Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord…. ’(Luke 2:10-11)
Praise the Lord for His love to us…
Read Matthew 1:18-25
What do these initial few verses say to us about Joseph?
- Joseph was faced with a difficult choice on discovering Mary was expecting a baby.
- In acting in the way he did, Joseph revealed a number of admirable qualities.
- A sense of righteousness
- Great sensitivity and discretion
- Admirable self-discipline
- Great faith in responding to God in the way he did.
- Initially Joseph may have believed he only had to options – to divorce Mary quietly without a fuss, or make everything public and risk Mary being stoned to death.
- But God revealed to Joseph that there was another way – His way.
What do the remaining verses say to us about the birth of Jesus?
- The mystery surrounding the birth of Jesus reveals an important truth to us – Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.
- His name, Jesus, means The Lord Saves and Immanuel, God With Us.
- Through His Son, God would reconcile Himself to us once and for all.
- All of this was pre-ordained and prophesied by Isaiah and others centuries earlier.
- Finally, we get further confirmation of Joseph’s faith.
- Although he must have been somewhat bewildered by all of this, still he obeyed God .
How often have we been in a position when faced with difficult choices or decisions to make, we too believe there are only one or two options – but then God reveals another to us. The question is, like Joseph, did we listen to God and choose His other option? Are we as obedient and faithful as he was?
This completes our Advent Bible Study and indeed our Bible Studies for this year. There will still be Daily Prayers here each day but we will wait until the New Year before beginning a new Bible Study.
God Bless
‘Arise, shine, for your light has come…’(Isa. 60:1)
For much of this past year we have been living in the shadow of a pandemic that has swept through the whole world and many have faced many dark and difficult days. Recently we have received good news with regard to vaccinations and we are now able to look forward to that shadow gradually being dispersed in 2021, although these is still some way to go yet. Pray today for all for whom these past months have been especially dark and pray that they might know the light of Christ in their lives in the weeks and months ahead.
Following the Scottish Governments announcement on Saturday saying we will all move into Tier 4 from Boxing Day both Kirk Sessions have decided to suspend all services during that period. Therefore the Churches will remain closed for the time being and all services are now cancelled until further notice.
‘Keep justice and do righteousness, for My salvation is about to come…’(Isa. 56:1)
As we approach Christmas Day it’s perhaps fitting that we recall what it is all about. Through His Son God would and does offer us salvation, all we need to do is accept this wonderful gift into our hearts and embrace Jesus as our Lord. Even if we have already done so let’s pray afresh for a new outpouring of God’s Spirit into our lives and remind ourselves of the salvation we now have through Jesus Christ.
‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are mine…’(Isa. 43:1)
Just spend a few minutes reading these words over and over again – and allow them to reach into your heart and soul. Then rejoice and give thanks to God for His grace and mercy.
‘He comes the broken hearts to bind…’
These words, taken from the hymn, Hark The Glad Sound, offer great comfort and assurance to those whose hearts have been broken or bruised by the trials and tribulations that we all face in life. Christ can bind those broken hearts and place His own Spirit within them. If these words speak to you today, ask Christ to come afresh into your heart – then ask Him to reach into the hearts of all those who might need Him most today, that their hearts also can be mended.
‘Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free…’
This well known hymn by Charles Wesley opens with one of the greatest truths of the Gospel message. In Jesus Christ we are set free – set free from our fears and sins and able to take comfort and find rest in our Lord. What a wonderful feeling, to know we can find this through faith in Him. Yet today still there are many who do not know of this, who are unaware of the life we can have in Jesus Christ. So pray today that all people may echo the opening words of this hymn and know this freedom that Christ has to offer for themselves.
Following recent meetings of both Kirk Sessions, due to restrictions placed upon us in terms of worship, and in particular the cleaning routine that would need to be in place – the fact that Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year would mean that if we had any services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day our churches would have to be cleaned again on Boxing Day before our Sunday services – the Kirk Sessions have reluctantly decided not to have any services in either church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but instead to have worship in both churches on Sunday the 27th of December at the usual times of 10.00am in Bendochy Church and 11.15am in the Abbey Church.
These were not easy decisions to arrive at and were taken with sad and heavy hearts, however, given the unusual circumstances we are faced with, we hope everyone will understand why we have come to these decisions. There will be a short Christmas message available on Christmas Day through the usual YouTube link on the homepage of our website and there will be a Christmas Day service at 12 Noon on the BBC Scotland channel which will be led by the Moderator.
Read Luke 1:39-56
Looking at verses 39-45 initially, what do we learn from these verses?
- After her visitation from the Angel Gabriel, Mary, even with her faith would perhaps have been unsure exactly what to expect when she went to visit Elizabeth.
- The moment Mary came on the scene, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the baby in her womb le[t for joy.
- Elizabeth’s greeting must have conformed Mary’s faith even more.
- Although Elizabeth herself must have been overjoyed with her own pregnancy she was more overwhelmed that the Mother of her Lord should come to visit her
As we read verses 46-56 what do we learn from this wonderful song of Mary’s?
- It very much echoes Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10.
- It’s a song of overwhelming joy but also of great humility.
- In referring herself to being blessed, Mary wasn’t being proud, rather she was recognising and accepting this wonderful gift that God has bestowed upon her.
- Mary glorifies God for what He will do through His Son.
- God is depicted as the One who will look after the poor, the oppressed and the despised.
- He will feed the hungry and be merciful.
- Through His Son, God will fulfil the promise He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- Through His Son, God will be with us forever.