{"id":14140,"date":"2024-12-24T11:41:24","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T11:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hatfieldroadmethodist.org\/?p=14140"},"modified":"2024-12-24T11:41:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T11:41:24","slug":"14140","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hatfieldroadmethodist.org\/?p=14140","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Bible Reading – Luke 2 verses 1 – 20<\/h2>\n

The Birth of Jesus<\/span><\/h3>\n

2\u00a0<\/span>In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.<\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)<\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>And everyone went to their own town to register.<\/span><\/p>\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.<\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.<\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,<\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.<\/span> 9\u00a0<\/sup>An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.<\/span> 10\u00a0<\/sup>But the angel said to them, \u201cDo not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.<\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.<\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

13\u00a0<\/sup>Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

14\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cGlory to God in the highest heaven,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, \u201cLet\u2019s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

16\u00a0<\/sup>So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.<\/span> 17\u00a0<\/sup>When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,<\/span> 18\u00a0<\/sup>and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.<\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.<\/span> 20\u00a0<\/sup>The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/h2>\n

No reflection today. Just read the passage through and enjoy the day.<\/p>\n

A time for your own reflection<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Song<\/h2>\n

Here is the final song –<\/p>\n

“In the darkness”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A long time ago, we had a quiet reflective service which Rev Andrew Prout led. It must have been leading up to Advent. We talked about using the idea of the creator God coming into the world as a baby to write a Christmas song to use in another quiet service. Our discussion was prompted by singing the hymn “In the darkness of the still night”.<\/p>\n

I started to write something but never finished it. However, when looking through some jotted down notes, I found the words that I had written then. I have finished these and here is the result. I think it is sufficiently different to not infringe copyright in any way.<\/p>\n

A waltzy, fiddle “heavy” country tune to this one.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.hatfieldroadmethodist.org\/wptest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/In-the-darkness-v1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Title: In the darkness
\nWords: Chris Hancock
\nMusic: Generated on Suno.com
\nVoice: A.I.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. In the darkness of the still night,
\nIn a stable lit by lamplight,
\nIn mysterious incarnation,
\nCreator God you are here.<\/p>\n

2. As the shepherds on the hillside,
\nHeard the angels sing by starlight,
\nAnnouncing to all of creation,
\nCreator God you are here.<\/p>\n

3. As the wisemen travel onwards,
\nFollowing signs that they have witnessed,
\nBringing gifts to tell your story,
\nCreator God you are here.<\/p>\n

4. May we too on our journey,
\nCome upon our loving Saviour,
\nGive to him hearts, hands and voices,
\nCreator God we are here.<\/p>\n

Prayer<\/h2>\n

Just spend a little time in personal prayer giving thanks for the coming of Jesus into the world and into our lives.<\/p>\n

Copyrights<\/h2>\n

Reflections and Prayers<\/h3>\n

By Chris Hancock<\/p>\n

Songs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Words of the songs are by Chris Hancock
\nMusic generated on Suno.com
\nIf you are a user of the free tier of the Service then, you covenant and agree that you will only use Outputs generated from Submissions made by you through the Service solely for your lawful, internal, personal and non-commercial purposes, provided that you give attribution credit to Suno in each case.<\/p>\n

Bible Readings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bible readings are from the New<\/a> International Version<\/a> (NIV)
\n<\/strong>Holy Bible, New International Version\u00ae, NIV\u00ae Copyright \u00a91973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.\u00ae<\/a> Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.<\/p>\n

Images<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Images where used are from pixabay.com and free for commercial use no attribution required.<\/p>\n

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Bible Reading – Luke 2 verses 1 – 20 The Birth of Jesus 2\u00a0In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2\u00a0(This was...<\/p>\n

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