Advent - week 4

Yesterday was the fourth and final Sunday in Advent - it was also our Carol Service here at CBC.

So far in this mini series of Advent posts we have briefly looked at the themes of hope, peace and joy. To complete the set we need to focus on love.

Certainly at Christmas time these are themes that are not exclusively linked to people of faith - they are seen as attainable seasonal ideals within our wider culture. You only need to watch a few Christmas adverts, or watch a few Christmas films to know that our society is looking for hope, joy, peace and love at this time of year.



And it expects to be able to find it. But as the wise men discovered - you won't find what you're looking for unless you're looking in the right place.

Presumably, this advert from John Lewis, is encouraging us to show someone that they are loved this Christmas by sending a gift - but the Man on the Moon is still alone at the end of the advert. He now knows that someone knows he exists - but he is still alone.

Part of the good news of great joy of Christmas is that we are no longer alone. Jesus was given the name Emmanuel - which means 'God with us'. And whilst sin separates us from God - Christmas reminds us that God came to earth to be born as a little baby, in order to make it possible for the divide between us and God to be bridged. 

God didn't just send a gift - he came himself. And he promises to be with us what ever it is that we're going through this Christmas. He doesn't just see it from far off - he walks the road with us. 


God demonstrates his love for us by coming to earth to live with us and ultimately to die for us - not by sending a gift to show us that he's thinking of us.

Reading the Bible in 2016

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about The Bible Project's 'Read Scripture' reading plan and video resources.

Here's another little video that they have released to explain what they're doing and why you might want to be involved.

If you want to find out how to download a printer friendly reading plan and sign up to their email alerts you'll need to click here.




One of our seven core values at CBC is that we are biblical. We will only encounter God in the pages of the Bible if we read it - which is one of the reasons it is so hard at times - the enemy will do anything to make sure that our Bibles stay closed. If you're looking for a Bible reading programme for the coming year, and want to read through the whole Bible, this looks a really good resource, and the videos are going to be a great help to understanding some of the more challenging books in the Bible as well as offering the occasional nudge and encouragement to keep going.

Another of our core values is that we are prayerful. One of the things that excites me most about this programme is the way it wants to develop the daily habit of praying through the Psalms. 

Our vision talks about becoming a ...community... My experience is that when I have taken part in a through the Bible reading programme in the past, I have benefited most when I have done it with other people. If you're a part of CBC and wanting to follow this programme I'd encourage you to sign up to do it with others. If you're not a part of CBC then find someone who lives near you to do it with - or get in touch and we can think about setting up a virtual group.

Which is the odd one out?

Which is the odd one out? That's the question I asked at this morning's school Carol Service.

Predictably most of the children, I reckon about 80%, went for Father Christmas - knowing that the big guy dressed in red probably didn't make an appearance in the Bible story, whereas the other five probably have something to do with the 'real' meaning of Christmas.

But the correct answer is not Father Christmas. The correct answer is the manger.

Of these six images only the manger is mentioned in the Bible account of the Christmas story. 

Surprising?

We then went on to talk about other surprises in the Christmas story.

Mary was a surprising choice for such an important role, a peasant girl in a small village.

The shepherds were a surprising choice as the first to hear about Jesus and the first to tell others. If you wanted a popular and reliable witness you certainly didn't ask a first century shepherd.

The 'wise men' - really they were astrologers and we don't know how many of them there were - were surprised. They turned up in the capital city at the palace looking for this new born king but found the young boy living about 5 miles away in poverty in a little house.

But the biggest surprise in the story? That it happened - that God came as a baby, to be born into poverty, to grow up and about thirty years later, to die - to demonstrate God's love for me. That's the biggest surprise in this story - that God loves us.

Feel free to stop reading at this point - that's a summary of the assembly - but if you're interested in knowing a bit more about the donkey or the stable then you might like to read on.

For some of us it might come as quite a surprise to find out that none of the other five are part of the original story. Father Christmas - obviously isn't. 

Most of us probably know that 25th December isn't Jesus' actual birthday but instead was chosen as the 3rd/4th century church took over a pagan festival. Depending on what you read you get different details about when and which festival but many have links to the winter solstice, to light, marking the shortest day in the year and the 'rebirth' of the sun. Given John's comments about Jesus being the 'light of the world', and 'the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it' this would seem a good choice. We have no idea as to Jesus' actual birthday - but not many peasant boys did back then. [It is also true that no where in the New Testament are we told to celebrate Jesus' birth - whereas we are told to remember and commemorate his death - but that's a whole different post.]

So the donkey - surely there was a donkey. How did Mary get to Bethlehem if not on a 'Little donkey, little donkey'? She may have gone by donkey, she may have had to walk. But walking 70 miles at 9 months pregnant? (I'm guessing 70 miles on the back of a donkey wouldn't be much fun either.) But where does it say that Mary gave birth within hours of arriving in Bethlehem, following a desperate search for somewhere to stay? They could have been there for weeks before Jesus was born. But there is no mention of a donkey.

But the stable and the inn keeper - surely they're a part of the story? Sorry - but not necessarily. 

If you have a modern translation of Luke 2:7 you'll see that there was no 'guest room' available for Mary and Joseph - rather than older translations which talk of there being no place at the 'inn'. The word translated guest room/inn is only used in one other context in the New Testament - to talk about the guest room where Jesus ate the last supper with his disciples. When the good Samaritan takes the injured man to an inn - that's a different word altogether. So Mary and Joseph were probably staying with relatives, but because there was no other available space in the house they were staying in the part of the house where the animals were kept during the night - hence the reason for the manger. The animals would have been kept inside the house at night in order to keep them safe from harm. 

But - there is a lot that we simply don't know about Jesus' birth - we are simply not told. And a lot that we think we do know comes from Christmas cards or Christmas Carols, rather than the New Testament.

But what we do know is that Jesus was born in order to save us from our sins. We know that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus. That's the real surprise of the story.

A re-newed vision

Back in the middle of October we began a period of praying and fasting at CBC specifically focusing on God's vision for his church here in this place. Then on Wednesday 25th November we came together as a church and shared the various thoughts that we had as we looked at three specific questions:

• Who is God calling us to be?
• Who is God calling us to reach?
• How does God want us to do this?

It was great to be able to present a new vision at the Members' Meeting last night - which draws from this time of prayer, conversations with different people, and the discussion and feedback from the 25th. If you weren't able to make the meeting yesterday then here's what you missed.

Our Vision

We are seeking to be an authentic community of disciples, becoming more like Jesus - walking in step with God, alongside each other and seeing lives transformed.

Our Values

Everything that we do and say is shaped by our seven core values:

• Loving
• Welcoming
• Missional
• Servant-hearted
• Biblical
• Spirit-led
• Prayerful

As we introduce this new vision over the next few months we will be explaining how this will impact what we do, and hopefully we will begin to see how we make choices and decisions based on our vision and values.

To help us to understand these statements a bit better I have added some notes below.

Unpacking Our Vision

Authentic - a place where genuine faith, characterised by an on-going relationship with Jesus, meets real life and recognises that often life is messy. We want to be a place where people can be themselves without the need for masks.

Community - a place where we learn together and where we support one another, where everyone feels welcome and has a place and a role, as we share our lives together.

Disciples - as disciples we are followers of Jesus and take discipleship seriously. This is a lifelong calling and requires a commitment to put Jesus first in all areas of our lives. We are called to make disciples and we recognise that genuine fulfilment can only be found in relationship with Jesus.

Becoming more like Jesus - this is our aim, to be more like Jesus.

Walking in step with God - on this journey of discipleship we need to follow where God leads, living in obedience to his calling, sensitive to the work of the Spirit, trusting that God has promised to walk with us.

Alongside each other - We are not called to this journey alone, but we are in community with others. On this journey we will learn from those ahead of us and we will encourage those behind us. We are also called to walk alongside those in our wider community sharing our life with them.

Seeing lives transformed - just as we experience the transforming presence of God’s Spirit in our lives we pray that as we share our lives with others they will be transformed too.



Unpacking our Values

Loving: Jesus commanded us to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and to love our neighbours as ourselves. On the cross Jesus demonstrated what genuine love looks like. We will be motivated in everything by our love for God and we will care for, listen to, and think the best of each other.

Welcoming: Jesus offered a welcome to everyone - particularly those on the fringes. We will be welcoming to all and will practice hospitality as individuals and as a church.

Missional: Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to make disciples as they shared their experience of Jesus with others. We will ensure our focus is outward and we will reach out to others with the love of God - locally, nationally and internationally.

Servant-hearted: Jesus came to serve and he calls us to be his servants and develop a servant heart. We will commit to discovering and using the gifts that God has given each of us, so that we are all serving where God wants us to be.

Biblical: Jesus knew how to use the Word of God and it is through its pages that we encounter God and discover this big story that we are now a part of. We will spend time reading the Bible and we put ourselves under God’s authority as revealed through the truths of Scripture.

Spirit-led: Jesus promised his disciples would be filled with the Spirit and without his presence we are nothing. We will welcome the work of the Spirit, and want to see his fruit and gifts in our lives.

Prayerful: Jesus was never too busy to spend time alone with God in prayer. Without God we can do nothing of genuine value. We will be committed to spending time in prayer expectantly waiting for God to speak to us.