Welcome
Thank you for joining us for our All Age Christmas Service, online version. Our service on Zoom and at Panmurefield was led by Moraig Piggot. Our service today is based on the following verse:
Jam Kids – Virtual Sunday School
The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here: https://outofthebox.me.uk/lockdown-stories/
JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am. Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details.
Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream
Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream
The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday 3 January 2021, 7.00–7.30pm. The theme will be ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ and we will be praying for our churches during Advent and for our nation, particularly at this time of pandemic. It will be available here on 3 January.
Call to Worship
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before youas people rejoice at the harvest…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. 7 Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:2-3a, 6-7)
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests.’ (Luke 2:9-14)
44 Then Jesus cried out, ‘Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. 45 The one who looks at Me is seeing the One who sent Me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness (John 12:44-46)
Opening Praise
Baptist Union of Scotland Video
This Sunday is Advent Video week four on the theme of Joy
Opening prayer
Heavenly Father,
On this last Sunday in Advent, as we approach within a few days of the day on which we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, we come with humble hearts and deep thankfulness to You for granting us the strength and grace to come through many tough weeks in this most difficult of years. Advent has allowed us to turn our minds, at least some of the time, from the Brexit negotiations between our government and the European Union and the Covid-19 virus pandemic, to something of greater ultimate importance, the vision of God for His people in His world revealed through the birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus, Your Son,
Our Saviour. Help us, we pray to honour and glorify His name today as we celebrate His coming that first Christmas two thousand years ago. Once more we confess our sins and ask for Your forgiveness, knowing that His coming had this purpose as revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Joseph: you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).Empower us afresh by Your Holy Spirit so that we may honour and glorify You in the new week that lies before us,in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.
Worship Song
Prayers for Others
Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the wonder and excitement that we can have in our hearts as we prepare to welcome the Christ-child again and remember the amazing love of God, who came and dwelt among us. We pray for those who find Christmastime a difficult time of year for many reasons. We pray that these folks will know peace in the midst of their sorrow and a sense of hope in the midst of their darkness. We pray that, in the midst of the tinsel and turkey, nut roast or less seasonal fare, that we would pause and give thanks for the birth of our Lord and Saviour over 2,000 years ago.
We give thanks that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. We also give thanks that Jesus is the Light of the World and that the darkness cannot overcome the light (John 1:5). We pray for those for whom this is going to be a challenging Christmas due to the loss or hospitalisation of loved ones with Covid-19. We pray that Jesus might be the light in the midst of their darkness. We pray too for those working so hard even in this Christmas time to provide necessary public services or to serve us in the retail sector, together with those in the health service and social care sectors who are looking after those unwell in hospitals or who are in the later years of their lives in residential care homes. We bring before You in the silence the particular people who have come to mind as we pray…
Although we rejoice that the kidnapped Nigerian school boys were returned home to their families this week, we cry out to You for peace in the troubled country of Nigeria. We pray that the government there and its army will work effectively to eliminate the terrorist threat, especially in the north of that country. We remember others too in places like Syria, Nagorno Karabakh and Yemen where many thousands of people will spend Christmas in far from ideal conditions as they suffer the ongoing impact of the violence and killings in these and other lands. We bring before You in the silence particular people or places on our hearts today…
We remember in our prayers other local churches in our community who are gathering in person or on-line to worship You today. With our Baptist Union of Churches we also remember:
Uddingston BC – We pray for the church fellowship in Uddingston as they seek to worship Jesus and serve Him faithfully.
Viewfield BC, Dunfermline– We praise God that He is on the move even in these challenging times. They have just welcomed in a further nine new members and in recent times have appointed two new staff members. We pray for Ali their new Children and families worker and for Jo their Drop-in Co-ordinator. We pray for these areas of their church life.
Westray BC, Orkney – We would particularly like our wider Baptist family to uphold us as we begin to implement plans for returning to in-person Sunday services. We pray that Holy Spirit might inspire them as they look for God’s hand and opportunities in the midst of the Covid pandemic, and as they consider proactive changes that they might make. We also join them in thanksgiving for God’s palpable nearness in these times.
Westwood BC, East Kilbride – We praise God that despite (maybe because of) their hands being tied by the current restrictions God is at work in ways beyond their hopes bringing people to faith and bringing prodigals back to Him. We pray for their Vision: to be a people balanced in building Discipleship, Community and Witness, and that they will have spiritual insight to continue this development even under the current restrictions.
Lord, we particularly want to remember those people and families who will spend this season acutely aware of the absence of precious loved ones who died in this year. We remember in our prayers those from our own congregation and community known to us, but also in the silence mention other individuals and families to You today…
Lord, we also want to bring before You those individuals in hospital or care homes and others who may be working far away from home who will have no opportunity to meet their loved ones in person this Christmas. We pray particularly for those feeling lonely and ask for Your comfort for them. We name those individuals on our hearts this morning who might be in this position today…
We also remember the Christian workers connected with our church who are serving in other countries. We think of Hamish R in Nice, Christine K near Paris, Helen and Wit in northern Thailand, David and Helen H with SIM worldwide, and Igor and Anita in Serbia. We also remember in the silence other Christian workers serving God at this time…
We also remember those with ongoing health issues and in the silence mention their names before You…
In addition, we bring our own and other needs on our hearts to You today…, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we pray, Amen.
Worship Song
Bible Readings
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. 7 Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
Instant Nativity
You can download the script used in our Church service and work through the slides, below. Thanks to the Bible Society for preparing this.
Worship Song
Online Christmas Bake Off
We held an online Bake Off on our Zoom service. We were challenged to make a nativity scene. You can find a list of ingredients here. Here are some of the creations that our church made!
All Age Talk – Moraig Piggot
So I wonder which day you enjoy most at Christmas? For me it’s got to be the 27th because by then it’s all over and peace can be restored! I mean it’s quite stressful for me co-ordinating Christmas in our house. I need to make sure my Mum cooks the turkey, Simon my husband has got all the vegetables sorted, reminding my mother law that she is bringing the soup, checking my children Freya and Hamish have set the table to my standards and well don’t even get me started on having to spend 3 days in the company of my sister Fiona, that’s enough alone to want the 27th to come quickly!! It’s that feeling of waking up on the 27th to silence, knowing there is no more rushing around but instead a day of perfect peace. I am sure I am not alone craving peace, we all probably do and not just at Christmas, we will all want times of peace.
This year I have been thinking about this idea of peace and a verse from the bible was brought to my attention- “May the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace” Romans 15:13. This made me stop and think about what my idea of peace really is. You can search for peace in a lot of things—relationships, money, hobbies, the absence of problems, or even a move away, but only one thing brings you true peace. Real peace is found in a very special person. What if this Christmas we paused to think, consider and wonder what it means that Jesus is the Prince of Peace? What if this Christmas we fixed our eyes on Jesus and rested in what he came to do for us?
As we have heard this morning through our instant nativity a miraculous, amazing, and fantastic thing took place over two thousand years ago. The Son of God came to live among us. But that’s not all. Jesus didn’t come just to live among us, he came to do something. He came to redeem and restore what was broken. He came to heal the hurting, find the lost and save sinners. He came to bring peace on earth. But not just any peace, the peace that comes from knowing God and being known by him. Jesus the Prince of Peace, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Christmas is a reminder that God is here, but because He is here, peace is also here. The idea of peace was communicated first by the angels announcement of his birth to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. The truth of peace was also told by Jesus throughout His time on earth. God’s ideal for us is that we would be people who continually experience peace. This Christmas, let us seek to know the One who is our true Christmas peace. The good news for all of us is that God is great enough to guide us through all of life’s changes and pressures. No matter what life throws at us, our reservoir of peace, God himself is inexhaustible. We can experience peace in the midst of tough times and we need to replace worrying with prayer.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
Peace is not the absence of pain. Jesus had pain. He knew the pain of rejection. He knew the pain of the cross and death. And you know what? He knows your pain. When Jesus says that “in Him” we have peace, He is not saying that we will not experience pain. In fact, He gives us this encouragement, because He knows we will have pain.
Peace is not the absence of problems. Jesus knows our problems and that’s when he draws closer to us and surrounds us by his love and support.
Peace is a person. Peace with God and an eternity in Heaven is through Him. I am convinced that we will never have peace in this life until we have peace about the life to come in Heaven. This is the starting place to real peace. We can say that because God is here, peace is here. If peace is in Him and He is here, we can have peace in a relationship with Him. We are “to bide” or “remain” in Him. Again, the relationship brings the peace.
So… This Christmas and in the year to come when you seek peace, seek the right kind of peace “May the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace” Romans 15:13. True peace comes from God and not from us seeking a few hours of time out from life. That may give you some instant relief (my 27th December story), but it will not sustain you through everything life on earth brings you be it good or especially in the not so good.
You do need of course to make a commitment to God to experience the true peace we have heard about this morning. So if you are listening today and don’t know God as your Lord and Saviour then please don’t let another year go by without discovering what this means. We will put up a power point slide to let know the different ways we can help you with this.
When you leave here today, leave knowing this. We trust in Him for everything including our eternal life in Heaven. We find our peace in His peace, not our own peace. We need to talk to Him about everything. Jesus our Prince of Peace. Amen
Our closing song
Please join us for our Zoom service at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve. You can contact us for an invite.
