MARY’S SONG OF FAITH

(A Christmas sermon)

Text: Luke 1:46-55

Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Luke 1:1-55

Theme: Mary responds to God’s work in her with a song of praise that recalls God’s blessing to her and to his people.

CHRISTMAS MORATORIUM – John Westendorp, 09-12-4

Text: Matthew 1:21

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 9:1-11 & Matthew 1:18-25

Introduction

How many of us know what a MORATORIUM is? Show of hands…? Let me explain.

Skin, Not Sin

Joseph — the Silent Partner

Jesus: King Of The Jews, King Of The Nations

(A Christmas sermon)

Text: Matthew 2:1-12

Reading: Luke 2:1-20

Songs: 264; 257; 270; 255; 282; 265

Dear congregation, family and friends

What is Christmas all about? Isn't it about remembering Jesus born in a stable to Mary and Joseph, laid in a manger, and celebrated by angels and shepherds? A surprising thing is that Matthew doesn't even mention most of those things. In fact he doesn't even describe the birth - it gets a quick mention in the last verse of chapter 1, and now in the first verse of chapter 2 the time could already be up to 2 years after the birth.

But in spite of that, Matthew says an awful lot about who Jesus is. From chapter 1, you see that Jesus is a new beginning - a fresh start who makes good where Adam failed. He's a new king of the Jews, descended from King David. And most importantly of all he's the One who will save his people from their sin. And so God gave him the name Jesus, which means 'He will save'.

The Wise Men Who Missed the Saviour

A Short Christmas Sermon by Rev John De Hoog

on Matthew 2:4-6

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 2:1-18

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The coming of the Magi from the east to worship the infant Jesus is an account full of mystery. There is so much we don't know about these wise men or about the events surrounding their visit.

A huge tradition of myth and legend has developed around this visit of the Magi. It is said that there were three of them. Their names are said to have been Melchior, Balthasar and Caspar. Some people say that one came from India, one from Egypt and one from Greece; that later on they were all baptised by Thomas; that a certain St Helena unearthed their bones and deposited them in the church of St Sophia in Constantinople; and that eventually their bones found their way to the great cathedral of Cologne. But for all of this there is no sure historical evidence, most of it is probably just myth. We don't even know how many wise men there were. Three, more, less? We don't know!