Dec 20 2014
The Manger – a Picture of Humility
Luke 2:1-21 The Birth of Jesus
There were no cameras in Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s birth, but Luke describes the scene quite vividly with a number of verbal snapshots. I would like us to take a look at three of his snaps; first his political snap which tells us why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, second his manger snap which paints a different picture of Christmas to the one we are used to, and third the shepherds snap which tells us why the Messiah in a manger is in fact a sign for us all. More
Jan 6 2015
The Sword of Christmas
Luke 2:21-40 The manger baby challenged the nations. Let’s pass his message on!
The Christmas story does not end with a baby in a manger, it ends with a baby at the Temple. It also does not end with the confirmation of shepherds and wise men in Bethlehem, but with the confirmation of prophets in Jerusalem. It’s all very well hearing from shepherds, but shepherds had a bad reputation in first century Israel. And as for Gentile astrologers or Magi from the East – well, they were not the kind of people Jews looked to for announcements about the Messiah. So confirmation by the prophets of the Temple is an important part of the Christmas story.
Joseph and Mary had spent 40 days in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus and now they had to go to Jerusalem. Why? There were two reasons. More