and have several items in the stable that get brought out]

What are the things that we might see around the stable where Jesus was born?

What’s this animal? Show cardboard cut outs of Cow, Sheep, Donkey & Pig

What sound do they make?

Introduction

• Parents took Jesus to Jerusalem

After Jesus was born his mother Mary and his father Joseph took him to the capital city Jerusalem so that they could give thanks to God for him at the temple. Whilst they were there an old man called Simeon came up to them for a chat.

• Parents met Simeon

Everyone thought very highly of Simeon. He was well respected and a religious man but he was also waiting for God to send his saviour. Through the Holy Spirit and we don’t know how he knew that God would keep him alive long enough to see God’s saviour with his own eyes.

• Simeon waiting for a saviour

When he met Mary and Joseph at the temple he knew that this baby was God’s Saviour. Simeon was so excited about it he sang a little song. ‘Now Lord you have kept your promise and you may let your servant go in peace. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles and bring glory to your people Israel’.

Do you notice that Simeon says two things about the baby Jesus

1. Jesus rescues us for God

That’s what’s meant by that word, ‘salvation’.

• Rescue

To be saved means to be rescued from danger and made safe. God thinks that all of us are in great danger and he needed to send a saviour to rescue us. Simeon doesn’t say what the danger is but the rest of the Bible makes it clear.

• Danger

God thinks it’s very dangerous to try and live life without him. It can sometimes seem like fun to do this but living without being friends with God is very dangerous.

• Safety

God thinks it’s much safer to live life with him both for this life and later on in heaven. Therefore God sent Jesus to rescue us from danger and make us safe.

Illustration

Now I’ve put something in the stable that will help us remember that Jesus rescues us. Go into the stable and see whether you can find something that reminds us that Jesus rescues us [ring from local swimming pool and bloke dressed as a lifeguard!]. If you go to the swimming pool and fall into the deep end and you can’t swim then you’re in real danger. But the swimming pool pay people called lifeguards to watch out and rescue people when they get into trouble. When they get into trouble they throw something like this to you so that they can rescue you to safety.

The reason why Jesus can rescue us is not because he’s good at swimming but because he died for us on a cross. What Jesus did on the cross means that we can be friends with God. God sent Jesus at Christmas so that he could rescue us.

2. Jesus teaches us about God

• Teach

Simeon says that Jesus is a little bit like a light. The great thing about a light is that it stops places being dark. When we’re in a dark room we’re not quite sure what’s in there are we? We need someone to switch on the lights so that we can see. That’s what a teacher does. They take us form being not sure to really understanding.

• Not sure

God thinks that we’re in the dark when it comes to thinking about him. He doesn’t think we’re very good at working out what he’s like. He thinks we need someone to come and switch on the lights for us. That’s why he sent Jesus.

• Really Understanding

Jesus came so that he could teach us what God is like and what God wants us to do.

Illustration

Now I’ve put something in the stable to help us remember that Jesus teaches us. Go into the stable and see whether you can find something that reminds us that Jesus teaches us about God [enormous black board and someone dressed as an old fashioned teacher] Boards like this used to be used to teach people.

The reason why Jesus is such a good teacher is not because he’s got a very big brain but because he is God. So when we read the Bible and learn what Jesus said and what he did we’re learning about what God said and did. God sent Jesus at Christmas so that we could learn about him.

Conclusion

Simeon’s song helps us understand two ideas about the baby Jesus. First, he’s a rescuer who takes people out of danger and makes them safe. Secondly, he’s a teacher who helps us know what God is like.

Let me pray [prayer drill, hands in the air, wiggle fingers, loud clap, close eyes and then talk to God]

Father God, thank you for sending Jesus as a baby at Christmas. Thank you that he is a rescuer who saves people and takes them out of danger and makes them safe. Thank you that he is a teacher who helps us understand what you’re like. Amen