Skip to main content

A Christmas message from our Lay Pastoral Visitor and Co-ordinator

Image
By
Dear Friends,                                    
Joyeux Noel!

A favourite group of mine is the Carnival Band with Maddy Prior. They have a song called ‘Stuff’. Some of the words are:-

Christmas time is here again,
Time for family, time for friends,
Time for church bells, time for snow,
Tinsel, robins, firelight glow,
There is time, but not enough –
To get ourselves a load of stuff.

The song goes on to parody our greed at Christmas. 

During my Local Preacher training, we were introduced to the Charles Wesley’s Hymn (H & P 109) Let Earth & Heaven Combine. The last two lines in the first verse are:-

Our God contracted to a span,
 incomprehensibly made man.

For me, this had a profound effect in my walk with the Lord. The fact that our God was reduced to a hand span (you can hold a baby in the span of your hand) and that we cannot comprehend why he did this. Yet he did this because he LOVES us. He gave his Son to be born and die for everyone.
As Christians, how do we see this season of Advent and Christmas?  Advent (Lat. adventus, “coming, arrival) is the time of year when we prepare for the arrival of the Christ Child. But how do we prepare for this? This preparation can take many forms. It often involves the infamous School Nativity Play, or is our Christmas tree better than our neighbours?  Or as Christians, do we feel superior to the worldliness of Advent and Christmas?  I wonder what kind of picture of Jesus we present, not just in our churches but as individual Christians.

We see many nativity scenes presented to us. A very wise minister once asked our church, What is your Image of Jesus? Is it the baby in the manger? Then, over the years, has your image of Jesus changed? If it has not, then you are not maturing in the faith. Jesus changed from a baby to a man who died on the cross in pain for YOU. If we are growing in faith, then Jesus must grow with us. In this Advent season, I urge everyone to examine themselves and see where we are with Jesus.
We have a wonderful opportunity at this time of year to share Jesus with the world, both as Churches and Individuals.  H&P 465 says:-

 We have a gospel to proclaim,
 Good news for all throughout the earth.

In this time of the year, let us spread the word ‘The Christ has come’, wherever we are.

A very Happy Christmas to everyone.

John Wilson

Lay Pastoral Visitor and Co-ordinator

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message from the Link

By
D ISSUE 16 OCTOBER 2012 ear Friends How many times have you heard people say in your church ‘Well, I didn’t know about that!’  Quickly followed by, ‘Well, if you read the notices …’ Communication within churches can be wonderful, it can be a little frustrating and it can be never quite what we had hoped.  The same is true across the Circuit, and very soon we will be reviewing methods and means of communication.  Part of this review may include looking at ‘The Link’ and ‘Outlook’ in the light of our focus upon Mission.  For example, it may be that we move more towards what has happened and how it worked to encourage churches to think about the stories that they have to share, rather than being a notice sheet of things to come. Which leads me to ask, have we ever wondered about who it is we are trying to communicate to, and about what?  For example, there have been many adverts in ‘ The Link’ about coffee mornings and cake....
Post a Comment
Read more

Fairtrade Summer Fair - 31 May 2014

By
Did you know that it is Fairtrade ’s 20th birthday this year? Yes, 2014 marks 20 years since the first Fairtrade product was sold in the UK. In that time, Fairtrade supporters have helped make huge progress, so that millions of farmers, workers and their families now have a brighter future. To celebrate this milestone, we will be having a: Fairtrade Summer Fair at Calverley Methodist Church on Saturday 31st May from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.  Please come along and give your support. There will be refreshments, Fairtrade tasting, a quiz with prize and lots of lovely Fairtrade products for sale.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Spirit of the Christmas Truce of WW1 Relived

By
The Spirit of the Christmas Truce of WW1 Relived During the 1st World War on Christmas Day1914 an amazing thing happened. There was a truce just for that day. Germans and the British stopped fighting and started singing carols. They came out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy. Photographs of families were shown to each other, small gifts were exchanged. Then they played a game of FOOTBALL! Just for that day it was PLAY not WAR! In remembrance of those men, and, their hopes for the Peace to come: Football Match 1.30 pm - 4.00 pm Sunday 10 November 2013 Bradford's Centenary Square Reflections, Poetry and Music on the theme of peace and war 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm The Delius Centre, Great Horton Road Come and join us!
Post a Comment
Read more