Hello Church,
Praise God for a fantastic time together last Sunday as we gathered to sing some great carols and celebrate God’s goodness in sending his Son into the world. Not only was that first Christmas a great event in history, it is God’s story that we are a part of. And we had a full house with 180 people present, 40 of whom are not part of our church. But these numbers only matter because they represent God’s ongoing work in people’s lives. There was a family who were invited at school pick up one afternoon. A neighbour who experienced church for the first time. A school classmate who joined in for the fun. A friend from a sporting club who joined us last year for the Christmas lunch and was glad to receive an invitation again this year. Family members and colleagues who don’t yet know Jesus, but are open to exploring his significance for them. Plus a few people we’ve not had any prior connection with but heard about us somehow! Each one is a story of God’s work of bringing people under the sound of the gospel. Each one is also a story of God at work through his people as we speak of our hope in Christ, or simply share about what we’re doing on the weekend and extend the invitation to come and check out church.
What a precious treasure God has entrusted to us! It is the message of the hope of eternal life through faith in his Son, who was sent to us in such humble circumstances and now reigns in a glory that will one day be seen by all. Please pray that God will use our Christmas Day celebration to plant and water the seed of the gospel in those who don’t yet know Jesus – as well as encouraging those of us who do. We start at 9:00am on Christmas Day, so please plan to arrive early and welcome the visitors that God brings along.
Finally, a reminder that this Sunday we meet at the usual time of 10:00am to continue through Matthew’s gospel – with a great chance to reflect on the significance of the visit of the wise men (it turns out they’re more than just a silhouette on a Christmas card).
See you on Sunday!
Simon