Today we held the second in our series of Carol Services known as Step into Christmas.
We had around 50 people at the carol service again, similar to last week.
The service was once again hosted by Phil Bray and began with Joy to the world followed by prayer. Phil welcomed those attending and explained about the service being part of a series.
The second carol was Silent Night which was followed by the second installment of the Christmas Quiz which pitted Christmas Puddings against Mince Pies and involved those attending coming up to collect an envelope from the Christmas tree. Inside the envelope was a card with points which the team could score if they answered a question correctly.
The third carol was See Him lying on a bed of straw. This was followed by an excellent solo by Judith Hamm, singing O Holy Night while accompanying herself on the guitar.
The final carol, before Victor came to speak, was While Shepherds watched their flocks by night.
Victor spoke on Christmas: The Person and brought out verses showing that Jesus was a real man as well as being God. He also displayed verses explaining that Jesus is the Son of God and our Saviour.
As last week, we finished with coffee and mince pies in the back room.
Step into Christmas article in Maidenhead Advertiser 011211
Following an extensive campaign including creation of posters, invitations, social media and even a press-release for the Maidenhead Advertiser, we were pleased to welcome over 50 people for the first in our series of carol services in December entitled Step into Christmas.
The opening service was hosted by Phil Bray and began with the carol O little town of Bethlehem which was followed by prayer.
Phil ran through the titles of the different services coming up and also mentioned a little about the planned Family Services for 2012 – the first of which will take place on 15th January at 11.30am. The topic for the year will be Celebrations.
A sneak at some of next year's planned Family Services
Our second carol was It came upon the midnight clear.
After the carol, we had the first part 0f an Advent Calendar themed Quiz. There were 24 envelopes hung on the Christmas tree and two teams (Christmas Puddings and Mince Pies) each took it in turns to send someone up to choose an envelope. Each contained a unique number from 1 to 24 and a chocolate coin.
The number inside was linked to a question about Christmas, from the Advent calendar on the screen, with the points determined by the value of the number. Higher value numbers generally meant that the questions were likely to be harder.
The Advent Calendar Quiz
At the end of the quiz the running points totals were: Mince Pies 52 points and Christmas Puddings 46 points. This will continue for the next two weeks before prizes are awarded!
Our third carol was The Servant King, also known as From heaven you came.
After this, David Angell came up for a couple of minutes to talk about ‘What Christmas means to me‘. David brought out his fondness to listening to Carols from Kings each year on Christmas Eve as well as touching on the real reason for Christmas.
After David had finished we sang Once in royal David’s city before Alan came up to speak on the opening topic – Christmas: The Plan.
Alan brought out, using the example of the work of Canadian artist Lewis Lavoie, that God viewed Christmas by looking at it from the ‘Big Picture’. Alan ran through numerous examples in the Old Testament where it confirmed the timing and location where the birth of Jesus would take place and the fact that it was all part of God’s plan for Christmas.
He also looked at the practical issues concerning the people involved in the story before finishing by reminding people that although we think of Jesus as a baby at Christmas, he didn’t stay that way and grew into a man who ultimately gave his life on the cross at Calvary.
After Alan had finished and closed in prayer, we enjoyed mince pies and other refreshments.
Everything seemed to work together well and we were encouraged by a positive beginning to the series of Step into Christmas. Next week we have Victor taking the subject of Christmas: The Person.
Great evening for our first #StepintoChristmas. Good turnout. Good message. Good food. Same again next Sunday at 5pm!
We had a good turnout of around 45 people at our final Family Service of the year.
This month it was hosted by Phil Bray and began with the singing of Down from His Glory and prayer.
The second chorus was Wonderful Grace which was followed by a Bonfire Night matching pairs quiz. Mention was also made of the upcoming events in December which we’re calling Step into Christmas.
Halfway through the matching pairs quiz
After the quiz the children enjoyed a number of their favourite choruse from Sunday Club before David Angell came to speak.
David began by asking the question ‘Who moved the stone?’ before linking it in to the story of Jesus appearing to his disciples after the resurrection and Thomas not being with them.
He went on to explain that Thomas was with them when they next met and Jesus appeared again and invited Thomas to touch his hands and feet and to see the wounds. Thomas simply replied ‘My Lord and My God’.
David went on to talk about the different miracles that we have looked at in the Family Services this year and the fact that they are signs that point us to Jesus. The greatest sign of all is his resurrection back to heaven and the fact that he has promised that he will return.
He went on, in a powerful message, to point out that death is not the end and one day all on earth will bow their knee to God.
We won’t have a normal Family Service in December but will have our Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve following on from our Step into Christmas.
Our next planned Family Service will be on 15th January 2012.
Some forty people gathered for our latest Family Service and BBQ today.
With the planned speaker being unable to attend at the last minute it fell to Alan Michael to take up the baton in his place.
The service was once again chaired by David Hedges and began with the singing of Come and see followed by prayer.
Those present were tasked with choosing new team names for the Sunday Club teams and decided upon Bangers and Mash.
We then had a number of children’s choruses as usual before the memory verse for the month – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies”. – John 11:25.
Alan then came to speak on the subject of the raising of Lazarus, taken from John 11, and introduced Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
Lazarus then becomes ill and dies and Alan brought out the question as to why God allows suffering and bad things to happen to people who love him. Lazarus died that God might be glorified through his death. The Bible tells us that when Christians die it is like sleep as we have a great hope to look forward to when Jesus returns.
Jesus proves that He is the resurrection and the life by raising Lazarus back to life. Many believed in Him as a result.
Jesus met the needs of Lazarus, Mary and Martha in different ways.
Remember – Look back and know that God loves you.
Review – Look at present circumstances. God is with us.
Re-focus – Do we need to change our direction? Are we disciples? Remember that Jesus said ‘I am the resurrection and the life’.
We finished the service by singing Low in the grave and prayer.
The planned BBQ and games in the park had to be somewhat scaled back due to monsoon rainfall that fell during and after the Family Service.
Robert and Phil manning the BBQ in monsoon conditions
We had earlier set up a marquee to cook under, but ended up serving food in the back room and putting round tables in the main hall rather than in the park.
Parkside Christian Fellowship 