25th December 2022 Christmas Day “Christmas is Always Outside”
ALL AGE MESSAGE
INFORMATION SHEET
Click on the button below to get the information sheet on today’s presenters, messages, and readings.
INFORMATION SHEET
Click on the button below to get the information sheet on today’s presenters, messages, and readings.
In the Old Testament, enemies are seen as enemies of God and to be destroyed.
In the Gospel, Jesus teaches that we must love our enemies.
They are to be offered forgiveness, power is not displayed through destruction, but through self-giving love.
The tension between justice and mercy and our calling to love, is the challenge for the Christian Faith.
Having sheep in the time Jesus was in Israel, was very different to being a sheep farmer now.
In this story Jesus sends disciples out to the lost sheep (people) of the house of Israel.
They were to go and do what He did – face all the challenges and spread the gospel to all the nations.
They were to belong to and continue, the movement Jesus began.
The scared and frightened followers were hiding in a locked room – into that fear Jesus came and said, ‘Peace be with you’.
The heart of Jesus is to give peace and to make an eternal difference in the lives of others.
The breath of the Holy Spirit is transformative. Wherever it blows it will bring new life and vitality.
Dealing with difficult Times
Navigating life is tough work at times. All the things that burden us down, should not hold us back if we realise God’s mighty power, grace and forgiveness can be ours.
Live life doing the things Jesus calls us to do, love and serve him and others to the Glory of God
Hosea in the 8th Century lived in a divided Kingdom and he spoke to the people about their separation from the God that still loved them.
By returning back to God’s ways they knew God would heal them, bind up their wounds and restore them.
It seems this message of ‘turning back to God’ is as relevant today in this Century, God wants more than words but our actions.
God does not give up on His people.