Thank you.
We have been at this church since 1981, this building.
So this year we're hoping that we'll redevelop.
So maybe next year this place will be a building site.
Hopefully from then on, same time, same place, two years time.
Let me thank the readers and musicians.
It sounds terrific.
I wonder how you would describe Christmas.
I wonder if I said you put Christmas into ten words, what would it be?
How would you describe Christmas in ten words?
Could you sum it up?
There's a friend of mine who's a minister in a church in central London.
And they've been asking people who work in businesses and offices in the city,
how they would sum up Christmas in under ten words.
Let me give you some of them.
There's one here, a one word answer, which is just the word expensive.
There's another one, which is fun, friends, family, food, fruitcake, fairy lights and festivities.
There's another one, the children seeing the joys on their faces.
Here's another, a more poignant one, memories.
There's one that I won't read actually because the language is a little bit colourful.
But it was to do with presents and booze, you can probably guess what it said.
But for a few moments, and before we sing our final carol,
I want to take you back to the very first Christmas, where it all started.
It's the message from the angels to the shepherds.
Nine words in the middle of Luke 2,
which take us back right to the original meaning of Christmas.
The original message to the shepherds, and so to us this evening.
Let me read you the whole sentence from chapter 2 and verses 10 and 11.
The angels say, do not be afraid,
for I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.
Today in the town of David, a saviour has been born to you.
He is Messiah.
He is Lord.
You might think that's much longer than nine words, isn't it?
Let me give you the nine words.
Good news of great joy for all the people.
We've got small children.
This Christmas is our daughter Phoebe's first Christmas.
She's 11 months.
And when you're 11 months, thankfully presents are not very important, are they?
And you'll notice with very, very little children,
they are as happy with the wrapping paper or the packaging as they are with the gifts.
So you spend ages selecting the Peppa Pig onesie,
or the Thomas the Tank Engine toy.
But actually when you give them to the little babies, what are they interested in?
They're not really interested in the gifts.
What they care about is the bright, shiny wrapping paper.
And wouldn't it be a tragedy if as adults or as young people we made the same mistake?
That we missed the main gift of Christmas.
For the sake of all the wrapping paper and all the trimmings and all the packaging that goes with it.
So nine words that describe Christmas.
Good news of great joy for all the people.
It's five into three very easily.
The first thing is good news.
It is good news.
Now we are used to, aren't we, hearing an awful lot of bad news on our TV screen, on our internet pages.
We are used to bad news.
In fact, the last couple of months have been probably more tragic than usual, haven't they?
You think back to the bombs in Paris.
You think of the war in Syria.
You think of the shootings in the US.
Stabbings on the tube.
And actually, I think that the shepherds in that passage in Luke 2 that was read to us weren't expecting good news either.
When these huge angels arrived in the sky.
In fact, it says in the verse before, it says they were terrified when they saw them.
But they are told, do not be afraid.
I bring you good news.
I don't know what you think of the message of Christianity.
I don't know what kind of word association would come into your mind when I say the word Christianity.
But Christianity, at its core, is good news.
It's not something to be afraid of.
Wonderful good news tonight in a world of bad news.
Secondly, it's good news of great joy.
And that same tone is carried on right the way through Luke 2.
It's news of great joy.
It's something to celebrate.
It's something, Christianity, which makes you sin.
Why is it such good news of great joy?
Well, the rest of the sentence tells you.
It is good news of great joy for all the people.
Because today, in the town of David, a saviour has been born to you.
The Messiah.
The Lord.
The royal town of David is Bethlehem.
That's what it is.
And this is a king who is born to be Messiah.
He is the long-awaited king.
And we've read from Genesis, and from Isaiah, and from Micah.
500, 800 years.
Even before that, they were looking for this rescuer.
This saviour.
The people have been waiting for centuries.
So he is no ordinary baby.
And as I said earlier, we had a baby born.
I mean, our family in January.
There's been a couple of other babies born in the church.
And all babies bring joy, don't they?
All babies bring joy.
They bring sleepless nights.
They bring nappies.
They bring occasional trips to the hospital.
But lots of joy.
But this is no ordinary baby.
This is a king.
This is the Messiah.
But also, he is a saviour.
Today, in the town of David, our verse says,
A saviour has been born to you.
I wonder what the words come to your mind when you think of saviour.
When you think of rescuer.
When I think of rescue, I think of the AA.
Or the RAC, isn't it?
I'm not very good with mechanics.
But I think to be an RAC man, or an AA man,
it would be the coolest job, wouldn't it?
They ride around in these great kind of orange vans,
or luminous motorbikes.
They seem to have these great kind of outfits that they arrive in,
which are slightly spacey.
It would be a wonderful job, wouldn't it?
So let's just imagine.
Let's imagine you're driving home for Christmas.
It is freezing.
Unlike this December.
We'll throw in some snow as well, just for good measure.
But suddenly you have a problem with your car.
You're driving in the fast lane,
but you notice that you can't accelerate.
So you move into the middle lane.
You think, oh, it must be just the hill.
But as you put your foot on the accelerator again,
nothing happens.
And suddenly you find yourself at 60 mile per hour,
50 mile per hour,
40 mile per hour,
and you're in the slow lane.
It's at 20 mile per hour with your kids in the back,
shouting, are we there yet?
For the 15th time,
when you realise there's something really wrong with the car.
It's one of those Belgian lorries
with huge great floodlights seemingly right on your tail.
And you feel like you're going backwards.
People are flashing their lights at you
because you're going so slow.
And so you indicate with all your family there,
and you pull over to the hard shoulder.
You know what it's like when you're on the side of the motorway.
You know you can't stay in the car.
So you get the kids,
wife, husband, or the boyfriend, or the girlfriend,
out of the car.
And it is chucking it down with snow.
It is windy.
And you are there,
perched on the embankment.
It's absolutely freezing.
You've run the RAC,
but it feels like you've been there for four hours.
Nobody is glad to be on the side of the motorway.
And then suddenly,
in the distance,
you see them.
The orange van
with the flashing lights.
And they arrive,
and he steps out,
like this kind of a donet swearing,
a leather onesie,
and a shiny helmet.
And he comes over,
he fiddles with your car for a bit,
and he fixes it.
He gives you even a cup of hot chocolate from his flask.
He is a rescuer,
isn't he?
And you say,
you've rescued me.
You've saved Christmas.
You can't beat the AA.
The AA is all about rescue.
And that's what Christmas is all about.
It's all about rescue.
It's easy to miss the significance of Christmas,
isn't it?
All the festivities,
the fun,
the friends,
the fruitcake,
the family,
all the food.
And it's easy to miss the big point of Christmas,
that Jesus came to be a saviour.
He came to be a saviour.
Not from the hard shoulder,
not from the embankment on the side of a motorway,
but a saviour from sin.
Who are sinners?
If you live where I live,
you've got the people who fly tip.
They're the sinners,
isn't they?
They're the really awful people that you can never catch.
Fly tippers.
Or you think,
people who steal,
I read this this week,
in 2013,
the Centre for Retail Research
estimated that
£978 million of business
was lost to shoplifting
and employee theft
during the six weeks
running up to Christmas.
It's astonishing, isn't it?
£978 million.
Lost the fever.
But before I start pointing the finger at others,
I notice that there are three fingers
pointing back at me on there.
And I notice too,
as I understand something of the Bible's message,
that actually I am a thief as well.
I've not stolen from M&S.
I don't fly tip,
I promise.
But actually,
each one of us steals
on a daily basis.
We steal God's place.
God is the one who made this world.
God is the one who made you.
And God is the one who sits on the throne
and we try to steal his place
as if we should be in charge
of our lives.
As if we should run our life
without any reference to him.
So we ignore him.
And the Bible calls that sin.
Living as if we are in charge
in a world that belongs to God.
But the wonderful good news
of this message
of the first Christmas
is that there is another F.
That it's not just
festivity and family
and food and fruitcake
and fairy lights.
We'll all be enjoying
all those things this Christmas.
But it's possible for you
to enjoy an even more wonderful F
this season.
It's the F, forgiveness.
Jesus is the Saviour and the King.
And then the final thing
in these words
there is good news
of great joy
for all the people.
The Saviour King
has come for
all kinds of people.
I think that's the point
of the shepherds.
You might not have asked that question.
Why the shepherds?
Why are they included in the story?
Well when Princess Charlotte
of Cambridge was born
wasn't she?
In May.
When she was born in that hospital
she was surrounded by
the top surgeons of the country.
on royalties.
She was born in one of the best hospitals.
And it was announced
wasn't it
on a framed piece of paper
on a golden easel
outside of Buckingham Palace.
When our little baby figure is born
and seemingly when every other baby
is born isn't it?
We announce it
don't we?
By text.
You get one of those texts.
We're delighted
to announce.
We're overjoyed
to tell you.
Or you get an email
attached with loads of photos
of a slightly bedraggled man
holding a baby.
When Princess Charlotte was born
surrounded by top surgeons
and royalty
announced
on a framed piece of paper
on a golden easel.
But when Jesus Christ was born
he was royalty.
He was royalty.
The royal family of God
God's son
was born in a cow shed.
Surrounded by animals.
Yes wise men
came from the east
bringing gold and frankincense
and myrrh.
But the first people
to know about the arrival
of this baby
were the shepherds.
And I don't need to remind you
the kind of people
that shepherds work with.
They worked with dumb
smelly animals.
Back then
the shepherds
were often
the poorest of society.
They were really
on the margins.
They were outcasts.
The angels
could have announced
couldn't they
the birth
of the child
came to politicians
to media outlets
to famous celebrities.
But they announced
the good news
of that first Christmas
to shepherds
with pretty
anti-social
working hours.
And some of you
can relate to that.
You say
well actually
I'm not a church goer.
I don't do
this religious stuff.
But could this message
of Christmas
be for me?
I work in a hospital.
I work in an office.
I work in a school.
I sell the big issue.
These words tell us
that it is good news
of great joy
for all people.
No one is too bad
for Jesus.
It's possible
to be too good
but no one is too bad.
Good news
of great joy
for all the people.
How do we respond?
Let me give you
three things
really briefly
as I finish.
How do you respond?
First of all
stop.
Stop.
Maybe we shouldn't
just launch
into another Christmas
on autopilot.
I know nothing
about Star Wars.
I've never been to
see any of the films.
I think I might have
been to see one
but I've forgotten it.
But I know nothing
about it.
I can't really tell
the difference between
Star Trek and Star Wars.
It just has passed me by.
I never had the models
as children.
And so this week
has been this incredible
bombardment
from every angle
of you must be
into Star Wars.
What do I have to do
if I want to get into it?
I've got to stop.
I've got to look
who Darth Vader is
and who Luke Skywalker is
and CP30
or whoever these people are.
Harrison Ford is in it
I think.
I need to stop
and look
and I need to go
to the cinema
and see it.
And maybe with Christmas
actually you need to stop
and not just go through
it on autopilot.
Grab one of the books
that will be there
as you go out.
Stop.
And think about
Jesus Christ
because if he is
who he says he is
there's nothing
more relevant for you.
Stop.
Second thing is ask.
Ask those questions.
If you're a visitor tonight
probably I've raised
more questions to you
than I've talked once
tonight.
The virgin birthed
angels
a speaking God
who becomes one of us.
And it does raise
lots of questions
doesn't it?
Maybe this seems like
fairy stories to you.
But actually the claim
of the Bible is
this is history.
Verifiable history
that you can build
your life upon.
So why not
go to the person
who brought you
or the person
who gave you the flower
and ask them
those questions.
Or a friend
come back on a Sunday
morning or an evening.
Say to one of the people
here
let's go to the pub
and talk about it.
Stop.
Ask.
And then lastly
give.
If you're a visitor
to the church tonight
you might be thinking
well I knew
we'd get to this.
I knew we'd.
Churches are always
wanting your money
aren't they?
That's what they're after.
Give.
Let me explain
what I mean by that.
I don't want your money
and neither does God.
We're not taking
a collection this evening.
The mince pies
are free.
In fact you can take
loads of them all.
And of course
I'm saying
give presents away.
Be generous
this Christmas.
But the giving
that the Bible
demands of you
is that you
give yourself.
what God
wants from you
tonight
is not that you
suddenly change
and become
a better person.
That you stop
overeating
at Christmas.
But what God
wants from you
is he wants you
to give yourself.
What the Bible
asks of you
is that you
hand over
control of your
life to
the Lord Jesus.
That you
acknowledge
that he is
good news
of great joy
because he is
saviour
and Lord.
He is boss.
And actually
it's a frightening
thing to do
isn't it?
But Christmas
demands that you
give of yourself
and come under
his control
and live with
God in his
rightful place.
Because God
has so loved
the world
that he's given
his one and only
son.
That whoever
believes in him
shall not
perish
but have
eternal life.
Stop.
Ask.
Give.
Let's bow our
heads in prayer.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father
we thank you
that the
Bible teaches
us a message
of good news
of great joy
of a saviour
who is born
who is Lord
of all.
And I pray
for each one
of us
wherever we
are at
in this
journey
whether we've
never heard
anything like
this before
whether we've
heard it many
times
whether we are
full of more
questions than
answers
that your
Holy Spirit
would take
these truths
and apply them
deeply in our
lives
and not let us
go through
another Christmas
on autopilot
for we pray
this in Jesus
name.
Amen.