Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9.2 (NIV)

Today’s Reading

Read the verse through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.

This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

John 3.19 (NIV)

I’m not sure how often people carry on reading after John 3.16 – a wonderful verse that many people know by heart. But Jesus (or John, no-one is quite sure if Jesus spoke these words or John wrote them about Jesus) carries on.

Jesus’ message of light and love almost always comes with a warning: we must respond. As I often say, we simply don’t ignore or chuck away the gifts we receive at Christmas: we unwrap them, open them, say thank you for them, and hopefully (unless it’s a scratchy Christmas jumper..!) use them.

The response John (or Jesus) describes here simply doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone prefer ‘darkness instead of light’? (Again we are talking spiritual blindness here – not whether or not your eyes work.)

As humans, our natural response to God is not a good one. Our human nature is damaged and broken by sin – we do, say, think evil things, and worse than that, we don’t even realise they’re evil. We think we’re walking in the light of freedom when in fact we are slaves to our desires, slaves to sin, slaves to the darkness.

How will you respond to the light of the world this Christmas? Will you turn to him and receive his light? It is painful to have our evil deeds brought into the light, but it’s the only way to see them and hand them over to Jesus to kill dead on the cross – where all the powers of darkness gathered, but Jesus’ light prevailed. Hallelujah!

Prayers

Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.

Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:

Roger Myring, JoAnne Griffin, Joyce Madeley

Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.

We also pray for: Knit & Natter

Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves.

Church Family Prayer

Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.

Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

Closing Prayer

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.

Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6

May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.