Pastor's Page
What are your hopes for Christmas?
Ask a child and the hope maybe for this year's must have toy. Ask a young person and it may be the latest mobile phone or i-pod. Ask an adult, and the hope may be for quality time with family and friends.
All of these things can be enjoyed. Yet this week's toy becomes next week's cast-off, this week's gadget is soon superseded by something new, and even time with family is ephemeral - it doesn't last forever. In other words, our hopes are not always matched by the reality.
Is there a hope we can have for Christmas, which will not fail? Is there something where the reality is even better than what we hope for? I believe there is! Even better, I believe that God wants us to have this hope as his gift.
We often find hope in the birth of a baby. Parents (especially the Mum!), grandparents, brothers and sisters, family and friends - all rejoice in the gift of new life. Two thousand years ago, God sent to humankind his gift of hope though the birth of a child. We know that this child was born in humble surroundings, to a virgin named Mary who had conceived by the Holy Spirit. To those not in the know, he would have seemed an ordinary child. Yet Matthew quotes the prophecy of Isaiah about him saying, ˜In his name the nations will put their hope" (Matthew 11:21 & Isaiah 42:4).
This child, of course, was Jesus, and at Christmas we celebrate his birth. In him, God came to share in our humanity, but he also came to teach us how we can live fulfilled human lives. Through him, we can know the love, compassion and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father. By him, we are offered eternal life.
Jesus is the Gift of Hope for us. He is a gift for us to receive and for us to give.
Join us for our Christmas Services, and receive the Gift of Hope. Yet this hope is not something to keep to yourselves. Bring others along too, that they can know Jesus, who brings hope for all people!
