Philippians 2:9-11

(by Jason)

Todays verses focus on the place Jesus takes in relation to God, and says that He will take the highest place. In other places of the Bible, it talks about Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. We talk a lot about Jesus being human at Christmas and how His birth is remembered, but it is very important to remember that Jesus is also fully God, and is fully without sin, and shares in the full power of God the Father.

Today, focus on the divinity of Jesus and the closeness and the affection that these verses show between God and Jesus.

1 Cor 13:1-13

(by Jason)

Those of you involved in youth Sunday last year will have remembered this passage. Anyone who has ever been to a wedding might have heard this verse.

Yesterday I said how love is the reason Jesus came, and how God showed us his Love through Jesus. Today’s passage pinpoints how that actually looks. When you see all the attributes listed, you will see that Jesus lived these out throughout his life. So if we want to see what love actually looks like (as opposed to things like lust and obsession), we only need to look as far as Jesus.

You might be starting to think about the new year now, and what promises you might be making to yourself. Consider the end of this verse when making your New Years Resolutions. What will be left? Know that just because you are young, doesn’t mean you can’t make an impact.

1 John 4:9-10

(by Jason)

It’s my birthday! That is all…

… no just kidding! As I mourn for my twenties, todays passage helps us look at why Jesus came in the first place. It’s all about love. Anything that God ever does is about love. Of course He helps us with discipline, self-control, patience, but the foundation of it all is love. The mere existence of Jesus is because God loves us so much that He wanted a way out for us.

God loved us, and showed us love before we even had a chance to show Him how much we love Him. The thought can often seem so big and daughting, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Love might be a very strong word for some people, but have a think today about what it really means that God loves you. As an individual.

Merry Christmas!

(by Jason)

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.