1, 2, 3

Merry Christmas everyone, it’s great to see you all here,

My name is Sam and I’m the Pastor here at GC.

PRAY

What a politically confusing year it has been in Britain.

Brexit looms closer, while a ‘Brexit deal’ seems ever further away.

Many Brits, have dealt with the chaos, confusion and uncertainly in typical British fashion.

With jokes.

Here is a twitter joke on the screen:

A Scotsman, Englishman and an Irishman walked into a bar,

They all had to leave because the Englishman wanted too.

A friend of ours who is a History Lecturer and University Dean in South Africa, takes a keen interest in UK politics, and sent me this serious graphic about our options with Brexit.

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As you can see, our best options seem to include things such as pigs gaining the power of flight or bringing back Nick Clegg!

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Along side the cynics are plenty of people who will argue that Brexit will be great for us as a nation.

Along side the cynics are plenty of people who will argue that Brexit will be great for us as a nation.

But don’t worry, I’m not about to tell you what to think, or what I really think on the whole issue.

My point is far more generic.

My point is that, it is

confusing,

has many different and unpredictable outcomes

and and it’s hard to know what to do right now about it.

It shouldn’t really surprise us through should it.

Isn’t that what most of life is like?

The scenarios of life are often

very confusing

have unpredictable outcomes

and so it’s hard to know how to live life right now.

Which school would be best for our children,

what should we look for in the school?

- good achedemics,

pastoral support,

good disiciplne,

close to home?

close to home?

What new jobs should I apply for,

more money?,

More free time?,

more power?

What treatment should I take when illness strikes?

How should I deal with those relational issues I have with a neighbour,

a spouse,

a colleague

a son or daughter.

Life is

very confusing

has unpredictable outcomes

and so it’s hard to know how to live life right now.

It’s difficult enough to decide what presents to buy for people at Christmas.

Which side of the family should we go to for Christmas dinner,

Do I have to eat sprouts,

or will somehow my Christmas experience not be quite right if I don’t go through that suffering!

And then, well then you’ve found yourself here, at a church Carol service.

Confusing,

Religion has to be one of the most complicated,

confusing,

nonesensical,

unpredicatable

aspects of life around right now!

Science telling us there is no God,

Islam tells us to

Humanists tell us there is no moral authority, no absolute truth, only what seems right to us,

Spiritualists telling us to listen only to your hearts for truth,

A lot of churches tell us that it doesn’t matter what you believe,

God loves everyone, all paths, all truths lead to him.

But here, you are at a Carol service, at a church that believes there actually only ONE truth.

The truth of Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.

If you’re not a bible believing Christian,

I don’t blame you for being confused and or cynical.

You’ll have heard all sorts of messages over the years of your life about what the truth is.

So I’d like to try and show you over the next few minutes how the truth about Jesus, the truth about Christmas, the truth about Christianity, about God, about life,

Is actually

not confusing - it’s very simple

There is 1 Truth.

It doesn’t have unpredictable outcomes - they are certain and clear

and it’s not hard to know how to live life right now - there are just

2 ways to live.

Wouldn’t it be nice this Christmas,

amongst the general chaos of life,

to know that you have at least

heard and understood the real meaning of Christmas.

To have at least given it some genuine and honest thought?

So let me explain the truth of Christmas:

And so that it’s not confusing and unpredictable like Brexit and life genrally,

I want to convince you it’s as simple as

1 2 3

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1 Truth

It’s outcomes are sure,

2 Ways to live

3 Minutes

3 Minutes

And there are only 2 ways to live right now.

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Firstly

1 Truth.

I’ll aknowledge that the bible is a big book!

I’m joking of course, - the bible is not all simple and easy to understand.

It’s not all simple and easy to understand.

But there is one big picture, 1 Big truth, that runs through it all.

And it’s been reflected in our readings today.

There’s an introduction where everthying is good.

They’re on your service sheet, the first reading:

Then a problem occurs, that seems insumountable

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…

A solution is found - typically involving some kind of hero or heroine.

And then they all live happily ever after.

Whatever Science tells us, whatever you believe about creation,

Other than a God,

there is no satisfactory answer to how this universe came to be.

We may understand magnificent scientific processes, but we don’t have a beginning to it all.

A creator God is actually a very simple answer to it all.

A creator God takes far less faith than to believe everything came from nothing

- for that takes extraordinary amounts of blind faith.

No, God, is the simple answer to the extraordinary universe we see around us.

And if God created, then by whatever process He chose to use,

he brought about, Mankind.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them…

God created humanity to be ‘in His likeness’.

How extraordinary, and yet so obvious when we consider it.

He lovingly created mankind to be creative like him.

To order the created world, to manage and farm and work.

Man and woman in perfect, glorious relationship with God,

In satisfying and rewarding work,

God knows us, knows what we need, created us to be totally satisfied in Him,

and the role he gave us.

But you probably know the story in Genesis of the Bible,

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die”…

That mankind wasn’t happy to serve such a glorious and perfect God.

They had a garden full of yes’s, and a single tree of ‘no’.

And you probably know from your own life,

how hard the one ‘forbidden fruit’ is to ignore.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it…

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

Adam and Eve - represent all of us,

in our desire to have complete and selfish rule of our lives,

even in the face of a loving, perfect and creator God.

You may not think you’re a bad person, you’re probably not in the worlds eyes.

But have you lived every moment,

every breath,

every thought

to honour the loving creator God of the Universe?

I know I haven’t.

God is not a spoil sport, he wants only the best for us.

A garden full of yes’s for his loved children.

But he also needs us to acknowledge his greatness and rule, for he is God Almighty.

And from the first beings who walked the earth, right through to those being born today.

We have turned our backs on God.

The second reading we had showed how this

experience of humanity has been going on throughout history.

Written thousands of years ago by a powerful King, wanting to find God and know Him to be real, but struggling to let go of His pride that gets in the way:

That first line in reading 2, written thousands of years ago by a powerful King, wanting to find God and know Him to be real, but struggling to let go of His pride that gets in the way:

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.

And the last line in that reading:

I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”

Do you feel like a foreigner or a stranger looking for God,

looking for truth,

looking for the meaning and answer to life?

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If so, It is becasue we have turned our backs on God.

And He cannot accept a humanity that rejects Him as we have done.

“Look away from me” cries the Psalmist - don’t give me what I deserve for rejecting you.

The punishment for humanity as Adam and Eve found out,

Work became hard - and death became real.

Work became hard

They could not enjoy the presence of God indefinitely,

for what sort of good God says, rebelion and rejection of His loving rule is ok?

We wouldn’t think much of a human court judge who just let criminals go free for no reason.

How much more, a perfect and glorious God would have to rightly punish humanities rebelion.

“Look away from me” cries the Psalmist , but God cannot, for he is good and right and just.

No wonder the world is in such a mess.

This one big truth makes perfect sense of the world we live in doesn’t it.

However hard we try,

life is not easy,

perfect,

glorious,

loving,

kind,

as God intended, - as we desire.

There are glimpses, but only fleeting ones.

PAUSE

But, oh, what a glorious creator God the Bible declares him to be.

For the 1 Truth does not end there with death and seperation from that great God.

For Christmas, declares that God does not desire to give us the death we deserve,

God still wants to show us his love:

God throughout the bible, all of history, promises salvation:

Promises us a future we don’t deserve, but at our cores we crave and need:

Our 3rd reading, the plan of salvation is revealed:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The 1 Truth - is Jesus - is the only way.

God lovingly created the universe, including you and me.

We have all turned our backs on Him in pursuit of our own ways - ignoring His rule.

The bible call this sin. Or living in darkness.

But God loves us enough that he has always had a salvation plan in place to save us.

And His name is Jesus.

Our 5th reading explains it all.

John who wrote this is talking about Jesus when he says ‘Word’

So I’ll replace the word Word with Jesus.

Maybe follow it along:

In the beginning was JESUS (the Word), and JESUS (the Word) was with God, and JESUS ( the Word) was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Whatever you think you have done,

however unforgivable you may feel,

however far you have thrown God from your minds and arguments and lifestyles,

The darkness has not overcome Jesus the light.

From the middle of that reading:

Jesus came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The truth is,

if you want to be freed from darkness,

to live eternally with the loving and glorious God of the universe -

you need to believe in Jesus alone.

Not yourself, not another way, not Jesus plus anything else.

The 1 Truth - is Jesus - is the only way.

God the good judge,

doesn’t let us off the hook,

he sacrificed himself in the person Jesus,

to die on the cross,

so that the one perfect man,

would take God’s punishment upon himself -

and as we just read,

give us his rights, to be children of God.

The 1 Truth - is Jesus - is the only way.

1 Truth - is Jesus was born to save mankind who rebell against God, and give us life eternally with Him.

Secondly then:

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2 ways to live

In this chaotic world, which root will you take?

Will you repent,

say sorry to God for living for yourself, ignoring Him?

Belive in Jesus - and enjoy his love, forgiveness and eternal life forever.

For those that do, the outcome is sure and certain.

Eternity with God and His loved Son Jesus.

We have EVERYTHING to celebrate this Christmas

The Christian life is great, full of assurace, full of certain hope,

Full of the peace in our hearts - Celebrate Christmas.

The other option, the other way,

is to continue to ignore and rebel against God.

That way also leads to a certain future,

but it is one in which Jesus hasn’t taken away the death and punishment that we deserve .

That will be on you.

And let’s be honest, there is nothing to celebrate this Christmas

if you don’t repent and believe in the one who was born to save us from darkness.

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The 1 Truth - Jesus - is the only way.

If you don’t believe that, then Christmas should remind you that you still ive

Brexit, relationships, life, decisions

it all may be confusing, unpredicatable, uncertain.

But honestly, none of it is even in the same league as the

1 truth of Christmas,

and the resulting 2 Ways to live

So number 3?

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3 is 3 minutes.

That’s about how long this next choir peice is,

and it’s 3 minutes in which I’d like you to search your soul,

to consider the 1 truth and th 2 ways you can now live?

I’d obviously encourage you to believe in Jesus,

if that’s you,

I’ll be saying a simple prayer of repentace after the choir piece

that you can join in with by echoing it in your heart.

It is your oppertunity to leave the darkness and entre the light of God’s love.

And then please talk to me, or a Chirstian you know here ad join our church.

If you’re not sure you’re there yet, the please you need to consider it further.

There’s a link to a ‘2 ways to live’ website that explains the good news of Jesus in a simple way.

And we’re running a ‘Life Explored course in March so you can join us fo that if you can,

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But for now.

1 Truth - Jesus - is the only way.

2 ways to live - which will you choose

3 minutes - to search your soul,