Sunday 27th Dec 2020 – 1st Sunday of Christmas All Saints Church, Childwall
READ Luke 2:15-21:
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
REFLECT:
When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they were probably several miles away from Bethlehem, in the Judean countryside. In response to their angelic encounter, they went looking for Jesus, in the dark, leaving their flocks behind. The word ‘found’ in verse 16 means ‘found after a search’. It must have taken some considerable time to find Mary and Joseph and the baby. They searched until they found Jesus. They heard the Word of God and they obeyed. They wanted to see whether what they had been told was true. It took time and effort to find Jesus, but it was worth it. In this respect, the shepherds are role models for us today. We cannot turn back the clock and visit the baby Jesus in person, instead we seek him through our small group studies, bible reading and prayers.
Having found what they were looking for, the shepherds went on to share their discoveries. Perhaps because they had no fixed address, like Bedouin today, shepherds could not testify in court. Ironic therefore that God choose these shepherds to be the first human witnesses to tell others that prophecy had been fulfilled, that angels had appeared, and that the Messiah had been born. And they didn’t need to go on an evangelism course first. Their testimony was spontaneous. The shepherds spoke from the heart and their words connected with the deepest needs of others. When you hear exciting news, it’s hard not to share it isn’t it? You don’t think about yourself or the words to say – you are simply consumed by the good news and you can’t keep it in. When a baby is born in the family, you can’t stop talking about your child or grandchild, you can’t resist pulling out the photos, can you? It brings a smile to your face, a skip to your walk, and you find yourself sharing with anyone, even strangers, who will listen. The more exciting, the more amazing the news, the greater the eagerness to share. The gospel is the greatest news on earth. If we feel reluctant or embarrassed to share it, perhaps we have not really understood what Jesus has done for us. The more time we spend with Jesus the more infectious we become. We are his witnesses today. These shepherds searched for Jesus, shared the news of Jesus and praised God because of Jesus.
RESPOND:• How have you responded to hearing the Good News? • Have you searched for Jesus – personally? How desperate are you to find Him, know Him, to be with Him?• When did you last share the Good News of Jesus with someone else?• What stops you from witnessing to others?
PRAY:
May we take the joy of Christmas into our homes and community, continuing the heavenly song
and celebrating in quiet ways or loud, with others or by ourselves,
that Jesus is with us, God is with us, Immanuel.
Helen Deegan [Curate]
Dear Friends,
Services in church
Sunday 27th December 10am Morning Service Sunday 3rd January9.30am & 11am Morning Services
All services will last no more than 30-35mins and ALL services will be recorded and available online.
For all services please wrap up well as the church building will be cold. The heating will be on but the doors have to be open for ventilation. If you choose to come please remember to wear a face mask. We are only able to use every other pew so we have limited space. We are not using a booking system but hopefully as previously when we were open, we will not need to turn anyone away.
Church Services Online – All of our Christmas Services will be recorded and you will be able to watch them online on our Church website. They will be uploaded to our website and ready about 1 hour after each service has finished. www.allsaintschildwall.org.uk
Rock Club Online!– Our youth & children’s worker Gypsey has developed online activities for Pebbles, Rock Club & Boulders.Available on our website: https://www.allsaintschildwall.org.uk/online-rock-club/
If you would like to be kept informed and receive specific emails detailing our Youth & Children’s Worship please can you let us know by emailing gypsey.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Evening Prayer every Sunday at 6pm – Every Sunday evening the Readers will be hosting a weekly service of Evening Prayer on Zoom at 6pm. Using the Zoom facility, the Readers will host Evening Prayer each Sunday at 6.00pm. The liturgy and the readings will all appear on the screen and there will be a short reflection on the New Testament passage which has been set for the day. Please join us. Garry Critchley
Meeting ID: 789 873 7449 Passcode: Newsman1
For further details please contact me at garry.critchley@gmail.com 0151 722 9643
Weekly News – If you are aware of anyone who is not receiving all the weekly news that we are sending out please ask them to send me their email address so I can add them to our master email list.
FREE money for All Saints Church when you shop online
easyfundraising.org.uk is the UK’s leading charity online shopping website. It helps good causes raise money when people shop online. The online retailers will donate a percentage of your purchase to All Saints Church without you incurring any extra cost. It just takes a minute to register and then each time you shop online simply login to easyfundraisingand click on the link to your chosen retailer.
To register just follow the simple steps below Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk1. Click on ‘Find a cause’ and type in All Saints Church-Childwall.2. Fill out the quick form to register your details. 3. Find the retailer you want to shop with.
4.Click on Go Shopping to visit the retailer’s site. 5. Shop as you normally would.
6.Remember, save easyfundraising.org.uk as a favourite and next time you want to shop online simply log into your account, find your retailer and click Go Shopping.
7.The retailer’s donation will be show in your account within 30 days.
Thousands of retailers are signed up to donate to our cause when you shop online, e.g. Amazon, Tesco, Asda, Toys R Us, Debenhams, Argos, John Lewis, npower, BT, Dixons, Aviva, Thomas Cook, Virgin Media, Virgin Trains, Sky and many more ……..
| If you shop online regularly imagine how much money we could raiseat no extra cost to you! Please tell your friends and family. |
Weekly Prayer requests – If you would like other members of our church family to pray for you or a family member, please send me their names for this sheet, please ask permission from the person. Please pray for all those who are unwell at this time particularly praying for Bill Maitland. Please pray for the bereaved family and friends of Alan McClelland.
Daily Hope – free phoneline
This Advent and Christmas, in conjunction with the Church of England’s Comfort and Joy campaign, Daily Hope will continue to offer all the national services as well as Comfort and Joy’s special reflections. In addition, BBC Songs of Praise’s Pam Rhodes offers listeners an introduction to some of her favourite carols; as well as a special festive series of ‘Christmas at Home on the Phone’.
Pastoral visiting – Current Government guidelines mean that we cannot visit people and go inside their homes or sit out in their gardens for a chat. Any face to face visiting will have to happen from the front gate. If you would value a chat or know anyone who would appreciate a chat please let Helen or me know, our phone numbers and email addresses are at the bottom of this sheet, Thank You.
WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING – Weekly prayer meeting Thursday 6.30pm on Zoom. Why not join a group of us at All Saints that pray regularly. It lasts 40 minutes, you can pray, sit and listen or just contemplate.
Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79853782379?pwd=NEloclhRVEJST3RFeUdUVEowSWJRUT09
Meeting ID: 798 5378 2379 Password: 7VUQh6 Aidan Holmes
Zoom Sunday coffee – Every Sunday 11.15am for 40 mins – remember to bring your own coffee!
Zoom Coffee – every Sunday at 11.15am Meeting ID: 842 767 1496 Password: 4allsaints
With our prayers for you all at this time
Andrew Colmer – Vicar – Tel: 07305 842257 – vicar.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Helen Deegan – Curate – Tel: 07984 933467 – curate.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Gypsey Tait – Youth & Children’s Worker – Tel: 07961 793435 –gypsey.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
Bill Forster – Associate Minister – william.forster1@btinternet.com
