Stainglass window
Christmas 2011
3rd Dec Advent Party
12th Dec @ 2pm
Carol Service at Oak tree Court
16th Dec @ 2.30pm
Carol Service at Stratford Court
17th Dec @11am
Carol Singing outside Co-Op
18th Dec Nativity and Christingle Service and Carol Service
24th Dec @ 11pm (Service starts at 11.30pm
United Service at URC Etwall Rd
25th Dec @10am
Christmas Day Service
"In the Dark Street Shining"
Dear Friends,
Nothing seems more popular on TV at the moment than antique programes: Antiques Roadshow, Bargain Hunt, Flog It! I guess everyone's hoping that they've got some treasure hidden away in their home somewhere that's worth a lot of money!
Suppose you found in your attic an old painting, covered with grime of centuries. Imagine your excitement as you cleared away the dust to reveal such a name as Rembrandt or Holbein! Then, after painstaking cleaning and care, the long-lost original could once more be hung to reveal the artistry of the creator.
God becoming man in Jesus is also an act of restoration. The world is his creation; we are made in his image. and yet the rebellion of centuries has marred this image. We are no longer what God intended.
And so Jesus came to begin the cleaning process. In his own character he showed us what God is like, what we are intended to be, and what we might become.
In his life, he healed the sick and banished spiritual forces of evil, repairing the world so it reflected the original intention. people who listening to the teaching of Jesus said "No-one ever spoke like this man". His personality and character matched the remarkable nature of his teaching.
Jesus had a great sense of humour and laughed, yet was known as a man of sorrows. He played with children and took babies in his arms, yet the most hard and cruel men withered beneath his glare. He was known as a man of compassion and love, yet people quaked before his anger. He was a man of courage and strength, yet his whole life spoke of humility. He combined patience with power.
He taught us how we should live our lives, how we should deal with our anxieties, worries and needs. He revealed for us the perfect path to take. He cared for others whatever their needs. He accepted others whatever their background or race. He touched the untouchables- the lepers in society. He treated women with courtesy and encouraged their own sense of self-worth in a culture that subordinated them to men.
Jesus recognised the worth of each person he met. He had compassion when they were hurting. He gave mobility to paraplegics, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute. He restored withered limbs, diseased organs, degenerating spines. He cured haemorrhages and skin sores. in the dark streets of first-century Israel, he was "the everlasting light"
He did all this to restore creation to the one who made it. And he wanted to make it clear to us what God is like. He does care. He is concerned about the evil and suffering in the World. In the person of Jesus, God got involved, and showed that he doesn't just stand by while we suffer.
And he calls us to do the same today. For the restoration is still going on, and he wants us to be part of it. this Christmas time, will you shine that "everlasting light" in the dark streets of Hall Green and around?
Your friend and pastor,
Jonathan Calvert