Back again, I have officially started on my course to become a local preacher. the last 3 weeks have been hectic. Work continues apace. Sadly my Uncle died of a brain haemhorrage - his funeral is tomorrow. The work on the house continues with a gas leak being the latest challenge. I am doing the intercessory prayers again this weekend. My theme will be the Beatitudes. I have also adapted John 3:16 and made it relevant to Christmas. Will chip in again after.
The Christmas story.
When you think of Jesus at Christmas, what image come to mind? The truth is that we are surrounded by images at this time of year. Card shops, retail outlets of all sorts, social media posts bombard us with images of a stable, a star, 3 Kings etc that the image of the baby in the manger (somehow spotlessly clean!) alongside a surprisingly alert Mary and a deferential Joseph hovering in the background, that some of this has somehow become embedded in what we think of as a traditional Christmas. We have seen this morning a lovely presentation of that story by members of the Junior Church, thank you to all involved. Of course, there is still discussion about whether the stable really was a stable, and whether there was an innkeeper at all. It seems that Luke may have actually meant the upper room in a house, so no room in the inn, becomes no room upstairs so the baby was put on the ledge between upstairs and downstairs (where the animals were kept). The animals exuded heat which help
Comments
Post a Comment