11 He came to his own home, and his own people , Shalden & Carol Service & received him not. Christmas Midnight Sermon 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his 2019 name, he gave power to become children of God; 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of John 1.1-14 the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, with God, and the Word was God. full of grace and truth; 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son were made through him, and without him was not from the Father. anything made that was made. This is the Gospel of the Lord. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the + + + darkness has not overcome it. A little over two thousand years ago a man was 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name declared saviour of all humanity. was John. 7 He came for testimony, to bear witness to the He said that he had come to end all war and to light, that all might believe through him. bring peace.

8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness to He said he had come to change the lives of all the light. people for the better and his followers declared 9 The true light that enlightens every man was him as the bearer of good news. coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made Good news to the people of Palestine. through him, yet the world knew him not. Good news to our neighbours, the Turks, the At Christmas we remember the birth of Jesus Greeks … Christ whose only sanctuary was a stable in Good news to all the people of the Ancient World. Bethlehem.

Who was this man? For Joseph and Mary, the circumstances of Jesus's I’m sure by now you know his name, right? birth - in a stable - were far from ideal, but worse His name was Augustus Caesar. was to come as the family was forced to flee the (Quoted from Greenbelt Communion Service 2019) country.

As Jesus grew up he knew rejection, hardship and When Jesus was born – it was in an occupied persecution. country, like today, in a housing estate in a He lived obscurely for most of his life, and never rather forgotten backwater of the Roman travelled far. Empire, a little town called Bethlehem. He was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong. Politicians, in those days, were making lots of promises – no one knew what to believe. And yet, billions of people now follow his teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives. Politicians, World Leaders, Kings and Queens today, make lots of promises – and again, who Because despite being displaced and persecuted do we trust, who do we believe? throughout his short life, Christ's unchanging message was not one of revenge or violence but Well now, just place a little marker in your mind simply that we should love one another. at this point onwards – and listen carefully – Only a few people acknowledged Jesus when he because what you are about to hear was written was born. by the person in this envelope. But at that first Christmas, in the fields above Bethlehem, as they sat in the cold of night watching their resting sheep, the local shepherds must have had no shortage of time for reflection. lives in the person of Jesus Christ. Suddenly all this was to change. There's an old saying that "it is better to light a These humble shepherds were the first to hear candle than curse the darkness". and ponder the wondrous news of the birth of Today there are millions of people lighting candles Christ – the first noel – the joy of which we of hope in our world today. celebrate today. And although we are capable of great acts of

kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes Because Christmas is about the birth of a child need saving from ourselves - from our and the hope that birth - 2,000 years ago - recklessness or our greed. brought to the world.

God sent into the world a unique person - neither Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of a philosopher nor a general, important though Christmas. they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.

Jesus was born into a world full of fear. And forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian

faith. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: 'Fear not', they urged, 'we It can heal broken families, it can restore bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all friendships and it can reconcile divided people. communities. 'For unto you is born this day in the City of

David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.' It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's

love. So this is the time of year when we remember that

God sent his only son 'to serve, not to be served'. In the last verse of the beautiful carol, O Little

Town Of Bethlehem, there's a prayer: He restored love and service to the centre of our O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin Well perhaps every time you hold a £5, £10, 0r £20 And enter in. note you would make note of the face printed Be born in us today. upon it and remember the words of Good News she proclaims. Countless millions of people around the world continue to celebrate his birthday at Christmas, Because I, for one, happily believe the words of the inspired by his teaching. Head of the Church of !

And he makes it clear that genuine human A Church that has 85 Million members. happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than A family present in 165 countries. receiving; more in serving than in being served. That in this country has more volunteers than any other organistation. So, do you remember the marker? That gave more money away to the poor than even the BBC Children in Need. Because everything I have said since then was not That has more churches open than pubs. written by me – but word for word, they were written by a world leader - in fact, No room in the inn? (OPEN THE ENVELOPE TO REVEAL A LARGE £20 NOTE) Well there is plenty of room here: word for word, they were written by the Queen of O Holy Child of Bethlehem, England. Descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin They were words I lifted from the Queen’s And enter in. Christmas Day Broadcasts from 2008 to 2018. Please be born right here today. Politicians, World Leaders, Kings and Queens – who do we trust, who do we believe? Amen.