Like 1:5-6 (Passion Translation)
During the reign of King Herod the Great of Judea,there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah who served in the temple as part of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also from a family of priests, and was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous before God, living virtuously and following the commandments of the Lord blamelessly.
If you have been around church for a while, you will be so familiar with the Christmas story. Luke's gospel starts with an older couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who have been living a virtuous life with scrupulous attention to following God's commandments. They are living their ordinary lives with no idea of what was about to happen. They are reliable, faithful people who fulfill their roles in the temple in spite of the fact that they have experienced the huge disappointment of not being able to have children. Yet God uses and blesses this faithful couple to bring about the fulfillment of prophecy and the scriptures.
We might think that the role we play in Church is very routine and even tedious at times, but this story tells us that God uses ordinary, faithful people to bring about his plans. So as we approach the Christmas season with all its demands and challenges, lets focus on fulfilling the part God has called us to play, however mundane it may seem. This Christmas he may be calling back people who have left the church or maybe those who have never really understood what it means to have a living faith. Let's welcome whoever God is calling and remain focused and obedient to what God is asking us to be and do. God is always transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary-and we can work alongside him to help fulfill his plans for our community.
PS: As ever, resources below are denoted in green if they have been offered previously-new resources are in white. Inevitably there will be some 'repeats' from previous years.
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