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Here is our Christmas Countdown Clock! Day Twenty activities If you have an Advent Wreath - here is a short reading and ceremony before lighting the two candles. Luke Ch1 V46 and 49 Mary's Song: And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. This text will be replaced by the flash music player. Listen to the Magnificat - a very beautiful song" This passage is known as Magnificat from the Latin - "My soul doth magnify the Lord" - It can be seen from this passage that Mary believed in God and she had a strong Faith. The second thing that is obvious is her familiarity with the Scripture - as we read Mary's hymn, she quotes the Psalms, refers to God's works of old and to His goodness to Leah, and repeats words of Hannah's Prayer 1 Samuel 1. When she needed them most, Mary had a firm grasp of the promises of God in the Bible; and these strengthened her faith. We can also see that she was humble, recognising that God had recognised her faith and service. Another things that stands out is Mary's Spirit of Thankfulness -- and so she used her song to magnify the Lord her God, from whom all mercy and grace springs. In this first part Mary has sung God's praise, it comes from her heart as she recognised that she of all people is blessed - for she will carry the Christ Child, the promised child, Immanuel, God with us. In our society today, the opposite of Mary humility is obvious, you only have to watch the TV or read the papers to see all the reality and talent shows to discover that people are seeking to be famous over night, with little or no hard work required, but only a very few make it and remain famous, usually they cannot cope with the stresses and problems that go with their 15 minutes of fame. Mary was different, she had an inner strength that came from studying the Scriptures, so developing her strong faith. There is a good lesson here for us as we approach Christmas. You may wonder what that lesson is, well it is simple, for God comes to us and to a needy world through the promised Child, which Mary gave life and a home to. God makes no difference in any way to anyone, He comes to all, to the who so ever will. This Christmas may God give you an openness of mind and spirit to recognise when He comes to you, that you may respond and Glorify God and enjoy Him for ever. That you may find a measure of belief and faith that Mary had, that you in turn may be used by God in His service. Prayer: Lord God we come into your presence, remembering the words of Mary, grant that we might be able to echo and own these these words ourselves. Loving God in company with Mary we praise You because in You is life and Joy and Love. We worship You as we light our candles because Your life is always new and Through Your Spirit You support and sustain us. As Mary glorified You with her heart, mind and song, so enable us in our prayers to give expression to our hopes and desires this Advent tide. Our Father this is our simple worship, help us not to speak too much, to listen for and to You and to listen to each other more than we normally do and to reflect on what we have heard and learned from You and each other. Lord we ask this in Jesus precious name. Amen. Something to think about and do today The Legend of the Christ Child I am assuming that you will all have your Christmas tree up and decorated now, but I wonder if you know the legend of the Christ Child and why - according to the story - we decorate the Christmas tree? There was a poor woodcutter who worked hard to make ends meet and earn his earned his daily bread. He had a loving wife and two lovely children called Valentine and Marie. All of them helped him in his work, were obedient to him and pious in nature. They would daily read the Bible over the table, even if they had only a small loaf of bread to eat. Once, when they were going through this particular daily ritual, somebody knocked on the window. It was a little child suffering from cold and hunger. They pitied him and immediately took him inside their small home. Both the children offered him a place near the fire to keep him warm and a portion of their bread. Since, he seemed very tired too, they offered him their bed too while they slept on the bench in great discomfort all through the night. The stranger child thanked them for their kindness and soon fell asleep while they prayed for the poor child who did not even have the nice warm room and the comfortable bed that they had. They could only fall asleep late at night but the little Marie was woken up in the wee hours of the morning by sweet musical sound of harps and singing that seemed almost divine. She gently woke up his brother Valentine and together they listened to the notes, which told them that it was the angels singing for the Christ Child, the child they had played host to a day before. Their hearts leapt with happiness and when they looked through the window to see the beautiful dawn and a number of little children holding golden harps and lutes dressed in sparkling silver robes. They turned around to see the stranger Child standing behind them wearing golden robes and a golden crown. He told them that he was indeed the Christ Child and wandered about to give good things and joys to king and loving children. Since they had been so unselfish and helpful, he gave them his blessing and took a bough from a nearby fir tree and planted it in the ground. He then told them, that this branch would soon grow up in a tree and bear them Christmas fruits every year. The Christ Child then vanished leaving the children overwhelmed with what they had seen and heard. Soon the fir branch grew into a high and stately Christmas tree that bore golden apples, silver nuts and lovely toys on every Christmas Eve. It is in remembrance and anticipation of the Christ Child that the Christmas tree is decorated every year. A lovely story for Christmas, but with a simple moral to the story. There is a verse from Hebrews Ch13 v2 which says: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." This Christmas while we entertain or families and friends we should think of the stranger as well and open our hearts and homes in the service of others. The Bethlehem Star: Following on from our look at the star symbols and their meanings, I thought we could have a quick look at the story behind the Bethlehem star. So what do we know about the star? Well we know quite a lot about the Star from the Bible. We know that it signified birth, kingship and it is connected with the Jewish nation. It rose in the east, like other stars and it appeared at a precise time. Herod didn't know when it appeared but it stayed bright for a long time. We also know that it was ahead of the Magi as they went south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and that it stopped over Bethlehem. That is quite a lot, but if we were scientists or astronomers it wouldn't be enough. Down the centuries people have puzzled over which star it was. We know that around the time of Jesus Birth, the planets Saturn and Jupiter were unusually close which would have made the sky unusually bright. About that time we know that Halley's comet would have been visible, shooting across the night sky. Some of you may remember seeing the Halley's comet a few years ago, it was an amazing sight. However, none of these suggestions fit the story correctly. Certainly the Wise men of Magi recognised the star as a sign of the birth of a king! But why did they come up with this idea? Well there is a verse in the Book of Numbers CH24 V17 which says: "I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel." The wise men would have understood the meaning of this and set off to follow the star. There are so many theories about the Bethlehem star, but I suspect that we will never solve the mystery. There have been many attempts by scientists and astronomers to solve this. We even have wonderful computer software that can give us a picture of the night sky around the tie of Jesus Birth, but part of teh problem is that we do not know the exact year he was born. For more information check out wikipedia: Learn about the Star of Bethlehem - Opens in a new window Learn about the Star of Bethlehem. If you want to find out even more this is an interesting site with the most up to date theory based on a very old coin - Opens in a new window Here is a lovely story about Heli, The Star of Bethlehem By Harrison Woodard On the third day of creation, God said, “Let there be lights in the heavens.” And according to His Word, the sun, moon and all the stars were created in the sky. God loved each star and would often invite them into His presence and listen to all that they had done. And then one day, He sent out a proclamation commanding all the stars to appear before Him. He would then select one for a very important purpose. With eagerness, all the stars gathered in His throne room. As they waited for God, some of the stars saw Amanda, the smallest star in the galaxy. “Surely you don’t think that God would select you?” said Tariq, one of the largest stars. “What could you possibly have to offer God?” added Vega, another prominent star. “I am here because it is God’s will,” said Amanda. Amanda made her way to the back of the room to watch the presentations. God entered the room and all the stars worshipped Him. And God spoke, “I am sending my son into the world. I will select one star to announce his arrival. The greatest among you will proclaim his birth to the world.” There was plenty of excitement in the throne room as each imagined what it would be like to have this great honor. They each came forward and presented their qualifications to God. “I give light and heat to 15 planets and 27 moons. I am one of the largest stars in the galaxy. I would be very proud to announce your Son’s birth,” said Tariq. “Very impressive indeed,” said God. “Humans know me as the North Star. I have guided many sailors to their destination and have been a constant beacon of light for all travellers. Who would be better to mark the birth of your son?” said Polaris. "Well done,” said God. “I am one of the brightest stars. My light is seen all over this great galaxy. I can think of nothing more wonderful than to share my light with the earth,” said Sirius. “Good job,” said God. From the greatest to the brightest, all the stars presented themselves to God. They all told Him all the wonderful things that they had accomplished. “Is there anyone else?” asked God. “Just me Lord,” said Amanda. She humbly approached the throne and bowed. “No planets or moons revolve around me and I guide no sailors home. My much larger and brighter brothers hide my light. But I joyfully do your will to the best of my ability. I am what you say I am. I will be what you say I will be,” said Amanda. She bowed and returned to her spot at the back of the room. There was a great silence in the throne room as everyone considered Amanda’s words. After a long pause, Astra, one of the wisest of the stars, came forward. “Lord, I am not worthy of such a great honor. Please select another.” With that she bowed and left the throne room. One by one, each star came forward and said the same words until only Amanda remained. “Lord, I don’t understand. Why did they all leave?” asked Amanda. "They all came forward to announce their own power and ability. You were the only one that proclaimed faith in my ability. You truly are the greatest star.” “Thank you Lord,” said Amanda. “From now on you will be called Heli,” said God. “You will proclaim my glory in the night sky for all to see.” “I will do everything you say,” said Heli. Heli took her place in the night sky above Bethlehem. For many months, she was the brightest and most beautiful star the world had ever seen. When her mission was complete, God gave her a very special place of honor in the night sky. On a clear night you can still see her. She is not the biggest or the brightest, but she is still there, faithfully obeying God. She truly is the greatest star. The End Make angels for your Christmas Tree. A Christmas Tree Angel You can make an angel or a whole host of them to hang on your Christmas tree. Follow the steps below and refer to the picture to help you. If you are small you should get an adult to help you with the cutting. Step 1: Draw and cut out a circle about 10 to 12 centimetres in diameter - you can use a cup or a mug and draw round it. Use coloured paper - gold or silver looks great, but you can also use white or coloured paper and colour the angel in later. See picture 1 Step 2: From the centre of the circle mark out three quarters of another circle about 2 to 3 centimetres in diameter. See picture 1 Step 3: Mark lines A and B on the same diameter about 3 centimetres long. See picture 2 Step 4: Mark line C at right angles to lines A and B, from the outside of the disc to the inner circle. See picture 2 Step 5: Carefully cut along all the lines. A and B now become slots. See Picture 2 Step 6: without creasing the paper wrap it round so that slot A slips into slot B. The angels body now forms a cone. To keep it together you can use a small piece of Bluetack or sticky tape. See Picture 3 Step 7: Bend the head upright, and fix a piece of thread to the back of the head with tape, so that you can hang it on the tree. If you have time you can make lots of them. Here is a picture of an Angel for the younger ones to colour in - right click to download the picture and colour it in using your Paint Programme.