A Gift Of Christmas 2013

The child to be born will be holy

…the angel Gabriel was sent by God to
a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a
virgin engaged to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgin‘s name was Mary… The
angel said to her, ―Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favour with
God.

And now, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son, and you will
name him Jesus… ―Mary said to the
angel, ―How can this be, since I am a
virgin?‖ The angel said to her, ―The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High
will overshadow you;

therefore the child to be born will be
holy; he will be called Son of God…‖
Then
Mary said, ―Here am I, the servant of the
Lord; let it be with me according to your
word.‖
Luke 1:26-27, 30-31, 34-35, 38 (NRSV)

Till the time expected...
And Mary said, ―My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for
he has looked with favour on the lowliness
of his servant. Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed; for the
Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.‖
Luke 1:46-49 (NRSV)

Till the time expected...
Mary, hail! Though afraid,
she believed, she obeyed.
In her womb, God is laid:
till the time expected,
nurtured and protected.
Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000)
Singing the Faith 178, v.3
© 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Used by permission.

‗Arrival‘ or ‗coming‘
Advent, from the Latin ‗adventus‘
which means ‗arrival‘ or ‗coming‘,
is the period of waiting and
preparation primarily for the
second coming of Jesus, but also
for Christmas. Many people mark
this by using an Advent wreath,
usually a circle of evergreen plants
with four candles.

‗Arrival‘ or ‗coming‘
On the First Sunday of
Advent, one candle is lit. An
additional one is lit during each
subsequent week until, by the last
Sunday before Christmas, all four
candles are alight. Many Advent
wreaths include a fifth, ‘Christ‘
candle in the centre – usually a
white one – which can be lit on

Longing for the Day of Glory
Advent candles tell their story
as we watch and pray,
longing for the Day of Glory,
‗Come, Lord, soon,‘ we say.
Pain and sorrow, tears and sadness
changed for gladness on that day.

Prophet voices loudly crying,
making pathways clear,
glimpsing glory, self-denying,
calling all to hear.
Through their message –
challenged, shaken –
hearts awaken: God is near!

John the Baptist, by his preaching
and by water poured,
brought to those who heard his teaching
news of hope restored:
‘Keep your vision strong and steady,
and be ready for the Lord.’

Mary’s gift, beyond all telling,
was to give Christ room.
She gave God a human dwelling
in a mother’s womb.
Who could guess the final story?
– cross and glory; empty tomb!

Advent candles tell their story
on this Christmas Day.
Those who waited for God’s glory:
they prepared the way.
Christ is with us; loving, giving,
in us living, here today!
Mark Earey (born 1965)
Singing the Faith 165
© Mark Earey.
Used by permission.

A decree went out...
In those days a decree went out from Emperor
Augustus that all the world should be
registered... All went to their own towns to be
registered. Joseph also went from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of
David called Bethlehem, because he was
descended from the house and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he
was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Luke 2:1, 3-5 (NRSV)

Go away! There’s no room here!
When a young unmarried couple
tried to find a place to stay,
then a Middle-Eastern village
had no space, ‗No, not today.‘
Mary‘s pregnancy was clear.
‗Go away! There‘s no room here!‘

Labour pains forced urgent action:
any shelter now till dawn!
In a shed to house the livestock
Mary‘s baby then was born —
nowhere for the child to lay
but a feeding trough with hay.

Songs that paint a cosy Christmas
miss the truth of God above!
See how God, rejected, homeless,
came a child with wide-eyed love.
Love transforms and brings release!
Love brings justice, joy and peace!
Peter Relf (born 1944)
© Singing the Faith 220, vv. 1, 2, 4
Used by permission.

Glory to God in the highest…
In that region there were shepherds living in the
fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them ...
the angel said to them, ―Do not be afraid; for see
– I am bringing you good news of great joy for
all the people: to you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the
Lord.

Glory to God in the highest…
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child
wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a
manger.‖ And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God
and saying, ―Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he
favours!‖
Luke 2:8-14 (NRSV)

Glad tidings of great joy...

While shepherds watched their
flocks by night,
all seated on the ground,
the angel of the Lord came down,
and glory shone around.


‗Fear not,‘ said he (for mighty dread
had seized their troubled mind),
‗glad tidings of great joy I bring
to you and humankind.


‗To you in David‘s town this day
is born of David‘s line
a Saviour, who is Christ Lord;
and this shall be the sign:

‗The heavenly babe you there shall
find
to human view displayed,
all meanly wrapped in swaddling
bands,
and in a manger laid.‘


Thus spake the seraph; and
forthwith
appeared a shining throng
of angels praising God, and thus
addressed their joyful song:


‗All glory be to God on high,
and to the earth be peace;
goodwill henceforth from heaven to
earth
begin and never cease.‘
Nahum Tate (1652-1715)
Singing the Faith 221

Guided by the star so bright...
Riding out across the desert,
travelling over sandy plains,
comes a company of wise men,
moving steadily along their way;
leaving all their friends behind them,
guided by the star so bright,
now they‘ve got to keep on going
must not let the star get out of sight.

Riding through the desert,
gently the wise men go,
onwards to the king who was promised long ago;
but they don’t know where they’re going to find him
there’s many towns to search
so they’ll keep on following the star,
for it will lead them to his place of birth.

Wise men on their desert journey,
travelled many miles so far
though they‘re getting tired and weary,
town of Bethlehem is not too far:
how they long to worship Jesus
and honour him with royal gifts;
hearts are full of joy and wonder
as they‘re searching for the new born king.
Words: © Peter Ratcliffe/The Jubilate Group
www.jubilate.co.uk
Used By Permission. Singing the Faith 230

They offered him gifts...
When they saw that the star had stopped,
they were overwhelmed with joy. On
entering the house, they saw the child with
Mary his mother; and they knelt down and
paid him homage. Then, opening their
treasure chests, they offered him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:10-11 (NRSV)

God‘s gift to the world
Many churches hold Christingle services at
Christmas – Christingle means ‗Christ‘s Light‘.

The custom of giving out lighted
candles in these services originates
from the Moravian Church in Germany
in 1747, but wasn‘t introduced to
England until the late 1960s.
Christingles are made up of different
parts, each with a different meaning.
The orange represents the world and
the candle is Jesus – the light of the
world.

The red ribbon goes all round the
‗world‘ and reminds us of the blood
Jesus shed when he died for us. The
four cocktail sticks could have either of
two meanings: the four seasons or the
four corners of the world, and the
sweets (or sometimes dried fruit)
remind us of God‘s gifts to the world
including kindness and love.

To tell of Jesus‘ birth...

It‘s round like an orange,
this earth on which we stand;
and we praise the God who holds
it
in the hollow of his hand.


So Father, we would thank you
for all that you have done,
and for all that you have given us
through the coming of your Son.


A candle, burning brightly,
can cheer the darkest night
and these candles tell how Jesus
came to bring a dark world light.


The ribbon round the orange
reminds us of the cost;
how the Shepherd, strong and
gentle,
gave his life to save the lost.


Four seasons with their harvest
supply the food we need,
and the Spirit gives a harvest
that can make us rich indeed.


We come with our Christingles
to tell of Jesus‘ birth
and we praise the God who blessed
us
by his coming to this earth.
Basil Bridge (born 1927)
© Oxford University Press.
Used by permission.

We pray for your blessings
Almighty God, many years
ago you sent your son
Jesus, who was born in a
simple stable and later
Lived with his family and
community. He was loved, fed,
cared for, educated and supported
so that he grew up to become strong
and full of wisdom.

Sadly we know that today:
millions of children all over the world will die
prematurely from preventable causes
millions will never get to school
millions will go to bed hungry
millions of children and their families live in
poverty, here in the UK and throughout the
world and may suffer from neglect or
abuse,
often ignored by the systems and
structures of their societies.

We know this is not what
you want in the world today.
Your son reminded us to
love our neighbours and
to do good wherever we
could. He also promised that
he had come so that we may all
live a full and abundant life.

We pray that this Christmas, and throughout the
coming year, you will challenge and inspire us to
be agents of change of your kingdom where all
children will be fed adequately, receive an
education, be given basic health care, safe
drinking water and experience the love and
nurture of their families and society.

We pray that all children
can grow up to be healthy,
for they are your children
too and are all made in
your image. We pray for
your blessings on all children
wherever they may be.

We pray through Jesus, who came as a
vulnerable and dependent child and yet was
taken care of by his family, friends
and community.
Amen.

Daleep Mukarji,
Vice-President of the
Methodist Conference 2013/2014

A Gift Of Christmas 2013

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