Bruce Judd, Pastor, Te Awamutu Christian Centre
Last Friday afternoon folk of all ages gathered to enjoy singing joyous Christmas carols in the Church-yard outside the Presbyterian church, in celebration of the birth of Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
It certainly felt like Christmas with the familiar happy atmosphere there. We remembered the mother of Jesus, a young Jewess woman named Mary, who was visited by the angel Gabriel who said to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest.”
The ancestor of Jesus was Abraham (the father of the Jews), he was given the following promise from God, which holds true to this day: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.”
May New Zealand always stand with Israel, because we need God to bless our country. Through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob including Jesus and his
disciples Peter, James, John and Paul (who were all Jewish) we were given the Bible, with its message of God’s love for every person on earth.
Christmas is the time to be joyful, good to each other and giving. It reminds us to trust in God who is love, and not to be afraid of the future. – Pastor Bruce Judd.
