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Sermon Notes

25^th December 2011

On the 25^th of December, we interviewed a few key characters of the Nativity story! This gave us a bit of insight to each individuals experience during the first Christmas. We spoke to Joseph, to Mary, a shepherd, a Wiseman and an Angel. Here is what they said…

Joseph:

So Joseph, How did you feel when Mary, the woman you are supposed to marry, told you she was pregnant?

I was hurt, angry and upset! I didn’t understand all she was telling me about the ‘angel’ or the ‘holy spirit’ or ‘son of man.’ I felt too betrayed to listen to her. But In still cared about her and loved her, so I decided to break off our engagement quietly and not spread rumours, to give her and the baby the best chance at life without me.

Then what happened?

An Angel came to me in a dream and told me it was all true! The ramblings Mary had been speaking all of a sudden made sense! The Angel told me not to be afraid… so I decided not to break up with Mary, to care for her and the baby like God had wanted me to. Although the Angel told me not to be afraid, I still was! It was a huge responsibility for me! The Son of God was growing inside of my fiancé, and I had the job of making sure that this baby and his mother were safe at all times. It was scary, especially when we found out we would have to make the long journey to Bethlehem for the census. It sometimes felt like it was a burden too big for me. I’m just a carpenter! But this responsibility was given to me by God. He chose me to take care of Mary and this baby, and to safely bring him into the world. The Angel told me not to be afraid, so I have trusted in God and in his love for me and my people.

Then you made the trip to Bethlehem for the Census. What happened when you got there?

We couldn’t find anywhere to stay! It was so stressful, because everywhere was full because of the census. Eventually a kind man let us stay in his stable. It was dirty and smelly, there were animals everywhere, but the baby was about to be born so we settled down for the night.

Mary:

What did it feel like to find out you were pregnant?

I was completely shocked. An Angel told me I was going to have a baby! It was a completely surreal experience, meeting the Angel. I was confused, because I am a virgin and I knew having a baby wasn’t humanly possible for me, but in the presence of the Angel I committed my life to Gods plans. Over the next few weeks my stomach began to grow and… well you know the rest of the story!

We’ve already heard from Joseph about your journey to Bethlehem and what happened there. How did you feel when you got to the stable?

Well, I felt like I was going into labour! It sounds awful, to have to deliver your first baby in a stable where there are animals, hay and all sorts of dirt. But I was grateful to have a place to stay, some place warm. Believe it or not, it was quite peaceful! The delivery was difficult, but once the baby was born it didn’t really matter where we were. We could’ve been in a palace or a stable, it wasn’t important because Jesus was alive, safe and well.

Why did you choose the name ‘Jesus’?

The Angel told me of the things he would do in his life, the ‘Son of Man’, the ‘Son of God’, come to earth. He needed a great name that had a true meaning, and ‘Jesus’ means ‘the Lord saves.’

Shepherd

Oh… would you mind standing over that way a little bit… you, well… you have an interesting perfume!

Yes, sorry… that’s the sheep!

So Mr. Shepherd! Tell us how you managed to get into this story…

Well, my friends and I had been tending our sheep on the hillsides for a few weeks. That’s how we take care of our flocks, you see. We take our sheep out to the fields for weeks at a time. People sometimes forget who we are because we aren’t in town very often, and we don’t have many friends. It’s very lonely…

Yes, but how did you hear about the baby in Bethlehem?

Well, we were sleeping rough on the hillside, like we normally do. We have to take turns sleeping and watching the animals. We don’t want any wild wolves taking our sheep! But because we sleep outside a lot our clothes aren’t always that nice. We dress in rags quite a bit, then we have our animal skin to keep us warm. It’s not the most fashionable of jobs!

What happened this particular night you are going to tell us about?

And of course there is the smell we bring with us everywhere! We look after hundreds of animals day and night for weeks and weeks! There is hardly time to eat let alone bathe or clean our teeth! It’s a very demanding job and we sweat a lot, and step in poo quite a bit… So we are a bit smelly!

OK! Please stop getting distracted! HOW DO YOU HAVE A PART IN THIS STORY?!?

Well that’s just it! An ANGEL APPEARED TO US! We are dirty, smelly shepherds who dress in rags and don’t have many friends, but an Angel appeared to us! We feel so unimportant sometimes, but an Angel appeared to us! People don’t care how hard we work… but the Angel appeared to us!

An Angel came to our hillside in the dead of night to tell us that God’s own Son would be born in Bethlehem that night! It was amazing! We were so scared because these holy beings appeared out of nowhere to talk to us, to bring us the Good News that would change the world forever! This glorious sight of an army of Angels singing together in the beautiful night sky ‘Glory to God in the Highest!’. People in our own towns and families hardly talk to us, but these Angels Sang to us!

Wow! That does sound pretty impressive!

It was amazing! So amazing that we had to go and find the stable in Bethlehem, and wow! What we found was even more amazing!

Wise Man

So if you’re a wise man, can you say something wise?

… Never eat Yellow snow.

Ha! Thank you very Much! So…How did you find out about this baby in Bethlehem?

Well, my friends and I have always been very academic. We study maps and star constellations, as well as ancient scrolls and manuscripts. After studying the words of Isaiah, and the stars of the sky, we were very interested when this new star appeared. It was like nothing we had ever seen before… and we believed it was a sign for the son of God.

So you made the very long trip to Bethlehem to welcome the baby on his birthday. Wouldn’t it have been easier to send him an e-mail? Or a gift certificate?

We didn’t know exactly where we were headed when we started to follow the star! But all of us agreed that this was important. If the Son of God was coming to earth we had to take this opportunity to worship him! To see him with our own eyes! To offer him our humble gifts! It seems a bit crazy… but it is also exciting! It was a long journey. We travelled very far, and camels aren’t comfortable! Our bags were heavy, and we didn’t want to waste time sleeping. We kept on travelling because we felt in our souls that this was an important event to witness.

What did you think when you got to Bethlehem? Were you surprised to find this little family in the stable? What about those smelly shepherds?

None of it mattered. The surroundings and the smell didn’t matter. All that was important was this baby. He was beautiful and Holy. We bowed down to worship him and it was a wonderful experience to be in the presence of the infant Son of God.

Angel

So! Here you are… Angel… I understand you have a very important part in this story… But first can you tell us… what… what you are?

I am an Angel. A Holy Being. A Messenger from God.

How did you meet Mary and Joseph?

I appeared to Mary, to tell her about the baby she was going to carry. She was scared, so I offered her words of comfort. God is pleased with her, and he loves her. He chose her especially to be the mother of his Son. I appeared to Joseph in a dream. He was hurt and confused, but I offered him comfort. Telling him that God had also chosen him, and trusted him to protect Mary and the baby through the pregnancy and birth, and then the rest of their lives.

What do you think of those wise men?

The wise men are important for many reasons, but for me they are important because no angel revealed themselves to them. They trusted the signs in the night sky and followed their instincts. The came to Bethlehem after hearing the words of the prophets and studying the night sky. They realised this was a special event on their own! And it is a wonderful testimony that they came to see the baby, to worship him and offer him gifts, without any spiritual intervention or revelation, before Jesus would do anything for them. The wise men came to worship him because they knew it was the right thing to do.

And then you appeared to some shepherds?

Yes. The shepherds were also very scared. But God wanted the birth of his son to be witnessed. God wanted these hardworking shepherds to know that he loves them. That the world may forget them or look down on them, but he doesn’t. We sang to the shepherds and told them of the Good News, of the Birth of the baby in Bethlehem. They were so shocked and in awe of us, but also overwhelmed by the love of their God. They use their story, of meeting the Angels and the infant son of God as a witness, and will tell this story for the rest of their lives.

It sounds like you had a very important job in this story!

As an Angel, it is my duty and my joy to do Gods bidding, and to spread the good news throughout the earth. But try and remember… this is only the Beginning!

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SMALL GROUP NOTES FOR 27 November 2011 – HOW WILL GOD JUDGE US?

Advent means ‘coming’, and it is designed to be a preparation for Christ’s coming – both His coming into our lives and His coming again in glory ‘to judge the living and the dead’ as it says in the creed.

The sermon was based on Matthew 25. 31 – 46, how God will judge people when he comes in His glory. It’s often referred to as the ‘parable of the sheep and the goats’, but it’s not really a parable at all; Jesus mentions the sheep and goats merely to illustrate the way a shepherd makes sure he has all his sheep safe, without including those who don’t belong with him, because he knows his sheep well and can readily identify them. Read some verses about the Good Shepherd in John 10.

Read other passages about how God judges us, about what determines our security in his Kingdom.

John 3. 16; Galatians 2. 15 -16; James 2. 14 – 19; Matthew 19. 16 – 21

Consider what Jesus said about our accountability: Matthew 12. 36,37

Discuss how you feel about the fact of God’s justice and our accountability to Him. What response to it does he look for in us?

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