Notes of Carol Service 20th December 2020

Lee Street Church

Notes of Carol Service on 20^th December 2020

Carol: O Come all ye faithful

Prayer

Reading by Matt from Isaiah 9: 6 & 7

Carol: O little town of Bethlehem

Reading by Connie from Luke 2:1 - 7

Song: Many years ago (to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Many years ago, in a stable far away,

Christ our Lord was born – what a happy day!

Singing filled the air, glory shone around,

Shepherds heard the invitation, seated on the ground.

Have no fear, have you heard, Christ is born today!

Go and see Him lying there in a manger filled with hay (hey!)

Then the sky came alive, angels everywhere,

Singing hymns of joyful praise to God who sent them there.

On to Bethlehem in a most excited way

Shepherds went to see Christ the Lord that day;

When they saw him there, they were filled with joy,

On their knees they worshipped Him, God’s special baby boy.

Have no fear .......................

Over Bethlehem, in a most unusual way,

Wise men saw a star brighter than the day;

Bearing gifts of myrrh, frankincense and gold,

They had come to worship Him as prophets had foretold.

Have no fear .......

Reading by Jacqueline Brewell from Luke 2: 8 - 20

Carol: While Shepherd watched

Brian’s Talk  “The Shepherds”

Jacqueline read just now the account of the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah. The announcement was made by an angel of the Lord – nothing strange about that. God declaring that the Christ-child had been born in the city of David, in Bethlehem. The strange thing however was the people he chose to be first to hear this important message – yes, just a group of shepherds out on the hillside watching over their flocks at night.

You would expect that a royal birth would be proclaimed to all the VIPs of the day – people in power, like Caesar, or Herod, or the high priest in Jerusalem. But no – they would have to wait for the news to filter through to them. God had more important people to speak to first.

Lets think a bit about these shepherds, doing a very nasty job under difficult circumstances – note they were living out in the fields – they didn’t just nip up to the flock for an 8-hour shift and then return to the comfort of a home in the town – no, they were living there 24/7, protecting their flocks from night-time predators. In many ways, they were outcasts from normal society, their job precluded them from taking part in temple worship. In seeking good pastures for their sheep, they led a nomadic existence, and were looked upon with suspicion by city-dwellers, much as we might look upon gypsies or the fairground fraternity today. Their lack of normal facilities for keeping clean would have meant they were not always too welcome in the towns either.

And here they are – out on the hillside on yet another night watch – when suddenly out of the dark sky this angel appears, surrounded by the most amazing light. The first words they heard were “Don’t be afraid”. They were men who were well used to being awoken in the middle of the night by animal or human invaders, and they weren’t afraid to use their fists to sort out problems. But this was a new experience for them – light and a voice speaking to them. “I bring you good news”. I rather guess they were well used to hearing bad news – so many sheep lost to wild animals, prices dropping in the market-place etc,. But this angel is bringing some surprises – firstly it is GOOD news for a change, something that will bring joy to all the people.

So what is the good news? The long-awaited coming of Christ the Lord, the Saviour has taken place, right there in the neighbouring town of Bethlehem. And what’s more, you can go and see him for yourselves, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger!

What a message – what a sight too , as a great host of angels join with the first angel to proclaim “Glory to God in the highest”.

This all had an immediate impact on the shepherds – they started discussing this with each other, making sure they weren’t just dreaming, and then agreed to check it out by going to Bethlehem to see for themselves the truth or otherwise of what they had heard. They suddenly seem to lose interest in their sheep, and are happy to leave them behind for a time while they hurry off into town to seek out the new-born child.

I don’t know if they would have been very welcome into the crowded town, but they were able to find who they were looking for – the babe in a manger , with his parents Mary and Joseph.

So it really was true, what the angels had told them. It wasn’t just a dream, the angel had spoken real truth to them. The Christ-child really had arrived, right there, and they were witnesses. Imagine their excitement – they had some really good news to share. And they weren’t afraid to go around telling other people – imagine it “Guess who we’ve just seen down the road at the inn – Jesus Christ the Lord – yes, really! Go and see for yourselves if you don’t believe us!”

We read that people were amazed at what the shepherds said to them – some probably had their doubts – “should we actually believe a shepherd of all people?”

One person we read of here who was really glad to see the shepherds, and to hear of their experience out on the hillside was Mary. We read that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”. She was able to relate these things to the promises which she had heard from the angel Gabriel back in Nazareth about a year earlier. She was to give birth to a son, they were to name him Jesus – He will be the Son of the Most High. Yes, it did all add up now – she hadn’t imagined it, it was for real. Here in her arms she had the most wonderful gift from God to mankind.

Why did God choose to give the most important message in history to a motley group of shepherds?

Well, we don’t really know. We do know he chooses to use the lowly, the humble, the despised – rather than those who are so full of their own importance that they fail to listen to anybody else.  

If God had given the message to say Herod or Caesar, they would no doubt have sought to make capital for themselves, to enhance their own prestige with the people.

But the shepherds just got on with the job of glorifying and praising God, and sharing that good news with others. The very sight of that babe changed their lives for ever. He was good news of great joy – how our world today needs more than ever to hear some good news, to counter all the bad news which fills our newspages or screens relentlessly each day – whether its Covid-19, the apparent warming up of our planet, or the endless wars between political factions which bring such suffering to millions of people around the world.

The coming of Jesus is still of course Good News – if only people would look for themselves. The shepherd had to seek out the birth-place in Bethlehem, and were duly rewarded for their obedience to the angels who had spoken to them. They made the right choice – they heard the call of the angels, and were rewarded by being able to confirm that everything had happened just as they had been told. They listened – they sought – and they found.

As we once again look this Christmastime at the familiar accounts – brief though they may be – of the coming of Jesus into our world, may we respond with the same enthusiasm as the shepherd did of old – may we receive Him – God’s gift – and believe in His name, and hence become part of His family as children of God.

Carol: See Him lying on a bed of straw –  chosen by Tessa

Joyce read a poem entitled “A New Nativity”, from “Fill my Stocking” – a Christmas Anthology by Alan Titchmarsh

Carol: God rest ye merry, Gentlemen – chosen by Ted

Chris Cowell then shared several illustrations of recent experiences, including a beautiful rainbow she had seen on the road near Horsham.

Carol: Once in royal David’s city

Video of “The Best We Could Hope” (available on YouTube, sung by the Drung Group of Churches in Ireland)