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 the last song that we sang began with the line do you feel the world is broken that verse finished

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 with a question do you wish that you could see it all made new i would argue that this

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 this song this new hymn deserves its place on a christmas playlist because

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 it does two things for us it puts into words what i guess we are all painfully aware of

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 all that is not right all that is broken with our world we live with an ongoing pandemic we

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 hear of a ongoing migrant crises that is racism that is global warming but perhaps too it gives

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 voice to to some of the the longings in our own hearts when we are aware of all that is broken

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 about us perhaps our anger or our selfishness maybe our sense of emptiness and a longing for

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 ourselves to be made new perhaps many of us we feel the darkness even at christmas and we find

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 ourselves longing for hope but wonderfully that that song also took us to the good news of the

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 christian faith because it took us to jesus and the promise of the everlasting king who will rescue and

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 who will restore the worthy one who has come the king who reigns the one who will come again to

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 complete god's saving plan for the world his plan that will bring all his people to be with himself

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 forever that king that worthy king is jesus and sometimes we need times like this to remind ourselves

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 of who jesus is because perhaps you know an experience like this maybe coming out of lockdown perhaps or

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 maybe you just haven't seen relatives for a while especially thinking about children if you haven't

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 seen a child for a while what happens in our minds they are frozen in time aren't they they're frozen at

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 a particular age two months two years whatever it might be whatever they are they're still growing and

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 developing but we don't see it and we forget and so they're frozen memories and i think this can happen

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 some things with jesus too every year perhaps we dust off the portrait of jesus in the manger

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 but there he stays until the next candles by candlelight rolls around well our two readings from

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 luke luke who wrote his gospel was a doctor and a careful historian they provided two snapshots

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 of the early life of king jesus when at his birth one when he was just eight days old but i hope with

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 these portraits that we'll be able to see more of the story of king jesus so that we can begin to

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 understand and appreciate again why he is presented by the angels as good news of great joy for all

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 the people to as it were unwrap the story behind the christmas story so that first portrait witnesses

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 king jesus uh king jesus enter into an aching world in those short verses at the beginning of

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 luke 2 we we learn some remarkable things about jesus birth jesus who is called emmanuel which means

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 god with us you hear that a lot in christmas carols emmanuel means god with us and as god with us

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 and we notice that he didn't stay at arm's length from us that we notice that he doesn't stay isolated

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 from suffering and sadness jesus is presented in the bible as totally god and totally man but he's never

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 floating six inches off the ground immune from pain and suffering but from his first breath

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 his story shows why he can both sympathize and say jesus was born into a jewish family at a time when

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 the jews were being oppressed by the roman empire he is part of a people group who had been suffering

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 for centuries at the hands of various world empires jesus was born in bethlehem i know nothing town a back

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 and beyond kind of place when it came to power and influence within his country and he was born

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 to mary a poor teenage virgin girl who would wrap jesus in swaddling clothes and place him in a feeding

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 trough for the animals now we might expect god's king to arrive in ultimate luxury but instead where's

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 his first bed to be found it's among the noise it's among the dirt it's among the animal sounds

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 we might expect god's eternal king to be welcomed and honored but his first visitors a group of despised

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 shepherds and when the king hears king headed hears about the birth of jesus he wants to destroy him in

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 the cradle we might expect when god's king came that he would demand to be served but instead we hear jesus

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 say that he came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many

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 jesus like many millions still today was a child born into poverty and adversity

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 and yet on that first christmas angel songs ring out from the heavens the child wrapped up in the

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 manger is none other than god's promised eternal savior king the one who's coming will reveal to us

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 the glory of god's love the one who brings joy and peace to all with eyes to see him the hope for the

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 world wrapped up in jesus the child in the manger the one has come to be good news for a broken and a

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 hurting world well luke then takes us eight days later into a new setting he takes us to the temple in

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 jerusalem and to a different messenger not the angels this time but an elderly man simeon who knew the spirit of

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 advent we know boys and girls don't we advent is a time of waiting and expecting and anticipating

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 well that was simeon because he was waiting for god's king to arrive and he was led by god's holy

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 spirit to speak about jesus the king to speak words about his future

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 again i imagine for those of us who are parents we will have found ourselves from time to time

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 reflecting perhaps asking the question i wonder how my son or my daughter will turn out when they

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 grow up i wonder what they'll do for a living what will they enjoy who will they meet what will their

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 friends what will their family be like perhaps we have some anxiety as we think what world will future

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 generations inherit what we find here as baby jesus is taken to the temple as an eight-day-old infant

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 elderly simeon takes him in his arms it praises jesus for all to hear but also makes predictions about

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 jesus future this old man simeon says to god god i can rest in peace now because god's promised

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 savior king has now arrived and i've seen him in fact i've held him in my arms simeon spoke about the

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 light of god's glory and love shining through the darkness for all the world to see

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 luke tells us that mary and joseph were stunned to hear these words and it's no

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 wonder these glorious words spoken about the child born in the manger

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 but as our reading went on and as simeon continued to speak there was a darker tone there was a more

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 somber tone to his words he anticipated that jesus future would include him being spoken against

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 being despised being rejected he will divide people some people would worship him and some people would

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 cry crucify him mary the mother of jesus who wrapped him in swaddling clothes will watch her own son

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 be crucified and wrapped in burial clothes

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 simeon warned her of the sword of grief that would pierce her own soul

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 as nails pierced the savior's hands and feet

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 and when we think about simeon's words and the angel's words we wonder how can this be are the angel's

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 words untrue how can the eternal king die and why

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 how can jesus bring peace and joy to the world if he is to suffer and die

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 see mary doesn't know yet but jesus god's promised king who died on the cross would be

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 unwrapped from those grave clothes by the power of god on the third day at his resurrection

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 hope would live because jesus is alive

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 so to consider these portraits of baby jesus

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 and to consider his story as we find it recorded by dr luke our historian

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 begs the question why why did the son of god become one of us

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 why did he endure all that suffering and die in agony

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 why did the everlasting king become the humble servant who laid down his life as a ransom for many

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 and the answer the wonderful answer is love god's love for the world that he created

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 the love of god for broken hurting people who need salvation who need to be made new

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 we read in the bible that this good and loving god made us as people in his image to know and to enjoy him

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 but the sad reality of the human race is that we have turned our backs on our god

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 rejecting him and his good rule for our lives

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 and this good god cannot leave that sin and rebellion unpunished

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 but in his goodness and love what does god do god sent his son jesus

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 to come into the world to walk in our shoes to be

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 our substitute to live the perfectly obedient life that we are called to live but fail to do

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 and then to die as a willing sacrifice

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 taking the punishment for our rejecting of father god

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 before jesus would rise again in victory

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 that's why jesus came

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 this is the story behind the christmas story

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 this is christmas unwrapped this is good news for the hurting for the anxious for the unknown

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 for those seeking something more

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 the bigger picture of jesus god's true and worthy king

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 and what we discover in the good news of the bible is that we are called to place our trust

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 in jesus as savior and king and when we do that we're made new from the inside out

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 to receive jesus is to receive forgiveness from sin

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 is to receive peace with god

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 a welcome as his child

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 the joy of living the life we were made for

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 with him for all eternity

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 that that's the good news of great joy

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 for all people this christmas

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 now we're in a few moments we are going to sing again one last time but before we do that

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 let me invite you to do a few things

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 first of all please stick around for some refreshments afterwards

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 chance to enjoy some time together

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 the only thing i would say is that the the serving hatch is is over to my right at the back of the hall

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 if you get your drink and maybe move away to the other side just to make sure there's plenty of space that'd be wonderful

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 um

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 let me invite you as well if you have any questions about the christian faith

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 or about our church

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 and you can either speak to me afterwards or speak to the person that brought you

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 or indeed pick up a one of our welcome leaflets

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 get in touch with us via the website if you have any questions

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 that you have

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 and also

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 please let me invite you to help yourself to some of our christmas books

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 we have loads of christmas books to give away

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 there are a selection again on my right for for kids

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 just in the hall and then on the left

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 a whole bunch for adults there

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 a small gift

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 from us as a church for you

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 let me particularly recommend this one

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 this is called is christmas unbelievable

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 uh... written by rebecca mccloughlin

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 a very short very accessible

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 uh... study into the

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 so i suppose examining

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 uh... is uh... the christian faith

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 the christmas story

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 uh... historically reliable

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 and why does it matter

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 um... so there's loads of those

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 uh... please take some

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 also if you have

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 uh... friends

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 family

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 if you're a bit late in your christmas shopping

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 uh... we have lots

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 uh... people would appreciate that

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 i am sure

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 and we also have copies of luke's gospel

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 uh... so we read a little bit of luke's account of jesus life

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 we have some more

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 again on the table that we'd love for you to take away

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 if you don't have one to read

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 uh... i think that's all that i need to say

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 uh... save to say let's stand

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 uh... for our final three carols

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 uh... silent night

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 joy to the world

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 and all come

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 all ye faithful

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 uh...

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 uh...

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 uh...

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 uh...

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 uh...

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 uh...

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 uh...

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 uh

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 uh

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 uh

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 uh

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 uh