All-Age Christmas Service 2024

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Every year - Big moments in Burghead

Boxing Day Swim SLIDE

Remembrance Sunday SLIDE

AND… one of the best moments of our year… the turning SLIDE on of the Christmas lights.

Who was there - last Saturday? (Community gathers… people are chatting and scoffing mince pies… a certain red cloaked visitor arrives….) and then the big moment. By tradition (and it is a great tradition) the oldest and the youngest pupil from Burghead Primary together press the big red button and on goo the lights.

Wow the Christmas season is great isn’t it… so much to do, so much to see, so much to eat. But in all the busy-ness the danger is we ALL MISS the point.

What’s it all about? Why all the fuss.

This morning we’re going to use our Burghead Christmas Lights to tell the story of Christmas… and to see what it’s all about. And some of the boys and girls are going to help me along the way.

There are lots of different Burghead Christmas lights of course - you see them on the lamp posts.

Snowmen SLIDE

Latern SLIDE

Shooting star SLIDE

But we’re going to use four of these lights to tell the Christmas story AND to understand what it means.

And here’s the first

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1. ANGEL - Christmas announces good news

CHILD UP AS ANGEL

READING 1 ROWANSLIDES

Luke 1:26–32 NIV

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

Now this isn’t the only Angel in the Christmas story… several people are met by angels and in every case they come to ANNOUNCE SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

I guess these days if we have some big news to share the politicians call a press conference… the BBC broadcasts on the 10 o clock news… we might send up a post on Instagram. God goes one better. Angels come (and in the Burghead Christmas Light) can you see the angel has a trumpet…

TRUMPET IMPRESSION

Christmas announces something really significant to us.

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The announcement to Mary was all about JESUS… the child who was coming… the Son of the Most High… who will reign on a throne!

Wow… and if a KING is coming… if GOD’S SPECIAL KING is coming we better be ready.

But here’s the question - WHY?! WHY is God’s own Son, God’s special Kign coming….? Kings don’t go anywhere without a good reason.

He MUST have a good reason to come…. we MUST need him very much… he MUST have an important Job.

Well the next Christmas light gives us a clue. The next one is a…

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2. CANDLE - Christmas is light in our darkness

CHILD UP TO HOLD CANDLE / TORCH

And here is our next Bible reading.

READING 2 ALEX SLIDE

Isaiah 9:2 NIV

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

The people walking in darkness…. who’s that then? Oh you see that’s us. When we look at the world around us… it’s a pretty dark place isn’t it?

There’s so much that’s wrong. War, conflict, poverty, desperation, all the stuff that fills the news broadcasts every day.

but here’s the thing… THAT’S just the stuff OUT THERE.

WHat about the darkness in here?!

God, through his Word - the Bible, ALWAYS tells us the truth. Even when that truth is uncomfortable.

What makes the world such a dark and difficult place? - WE DO. With all the things we do, and think and say… that are wrong. The Bible calls that SIN.

SLIDE - SIN ‘I’ IN MIDDLE

RIFF - SIN HAS ‘I’ IN THE MIDDLE

SLIDE - BRIDGE TO LIFE PART 1

RIFF - Bridge to Life Part 1

BUT…. the light tells us that Jesus has come to help us somehow…. to do something about out sin…. to shine his light in or darkness.

So we need to keep moving to discover how. So what’s our next Christmas light….?

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3. TREE - Christmas leads to the cross

CHILD UP DRESS AS TREE

Now your thinking - what does a Christmas tree really have to do with Jesus…

Well let’s find out - two Bible readings this time.

READINGS 3 MULTIPLE SLIDES

Matthew 1:20–21 NIV

20 But after he had considered 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. 21 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.”

Galatians 3:13 (NIV)

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

OK… so Jesus has come to be light in our darkness… AND he’s going to do that by SAVING US from our sins.

And SOMEHOW he’s going to do that by hanging on a tree… Not a Christmas Tree of course - I think we need to change the shape of our TREE.

SLIDE - BRIDGE TO LIFE PART 1

Now back to our picture of SIN… do you remember what our sin does? It separates us from God. We can’t know him… or be friends with him…. and that means we can’t enjoy eternal life with him.

SLIDE - BRIDGE TO LIFE PART 2

But what does Jesus do at the CROSS? He makes a way… for our sin to be forgiven…. and for us to come to know God again, as our saviour, and friend, and king.

Well that really is GOOD NEWS to ANNOUNCE

And that really is LIGHT IN OUR DARKNESS.

But there’s one final step…. and without this we won’t have ANY of these benefits of Christmas.

So…. the final Burghead Christmas light… Number 4…

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4. STAR - Christmas calls us to follow

CHILD UP - DRESS AS STAR

READING 4 SLIDE

Matthew 2:1–2 NIV

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

RIFF - we need to come and follow Jesus… to worship him…. to give ourselves to him… if we want him to be our saviour and King - who lights up our darkness.

Thanks for listening - VIDEO