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Picture of Crich Stand

Crich Baptist Church, click to visit site

For more information, do contact Pastor Chris Hand on (01773) 853180 or by email at chris.hand1@btopenworld.com.

WHERE WILL YOU BE SPENDING CHRISTMAS?

It is often the question we ask one another – ‘where will you be spending Christmas?’ The answers can be many and varied. ‘With family’ is frequently the answer we would give. That might mean we are travelling to be with them. It might mean they are travelling to be with us. Others of us will answer that we will be spending Christmas on our own. We may be happy about that. We may not be so happy about it. Sometimes the answer is that we are going away, perhaps overseas. All of us will have different plans, some more worthy than others, of what we intend to do over the Christmas period.
But we could answer this question differently. We could spend Christmas like Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men. How did they spend it then? They spent it in the presence of God. In fact, it could not be otherwise for them. As they were near the Lord Jesus Christ, they were not only beholding a baby born into this world in perfect sinless humanity, in contrast to our own. At the same time, the young child was also the Son of God. Without sacrificing His eternal nature or divine power, without loss of wisdom, holiness or love, the child in the manger was simultaneously God and man. So those who were with Him or came to visit Him were truly in the presence of God.
That was then. What about now? The same thing applies. We may not have the child born in Bethlehem visible to us today, but we can still come into His presence. His arrival in this world was so that men and women, boys and girls might be forgiven their sins, receive a pardon for their wickedness and be able to come into the presence of God without fear of condemnation. It was so that we could experience His power to transform our lives and receive His gift of love, life forevermore. Many of us will be spending Christmas in His presence. We invite you to do the same.