Other Sermons / Christmas
[0:00] The The The
[1:02] The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The
[2:04] The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The Amen.
[3:16] Amen. Amen.
[4:16] Amen. Amen.
[5:16] Amen. Amen.
[6:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And I need. Then the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done?
[6:34] The woman said, serpent, deceive me and I need. the Lord God said to the servant because you are cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field on your belly you shall grow and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put anything between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring he shall bruise your head and you shall lose his heel then the Lord God said behold the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil now lest he reach out his hand and take also the tree of life and eat and live forever therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken he drove out the man and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned him away to guard the way to the tree of life the wonder of Christmas is that it tells how that terrible estrangement from God signified by those fierce angels with their crowning sword barring men from God's presence how estrangement is overcome not by us there are no power at all to do it but by God himself coming into our world to be our savior so that now the angels have a new rule not barring the way but proclaiming the great good news that now at last there can be peace and good will from God to hoard many men here on earth who came upon a midnight clear like glorious all of those from angels bending the iliac to touch their hearts of gold and going to super
[9:15] And glorious love of all. The angels bending in the air.
[9:26] To touch their hands of gold. He's on the earth who will to bear.
[9:37] The realm of gracious pain. The world is all of children's pain.
[9:47] To hear the angels sing. Still through the fallen sky beyond.
[9:59] With each low age of birth. And still their heavenly music holds. For all the weary world.
[10:15] Above its sad and holy place. They bend on the ring. And evermore in favels.
[10:31] The blessed angels sing. But with the walls of sin and strife.
[10:43] The world has covered all. He with the angels sing. The world has found years of wrong.
[10:59] And the land of sin and strife. The love of song which they pray.
[11:11] The lost the Lord. He's dead of sight. And hear the angels sing. The love of sin and strife.
[11:22] And he's dead of sin. And he's dead of sin. And he's dead of sin. The love of sin and strife. The love of sin and strife. And he's dead of sin. And he's dead of sin. And he's dead of sin. The love of sin and strife.
[11:33] And he's dead of sin. And he's dead of sin. Which will near the Lord. Thou art. In heavy things, The praise of peace and joy, thou swiftly on the way.
[11:56] O press beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing.
[12:07] O God, Lord, oser isqueron, thy como put otros.
[12:19] To one who wouldn't son escribe, the love who age shall hold.
[12:30] Where earth and earth we knew shall see the prince of Easter King.
[12:42] And all the world we need can song, which now the angels sing.
[12:53] Comfort me, comfort me, my children, say unto your God. Seek you comfort me to Jerusalem, and cry unto her.
[13:07] That flow of warfare is a prophet, but her iniquity is hardened. And she hath received what the Lord's hand doubled for all her sins. The voice of him, proud of the Lord, the pain of the Lord makes straight in the desert a highway for our Lord.
[13:28] Every valley shall be floated, and every mountain and hill shall be made clear. And the cricket shall be made straight, and the rock be made.
[13:38] And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall hear together. For the mouth of the Lord spoke in it. O Zion, that bringeth good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain.
[13:56] O Jerusalem, that bringeth good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift up, ye not afraid. Save unto the city, Judah, the whole your God.
[14:10] Behold, the Lord God will part with strong hand, and his arm shall rule the heavens. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
[14:22] He shall be to slot like a shepherd. He shall gather the land in his arm, and carry it in his own, and shall deadly leave those little wicked young.
[14:34] Therefore the Lord himself shall give good sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. The people that walk in the darkness have seen a great light.
[14:50] They have thrown from the land, the shadow of death. Upon them pass the light shine. But unto us, a triumph is born. Unto us, a spell is given.
[15:03] And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And to his name, I am the one of the counsellors. The nice God. The everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.
[15:14] Words from Isaiah, the prophet, speaking about 800 years before the birth of Jesus.
[15:27] And telling God's promise never to forget his people, despite all their wagerness, all their rejection. And telling the wonderful promise of a coming one.
[15:38] The one who will be in Emmanuel, which means God is with us to save. For come, for come, Emmanuel.
[15:50] The Son is in Emmanuel, and coming to you. The Holy Trinity of what he is doing. For come, moved to be the Normally.
[16:09] With Emmanuel, from the world. The Holy Trinity of let the Lord War. Thank you.
[16:46] Thank you.
[17:16] Thank you. Thank you.
[18:16] Thank you. Thank you.
[19:16] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[19:28] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[20:06] But you, Bethlehem, prophet, though you are small among the plant of Judah, out of you will come to thee one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.
[20:22] Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who was in labor yields birth and the rest of her brothers returns to John the Israelites.
[20:33] He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord's God, and they will live securely.
[20:44] For then his greatness will reach to the end of the earth, and he will be their peace. The little time of Bethlehem has still we see thee lie.
[21:00] Above my beacon dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by, yet in my dark streets, shining streets, everlasting light. I hope to have you as a role for the years, and they will be tonight.
[21:16] The little time of Bethlehem has still we see thee lie.
[21:39] From all thy deep and great blessing Let silence God provide Yet in the grunting shiner The everlasting night The hopes and fears of all the years Are there with me tonight For Christ is born of Mary And gathered all above While angels seek the angels Be where watch of one in love Though Lord is born together
[22:39] Who gave the holy word And praise His name to God the King And peace to Him on earth But silently, but silently The wonders in His name So God in hearts to human hearts The blessings of His name Though He will hear His name But in this world of sin Where these souls will bring the gifts The Lord is born of Mary But here Christ enters in
[23:41] Though He shall love and be heard He said to us we pray But of God's sin and victory ShabbatAB erfahren He, three Tolkien b'er Ch!!" And he, four Chants Meanwhile, the crimes The release of His la andra Martin Luther Donaldson Happy birthday But the deliverance of Christ Our grace of Christ The Lord will for the most In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.
[24:40] A virgin he told to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary.
[24:51] And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favourite one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the same and hard to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
[25:05] And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
[25:23] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord will give to him the throne of his father David.
[25:34] And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and with his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How is this been since I am a virgin?
[25:50] And the angel answered to him, 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 called Holy, the Son of God.
[26:05] And behold, your relative, a little of us in the old age, has also conceived a son, and this is the six-month-acre, who was called Aaron.
[26:17] For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your birth.
[26:29] And the angel departed from her. The promise was for God himself to be with us.
[26:42] And in the birth of Jesus Christ, he who was truly God became truly man. He really did come to be with us, to be one of us.
[26:55] Jesus, our Elendor. And he came for a purpose. My Lord lays his glory by. Born a man known for may die.
[27:07] Born to raise the sufferings of the earth. Born to give them second birth. And on whom faith shall stand.
[27:31] He grand, herman. estoy hut комна aman known for may die. He also rivers troughed. In his strength of hallelujah. Amount is the strength of thy God. In theAK, the blessed reproach of glory. finals days,으로issen may die. Warm andулиring die air shall sesu日 sind.
[27:54] And theaisseur更üng god. By the time of the night, In the terrible good day, And before the day began, After all we could sing, Glory to the King of King.
[28:25] But my eyes tell the Lord That He ever has behold, Be cutting my own reply, What cannot be heard.
[28:47] Hail in fascinate skull and heb сотруд, Taal link 직rah in divinity Rei to the Marian we have to bond Jesus' calling and forgive Our général angels sing to the eternal waterproof Chasia it was blood Come, God, may God be better O Lord, may God be better Thank you.
[30:17] Thank you.
[30:47] Thank you.
[31:17] Thank you. Thank you.
[32:17] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[32:29] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[32:41] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[32:53] O earth's the same, heaven shall flee away when he comes to reign.
[33:07] In the dream of winter, still praise the Christ, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, Jesus Christ.
[33:29] Angels and my angels, they are now with them.
[33:41] Shedding in the ceremonies from the earth. Heart is mother holy in her maiden place.
[34:01] Worship the beloved, with a kiss. What can I give him, who runs my hand?
[34:23] If I were a shepherd, I would bring a love. If I were a wise man, I would bring my love.
[34:44] Then I would bring my love. Give him my love.
[34:56] And there were his sick and sick shepherds, providing the field, keeping watchful of their flock and hands.
[35:07] And then the angels of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone on them, and they were so afraid. And the angels said unto their heart, Fear not, for behold, I believe good tithing of great joy, which was written to all people.
[35:30] For unto you is all as the same in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ alone. And this shall be a sign unto you, and shall find a deed, that he's swaddling clothes, lying in the manger.
[35:47] And suddenly there was in the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and when they are at peace, we will walk toward men.
[36:00] And it came to pass, as they came to the Lord, and while they lay from him into heaven, the shepherds said to them loud, Let us all now lead it into their pen, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made for me to pass.
[36:18] And they gave them a case, and found them nearly anxious, and they could be lying in manger. And when they had seen it, they made them withdraw the city which was told concerning this child, and prepared it, and wondered at those things which were told by the shepherds.
[36:38] But may they kept all these things, and pondered them in their heart. And the shepherds returned, who were smiling and praying for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told until now.
[36:54] A God who had not remained hidden, but has come from the realms of glory, and brought him here to make the heavenly light of his presence shine in this dark world forever.
[37:11] God with man is now resigning. God with man is now resigning. God with man is now resigning. Glory to God in the highest, glory in excelsis there.
[37:24] God with man is now resigning. The Shepherds Amen.
[37:39] Amen. Amen.
[38:39] Amen. Amen.
[39:39] Amen. Amen.
[40:39] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[41:01] Amen. Amen.
[42:01] Amen. Amen.
[43:01] Amen. Amen.
[44:01] Amen. Amen.
[45:01] Amen. Amen.
[46:01] Amen. It's time again, some four hundred and fifty years before the birth of Jesus, the very last of the Old Testament prophets. It's his words that Zechariah picked up in that last reading.
[46:14] It doesn't tell how Malachi explains the implication of the coming of the Lord that he's promised, the one who would at last come to make Christmas real.
[46:27] Now the kind of prophet said to the people, you have weary the Lord with your words. But you say, how would we weary them? By saying, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delights them. Or by asking, where is God of justice?
[46:46] Behold, I send my messenger, and you will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. And the messenger of the coming whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of the Rings.
[47:07] But who shall endure the day it is coming? And who shall stand when he appears? For he is like a finest fire of pure silver.
[47:21] For behold, the day it is coming, burning like an oven. For all the arrogant and all the evildoers will be stubborn.
[47:34] The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of the Rings. So as it will leave them, neither do they do it nor branch. But, for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise as a healing in its wings.
[47:55] You shall go out leaping like cows from the store, and you shall tread on a mountain. For there will be your ashes under the sole of your feet on the day when I am, says the Lord of hosts.
[48:12] Before we think for a little about this promise of Christmas, as Salah time is all coming, we're going to sing perhaps one of the simplest and best love of all the cameras.
[48:24] Son of God, oh how bright. Love is smiling from your face. Strike to us now as our great Saviour, Sin Salah.
[48:42] O God, O God, O God, O God, O God, O God.
[49:03] Sing to him, see Robinson for. Hey, let no watch disney him.
[49:18] Floral child, see him.
[49:28] Still heavenly rest, still heavenly rest.
[49:46] Still the night, holy the night, shepherds first saw the light, earthly pounding, clear and low, high and dearly angels call, Christ the Redeemer is here, Christ the Redeemer is here.
[50:39] Still the night, holy the night, child of God, O how high, love is life, all I need, Christ the Holy hour of grace, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord,
[51:40] Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, Christ the Lord, The Lord, And in Isaiah, And in that book story, In Romans, that world opens with the words of His name, See this day, and that story opens with the words of Isaiah, Jesus said in the east, But of course the real story began long, long before even that, right at the very dull time itself.
[52:09] But all through the ages of human history, the prophets spoke of the great coming of the Lord himself to his world. The prophet Malachi, the very last of the prophets of the Old Testament era, in Minnesota, it said, some 400 and some years before Jesus.
[52:24] And he did so in a society that had not jettisoned many of what they thought of old-fashioned beliefs about God. They've become very cynical, very disbelieving, very skeptical about God.
[52:39] Where is the God of justice, they said? How can the mere God, of all the crooks, seem to be the ones that kind, want talking, prosper, and all the good people are the ones that are expected?
[52:51] It sounds pretty contemporary, don't you think? Lots of people are still saying exactly that same thing today. But Malachi spoke a very clear message from God to that skeptical people.
[53:05] A day is coming, he said, when the Lord himself will come to confront all of these things. A messenger will prepare the way like another Elijah. That's exactly what John the Baptist was to do in the angel's book to Zechariah, his father, a century later than Acts of John's birth.
[53:26] And then the God of God, the Lord himself, will come. And that day, it will change this world forever. The justice that you desire will come.
[53:42] But be very careful what you wish for. Who can stand in the face of what that day is going to bring, says the Lord, because it will be a fire.
[53:53] A fire that divides this world. Destroying, even much, those who have opposed God. That's a very silver image.
[54:08] But at the same time, Malachi says, for those who fear God's name, will honor and revere him for the old fairy of a different experience. It's a wonderful picture, isn't it?
[54:20] For you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in its wings, and you will go out leaping like cars from the storm.
[54:33] Now we can look at these lovely pictures of what the coming of Jesus means in our carol services this year. And this first picture tonight is about a beautiful sunrise.
[54:45] The image is picked up in Zechariah's song, as we heard earlier, when he sings for joy about John's birth, about Jesus' coming birth. The sunrise has visited us far on high to give a light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of the dead.
[55:02] Jesus' coming, the coming of the Lord's birth, will be like a beautiful sunrise upon our world. It will be without question the dawning light of ultimate meaning for humanity.
[55:17] because he comes to reveal all truth. That's what Malachi are, the last prophet of Christmas promises. And that's exactly how Jesus Christ himself described his coming into the world.
[55:33] I want to think about two aspects of it tonight. First of all, the coming of Jesus is a sunrise that lights up the purpose of life in all its fullness.
[55:46] His coming is the dawning of a new day in human history. It is his light that is the explanation of life that gives us the truth about life in all its fullness.
[56:01] This is what Jesus himself said. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.
[56:13] There is meaning in our own confusion, ignorance, and skepticism, and cynicism. And Jesus Christ came to open our eyes to that ultimate meaning.
[56:28] Jesus says that he works to Pontius Pilate, and Pilate came as new of life, what is truth? That's extraordinary post-modern, don't you think? Just goes for sure, there is nothing you, and your son.
[56:44] What we call the post-modernist, it's just one more version of avoiding truth and its implications. And human beings, we're not going to do that right from the very beginning of time.
[56:56] That means that is the Bible telling. It was a Paul, played in Romans chapter 1, that God's truth has been abundantly evident in the very fabric of our creation since the very beginning of the world.
[57:08] But man has suppressed that truth, ignored it, that it's our ignorance, our agnosticism, it's not primarily an intellectual problem, it's an unborn problem.
[57:22] If we want to believe something or disbelieve something, strongly enough, we can always manage in that sort of the dating that our faith is extraordinary. And certainly our liberation today tends to reject ideas of absolute truth, especially, especially absolute moral truth.
[57:42] Because it seems so much to curtail our freedom, and above all, what we want in the world is freedom. We want autonomy, we want self-determination for our lives. So in just a few minutes, would you consider the Bible's view on that?
[57:59] The view of Christian faith, of Jesus Christ. Because the Bible contends that this rejection of the ultimate truth of Jesus Christ does not bring the truth of slavery, does not bring fulfillment and joy for our lives, but brings emptiness and confusion.
[58:17] and ultimately despair. You see, if you reject a creator, if you reject his purpose for creation, then the result must be utter confusion.
[58:31] I mean, we don't really know why we're here on this earth. We don't really know who we really are, or what we've been doing in our everyday lives. I was reading in the paper last week about choosing the ringers, the disciples, they decide first.
[58:48] And it is still really remarkable that the Premier League this year has had to change the rules of people to crack down on the abuse of referees by players and managers during the game. So many referees have been subject to verbal insults and even worse, that it now means that you get an automatic looking if you showed the sense of referees.
[59:09] I can't imagine anyone who had a football referee to you. But it seems that many players and many managers would rather let the winners of referees at all because they resent it so much when they blow a whistle to assert the rules of the game.
[59:25] But just imagine a football player with 22 players on it. But not one of them has a clue what they're there for. Not one of them has a clue what the rules should be.
[59:38] And not one of them knows what the rules are. Now I know probably the most hard feelings that probably sounds like the Edna Ruggard used to do in boxing things. So think about that.
[59:49] 22 players are one pitch but no idea of the rules and idea of the values that they play out. No idea what they're to do. A reasonable conclusion that we know at all of a great game.
[60:02] Not much of a great game. Well I'll be asking does our world of humanity people living on this planet playing the game of life does it resemble the perfect Lord of well-controlled the Citrus and his teamwork of a craft team like Real Madrid or Barcelona a team who know the game and love the game and are working together like clockwork towards that common goal of the beautiful game.
[60:28] or is our world more reminiscent of the chaos of everyone who stands to do what he thinks best for himself in the game of life in the game that there is no room no boundaries just meaningless practices certainly part of the music of the world.
[60:52] What about newspapers? What do our RSS students tell us all the time do you think as we witness the unprecedented backlash that we are witnessing against governments the huge frustration and the anger across Europe across the United States as we see the terrible comulence raging in the Middle East intractively and so and so many other things in this world.
[61:17] Now friends the message of Jesus Christ is that if you reject God's truth about the meaning and the purpose of life and of the universe and of everything including our own lives then we will find ourselves living a life full of contradictions full of confusion and the truth of how conservative is it?
[61:40] That's never more important than when the world of human beings want to work together for whatever it is that's perceived to be the latest great global cause to be the preparer's agreement about climate change which finally went into effect this last one.
[61:57] Notwithstanding the skepticism among many especially across the pond that perhaps a lot of it is just very handy for scientists wanting all sorts of research grants to be handy for governance wanting all sorts of excuses for new taxes lay aside that that it seems that it's all true and that the global climate change is all man-made then we need to ask the question why?
[62:19] Why bother to try and save this planet? If we only exist but a chance collocation of atoms that banged together way back in time and happened to go in and fall to the DNA why bother?
[62:33] preserving ourselves and Professor Dawkins is right we only exist to preserve our DNA so why not just bury 10 pots of DNA in my old land in the Arctic and preserve it forever and just let the universe die off?
[62:51] After all we're no better and we'll just kill our chains oh well we must preserve this planet for our grandchildren in a future generation as people say well why bother having children or grandchildren what's the plan?
[63:07] well of course we need someone to look after us when we're old we need somebody to be working to favor our pensions but perhaps that's the other selfish of today so of course why not be selfish? if selfish genes are really the driving force of life anyway in fact if we propose something why don't we teach selfishness as a key subject in our schools as part of the national curriculum to make sure that our children get better and better at it because it's the driving force of life you see how absurd it is when we begin to think about it like that and highly ironic because we're so desperate aren't we to preserve the planet for generations yet unborn to leave unborn of the future we're desperately concerned about those unborn children way, way, way in the distance and yet there's never been a time in history as a race to have so systematically destroyed the unborn babies of this generation and that's abortion how absurd we can keep that yet of course then when we speak side of it it's a kind of devaluation of human life today you get grounded another little bigger or statues quite extraordinary just like the absurdity of spending billions and billions of dollars instead of spaceship into space and crash landed on
[64:35] Mars to find out there's water there because it might be crucial to the future of our species an accidental chance species but meanwhile we don't spend a fraction of that magic money on earth the real people who desperately need clean water today and already dying today because of lack of it isn't that absurd or worse people probably it's too wicked see the human is how you do with a player on a pitch with no club lands who have rejected any light from the rulebook at the beginning a banner to act in the name of freedom and self expression and the result comes to the world that we live in the world that we recognize to know no order no purpose no clear rules and a great lack of beauty but into that fog and confusion and absurdity and darkness
[65:45] Jesus Christ came to bring light to bring the light ultimately to our world listen to the opening words of the gospel of John Jesus was in the beginning with God all beings were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made Jesus Christ God the Son who made the cosmos and the rain controls it all and explains it all he gives meaning to us and above all he gives meaning to our humanity in him was life says John and the life was a light of man the light shines in the dark the prophet foretold him as Malachi said the sun is well come and now in Jesus it has come there is light to dawn a new day in history and I think it is indisputable that the life of Jesus Christ did change human history in a way that no other life on this planet has ever done
[66:59] Jesus coming as a sunrise that lights up the purpose of life in all its dreams but not only the coming of Jesus is the sunrise that lights up the path to life in all its dreams his coming is the morning of a new day in our human lives in his life we can experience life in all its dreams I know life in the world says Jesus whoever follows me will not fall in darkness that he will have the light of life I came that we might have life in heaven abundantly he said Jesus came to tell us as God on the face to tell us what life is about to confirm the words of the Lord and the prophets all over the ages to God's people Israel but also to shine his light to all the nations of Israel and to the world of all peoples in this world to give light to those whose lives are overshadowed by the darkness of sin and death and to give certain hope that every shadow will at last be destroyed that death itself will at last be banished from this world that day is still to come but it will come the day of everlasting life there will be no more night no more sorrow or pain or suffering or death forever that's what
[68:38] Jesus himself promised when he returns in glory and that will be the full zenith of the sun the glorious noon day of light long last light everlasting that Jesus came into the world that first Christmas and that was the day it was the dawn the light of ultimate meaning for our world it was the day that life everlasting and the wonderful message of the Christian gospel that Christmas could use is that the light light in all its fullness light eternal that it can be entered into now Jesus coming at the sunrise that lights up the path the path to light in all its fullness that none none need fail to find it whoever our world means that Jesus will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life isn't the need for other words which encapsulates the significance of this great sunrise for the world of Christ's coming the dawn of the new day this is the real kingdom of God that seeks the breakthrough the beauty the sentiment the blissfulness of the festive season for the hearts of human beings to the message of a glorious possibility for every kind of need to the lonely and solitary that speaks of an inevitable companionship
[70:09] Emmanuel God with us what a wonderful and sustained that can be that the old and prayer brings gentle hands and kind and the strength of the everlasting arms to the sorrow and the heart broken it pledges the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise to the spirit of heaven and to those who have failed you mean a disappointment in themselves and to those who love then there is beauty for the ashes of those very bad lives and even here now especially here the premise of a new day friends there is the wonderful reality of the message of Christmas in the presence of Jesus Christ the Son of God their dawn of sunrise that lights up not only the purpose of life in all the tools life is all about him and his work but it lights up the path to life in all the tools it's all through him and with him and from him in him the Son of righteousness has arisen healing in its wings and yet listen to Jesus in the verdict on how the world has ascended to his glorious life the light has come into the world he says but men men love darkness rather than them because their deeds were evil everyone who does it or hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed a friend of mine works in the financial market and he told me a phrase they use about corrupt firms in the city in the world of finance and it says nothing disinfects like someone of course that disinvention comes first through exposure exposure of the dirt and the grime and that is what prevents people from coming into the light and finding them to receive the eternal life that is in Jesus it's the exposure into the light that makes them shy away and for the help of the darkness but in doing so their lives are but truncated pale pale shadows of what they were meant to be of what they could be if only they were here as once only come into his light friends don't let that be you don't hide from the light of Jesus Christ this Christmas
[73:17] Jesus coming is the dawning light of ultimate meaning for our world he caves with the deal of all truth to all of us so let me leave you with some of Jesus' last words from his most urgent words the one who walks in darkness he says doesn't feel very good while you have the light believe in the light that you have become sons of light I have come in the world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness while you have the light believe in the light and I pray is that the light of the rising son of our Lord Jesus Christ will lighten upon you already this Christmas time and throughout all the days of your lives
[74:18] Amen Lord have the light believe in the light become holy faith joyful come come ye to Bethlehem come behold him born the king of ages come let us adore him Christ the Lord gracious God grant this to be the true response of all our hearts this Christmas through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen do not how love be please Oh, my God.
[75:36] Oh, my God.
[76:06] Oh, my God.
[76:36] Oh, my God.
[77:06] Oh, my God.
[77:36] Oh, my God.
[78:06] Oh, my God.
[78:36] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[78:48] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[79:02] Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[79:14] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[79:32] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[79:46] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[80:00] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. more about what we've been talking about this evening. We'd love you to come to them.
[80:11] It's going to be starting from the 19th of January, our first meeting in our other building, Bar Street in the city centre, where do you get to? There'll be a meal at 7 o'clock and then it's a short course of seven weeks where there's a presentation.
[80:25] It's an opportunity for you to ask all your questions and discuss and find out the answers for your career. There's no pressure that we ask you to get speeches or prayers or anything we'd be uncomfortable with.
[80:39] But we think it'll be a great opportunity as we want to find out more. Of course, we meet regularly at the church and there's lots more Christmas services still to come. Next Sunday, we'll be here at 9am in the morning and Bar Street at 11am for our Christmas services.
[80:55] In the evening, we have a family's character in our side side building at the Toronto Queen's Park. They're legal to the right about that. And then Bar Street, we'll be there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and also for our Wednesday lunch and I'll talk in Christmas week.
[81:10] Lots of opportunities. We'd love to see you again. And please feel free to come and bring friends. You're very, very welcome indeed. So good to be here tonight. My prayer is that the light of the glory of God in heaven which shines in this world in the face of Jesus Christ will be yours to light a new life.
[81:35] Let me just pray in the praise for our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
[81:47] Amen. Christ is so that we have notYes.
[82:16] Amen. A new life is that I love toship that Thank you.
[82:57] Thank you.