Christingle- Sermon 185

This morning in our service we celebrate – two special events in the Church Calendar – Our Christingle service – and the Baptism of Christ –

In both – Jesus – is the main focus

Baptism is all about cleansing and new beginnings
In Jesus’ baptism – He is publicly revealed to be God’s son – and anointed by Him – and given the Holy Spirit –

when we fulfill our baptism vows – through faith and trust in Jesus – we too receive the Holy Spirit – and are accepted by God – as one of His family –

The Christingle reminds us – that Jesus shines – as a light in our – world – Christingle means – Christ – light – and when we look at and light our Chrsitingles – we are reminded that the light that Jesus spreads – does makes a difference – in the world and in everyone’s life

The Christingle and Jesus’ baptism – therefore teach us that being a Christian – is about being active in the world today – and so to remind us of this need to be active Chrisitians – instead of just receiving our Christingles – at this service – we are going to make them ourselves-

everyone should have had a bag when they came in (hold it up) – I’ll take you through the steps – during the sermon – and if parents can also help the children –

As an added bonus – Vanessa and Sheila – will also demonstrate the assembly on their flip board – and hopefully at the end – we will all have something that looks like a Chrsitingle –

point 1      

we begin with the orange which represents the world we live in – (it should have a hole in the top)

The world in Jesus’ time had many problems- wars – violence – ill treatment of the poor – greed of leaders – racial prejudice –

and our world today – can also seem be pretty cold at times too – and not just because of the snow – the people can be icy – as well as the footpaths and driveways –

but Jesus can bring warmth to people’s hearts – and help them to realize – that how we treat each other – is just as important as how we treat ourselves-

God’s ways are different to the worlds – to God – money – wealth – power – are not the most important things –

Jesus teaches us that – love and caring for one another is far more important – and we should all help each other – practically and through prayer –

practically through acts of kindness – through giving and forgiving – indeed – there might be someone we know in our own streets – especially in this freezing weather – that might need an extra helping hand at this time – if they can’t get out because of the icy paths –

and through prayer – because when we ask God for help – He will provide it – whether through us – or someone else –

Prayer is an important part of being a Christian – Jesus – prayed to the Father at His Baptism – before He receives the Holy Spirit –

[Prayer is also important in receiving the Holy Spirit in our NT reading – which is the beginning of the great Commission – given by Jesus to His disciples ]-

The thing about prayer is that it requires us to do something – before receiving God’s help – a bit like knocking on the door –

knock knock -(whose there) – tank – Tank who – you’re welcome

knock knock -(whose there) – Luke – luke who? – Luke out here comes another one –

knock knock -(whose there) – orange -orange who – orange you glad its my last knock knock joke –

knock – knock – whose there – God’s there – and He answers all our prayers –

point 2       

So from our orange – our world – we now add the ribbon – around the middle – and use our cocktail sticks to secure it –

( Demonstration takes place while talking) –

Can anyone tell me what the ribbon represents? –

It stands for the blood of Jesus –

When the Jews captured – Jesus – and tried Him – and the Romans killed Him on the cross – Jesus blood was spilt – for each one of us –

The red ribbon is placed around the middle of the orange – to show that when Jesus died – it was for the whole world –

we use four sharp pointed cocktail sticks – to secure the ribbon to remind us the Jesus was pierced –

On the sticks we put sweets – and fruit – to represent the goodness of the earth – and the richness of the animals and birds that God has provided –

The sweets also remind us of the good gift of Jesus in giving His life – so that we might have life – and we should be at least twelve of them – three per stick – to remind us of the twelve disciples-

The four sticks are placed around as evenly as possible – in north, south, east and west locations – and each also stands for the four seasons – spring , summer autumn and winter –

mums and dads might need to help as the cocktail sticks are very sharp – and if posible we should leave one sweet at the end of each stick to hide the sharp point –

  
point 3      

The final step in building our Chrsitingles – is to put the candle on the top – into its prepared hole – (you also need to put a small piece of foil – on the end to secure it) –

and our gift in the Children’s Society envelops is so very important – in helping them carry out their work –  

The light that Jesus lit 2000 years ago still needs to burn brightly today – and He asks each one of us – to play our part in making sure it is seen by everyone around us –

we do this by being active Christians – helping others and praying for them – and making sure Jesus’ light reaches every dark corner of our world and our lives –

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit