Luke 2:8-21

(by Annie)

Are you all excited about Christmas?? I am, although it sucks a little spending Christmas in England this year, having to wait another day… I am quite impatient (Jason would probably say that I’m the most impatient person the world has ever seen!)so I’m very happy I wasn’t living in Israel around this time because in Israel the people had been waiting for the Messiah to come and save them from oppression for a few hundred years. If they weren’t patient before, they would have learnt it by now!

And then the night suddenly comes, when Jesus is born and the angel goes off to see the shepherd’s to tell them about the good news, their patience has finally paid off, Jesus was born! It’s amazing the shepherds are the first ones to hear the news because being a shepherd wasn’t a very good job and shepherds in general were people not to be trusted. But God sees past that, and Jesus ministry starts as it means to go on, with a focus on the people that no one else sees.

Maybe you feel like one of those people, maybe you too feel like your not trusted or like you at times are being ignored by family members or friends? If that’s you, know that Jesus will always see you, he will never ignore you or think that you are not good enough for the job.

Matthew 1:20-21/John 14:27

Philippians 4:4-7

To rejoice in the Lord always, what does that mean? Sometimes as Christians we can feel a huge pressure to always be happy, never complain and just in general be the nicest people. Maybe that kind of way of life isn’t too much of a challenge for you, but for me who sometimes is not the least bit happy or nice and who sometimes complains about anything and everything, this kind of ideal seems very difficult to live up to, and the pressure from a verse like today’s can sometimes feel suffocating.

However, as we have been talking about in youth group earlier, there is a difference between joy and happiness. Happiness can come and go, and it’s ok to both feel, and not to feel, happy. Joy however is something deeper, something that comes from being a child of God. Being one of God’s children isn’t something we can deserve but it’s given to us, if we are happy, never complain and are nice are irrelevant, being adopted into God’s family is a free gift, given to all those who believe. Knowing that, we can feel joy whatever life throws at us.

Isaiah 9:6/Zephaniah 3:14-15

Today we have two prophetic verses talking about who this Messiah will be, and we see how many names Jesus had, even before He was born. Some of these names you have heard before, but some we may never have really thought about. Jesus takes on many roles in his being; counselor, prince, King…

Sometimes when we look at the kings and rulers of today it is hard to identify Jesus in these positions for many reasons. But Jesus came to be the King to rule all kings, the one who did it all right, the counselor who can fully empathise with us, the prince who can bring full peace to us.

What names do you have for God? Who do you recognise Him as? Some people only call him Father, some call him Daddy. I call him Father God, and I refer to Jesus as simply Jesus, despite in my heart He is my Lord. As our relationship with Him deepens, it gets easier to call Him all the names He likes to be called. Either way, when you pray, call Him what feels personal to you, and you’ll see your relationship go deeper even further.

Hebrews 12:1-2

We are not alone! In chapter 11, the author is counting a number of examples from the Bible when people have walked in faith and set an example. Now he turns to us and asks us to do the same. To give away, all that stands in the way and run the race so that we might set an example for others.

The most important is to have our focus on Jesus. He’s the author and perfecter (He lived the perfect life after all) of our faith. And what an example He is. He accepted that He had to be crucified for you and me, to be able to pour his love over you and save you. Think today about what stands in your way to walk in faith? Which are your distractions? We as leaders are here to help and support you in the race. Don’t hesitate to ask if there is something you would like to talk about.

Luke 2:10-14

So, an angel has just appeared to the shepherds to give them a message; a Savior has been born in Bethlehem. The sign will be that the baby is lying in a manger, wrapped in cloths. That doesn’t really seem like a clear sign to me, but lets look closer. Bethlehem sheep were special, they were set apart for sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple, and therefore they had to be perfect. To make sure the lambs didn’t break their legs when they were born, the shepherds wrapped their legs in cloth and laid them in a manger.

It was hugely important that the shepherds were the first people present after Jesus was born, as they would see the relevance and know that Jesus was set apart for the ultimate sacrifice. In the same way, as we saw a few days ago, God spoke to the Magi in a way that was relevant to them.

The great thing when God gives us direction is that it speaks to us personally. God wants personal relationship with us so maybe take some time today to listen to God, and ask Him what He might want to say to you.

Psalm 16:11

Have you ever wondered how your life will turn out? Where you will spend your older years? Many of you might think that I am already in my older years. I am not (at least not until next week), but even now I did not expect any of where I am now even, 4 years ago. I have been a Christian nearly 9 years. It might be quite odd to read that God makes known to us our paths.

But maybe He doesn’t tell all at once. Each step I took to get here, I had to seek God for the next step, and trust that He has that path set out for me. Wherever we read in the Bible, we know that God is good, that joy comes from Him. (Remember Joy and happiness are different), and that God is all about the big picture.

Lastly, think on the last line today, and what eternal pleasures God has for us. In Ecclesiastes (3:11), we read that God has set eternity in the human heart, even though we cannot imagine what it will be like, God’s ultimate plan was for eternity, so without a doubt, there must a be a heaven where we will enjoy these eternal pleasures. And we can get there all because of Jesus.

Nehemiah 8:10

We have come to the half way point now, and life must be starting to get a little exciting now, a few days before school ends, assignments will handed in and we look forwards to our celebrations.

One thing I notice about today’s text is that Nehemiah is telling them to go and enjoy good food and sweet drinks (can’t get any sweeter than Julmust) but to also send some to those who have nothing prepared. As we look forward to our own celebrations, think about what you also might be able to do for those you know who are less fortunate than you, or are having a hard time this Christmas. Write down a list, and pray for them, but also see if there is something you can do.

There are many homeless in Gothenburg this year, and even though there might be corruption in that, the people on the streets still have needs, even buying them a hot drink can go along way. Maybe in 2015 we can do something as a youth group to help those in need, and I’d love to hear your ideas.

1 John 1:4-7

Today we are still on the subject of light, and we are back to John’s metaphors. We see here that God is only light, and cannot have darkness in Him. Which means that only good things are in God. This is comforting.

Then it goes on to say something very challenging. That if we claim to be Christian but still choose to walk in darkness, then we are just lying to ourselves. What it could be that would make anyone still want to carry on walking in darkness? Shame. When we mess up, we feel bad, and continue to feel bad until we feel undeserving of Gods grace. But that is a lie! God doesn’t want us to feel shame and guilt. Jesus was born, lived a perfect life and died on the cross so that you would NEVER need to be in darkness again. That is what we celebrate, and that is worth celebrating.

Note: Maybe if you feel you are ‘stuck’ in darkness, arrange to chat to one of your leaders. Or maybe take some time to pray, and feel God’s forgiveness and grace. There is ALWAYS a way to turn things around. Nothing is unforgivable, and God always has his arms open. Check out the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Son’ (Luke 15:11-32) in your bibles to see how Jesus shows us this.

Matthew 2:1-12

When you read today’s passages, you might realise there is a bit of a difference between the Christmas story we knew when we were young and what is written here. We are used to thinking that it was 3 kings who also followed the star to find Jesus, but it was actually a number of Magi, or wise-men as we know the, better. They were star-gazers, not like the astrologers we have today, but people who were also waiting for the Messiah to come.

As we looked at on Wednesday at Youth Group, like the shepherds they knew what to look for. They knew the sign posts to the real Messiah, the real king of God’s people, Jesus. But what sign posts do we need to look out for today to find Jesus. The shepherds and the wise men had a star, that shone brighter than all the others which led them to Jesus. They let the light show them the way.

As Annie pointed out yesterday, the light still points us to Jesus today, but it is a different type of light. Have a think about what kind of things might be considered a ‘light’ in 2014. What things point us to Jesus? Use the indexes in the backs of your Bibles to help you see where else the Bible talks about light.