Happy Christmas!

Yes, I know I'm a bit late, and I'm sorry not to have posted on Christmas Day itself. I hope you'll understand and forgive me!

We had five services during the past few days: the Tongue Primary School Christmas Service was on Thursday afternoon, then our Christmas Eve Watchnight Service was at 11:30pm in Tongue Church, followed not long afterwards by the Christmas Day service at 11:30am in Melness Church. Not surprisingly, not many folk came to our two Boxing Day services!

The church was well filled on Christmas Eve and there were people who had come from as far as Bettyhill! This was the first time I had preached at a Watchnight service, and I really enjoyed speaking with folk about the connections between our present-day culture, the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah, and the Christmas Story.

With my science background, we were thinking about how scientists know what they know, and don't know what they don't know (quoting Donald Rumsfeld along the way!). Isaac Newton got a mention, with his apple and gravity, and his three famous 'laws' of motion. Albert Einstein also got a mention, due to his update on one of Newton's Laws, and his famous formula of e=mc².

Of course, we also were talking about love, because the birth of Jesus demonstrated to the fullest possible extent, how much God loves each of us. It isn't only a children's story. It really happened. People experienced it. People recorded it. And people have passed it on, down through the ages, all the way to us.

It was the beginning of a journey, for Mary & Joseph, for the shephereds, for the Magi, and even for God himself. He invites each of us to journey with Him.

On Christmas Day, the service was all about celebration, and we ended up with a Birthday Cake, complete with candle. We all enjoyed gathering together around the cake, for a chat and a piece of cake, before heading home to enjoy the rest of Christmas Day.

We long to see God's Kingdom becoming more established in this place. God calls us to be like watchmen, watching on the walls, praying to God that He will build his kingdom and restore his 'city'. We all have a part we can play in the drama.

On Boxing Day, there were some boxes! We were talking about packing up for journeys, when moving home, or just for a short visit from one end of the country to the other.

Mary and Joseph journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The Magi journeyed hundreds of miles, probably from Babylon to Bethlehem. Then Mary and Joseph fled from Herod to Egypt, followed some years later by their eventual return to Nazareth.

We wondered what kind of boxes, or packages, they used to carry and protect the precious gifts that the Magi had given them. Jesus was their most precious 'possession'!

We thought about the kind of emergency supplies we need to take when we are travelling on icy and snowy roads. We thought about how some people treat Jesus as an emergency item; kept safely and securely hidden away out of sight, until the emergency occurs. Then He is unwrapped and pressed into service to save us from whatever disaster has occurred.

How much better to journey with Jesus, walking in his footsteps, holding his hand, following his guidance and directions. The likelihood of emergency or disaster will be much reduced, and the likelihood of rescue so much stronger.

At the end of the service, a few folk received a mysterious box with a little present inside. God is a God of surprises - nice surprises!

I am looking forward to the New Year ahead. We don't know what it will bring or where it will take us. But we know that God will be with us, or rather, we will be with Him!

God has a unique path for each of us, tailored to our circumstances, and to who we are. He loves you for who you are, and wants you to be the most you can be. With God all things are possible.

Four months and five days to go

Tomorrow will mark four months since I was ordained into the ministry after which there are only five more days to go until Christmas - yay!

We are now in our second period of wintry weather. This one began on Thursday and the forecasters predicted a couple of days of snow and then dry into next week. However, it snowed quite a bit through Saturday and on through the night. As a result it was rather difficult for many people to get to our Cool School Nativity Service this morning.

But it takes more than a bit of snow to keep Melness and Tongue folk away from church. All the children and leaders were there, and there was a good crowd of parents and siblings too. I reckon we had close on 50 folk in church today.

Given that we have at least three folk away on holiday, and another dozen or so kept away by the weather, I was pleased by the strong turnout.

It seems that God is really drawing people towards our church fellowship. We are having fun together as we strive to follow Jesus and worship our God. People are deciding to start coming along for the first time, or after an absence of many years.

The children did really well today. The Christmas Story was well told, with clarity and humour. The congregation did really well too, laughing at the funny bits, and managing not to laugh when one of the Kings proudly announced she had brought Frankenstein for baby Jesus!

During this past month we have had five funerals in the parish. It is not many compared with a lot of parishes, but for a resident population of around 600, it is a significant percentage. One of the people who came to church today said that it seemed that for too long they had only been to church for funerals. They were pleased today to celebrate the joyful message of Christmas with us all.

Although I have been here for four months now, the beautiful scenery still catches my eye and makes me gasp in awe and wonder at the majesty of God's creative genius. The above view across Talmine Bay and the Kyle of Tongue, with the watery wintry sunshine slanting across the misty air, just took my breath away.

When God's messengers came to tell Mary and Joseph, and then the Shepherds, what was going on, almost the first thing they said was 'Fear Not!'

God loves each person and He doesn't want anyone to be afraid of Him. Don't be afraid to put your trust in Jesus today. He has lived through everything we have, and more. He won through to the other side of death, and He beckons you to follow after Him.

Don't get left out in the cold and dark of Winter. Shout out, "Wait for me, I'm coming!"