Hello and welcome to the Big Cambridge Christmas Charity Concert 2020! We are so delighted to have you join with us – if your household aren’t with you yet – take a moment, pause and get them together – this is going to be an amazing hour of singing and celebration. Get out the mince pies and mulled wine, get the Christmas hats on!

We’ve got a range of carols, Christmas readings, some spoken word, and a talk to get us into the Christmas spirit. There will be lyrics on the screen for the carols but we also have an online service sheet which is in the link below.

If you haven’t seen yet, we’re raising money tonight for the homeless charity Emmaus Cambridge as well as a charity working with refugees in Greece called Better Days. We’re hoping to raise eight hundred pounds for charity this evening. As much as we want to celebrate tonight, we also want to look outside of ourselves and be aware that Christmas is difficult time for many, especially those without homes, or who are far away from home. You can find the JustGiving link below the video as well as on the mobile webpage with the service sheet. DONATE Tonight we’re going to be going through the Christmas story through word and song together.

The Ancient Near Eastern kingdom of Israel had been in exile under the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. Back in Israel they then suffered under brutal Hellenist and then Roman rule. Wave after wave of rebellion, activism and revolts to attempt to reinstate an independent Jewish Kingdom. Suffering heavy taxation and oppression during political and social meltdown, the Hebrew people prayed for relief from the Roman occupation, and priests repeatedly read the old prophesies aloud in synagogues, were longing for the saviour that their scripture promised them. The prophesies whispered of a coming messiah who would save God’s people.

The name Emmanuel from the first carol means God-with-us. This carol written in the 9th century aches with a longing for freedom, for God to come close, for a way out.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai's height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death's abode.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

Isaiah 9:2-7, written c.734 BC NIV

The people walking in darkness
 have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
 a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
 and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
 as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
 when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
 you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
 the bar across their shoulders,
 the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
 and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
 will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
 to us a son is given,
 and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
 Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
 there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
 and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
 with justice and righteousness
 from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
 will accomplish this.

Charities

We’re raising money tonight for Emmaus Cambridge and Better Days and are hoping to raise eight hundred pounds for charity this evening. You can find the JustGiving link below the video as well as on the mobile webpage with the service sheet. DONATE

Luke 1:26-38 GNT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm the storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God

Mary, did you know? (Did you know?)
Mary, did you know?
Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)
Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)
Mary, did you know?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the lamb!

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is Heaven's perfect Lamb?
That sleeping child you're holding is the great I am

Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)
Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)
Mary, did you know? (Mary, did you know?)

Interlude

The Jesus of history was a child of a Jewish family living under a foreign regime during a time filled with rebellion and uprisings. He was born far from his family’s home during a census and his family fled as refugees to Egypt from a king who sought to kill him because he posed a political threat.

The Jesus story, in its historical context, is one of human terror and divine mercy, of human abuse and divine love. It is a story that claims God became human in the form of one who is vulnerable, poor and displaced.

Luke 2:1-21 NIV

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
 and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Hark the herald

Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With th’angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem."
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Spoken word performance

Luke 2:25-35 NIV

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
 you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
 and the glory of your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Once in Royal David’s City

Once in royal David’s city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern;
Day by day, like us, He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles, like us He knew;
And He cares when we are sad,
And he shares when we are glad.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above:
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.

John 1:1-5 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Talk from Pete Dray

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Conclusion

Christmas is a celebration of God becoming human as a gift of love. Every aspect of this God-staged drama was fragile and vulnerable. It turns out that God communicates with us not in arguments or debates or theological formulas, but in terms of a tiny human life and the cries of a powerless baby – in terms of the deepest vulnerability and the most profound love. This love finds its ultimate expression on the cross, as the wooden manger of Bethlehem becomes the wooden cross of Calvary.

The birth of the Christ child proclaims that God has not given up on us and on his world. He appears to us in the life of Jesus, a life of complete identification with human suffering and need.

God has not given up on us and on his world. He appears to us in the life of Jesus, a life of complete identification with human suffering and need.
That promise, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going away’, is one of the most powerful things we can hear, whether from someone at the bedside in illness; or over a drink in a time of stress or anxiety; or at a moment when we wonder what’s going on in our society. And this past year has certainly seen times of darkness and scenes of deep suffering in our world.
But that promise, ‘I’m not going away’, is something we can hold on to and lies at the heart of what Christmas says about God. The Christmas story that we celebrate today, of a baby’s birth in the most wretched and messy circumstances, reveals to us something deep about the essence of God.

We’re going to end our service with a song from a homemade choir from Colonel Spanky’s Love Ensemble, but before we head out If you would like to chat more with our speaker – he is going to be on a zoom call live to answer any questions that people might have and to chat some more about the Christmas story.
If you and your flatmates watching this want something Christmassy to watch after this service – there’s an amazing Christmas special about the Navity story from a series called the chosen that you can watch here.
It’s been wonderful to have you this evening – I hope it’s brought some festive cheer and touched your heart.