Every blessing from Holme Christian Fellowship
December 2020/January 2021 Magazine
Hale Irwin ...It was the US astronaut Hale Irwin who said, after he had returned to earth after standing on the moon: "the most significant achievement of our age is not that man stood on the moon, but rather that God in Christ stood upon this earth
If you cannot get clever as you get older...
Every year Helen Oldfield sent generous presents to her grandchildren, but the kids never sent thank you letters, in spite of being urged to do so by their parents. Then one year everything changed. Grandma sent the £50 cheque to each grandchild and the next day each child came and said thank you.
She was telling one of her friends about this. "How wonderful" she said, "what do you think made them change and be so polite and appreciative?"
"Oh", said Helen, "it was easy. This year I didn't sign the cheques!"
How far is it to Bethlehem ...
It isn't far to Bethlehem town, It's anywhere that Christ comes down,
And feels in someone's smiling face, A loving and abiding place.
The road to Bethlehem runs right through
The lives of folks like me and you.
History is littered with examples of men who would become gods, but only one example of God becoming man.
"What
would you like for a Christmas present?"
For
any young girl, such a question would bring delighted pictures of long
wished-for possessions. But for Dolly, the answer to her father, John
Byron, was, "Please write me a poem". So on Christmas morning
1749, Dolly found on her plate at breakfast a piece of paper on which
had been written a poem titled "Christmas day, for Dolly"
Soon after, John Wainwright, the organist of Manchester Parish Church, wrote a tune for it. On the following Christmas morning, Byron and Dolly were woken by the sound of singing below their windows. It was Wainwright with his choir singing Dolly's poem
Christians, awake, salute the
happy morn,
Whereon the Saviour of the
world was born;
Rise to adore the mystery of
love,
Which
hosts of angels chanted from above;
With
them the joyful tidings first begun
Of
God incarnate and the Virgin's Son.
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Shine A vicar was taking some junior school children around the village church to show them the various locations and what they meant. He showed them the altar, the font, the pulpit, and so on. At the end of the tour he asked the children to tell him what a saint was. Nobody said anything until at last a boy put up his hand. "So what is the answer?" said the vicar. "The picture in the the stained glass window the boy replied". "Why?" "Because the sun shines brightly through the window" Scripture tells us that believers in Jesus Christ are saints. God wants us to shine like the SON. |
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"What are you going to give your brother this Christmas"
"I don't know" she replied
"What did you give him last year"
"Chicken pox!"
Whenever angels appear in the Christmas story the never fail to say "don't be afraid" In fact this happens four times during the events of the birth of Jesus. Someone has counted the number of times we read "don't be afraid" in the Bible. It amounts to 366. That's one for each day of the year. God does not want us to live in fear during this coming year
Quotes about New Year
"You can get excited about the future. The past won't mind.”
"May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.”
“Glory to God in highest heaven, Who unto man His Son hath given; While angels sing with tender mirth, A glad new year to all the earth.” – Martin Luther
“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let each new year find you a better man.”
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”
The hand of God
Christmas 1939 was the first Christmas of World War 2 and King George the Sixth used the following quote from The Desert by M.L.Haskins in his radio broadcast to the nation.
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be better than a light and safer than a known way.'
As you step into 2021 there is no better thing to do than put your hand into the hand of God
Shalom
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Pastor: Robert Templey Tel: 01430 860997 Email:robert.templey3@btinternet.com Holme Christian Fellowship is an independent evangelical church, part of the Groundlevel network and members of the Evangelical Alliance.. Registered English charity Ref: 1109666
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