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Nearly there! All is ready. Mary and Joseph have arrived in Bethlehem. Our presents have been wrapped; cards have been sent and received. Just a final push… The actual birth was a very ordinary affair. Most families at the time lived very simply, often sharing their...

We think of Christmas as a time of peace and good will, and indeed that is what is promised. But it is not always an easy or comfortable message. God coming to earth shatters all expectations, challenges us, disturbs the accepted order, just as it did for those...

Not long to go now, and we get a real sense of excitement as we approach Christmas: Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child...

We now turn to the narrative of the New Testament. Strange things have already taken place and more are foretold. In a vision, Mary’s barren cousin Elizabeth has been told she would conceive a son who was to be named John. ‘He will turn many of the people of Israel to...

Our final vision from Isaiah is that of a great light being brought into the world by the birth of a child. This prophecy, too, was taken later as a prophecy of the birth of Jesus, God incarnate – that is: God in human form. We celebrate Christmas with the lighting of...

Our second passage from the book of Isaiah again looks forward to a time of peace and justice. The opening phrase may appear rather strange: ‘A shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots’. Jesse was the father of King David,...

Preparation for Advent: Sunday 10th November, by Mike. Advent is a time of preparation leading up to Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus to whom the title ‘Christ’ was given from the very earliest days. ‘Christ’ is the Greek a translation of the Hebrew word...

Christian Aid Week is 12-18 May this year. As with previous years, Christian Aid will focus on a particular problem in a particular country. This year’s focus is on expectant mothers in Sierra Leone: “the world’s most dangerous place to give birth”. Every day, 10...