Crowd Christmas Service 2022
Here’s a summary of this week’s sermon:
The Christmas story is full of miracles and mystery.
The greatest miracle at the center of it all is God's witness, God's physical presence with us.
Emmanuel, which means "God with us," is a name for God that was first used in the book of Isaiah to foretell the coming birth of Jesus.
The whole story reminds us that God isn't distant or disinterested from our human suffering, struggle or pain. Rather, he chose to fully participate in our human story by immersing himself in our problems and walking in our shoes.
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Anna Kettle: Well, hello everyone. Thank you for joining us today in Crowd Church. I hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas. I'm Anna. I'm one of the Crowd Church team here, and I get the wonderful privilege of hosting Crowd Church Christmas talk this year. So before we start, what is Crowd church? Well we're an online church for those who are exploring the Christian faith, or perhaps just don't see the point of church and going to a physical church space every week.
Well, we're here online on this live stream every week. Every Sunday at 6:00 PM um, just sharing a bit of our faith with you. Now, if it's your first time here, then firstly a massive welcome to you. We're so thrilled to have you with us today. And for those of you who are our regulars though, you'll probably notice that we're doing things a little bit differently today.
For starters, this livestream isn't actually live. It's pre-recorded. And that's just simply so that all of the Crowd Church team here can have a day off with their own families and friends today. Um, obviously there's a team behind the scenes here that do all the tech, and it's just great that they get a break too.
So no live stream today. And also, we'll be keeping this service a little bit shorter than normal. Uh, normally for those of you who join us, you'll, you'll be aware of the usual format, which is that we have, um, a bit of an intro from two hosts. Then we have a talk, a worship song and a time of reflection.
And then we have Conversation Street too, which is a chance for people to ask questions and discuss and debate some of the content that we've just heard. Now, obviously, the more astute of you will be aware that I'm hosting this alone today. So clearly that is not gonna work. It's gonna be pretty strange if I'm just debating with myself.
So instead, we're just gonna keep it short and sweet today and we'll jump straight into our Christmas talk. One of the things about preparing Christmas talk is that there are so many different angles that you can explore in the Christmas story. Um, and at first when I was asked, I was like, thrilled to do this, but I wasn't quite sure what I should be speaking on.
I mean, the Christmas story, it's just packed with different miracles and mystery in it, isn't it? I'm sure that everybody's probably fairly familiar with different aspects of it, if only from, you know, school nativities or things that you've picked up over the years. But I mean, there's all, there's all sorts in it.
There's, um, angel visitations. So first to Mary, mother of Jesus, to tell her that she's expecting a child even though she's a virgin. And then there's also another angel. He visits her husband. Joseph in a dream or her husband to be, they weren't actually married yet, and that angel informs him of this plan of God's.
And then there's further angels. So there's one who appears to Elizabeth, who's her cousin, to announce that she's no longer barren, even though she's way past childbearing age, that she would bear a child and that child become John the Baptist. And then of course, once baby Jesus actually appears and is born, there's wonder stars appearing to some wise men in a far-off land.
There are more angels appearing to shepherds on a nearby hill in Bethlehem. And not to mention that small detail of a virgin birth itself, of course. So many different like directions that I could have taken this talk today. But really the more that I reflected on all these different scenes and angles and aspects of the Christmas story, the more I realized that really all of it is just scene setting for the central message.
And that is the heart of the whole Christmas story. The greatest miracle at the center of it all is God's witness, God's physical presence with us. And that's the like greatest miracle of all. You know, one of the names for God, which you tend to hear a lot at this time of year, is actually Emmanuel, which literally means God with us. Now.
It's not a name that we use for God very often today, even though you sometimes perhaps see it on Christmas cards, or perhaps we sing about it in old Carols. Um, but it's not something we use a lot today. But it was a Greek and a Hebrew word for God, and it was first recorded and used in the book of Isaiah, which is a prophet in the Old Testament, and he was foretelling the coming birth of Jesus when he used it.
And that was some 700 years before it actually happened. And in Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14, he's literally recorded as saying this. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And so there it is, that, that name for God, Emmanuel, God with us.
And then later it appears again in the first chapter of the gospel account of Matthew when he's describing how the birth of Jesus came about. And I'm gonna read the whole passage, um, out of that first chapter from verse 18 onwards, cuz I think it's quite useful background. So it says this, this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.
His mother, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered doing this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet Isaiah. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.
So there we go. The only times that this name for God, Emmanuel, which means God with us is ever used in the Bible, is in direct references to the birth of Jesus who was literally God incarnate. Or another way of putting it perhaps is God made flesh. Now that little phrase God made flesh is a term that's used by the, in the gospel of John as he introduces his account of the birth of Jesus and reflects back on it in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
His account says that the word was God and the word was with God, and that word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. There's one translation of that same verse that I particularly like, and it's from the message translation and it John one, verse 14. And that version simply says it like this, God put on flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
Wow. Isn't that just such an amazing thought? It just blows my mind that God, the creator of the whole universe, will consider putting on flesh, becoming human, and just moving into an ordinary neighborhood like ours. For me, when I think of the whole of the Christmas story, that's why I feel like this is the greatest miracle of all.
It's literally the truth that changes everything. Because this story of Jesus' birth reminds us that God isn't distant, disinterested, or far removed from our human suffering, struggle or pain. It shows us that God is a God who chooses to be with us and more than that, to actually become one of us. And it was a choice too.
You know, God didn't have to do things this way. Being God, I'm pretty sure he could have orchestrated a great rescue plan for humankind from afar without having to get his hands too dirty or get too involved. But no, that's not the way he planned it. That's not the way he did it, because God is a relational being, and the Bible says that God is love itself.
So of course, of course it figures that he would choose to demonstrate his closeness and to draw near to humankind to become God with us as one of us. And not only that, but he did it in a very, very specific way. He came as a newborn baby for starters, and he was as tiny, vulnerable and defenseless as any human baby has ever been.
I, I can't imagine what it takes for God of the universe to put himself in the most frail and small little body that's so vulnerable to other people. Um, and you know, he wasn't just any baby either. He came as one born to an unmarried woman and in a time in a culture where that was really not socially accepted or okay at all.
And what's more? He was born into, not like an easy life, but he was born into a persecuted people group cuz Jesus was a Jew. Um, a displaced family too. You know, his family had to flee their own home very soon after his birth due to the violence of the regime that they were living under at the time. Um, you know, that's not so different to experiences of many, um, refugees and immigrants today, all around the world.
Uh, I don't think it is coincidence, um, that this was the way that God chose to come and put on flesh cuz it speaks of the very heart of God for the poor, the politically oppressed, for the racially abused, the socially marginalized, and for the overlooked. You know, it seems to me that it was the ultimate act of solidarity.
That God wasn't just content to offer a solution and to fix things from a distance, but instead he chose to fully participate in our human story, to immerse himself in our problems, and to walk in our shoes, experiencing some of what we've experienced and feeling what we feel as humans.
But you know, this is all good and well. But this story is some 2000 plus years old. Um, some people might wonder what it really has to do with us today. What, you know, what does it really mean for us today? Well, So many people, I think still ask questions like, where is God if there's so much suffering in the world?
Or how can I personally believe that God cares about me when hard things are happening in my life right now? And you know, I, I understand those questions. I've asked all of them myself at times too, but I think probably the Christmas story, this nativity story that is so familiar for some of us, but the idea that's wrapped in it that God would come down to earth in human form and take our problems on as his own is probably the greatest answer we have for all of that.
The truth is that Jesus never promised his followers that life would be easy, but what he did promise over and over in the Bible when you read the accounts of his life was that he would be with them and that he'd be in it with them all the way, and that they didn't need to fear because he was with them and he'd never leave them.
And so for those of us who are believers, he still offers that same sense of solidarity and witness through his presence with us today. You know, if we're not sure about it, the Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so what he promised then is still true now.
The bottom line though for me at Christmas is that there's just so many things to enjoy about this festive season. And you know, I am a big fan of Christmas and I am here for it all, but at the same time, I really don't want to get so caught up in all the busyness and the hype and the activity that I miss the chance to pause and remember Emmanuel, the God who is with us.
And I don't want you to miss that opportunity this Christmas either, because this really is the greatest Christmas gift of all that God would choose to draw close to us and to draw close to us just because he loves us. So as I draw this short talk to a close, let me just finish with a Prayer for all of us.
Father God, I thank you that in this Christmas story, We have the ultimate evidence that you are not a cold or distant, far off or uncaring God, but that you are God who chose to draw near to us, who wants to be with us, and so much so that you would even become one of us. I pray that each of us would experience a greater sense of your closeness, of your being with us both today and throughout this whole Christmas season.
Amen.
So that's pretty much a wrap on this Christmas special except to say, please don't forget that you can still connect with us at Crowd Church throughout the holiday season. You can look us up on www.crowd.church on our website, and you can also find us on Facebook and on Instagram too. You can drop us a DM or a text message at any time if you'd like to connect with us or if you'd like the Crowd Church team just to pray for you about something, you can just send us a message.
We know that times this time of year can be quite difficult for some people, so please, if you're struggling in any way, then reach out and let us know. We're happy to pray for you. And other than that, all that's left for me to do is wish you a very happy Christmas and to let you know that we'll be back here next week on the live stream.
We'll be back to normal at 6:00 PM and running throughout January as normal. So have a wonderful Christmas and we'll see you all soon in the New year.
Take care.