Psalm 103 In one survey readers were asked to describe 2020 in one word – the top three were ‘exhausting’, ‘chaotic’, ‘lost’. For this final service of the year, the only kind of psalm which might feel appropriate is a lament. So how could this psalm of praise possibly be fitting instead?
1 John 4:14 The phrase sine qua non is Latin for something which is indispensable. What for you is the sine qua non of Christmas? What is the key ingredient without which Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas for you? This talk explains why Jesus is the sine qua non not just of Christmas but of life itself.
Christmas is going to be a strange one in 2020, but still not quite as strange as the first Christmas, at which God gave a strange solution to the strange problem of this world.
Romans 6:23 ‘Thankfully, despite everything, Christmas has not been cancelled this year. And that’s just as well, because we could all do with some good news at the end of 2020. And that is what Christmas is – good news of God’s gift to us.
Mark 4:35-5:20 We all have fears. Some are silly ones, but others are deep-rooted, heart-felt fears which threaten to control us. There’s no point just hoping they’ll go away. We need to confront them. Or we need someone who can confront them for us. Jesus is bigger than all our fears, and so the answer to fear is faith – faith in him.
