Church Newsletter Winter 2011

"In the beginning was the Word..." John 1:1

Christmas is all about God's word to us in Jesus -Jesus, God's word that is love. We know the story so well. Yet, how little do we truly appreciate the full meaning of the Incarnation - God's love revealed to us in Jesus? It means that Jesus took upon himself our humanity that he was He was willing to identify with us, to dwell with us, to walk among us, and willing to die for us upon the Cross. It means that in Jesus, God was revealing himself to us in a way that we could understand, by Jesus becoming one of us that we might know him, and see in Jesus, God's love for us revealed as never before. It means that Jesus is present, now with us, now for us, and has made salvation real to us in and through his life, death, resurrection and ascension. Christmas is God's greatest gift of all to us, to leave us without any doubt of his love for us and his desire that we should know his Son as the Saviour of the World.

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord..." Luke 2:11

"Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas, Star and angels gave the sign"

What does God's love for you, mean to you, this Christmas? What does Jesus life, death and resurrection mean? God loved you that much? How much do you love him? Are you thankful this Christmas for all that he has done and does still do for you? Christmas should be first and foremost about Jesus. Let us do all that we can then to ensure that this is the case. Don't send Xmas cards, celebrate the winter festival or allow CE (Common Era) therefore to be the new dating standard rather than BC/AD, which marks out history to be primarily HIS story and about God's salvation of the world. Christmas is so special let's do all we can to keep it that way!

Merry Christmas!

Your minister,
Reg.