Other Sermons / Christmas
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[10:08] Thank you. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
[10:29] He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
[10:51] And the world became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son, from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.
[11:11] For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side.
[11:25] He has made him known. Thank you, Harry, and thank you also to Naomi. Thank you for reading to us from John's gospel there.
[11:37] In a moment, we're going to have a talk for the children. So I think they're going to be invited to come down to sit at the front during our next carol, so feel free to do that. But as the children head down to the front, we're going to sing our next carol, Child in the Manger, Infants of Mary.
[11:55] Let's sing together, and the kids can come down for their talk. Let's sing together, and the kids can come down for their talk.
[12:31] Let's sing together, and the kids can come down for their talk.
[13:01] And the kids can come down for their talk. Let's sing together, and the kids can come down for their talk. Or their我也 can come down for their talk. I thank you, and the kids can come down for their talk. The kids can come down for their talk. And the kids can come down for their talk.
[13:15] And the kids can come down for their talk. Good morning, boys and girls.
[13:39] It's lovely to see you all back. Imagine having Sunday school in church up here. It's very exciting, isn't it? I wonder if you can think about something to do with Christmas.
[13:52] Well, actually, who can tell me how many days we've got to go until Christmas? Yes. Is it eight days? So it's one less than eight.
[14:03] We've got seven sleeps to go before Christmas. And I wonder if you can think of a present that you've had at Christmastime that was the most amazing present that you have ever had.
[14:16] Can anyone think of a present that they've got at Christmas that was so amazing? Rachel? I like my Barbie camper van that I got in my old house.
[14:27] Wow, a Barbie camper van. That is amazing. Does anyone else have another gift that they got at Christmas that they think is amazing? Tree? I got a small Christmas tree.
[14:41] You got a small Christmas tree? Well, that's really exciting. I'm going to ask one more person to tell me something that they got at Christmas that they think is amazing. Yes. Horse toy.
[15:01] A horse toy. Wow. Yes. All of these gifts are really amazing. But boys and girls, I'm going to tell you something. In the Bible, it says that the greatest gift that you can ever have is Jesus.
[15:17] It's Jesus. And there are lots and lots of reasons why Jesus is the greatest gift. But we are going to just look at a few of them today. So what I've done is I've put a few clues in these Christmas boxes over there.
[15:32] And they are going to help us think about why Jesus is the greatest gift that anybody can ever have. So I wonder, can I ask you if one of you would like to come and open one of the gifts?
[15:47] Marla, would you come and open the littlest one? You can bring it over here and bring it and then I will hold it and you can open it. And you can show everybody what's in it.
[16:01] What's that, Marla? A telescope. It's not a telescope. It's a good try. It's actually if you... If you...
[16:12] If you... Put it and press the green button. And what is it? What is it? What is that? It's a torch.
[16:24] It's a torch. And this torch is a clue to Jesus being our greatest gift because... Thank you very much. Because... Thank you, Marla.
[16:34] You can sit down now. Great. Jesus is our greatest gift because it tells us in the Bible... You listening? That he is the true light.
[16:46] He is the true light. And that's just another way of saying that only Jesus can tell us the truth about all things. But most especially, he can tell us the truth about God.
[17:00] Because Jesus is God. Jesus is God. Now, without Jesus, we would all be in total darkness. Who can tell me what darkness is?
[17:13] What's darkness like? Ollie, what's darkness like? Nothing is bright. Nothing is bright. What else? It's all black. Rachel? It's something that you can't really see.
[17:25] You can't see a thing. We can't actually see what's there, can we? But when we shine a light into the darkness, it lets us see and know the truth of what's there.
[17:36] Now, boys and girls, without Jesus as our king, without Jesus as our king, we don't and can't know God.
[17:47] We are in the dark. We are in the dark. But with Jesus as our king, we get to know and see the true God. Wow, that's a massive big gift that he gives us, isn't it?
[18:01] Through Jesus, we get to know who God really is. So remember, Jesus is the true light who shows us who God is.
[18:12] Now, I wonder if someone else can come and open another gift. Jessie, would you like to come and open the middle-sized gift? Just take it out, Jessie, and show us it.
[18:27] What is that? Come and join. It's an ambulance. Now, if you press that, just press the top of it there. It's an ambulance, isn't it?
[18:40] It's definitely, it's the sirens. Thank you so much, Jessie. Now, if I ask a big person at the back, maybe, can you tell me what that word says? It says rescue.
[18:51] What do we need an ambulance for? Noah. Pardon? Pardon? Yes, it comes when someone's maybe had an accident or very, very sick.
[19:11] An ambulance is called and it comes and rescues them, doesn't it? Yes, Juliet. Okay. Okay. Okay.
[19:23] Okay. So, an ambulance is used to help people when they're in danger. It comes and rescues them and takes them to a safe place. Now, this is a clue about Jesus today.
[19:34] Because in the Bible, it tells us that Jesus came into the world to rescue us, to save us from our sins.
[19:46] Did you know that? Jesus came into the world to rescue us from our sins. Now, boys and girls, the word sin is a strange word. It's sometimes people don't know what it means.
[19:58] Can you tell me what sin is that we need to be rescued from? Joel. Doing bad stuff.
[20:11] Yes. When we do things that God wouldn't want us to do, that's called sin. So, it might be that we might tell a lie or we might not do what mum and dad tell us to do.
[20:22] That's sin. But, boys and girls, why do we need rescued from our sin? Why can't we just live doing that every day? What is wrong with having sin?
[20:34] Why do we need it rescued? Why do we need rescued? Because if we keep sinning, everything bad will happen. Like, we all get hurt. Because if we don't have God, everything will be okay.
[20:49] But if we don't, nothing will be okay. That's a really good answer. If we do have God in our lives, then he can help us with our sin. And if we don't have God in our life, we won't be able to be helped with sin.
[21:01] So, sin. The word sin is actually quite a helpful word. Because it can help us remember a little phrase that helps us remember what sin is. This letter S. It's like we're saying, shove off God.
[21:15] Shove begins with an S. So, it's like we're saying, shove off God. The I, it's like we're saying, I'm in charge. And the N, it's like we're saying, no to your rules.
[21:27] Can we do that? Shove off God. I'm in charge. No to your rules. That's what sin is. When we live for ourselves and not for God, then that's what sin is.
[21:39] And it's a problem, boys and girls, because God is so holy and pure and good, he can't come near to sin.
[21:51] So, when we've got sin in our hearts, which we do from the very beginning of our lives, sin came into the world way back when Adam and Eve disobeyed God right up until now.
[22:04] And it will be in the world when more people into the future forever. And it's awful because God loves us so much, but he can't come near to our sin because he is perfect and good and holy.
[22:18] And when God looks at us, even although he loves us so much, do you know what he sees? What does he see? What does he see?
[22:30] He sees our sin. And it makes him sad because he can't come close to it and be our friend. So, we are separated from God because of our sin.
[22:41] And that's why we need rescuing. Now, some people might think, okay, if we can get rid of sin ourselves, then we can be God's friends.
[22:52] That sounds like a plan, doesn't it? We're separated. We can't get close to God. God, sin's in the way. Maybe we can fix it. Can we fix our own sin? Can we?
[23:05] Well, some people think they can. Maybe they think, well, maybe I'll be good to my sister and I'll listen to my mom and dad and I'll read my Bible more and I'll go to church. But guess what, boys and girls?
[23:16] These things will never, ever, ever fix your sin or mine. Because we can't. Because we can't. In the Bible, it tells us everybody for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
[23:30] And that means no matter what we do, Noah, no matter how many good things we try and do, we can't fix our own sin.
[23:40] So we have this problem. God is here and we are here and sin is stopping us being friends with God. God is here and we can't fix it.
[23:50] We can't fix it. Who do you think can fix that? God can. You're right, Joshua. God can. Do you know what God did? He made a rescue plan and he sent Jesus into the world to rescue us.
[24:07] To rescue us from being separated from God. What did God send Jesus to do? What did God send Jesus to do, Jesse?
[24:19] To rescue us? What did he send Jesus to do? He was nailed to the cross. When Jesus was sent to the cross and he died, he took the blame for everyone's sin onto himself.
[24:35] For the whole world's sin. He took the blame and he was punished for us. And when he did that, he wiped everyone's sin clean.
[24:46] So if you trust in Jesus, boys and girls, as your savior, then what happens is Jesus wipes your sin away and you're no longer separated and you can be friends with God.
[25:02] Isn't that an amazing gift? So without God, we're in big trouble because our sin is always there and God can't be friends with us.
[25:14] But with God, we can be forgiven and then we can be made friends with him. That is a mind-blowing gift.
[25:24] Now, there's one more parcel to open. Who would like to open it? Joshua, you want to go and get that big parcel?
[25:35] In fact, I will just hold it for you, Pet, because it's quite clumsy. And you can open it here. Oh, what's that, Joshua? What is that?
[25:47] What's that? It's a picture. What's that a picture of? What's that a picture of? Can anyone tell me what that's a picture of?
[25:59] Mommy and daddy. Mommy and daddy and children. It's actually a picture of a family. And this is a picture of my family, yes.
[26:10] But it's a clue to why Jesus is the greatest gift. Because if we put our trust in Jesus, he brings us into the most amazing family that there ever was and ever will be.
[26:25] He brings us into God's family. So if we put our trust in Jesus, he gives us new life. He brings us into God's family.
[26:37] And we become God's children. That is the most amazing gift that there can be. However, boys and girls, if you don't trust in Jesus, you can't be part of God's family.
[26:53] And you can't be God's children. That would be very sad, wouldn't it? Now, I'm going to tell you all the reasons that we've come up with this morning about why Jesus is the greatest gift.
[27:07] He is the true light who shows us who God is. He is the rescuer who rescues us from our sins and allows us to be God's friends.
[27:18] And if we put our trust in him, he gives us new life. He brings us into God's family. And we can be God's children.
[27:30] Amazing. So boys and girls, I think we could just pray to say thank you to God for all of those things. Would that be okay? So put your hands in the air. Wave them like you just don't care.
[27:42] Open, shut them. Open, shut them. Give a little. Open, shut them. Open, shut them. Fold them in your lap. Dear Lord Jesus, we want to thank you for your amazing gift to us.
[27:55] We thank you that you are the true light who shows us who God is. We thank you that you can be our rescuer and that you can forgive us our sins and make us your friend.
[28:08] And we thank you, Lord, that if we trust in you, we can be given new life, be brought into your family and become your children. Please help us to trust you.
[28:21] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Right, boys and girls, you can go back to your mums and dads now. Thank you very much. You were great at listening. Thank you, Lynn.
[28:43] And it's lovely news that Lynn became a grandmother this week. And little Robin Ballingle was born Sunday. So, lovely news for Andy and Laura and, of course, the wider family.
[28:56] So, little Robin, the latest addition to the church family. So, thank you, Lynn. Well done, children. We'll be testing you later on what you've just learned. We're going to sing in a moment, so a little town of Bethlehem.
[29:07] And then, after that, we're going to watch a short video and a slideshow which are detailing our Christmas offering this year. This year, we are contributing to the building of a school in Pakistan with one of our partners, Imran, there in Pakistan.
[29:24] And it's a school for folk who are effectively working in slavery in the brick kilns in Pakistan. And education is really the only possible way out for their children.
[29:37] And so, it's a really important project. And, yeah, that's our Christmas offering. There are details on the screen about how we can give to that work this year. Many of us are facing, we're all facing, cost of living crises.
[29:50] But I imagine the problems we are facing, those folk in Pakistan would love to have those problems with the kind of lives they're having to live working there in the brick kilns. So, that is our offering this year.
[30:02] Details on the screen. But before we do that, we're going to sing Our Little Town of Bethlehem. Thank you.
[31:03] Thank you.
[31:33] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[32:04] Thank you. Thank you. Joyce Martin. Thank you. Thank you. Good.
[32:15] Thank you. Him. The End The End
[33:24] I will say with you that OM Pakistan has been running a few schools in the brick kiln communities and these communities are poor, they are marginalized and neglected.
[34:03] for this project and also for the remaining funds and needs to be met so that we are able to complete this project on time and help these communities in a better way. God bless you.
[34:33] Thank you. Thank you.
[35:33] Thank you.
[36:03] Thank you.
[36:33] Thank you. Well, do consider how you might be able to give to our Christmas offering this year. In a moment, we're going to watch one of our Changed Lives videos featuring some of the folk from the church congregation here. But before we watch that, we're going to sing our next carol from the squalor of a borrowed stable by the spirit and a virgin's birth. Let's sing together, and we'll watch our next Changed Lives video.
[37:02] Changedgrades aztje, Thank you.
[38:02] Thank you.
[38:32] Thank you. Thank you.
[39:32] Thank you. Thank you.
[40:04] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[40:16] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[40:28] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My parents were not Christian. They did not go to church either. Because of that, my knowledge of God and of Jesus was very, very limited.
[40:40] My mum and dad were hard working, loving and they did teach us good moral standards. You know, I was brought up in a happy home. Occasionally I was taken to church to go to Sunday school or I went with a neighbour.
[40:52] But other than that, I didn't really think or know very much about Jesus at all. When I was about 16, somebody from the youth fellowship asked me, did I want to come along to it?
[41:03] I didn't know any of them. There was lots of people who went there. So I thought, yeah, I'll go along. After a few weeks, there was an event and I heard the simple gospel. I say simple because I'd never heard of it before.
[41:17] I learnt things that night that I never knew. When I was in high school, I had a friend who invited me along to the local church to the Bible class. I went very reluctantly and very occasionally for a four year period.
[41:30] But the man who led the Bible class, a lovely, godly man called Willie Cumming, when I was 17, invited me along to Kelvin Hall to hear Lewis Palau speak.
[41:42] The man then spoke about how we are all sinners. I was 16 and didn't need much convincing that I was a sinner. So that was a bit scary.
[41:53] And he then told me, or he told people there that God had entered the world, that he took on flesh and that he had taken the judgment that there was going to be.
[42:06] And suddenly that felt real to me. And he made a call to see if anybody wanted to come along afterwards and commit their life to Jesus.
[42:18] And that's what I did. He became my saviour that night. And over the years since then, he's become my Lord as well. I can't really remember much of what he said that night. But what I did become aware of was I was a sinner and I needed a saviour.
[42:30] So I went forward and spoke to someone and prayed. When I came back through, Willie Cumming was there waiting and he had tears in his eyes. And he said, I've prayed for you since the day I met you.
[42:41] As we approach Christmas and we think of how God entered the world, that he took on flesh. And because of what he did when he was here, that his eye was always to go to the cross.
[42:58] That's just such a joyous thing when you're living here just now. We're told in 1 Peter that we are strangers here in the world. That this is where we, you know, this is not where we'll spend our eternal home.
[43:12] But we have an inheritance in heaven which is undefiled and God keeps that for us. And because of that, he sent the Lord Jesus, who willingly gave up glory and came to earth for us.
[43:25] So I think that is the, you know, you need to think of everything for Christmas. And it's not just the baby and the manger. He is our saviour. And he has promised for those who believe and trust in him that we'll be with him.
[43:40] It's a funny thing as I sometimes reflect as I get older and see folk who are older than me facing death. And to be able to say something to them that the gospel is eternal.
[43:53] That the best is still to come. That's just such an encouraging thing that the death isn't the end. And I do hope that when I get to that stage that somebody will say to me, remember how good the gospel is, that it's not just for this life, that it's eternal.
[44:12] And I think that all starts at Christmas. Well, that's good to hear from Stephen and Phyllis about their own testimony of the Lord.
[44:27] We're going to focus just for a few minutes on the words that Naomi read for us earlier in the service from the start of John's gospel. And I'm going to read those again and then just a brief address for the grownups.
[44:40] But if the children can listen carefully and if they can come and tell me at the end why I've talked about creepy crawlies, come and talk to me. So that's the thing to listen out for if you're a youngster and also the grownups.
[44:54] You want to come and fill me in. But let me read again these words from the beginning of John's gospel. He says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
[45:07] He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
[45:18] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
[45:30] Now Christmas is, so we're told by the adverts on TV, by the films we watch, a time of fun, festivities, joy, and light.
[45:43] And it is all those things, as we'll see. It is a time of joy and light and life. But it's only those things because Christmas, the very heart of Christmas, namely the birth of Jesus Christ, who we've been singing about.
[46:00] His coming is dealing with the very central problem humanity faces. Just as we saw there, Stephen and Phyllis talking about. He has come to deal with the very essence of humanity's problems.
[46:14] Christmas is only a cause for rejoicing, because the coming of Jesus into our world deals with the reality of the human condition. Christmas deals with reality, because Christ coming into the world is light entering our dark world.
[46:34] We saw with the kids' talk in the torch. Jesus brings light into our dark world. Now this talk of darkness, it can seem an old place, can't it, at this festive time of year.
[46:48] We want to escape into the lights and the lights and the presents, the Christmas trees, the gifts. We want to paper over family tensions and sadnesses.
[47:01] But if we're honest, we know they're lurking and they're likely to reemerge before Christmas pudding is brought out. The family tensions begin to rupture. But for many of us, Christmas isn't an escape from sadness.
[47:17] But actually, it's a reminder of it. As we wish that places at our Christmas table could be filled by those who are no longer there. You see, the reality of life in this world can't just be pretended away.
[47:33] January will come, along with the credit card bills and the slightly expanded waistline. And the passage we read earlier, the passage we read again, it gets to the very heart of what's really going on with the coming of Jesus Christ into our world.
[47:50] Why is there such a big deal about Christmas? Why do we celebrate it 2,000 years on? Well, it's because of the significance of what his birth meant.
[48:01] His coming into the world speaks of light and life. But I wonder if we found verse 5, the last verse I read, a bit jarring when it was read earlier.
[48:15] It says, the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it. It's a bit unsettling, isn't it? Suddenly, the writer, John, inserts this idea of darkness.
[48:27] Up until then, it's been about light and life. Why talk about darkness? In many ways, we distrust the dark, don't we? We don't like it.
[48:38] It brings uncertainty and danger. There are dark places we dare not go. Certainly in Glasgow, there are bits we want to avoid. And if you were to look at our world from space, you would think that we are doing all we can to eliminate darkness.
[48:54] Every year, we expand the square mileage of the earth covered in light by 2%. Every year, we're expanding the parts of the world that are covered in light.
[49:05] But according to the Bible, darkness is actually what we enjoy. You see, in Bible terms, darkness is an absence of life.
[49:19] It's an absence of Jesus. It's the absence of everything that is good. And we weren't designed to live in darkness. We were designed, we were made for relationship with God, as we heard from Lynn earlier.
[49:34] We were designed for that relationship. But it's a relationship that we have turned our backs on. And so, to darkness, we turn.
[49:46] And whilst we weren't made for darkness, the thing is, the longer you spend in the darkness, the more your eyes become accustomed to the gloom. And so, humanity, the Bible tells us, has become to enjoy the darkness.
[50:05] We've read from John's Gospel. And in chapter 3, John says these very penetrating words. He says, The light, that is Jesus, has come into the world.
[50:18] And people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light, lest his works should be exposed.
[50:32] You see, the sad reality is, as we know only too well, that whilst the light of God has shone out from the beginning into the hearts of men, mankind has actually persistently refused to see it and to understand.
[50:49] Our world has not understood the light. And actually, it's rejected us. And the reason for that, we've just read, is because Jesus, as the light of the world, will expose our hearts like a torch in the dark.
[51:05] It exposes what's there. And Jesus exposes us for who we really are. And who wants to be exposed? Who in this room would want the deep thoughts of our hearts to be exposed for everyone to see?
[51:20] We don't want people to see. We don't want to be exposed. Here comes the creepy crawly bit. My boys love to root around in the garden, under rocks.
[51:32] If we're out on a walk, they'll disappear under the undergrowth and be rummaging around under logs and seeing what they can find. And I'm sure you've seen it. You've lifted a rock, and what happens?
[51:45] Within about half a second, all the millipedes and the creepy crawlies have disappeared. They flee away, and they find another dark corner to go and hide in. They love the dark, and they flee the light.
[51:57] And that is what we are like, says John. He says, we are like that. We do not like the light. We love darkness.
[52:08] The light that is Jesus Christ has come into our world. And the thing is, people love the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. We don't like the thought of our hearts being exposed.
[52:22] The things we keep to ourselves. Things we know perhaps aren't quite right, but we've suppressed our conscience, and we do it anyway. It no longer provokes any sense of guilt.
[52:34] And if we're honest, we don't want to give those things up. We like doing things our way. And as the searching, penetrating beam of God's light brings to shine upon us, we, by nature, we recoil.
[52:51] We hide away. It's only by His grace at work in us that we begin to turn towards the light and not run away from us. See, John is very realistic here, isn't he?
[53:03] The world is a dark place. But more than that, deep down, part of us quite likes it. And that is the sober reality that Christmas faces us with.
[53:15] It's the reality that John, here, faces us with. And if we're honest, we know it's true. Our world feels very dark at the moment, doesn't it? Political instability.
[53:28] How many prime ministers have we had this year? Wars, inflation, tightening family budgets, strikes every day before Christmas. All is not well in our world.
[53:41] And the Bible's message at Christmas is not to bury our heads in the sand or to pretend the darkness of the world away. Rather, it deals with it head on. It is the theme of all good carols, which begin with gloom.
[53:59] I don't know if you noticed that, but many carols begin with the gloom, but they end with the bright light and joy of Jesus Christ. It is real joy. It is real joy.
[54:10] That is why Christmas is a time of joy and festivity. It's because Jesus comes to our dark world and brings real light, real hope. With the coming of this baby, Jesus Christ, into our world, we have God's answer to humanity's darkness.
[54:26] And there are two responses each of us can make to this reality, to the coming of Jesus into our world. You can walk into the light and so know the source of life, Jesus Christ.
[54:42] Or you can stay hidden in the shadows and live in darkness now and for all eternity. And John's appeal to each one of us is to turn, to turn to the light, to turn to Jesus and so know life.
[55:01] Don't turn away. Don't turn away from the light because the Bible tells us the light is ultimately victorious. It doesn't matter how much opposition there is to the light, the darkness will not overcome it.
[55:16] That's the resounding note at the end of verse 5, which I read earlier. The light defeats darkness. And that is ultimately true of the destiny of our world.
[55:27] The light will fully and finally shine in every corner. And the darkness will be no more. You see, darkness doesn't stand a chance in the face of light.
[55:41] Come into this room in the middle of the night. You can't see a thing. But you flick on the lights and every corner of this room is flooded in light. The darkness does not stand a chance.
[55:53] And so it is with the true darkness in our world. It doesn't stand a chance. Because Jesus, the Son of God, has entered our world bringing true light for everyone.
[56:06] The light Jesus Christ has shone and the darkness has been obliterated. That is why Christmas is a time of real joy.
[56:17] So these are big claims that John is making here at the start of his gospel. And these claims have implications for each and every one of us. In this building, in our city, and in the world.
[56:29] And John would urge you this Christmas to face the reality of darkness in our world.
[56:40] To face the reality of darkness in each one of our own hearts. But he would also urge us to respond to Jesus who is the light. To turn to him. To trust him.
[56:51] And to sow no life. And true joy. And in doing so, by turning to Jesus, we can know the true joy and light and life of this Christmas season.
[57:05] The abundance, the goodness of Christmas, is because of what Jesus has done. And that is a reason to rejoice. Because Jesus, the true light, as we heard with the children.
[57:20] And as John in his gospel reminds us, the light shines. And for all who would come to him, there is life and light.
[57:31] Forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Well, let me pray. And then we'll sing our final carol. Father, we do thank you for the real joy of this Christmas time.
[57:45] But we thank you that it's joy in the face of the realities of darkness. Not pretending them away. But joy because Jesus comes as the answer to the real darkness in our world and in our own hearts.
[58:01] So give each one of us real reason to rejoice this Christmas. Because of the Lord Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us. So help us to do that, Lord. Help us to trust in him, to turn to him.
[58:14] We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, we'd love for you to join with us again. We have our Christmas Eve service here on Christmas Eve, Saturday, 5 p.m.
[58:30] I'm sure the heat will be working. And again, on Christmas Day, we meet at 11 o'clock at our Bath Street location in the city center. 11 a.m. on Christmas Day. We'd love to see you.
[58:41] And in the new year, if Christianity is something new to you, or perhaps your return to church after a little while, then we have the life course, which is designed as an introduction to the Christian faith.
[58:52] Runs for three weeks. Starts Monday the 16th of January. That's for anyone. We'd love you to come along to that. You can find details on the website about the life course. But do come and join us again.
[59:03] We'd love to see you. There's tea and coffee at the end to enjoy, so please don't rush away. But let's finish with our final carol, Hark the Herald, The Angels Sing. Let's sing together. Let's sing together.
[59:14] Let's sing together. Let's sing together.
[59:36] Christ of momentsickly, grace embTSc � ouvrir I do the proud닛 gel from God???
[59:56] The equivalent of autumn Christ of momentsickly, Christ of Adam and Bishop Amen.
[60:35] Amen. Amen.
[61:35] Amen. And so may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and evermore.
[62:16] Amen. Amen.
[63:05] Amen. Amen.
[64:05] Amen.