Advent Day 23 – Luke 2 verses 16 – 20 (Song – Join with the angels)

Bible Reading – Luke 2 verses 16 – 20

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.

Opening Prayer

Loving God, we thank you that you invite us to come to the place of your birth. Help us as we leave our Christmas services to be filled with the enthusiasm of the shepherds. Give us the words we need to speak of the Good News you have brought to us. Amen

Reflection

The picture from the chapel of the Shepherds’ field I have used today shows the shepherds dancing on their way home. Sharing the Good News of the birth of Jesus. I suspect that sometimes when we speak of Jesus we are not filled with such enthusiasm. If we are to encourage others to come and meet God we cannot be less than fully committed to showing how important our relationship with God is and how it energises and excites us.

Perhaps worse is, as fellowships, we can be guilty of internal division and dealing poorly with difficult relationships. Our relationship with each other are a measure of our relationship with God. So no matter how hard it is to do, we need to be one family together. We cannot say do as I say not as I do – it just does not work like that.

A time for your own reflection

Read the passage again and spend a little time thinking of how the passage speaks to you. The wonder of scripture is that there is always something new to discover and each passage speaks to us in our own need and circumstances.

Only if you feel you want to – share your thoughts with someone. God inspires our thoughts and you never know, the person you share with may be waiting to hear what you have to say.

Song

Here is the next song –

“Join with the angels”

Todays’ song I hope reflects the excitement of sharing the Good News with everyone we meet. A nice bouncy folk tune for this one.

Join with the angels
Words: Chris Hancock
Music: Generated on Suno.com

[Verse 1]

Join with the angels,
In their rejoicing,
Bringing the Good News,
To all of the earth.

[Verse 2]

Dance with the shepherds,
On their way homeward,
Sharing the Good News,
With all they meet.

[Chorus]

Singing God’s praises,
Awe on their faces,
Telling the people,
Of all they have seen.

[Verse 3]

Sit with his mother,
Watching his cradle,
Gentle, she’s singing,
Good News to the earth.

[Chorus]

Singing God’s praises
Awe on their faces
Telling the people
Of all they have seen

[Verse 4]

Sit with his mother,
Watching his cradle,
Gentle, she’s singing,
Good News to the earth.

[Chorus]

Singing God’s praises,
Awe on their faces,
Telling the people,
Of all they have seen.

[Verse 5]

Walk with the wisemen,
Following the star sign,
Look for the Saviour,
Come down to earth.

[Chorus]

Singing God’s praises,
Awe on their faces,
Telling the people,
Of all they have seen.

Prayer

Lord, as we race into the increasingly bury preparations for Christmas, help us to find time to dwell in the real meaning of the Christmas season. Help us to keep you at the centre of our celebrations.

We pray that as we once again come to the place of your birth we will once again be filled with the excitement of Jesus coming to our lives.

Inspire us to speak freely of your love for us and for all of the world. In the power of your Holy Spirit draw the whole world to your side. Amen

Copyrights

Reflections and Prayers

By Chris Hancock

Songs

Words of the songs are by Chris Hancock
Music generated on Suno.com
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Bible Readings

Bible readings are from the New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Images

Images where used are from pixabay.com and free for commercial use no attribution required.