Merry Christmas from all of us at Crowd Church. Join in our Christmas Day service for some Christmas Carols and a message from Anna about the joy of God with Us.
Well, hello everyone.
Speaker:Thank you for joining us today in Crowd Church.
Speaker:I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas.
Speaker:I'm Anna.
Speaker:I'm one of the Crowd Church team here, and I get the wonderful privilege of hosting
Speaker:Crowd Church Christmas talk this year.
Speaker:So before we start, what is Crowd church?
Speaker:Well we're an online church for those who are exploring the Christian
Speaker:faith, or perhaps just don't see the point of church and going to a
Speaker:physical church space every week.
Speaker:Well, we're here online on this live stream every week.
Speaker:Every Sunday at 6:00 PM um, just sharing a bit of our faith with you.
Speaker:Now, if it's your first time here, then firstly a massive welcome to you.
Speaker:We're so thrilled to have you with us today.
Speaker:And for those of you who are our regulars though, you'll probably
Speaker:notice that we're doing things a little bit differently today.
Speaker:For starters, this livestream isn't actually live.
Speaker:It's prerecorded.
Speaker:And that's just simply so that all of the Crowd Church team here can have a day off
Speaker:with their own families and friends today.
Speaker:Um, obviously there's a team behind the scenes here that do all the tech, and
Speaker:it's just great that they get a break too.
Speaker:So no live stream today.
Speaker:And also we'll be keeping this service a little bit shorter than normal.
Speaker:Uh, normally for those of you who join us, you'll, you'll be aware of the
Speaker:usual format, which is that we have, um, a bit of an intro from two hosts.
Speaker:Then we have a talk, a worship song and a time of reflection.
Speaker:And then we have Conversation Street too, which is a chance for people to ask
Speaker:questions and discuss and debate some of the content that we've just heard.
Speaker:Now, obviously, the more astute of you will be aware that
Speaker:I'm hosting this alone today.
Speaker:So clearly that is not gonna work.
Speaker:It's gonna be pretty strange if I'm just debating with myself.
Speaker:So instead, we're just gonna keep it short and sweet today and we'll jump
Speaker:straight into our Christmas talk.
Speaker:One of the things about preparing Christmas talk is that there are
Speaker:so many different angles that you can explore in the Christmas story.
Speaker:Um, and at first when I was asked, I was like, thrilled to do this, but I wasn't
Speaker:quite sure what I should be speaking on.
Speaker:I mean, the Christmas story, it's just packed with different miracles
Speaker:and mystery in it, isn't it?
Speaker:I'm sure that everybody's probably fairly familiar with different
Speaker:aspects of it, if only from, you know, school nativities or things
Speaker:that you've picked up over the years.
Speaker:But I mean, there's all, there's all sorts in it.
Speaker:There's, um, angel visitations.
Speaker:So first to Mary, mother of Jesus, to tell her that she's expecting a
Speaker:child even though she's a virgin.
Speaker:And then there's also another angel.
Speaker:He visits her husband.
Speaker:Joseph in a dream or her husband to be, they weren't actually
Speaker:married yet, and that angel informs him of this plan of God's.
Speaker:And then there's further angels.
Speaker:So there's one who appears to Elizabeth, who's her cousin, to announce that
Speaker:she's no longer barren, even though she's way past childbearing age,
Speaker:that she would bear a child and that child become John the Baptist.
Speaker:And then of course, once baby Jesus actually appears and is born,
Speaker:there's wonder stars appearing to some wise men in a far off land.
Speaker:There's more angels appearing to shepherds on a nearby hill in Bethlehem.
Speaker:And not to mention that small detail of a virgin birth itself, of course.
Speaker:So many different like directions that I could have taken this talk today.
Speaker:But really the more that I reflected on all these different scenes and angles and
Speaker:aspects of the Christmas story, the more I realized that really all of it is just
Speaker:scene setting for the central message.
Speaker:And that is the heart of the whole Christmas story.
Speaker:The greatest miracle at the center of it all is God's witness,
Speaker:God's physical presence with us.
Speaker:And that's the like greatest miracle of all.
Speaker:You know, one of the names for God, which you tend to hear a lot at this
Speaker:time of year, is actually Emmanuel, which literally means God with us.
Speaker:Now.
Speaker:It's not a name that we use for God very often today, even though you sometimes
Speaker:perhaps see it on Christmas cards, or perhaps we sing about it in old Carols.
Speaker:Um, but it's not something we use a lot today.
Speaker:But it was a Greek and a Hebrew word for God, and it was first recorded and used in
Speaker:the book of Isaiah, which is a prophet in the Old Testament, and he was foretelling
Speaker:the coming birth of Jesus when he used it.
Speaker:And that was some 700 years before it actually happened.
Speaker:And in Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14, he's literally recorded as saying this.
Speaker:Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Speaker:Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Emmanuel.
Speaker:And so there it is, that, that name for God, Emmanuel, God with us.
Speaker:And then later it appears again in the first chapter of the gospel account
Speaker:of Matthew when he's describing how the birth of Jesus came about.
Speaker:And I'm gonna read the whole passage, um, out of that first
Speaker:chapter from verse 18 onwards, cuz I think it's quite useful background.
Speaker:So it says this, this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.
Speaker:His mother, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they
Speaker:came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Speaker:Because Joseph, her husband was faithful to the law and yet did not
Speaker:want to expose her to public disgrace.
Speaker:He had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Speaker:But after he had considered doing this, An angel of the Lord appeared to him
Speaker:in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
Speaker:home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Speaker:She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he
Speaker:will save his people from their sins.
Speaker:All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah.
Speaker:The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call
Speaker:him Emmanuel, which means God with us.
Speaker:So there we go.
Speaker:The only times that this name for God, Emmanuel, which means God with
Speaker:us is ever used in the Bible, is in direct references to the birth of
Speaker:Jesus who was literally God incarnate.
Speaker:Or another way of putting it perhaps is God made flesh.
Speaker:Now that little phrase God made flesh is a term that's used by the, in the gospel of
Speaker:John as he introduces his account of the birth of Jesus and reflects back on it in
Speaker:the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
Speaker:His account says that the word was God and the word was with
Speaker:God, and that word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
Speaker:There's one translation of that same verse that I particularly
Speaker:like, and it's from the message translation and it John one, verse 14.
Speaker:And that version simply says it like this, God put on flesh and blood,
Speaker:and moved into the neighborhood.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Isn't that just such an amazing thought?
Speaker:It just blows my mind that God, the creator of the whole universe,
Speaker:will consider putting on flesh, becoming human, and just moving into
Speaker:an ordinary neighborhood like ours.
Speaker:For me, when I think of the whole of the Christmas story, that's why I feel like
Speaker:this is the greatest miracle of all.
Speaker:It's literally the truth that changes everything.
Speaker:Because this story of Jesus' birth reminds us that God isn't distant,
Speaker:disinterested, or far removed from our human suffering, struggle or pain.
Speaker:It shows us that God is a God who chooses to be with us and more than
Speaker:that, to actually become one of us.
Speaker:And it was a choice too.
Speaker:You know, God didn't have to do things this way.
Speaker:Being God, I'm pretty sure he could have orchestrated a great rescue plan for
Speaker:humankind from afar without having to get his hands too dirty or get too involved.
Speaker:But no, that's not the way he planned it.
Speaker:That's not the way he did it, because God is a relational being, and the
Speaker:Bible says that God is love itself.
Speaker:So of course, of course it figures that he would choose to demonstrate his
Speaker:closeness and to draw near to humankind to become God with us as one of us.
Speaker:And not only that, but he did it in a very, very specific way.
Speaker:He came as a newborn baby for starters, and he was as tiny,
Speaker:vulnerable and defenseless as any human baby has ever been.
Speaker:I, I can't imagine what it takes for God of the universe to put himself in
Speaker:the most frail and small little body that's so vulnerable to other people.
Speaker:Um, and you know, he wasn't just any baby either.
Speaker:He came as one born to an unmarried woman and in a time in a
Speaker:culture where that was really not socially accepted or okay at all.
Speaker:And what's more?
Speaker:He was born into, not like an easy life, but he was born into a persecuted
Speaker:people group cuz Jesus was a Jew.
Speaker:Um, a displaced family too.
Speaker:You know, his family had to flee their own home very soon after his birth
Speaker:due to the violence of the regime that they were living under at the time.
Speaker:Um, you know, that's not so different to experiences of many, um, refugees and
Speaker:immigrants today, all around the world.
Speaker:Uh, I don't think it is coincidence, um, that this was the way that God
Speaker:chose to come and put on flesh cuz it speaks of the very heart of God for
Speaker:the poor, the politically oppressed, for the racially abused, the socially
Speaker:marginalized, and for the overlooked.
Speaker:You know, it seems to me that it was the ultimate act of solidarity.
Speaker:That God wasn't just content to offer a solution and to fix things from
Speaker:a distance, but instead he chose to fully participate in our human story,
Speaker:to immerse himself in our problems, and to walk in our shoes, experiencing
Speaker:some of what we've experienced and feeling what we feel as humans.
Speaker:But you know, this is all good and well.
Speaker:But this story is some 2000 plus years old.
Speaker:Um, some people might wonder what it really has to do with us today.
Speaker:What, you know, what does it really mean for us today?
Speaker:Well, So many people, I think still ask questions like, where is God if
Speaker:there's so much suffering in the world?
Speaker:Or how can I personally believe that God cares about me when hard things
Speaker:are happening in my life right now?
Speaker:And you know, I, I understand those questions.
Speaker:I've asked all of them myself at times too, but I think probably the Christmas
Speaker:story, this nativity story that is so familiar for some of us, but the idea
Speaker:that's wrapped in it that God would come down to earth in human form and take our
Speaker:problems on as his own is probably the greatest answer we have for all of that.
Speaker:The truth is that Jesus never promised his followers that life would be
Speaker:easy, but what he did promise over and over in the Bible when you read the
Speaker:accounts of his life was that he would be with them and that he'd be in it
Speaker:with them all the way, and that they didn't need to fear because he was
Speaker:with them and he'd never leave them.
Speaker:And so for those of us who are believers, he still offers that
Speaker:same sense of solidarity and witness through his presence with us today.
Speaker:You know, if we're not sure about it, the Bible says that God is the
Speaker:same yesterday, today, and forever.
Speaker:And so what he promised then is still true now.
Speaker:The bottom line though for me at Christmas is that there's just so many things
Speaker:to enjoy about this festive season.
Speaker:And you know, I am a big fan of Christmas and I am here for it all, but at the
Speaker:same time, I really don't want to get so caught up in all the busyness
Speaker:and the hype and the activity that I miss the chance to pause and remember
Speaker:Emmanuel, the God who is with us.
Speaker:And I don't want you to miss that opportunity this Christmas either,
Speaker:because this really is the greatest Christmas gift of all that God would
Speaker:choose to draw close to us and to draw close to us just because he loves us.
Speaker:So as I draw this short talk to a close, let me just finish
Speaker:with a Prayer for all of us.
Speaker:Father God, I thank you that in this Christmas story, We have the ultimate
Speaker:evidence that you are not a cold or distant, far off or uncaring God, but
Speaker:that you are God who chose to draw near to us, who wants to be with us, and so much
Speaker:so that you would even become one of us.
Speaker:I pray that each of us would experience a greater sense of your closeness,
Speaker:of your being with us both today and throughout this whole Christmas season.
Speaker:Amen.
Speaker:So that's pretty much a wrap on this Christmas special except to
Speaker:say, please don't forget that you can still connect with us at Crowd
Speaker:Church throughout the holiday season.
Speaker:You can look us up on crowd.church on our website, and you can also find
Speaker:us on Facebook and on Instagram too.
Speaker:You can drop us a DM or a text message at any time if you'd like to connect
Speaker:with us or if you'd like the Crowd Church team just to pray for you about
Speaker:something, you can just send us a message.
Speaker:We know that times this time of year can be quite difficult for some people,
Speaker:so please, if you're struggling in any way, then reach out and let us know.
Speaker:We're happy to pray for you.
Speaker:And other than that, all that's left for me to do is wish you a very happy
Speaker:Christmas and to let you know that we'll be back here next week on the live stream.
Speaker:We'll be back to normal at 6:00 PM and running throughout January as normal.
Speaker:So have a wonderful Christmas and we'll see you all soon in the New year.