Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you! – Luke 2

Luke 2v35 The angel answered Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

This is the extraordinary miracle of Christmas, that God should come to the human race as a baby through a very ordinary woman – Mary.

  • I might not fully understand the biology of how God impregnate Mary, but we know “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 2v37). If God created the world, then he also has the capacity to intervene – and this is the greatest divine intervention in history!  Let us give thanks that God is not one to leave us alone.
  • He came as a real human and experienced all the issues we have – the pain, the rejection, the frustration, even adolescence and teenage (!) … Let us give thanks that in God we have one who feels with us.
  • The way it happened was by the Holy Spirit coming upon her. Mary was clearly a devout woman anyway, but it was when God sent the Holy Spirit upon her that there was physical change in her and that she was to birth the Saviour of the world. What is God wanting to do in you? Let us seek more of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

As we worship Jesus and give God thanks for his love, this Christmas, may we be people in whom God produces the impossible.

With much hope and blessing,

Roland

 

News/Prayer

  1. Zambia Food Crisis – All moneys place in the offering box last Sunday and at the Carol Service will go towards our sister churches in Zambia providing food for those who have nothing – Zambia has now been added to the UN list of crisis level food shortages. As we learned at Devoted, Zambia has had a drought which is generally considered to be due to global warming to which we contribute. The ChristCentral churches there under Joseph who visited us last year are seeking to provide maize to support those who have nothing. We in Christ Central Shropshire are looking to provide the finances for them to support 1500 for the period until March when the current season crops will come through.
  2. Testimony – What has God been doing in your life in 2019? Would you like to encourage others by sharing a bit about this on Sunday 29th? Please let Roland know.
  3. Email – The next full email will be on 9th January.
  4. Christmas Party – Saturday 28th December from 6pm at the Wests. There are invitations available at Admaston House. Please let Sue know if you are coming.
  5. Christmas Carol Service – please use the magazines to invite people to the Carol Service on Sunday 22nd at 4.30pm and/or share our invite on Facebook.
  6. New Year Sunday 5th Jan – We will be considering our Hope Vision as we enter 2020! There will be lunch and Funtastic Church. Please let Sue know if you will be there for lunch.
  7. Church Family Meeting – advance notice – we plan one for the Spring term on Monday 10th February at 7.30pm. All members and regular attenders are invited to participate.
  8. Prayer Day – advance notice – we plan a prayer day on Sunday 23rd February. We are thinking this can maximise involvement in the day. Hope you are able to join with us. There will be normal Sunday worship at 10.30.
  9. Prayer

–  Following the Queen’s speech today, let’s continue to pray for our government, for integrity in public life and for peace and harmony in our land.

– It’s easy to lose our daily rhythm during holiday times, but let’s continue to pray for each one using our prayer diaries.