Why do we celebrate Christmas? Jesus is God ́s rescue to mankind Jesus = Yeshua = (Yahweh is Salvation/Savior) Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us) (Isaiah 7:14) (Matthew 2: 5 – 6) (Micah 5:2/Mt 2:6)The Word Became Flesh (John 1:1 – 5 ) Jesus is the living word of God... Jesus is the author of creation. Through Him, all things were made... God has fulfiled his promises... the word came to life... He is the light of all mankind, who shines in the darkness... and the darkness cannot prevail against him. Jesus is God, the creator, who came to live among us in human form. He was rejected by his own but all those who believed in him were adopted as Children of God (through him we become Gods family) Jesus is God ́s gift to mankind (John 3:16 – 21) God loves mankind so much that he gave his best for us. He gave himself... Jesus was sent to redeem us and to save us ... Our unbelief is our own condemnation... Whoever rejects salvation is choosing darkness instead of light. What is our response to this? The first step is to believe in him and the next is to humble ourselves and submit to him, obey him as Lord and Savior of our lives. The Vine and the Branches (John 15:1, 5 – 7)

The last 2 years have been very different. We may have all had different plans and ideas but then things happened as we became aware of Covid 19 in March 2020. Listen as we have a quick overview of the people in the Christmas story - how things happened that were not quite as they planned. Know (as they learnt) that in it all, God is in control

The parable of the Good Samaritan starts with a question “Teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus then goes on to show that as well as loving God we have to love our neighbour.  Indeed, if we claim to love God, then we must also love our neighbour.  Through this parable and what Jesus says in Matthew 25: 31-46, it’s clear that there is no limit to who we should love.  When we help those in need, we’re actually helping Jesus.

In this talk, we’ll look at how the story finishes up - or perhaps we should say, the end of the beginning! We’ll briefly remind people of the story so far: God created us to thrive in a healthy and whole relationship with Him, with each other, with ourselves and with creation. We rejected God and choose our own way and as a result all four relationships are broken - and we cannot fix it. God chose a nation - Israel - through whom he would initiate His rescue plan which would lead to Jesus coming. The Israelites continued to reject relationship with God, and eventually ended up in exile in Babylon. After 70 years, a remnant return and the nation starts to be rebuilt but 400 years of silence follows where God is not speaking, they’re now brutally oppressed by Rome, and longing for their Messiah to save them God himself comes to be their Messiah through Jesus, God’s Son. Jesus shows us what God is truly like. He dies for our sins but defeats the powers of death through His resurrection. After 40 days with His followers, Jesus returns to Heaven but sends the Holy Spirit to fill His followers with power to be witnesses to the ends of the earth, until His promised return one day. The church is the family of God on the mission of God, and the Book of Acts tells the unfolding story of what happened in those early decades as the first followers of Jesus shared His good news. We’re still living in this time of the church but one day Jesus has promised to return and restore and renew the whole of creation. How does the Big story end - what is our great hope? And how should we live in the light of this today? Key Scriptures: Revelation 21:1-8, Revelation 22:1-7, 20-21

In this talk, we’ll look at how Esther recognises the call of God on her life in a crisis moment in Israel’s history. We’ll briefly remind people of the story so far: God created us to thrive in a healthy and whole relationship with Him, with each other, with ourselves and with creation. We rejected God and choose our own way and as a result, all those four relationships are broken - and we cannot fix it. God began His rescue plan through characters like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and last time we looked at Samuel who led the transition of Israel from the period of Judges to the period of Kings. Sadly, despite repeated warnings over 100s of years from God’s prophets, most of the Kings of Israel rejected God and so became more and more vulnerable to attacks from enemies. In the end, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was attacked and destroyed by the Assyrian empire. Some years later the Southern Kingdom was attacked by the Babylonian empire. Jerusalem was destroyed, and most of the people in the Southern Kingdom were exiled to Babylon where they remained for at least 70 years. During this time, Babylon was invaded, and defeated, by the Persians which is where we pick up the story today. God is never directly mentioned in the book of Esther BUT his fingerprints are all over the story. Esther finds herself in exile and part of the Persian Kings harem as his favourite queen. When her people, the Jews, are threatened with extinction she is faced with a choice. Will she do that right thing and turn to God, and take action to try to prevent this genocide at risk to her life? Key Scriptures: Esther 4:1-17

In this talk, we’ll look at Peter’s confession of Christ. We’ll briefly remind people of the story so far: God created us to thrive in a healthy and whole relationship with Him, with each other, with ourselves and with creation. We rejected God and choose our own way and as a result, all four relationships are broken - and we cannot fix it. God chose a nation - Israel - through whom he would initiate His rescue plan which would lead to Jesus coming. Despite rescuing this nation from Egyptian slavery, caring for them in 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, rescuing them from enemy attacks by raising up Judges, and giving them the opportunity to have their own King (even though God longed to be their king), the Israelites kept drifting from God and doing things their way. The Jewish people ended up in exile in Babylonia for 70 years. But eventually - because of the faithful love of God - a remnant returned and Jerusalem was rebuilt. There followed a period of 400 years of silence. God is not speaking. The Jewish people are back in their homeland but are now oppressed by the brutal Roman regime. They’re longing for their Jewish Messiah to come and rescue them, as promised and prophesied over the centuries leading to this point. Peter receives a revelation of who Jesus is. Jesus is where the story has been pointing all along. His very name means God save us. Deliver us. His is the true Messiah, the Christ - the hope of the world. The saviour. The one who can put the wrong things right. And more than that, he's actually God. Fully God, fully human. Come to rescue us. What does Jesus say this truth means for Peter personally? And what does it, therefore, mean for the rest of us? Key Scriptures: Matthew 16:13-19

In this talk, we’ll look at Saul’s dramatic Damascus road experience. We’ll briefly remind people of the story so far: God created us to thrive in a healthy and whole relationship with Him, with each other, with ourselves and with creation. We rejected God and choose our own way and as a result, all four relationships are broken - and we cannot fix it. God chose a nation - Israel - through whom he would initiate His rescue plan which would lead to Jesus coming. The Israelites continued to reject relationship with God, and eventually ended up in exile in Babylon. After 70 years, a remnant return and the nation starts to be rebuilt but 400 years of silence follows where God is not speaking, they’re now brutally oppressed by Rome, and longing for their Messiah to save them God himself comes to be their Messiah through Jesus, God’s Son. Jesus shows us what God is truly like. He dies for our sins but defeats the powers of death through His resurrection. After 40 days with His followers, Jesus returns to Heaven but sends the Holy Spirit to fill His followers with power to be witnesses to the ends of the earth, until His promised return one day. The church is the family of God on the mission of God, and the Book of Acts tells the unfolding story of what happened in those early decades as the first followers of Jesus shared His good news. Saul has an incredible encounter with Jesus which literally completely changes the direction of his life. What can we learn from this encounter for ourselves? Key Scriptures: Acts 9:1-19.

Environment Special When was the last time you stopped to take it all in with childlike wonder? God loved his creation. Verse 31 says “ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” The creation was beautiful. It is beautiful. Have we done that? Have we followed God’s mandate? So, what can we do in our everyday lives? Let’s start with Two P’s: Pray and Petition *Pray for our leaders, the rich, the huge businesses that call the shots and have such control. *Pray for the climate activists and campaigners those travelling to be there, many groups walking from crazy distances like Cornwall to be present. *Petition your MP, read about what campaigners like Christian climate action are doing and saying, watch documentaries. Hebrews 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

How do you ensure you don’t get taken out, wiped out, or knocked out of living the amazing, beautiful, brilliant life God created you for?” In this talk, we’ll look at Samuel’s encounter with God which set him up to become Israel’s most beloved prophet and judge. We’ll briefly remind people of the story so far: God created us to thrive in a healthy and whole relationship with Him, with each other, with ourselves and with creation. We rejected God and choose our own way and as a result, all those four relationships are broken - and we cannot fix it God chose Abraham to be the father of the Jewish people through whom Jesus would eventually come. Abraham became the father of Isaac, who became the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel and whose 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. The whole family moved to Egypt, rescued from a terrible famine, but after 100s of years, the Israelites sadly became slaves in Egypt. God used Moses to rescue the Israelites from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. Despite this incredible rescue, the Israelites were very rebellious towards God and ended up walking in the wilderness for 40 years. During this time of wilderness walking, God gave His people a way of life to live (these included the famous Ten Commandments). Joshua, Moses’ protege, eventually led the people into the Promised Land. We’re now around 1375BC and a period of around 300 years where Israel appears trapped in a cycle. Rebelling against God. Being attacked and oppressed by enemies. Crying out to God for rescue. God then raising up a leader (called a judge) to rescue Israel. But then, once rescued, Israel rebel against God again and so the cycle continues. This brings us to the 9th book of the Old Testament as God’s story unfolds, and we’re introduced to the last, most famous, and beloved of Israel’s judges - Samuel. As a young boy Samuel, Israel’s last judge learns how to listen and respond to God's voice. This nighttime encounter changes the direction, impact and influence of Samuel’s life and he becomes the link between the age of judges and the age of kings. Key Scriptures: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

In this talk, we’ll look at Moses’ encounter with God which propelled him from a place of failure into what became the most famous Old Testament rescue mission. We’ll briefly remind people of the story so far: God created us to thrive in a healthy and whole relationship with Him, with each other, with ourselves and with creation. We rejected God and choose our own way and as a result all those four relationships are broken - and we cannot fix it God chose Abraham to be the father of the Jewish people through whom Jesus would eventually come. Abraham became the father of Isaac who became the father of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel and who had 12 sons whose family line would become the 12 tribes of Israel. One of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, was sold as a slave by his brothers and ended up in Egypt. God turned the story around and Joseph eventually became the Prime Minister of Egypt - saving the nation from a terrible famine. Joseph’s family ended up coming to Egypt looking for food too, and Joseph forgave his brothers and gave them a home in Egypt. 400 years later, Israel’s (Jacob’s) family in Egypt has grown so large in Egypt that the Egyptian Pharoah makes them all slaves and they become heavily oppressed. A young Israelite baby, Moses, is miraculously adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh and grows up in Egyptian culture. But as he grows up, he knows that he is, in reality, an Israelite and one day he kills an Egyptian soldier who is beating one of the Israelite slaves. Moses flees Egypt feeling like a complete failure, leaving his enslaved people behind and going to live in the desert of Midian. This is where our story picks up today. What would you do if you had a divine encounter that resulted in an invitation to return to the place of your greatest failure and re-write the story? Key Scriptures: Exodus 3:1-10