Over the last few days, or perhaps over the next few days, something very familiar will probably have started happening in a lot of homes. The Christmas decorations have begun to come down. The tree gets a little barer. The lights are switched off and packed away. The nativity scene goes back into the box. And slowly, the house starts to look… normal again. And when that happens, it can quietly feel like Christmas is over. Not just the season — but the sense that things were a little more meaningful, a little more hopeful, a little more holy. It’s easy to slip into the idea that Christmas belongs to a moment, or a mood, or a special set of days on the calendar.
But the heart of the Christmas story tells us something different. God didn’t come for a season. God didn’t arrive for a brief appearance and then step back. When Scripture says “God with us,” it doesn’t come with an expiry date.
So this week, as the decorations come down and life begins to look ordinary again, we’re asking a deeper question: What does it mean to live as people for whom Christmas is still true? Because Christmas is not just something we remember — it’s something we’re invited to live everyday.
Final part of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
Christmas Day feels full of life doesn’t it? The house is full, the table is full, the calendar has been full for weeks! Even our emotions are full - sometimes it’s joy, maybe it’s tension, perhaps even grief. And yet, for all that fulness, many people arrive at Christmas Day feeling exhausted and empty. We spend enormous amounts of energy trying to put life into Christmas; making it meaningful, joyful, simply making it work. But that undermines the very reason we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is not about putting life into the day but about God coming to us and giving his life to us.
Christmas is not just an idea, or a feeling. It’s not a just a tradition or a holiday. Christmas is God in action bringing life to a broken and messed up world. So join us as we rediscover the life that God brings us at Christmas.
Christmas Day - Part 6 of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
The Christmas story is a crowded one. All the inns are full, the heavens are full of angelic choirs, the shepherds are full of curiosity and there in the stable, a manger is filled with all of God’s promises, all of God’s power, all of God’s presence. The manger is filled with Jesus.
At the heart of Christmas is Jesus - Emmanuel, God with us. This is what Christmas is all about and this is what we’ll encounter again as we celebrate this birth of Jesus on the very first Christmas.
Christmas Eve - Part 5 of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
At Christmas, we encounter a love that is neither distant nor sentimental. God's love draws near, enters our world, and takes on flesh. The psalmist declares, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love" (Psalm 103:8). In Matthew's Gospel, we see this love embodied through Joseph's faithful obedience. Setting aside fear, he receives Mary and her child, preparing the way for Emmanuel—God with us (Matthew 1:20–23).
This is the love we celebrate: a love that acts, sacrifices, and fulfills God's promises. As Scripture reminds us, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son" (1 John 4:10).
Part 4 of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah gives the image the joy of the Lord being like a desert in bloom. The seeds or bulbs are always there, the potential for growth and blossoming is present but it is only as the rain comes that these desert flowers really come to life, sometimes seemingly overnight.
It’s also like that with our lives as followers of Jesus. All that Jesus has done for us and won for us through his life, death and resurrection is already ours through faith and trust in him. Yet, in the desert storms of life, it can sometimes feel like we are still barren and lifeless. Just like the desert flowers need to encounter and experience the rain in order to bloom, it’s only as we encounter and experience God at work in us in meaningful relationship, that we begin to understand and experience the fulness of joy that is ours in Christ Jesus. That’s what we’ll explore this week as we consider how Christmas is Joy!
Part 3 of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
It seems that these days, peace is all about the absence of something. We have ‘peace and quiet’ when there is an absence of noise.
We say there is peace between nations when there is an absence of war or conflict. We have peace in our heart or in our lives when there is an absence of worry or stress. For most of us today, peace is defined by what’s missing.
Have you heard of the word 'Shalom'? It is a Hebrew word, still often used by Jewish people as a greeting or parting blessing. It’s also used often in the Old Testament and it is usually translated into English as the word ‘peace’. But the way ‘shalom’ was understood in the Old Testament, and is still understood by Jewish people today, is very different to how we often think and talk about peace. Greeting someone with the word ‘shalom’ is speaking a blessing on them and wishing them wholeness and a sense of rightness and ‘peace’ within themselves, with others, and with God. This kind of ‘peace’ is not an absence of anything but, as we will discover this week, it is about having something more; more complete, more restored, and more relational.
Part 2 of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
Christmas is a lot of different things to a lot of different people. If you were to do a quick ‘street poll’ (as many people have on social media) and asked a random group of people what Christmas is to them, you will no doubt get some of the following responses… “Christmas is about family”, “To me Christmas is about giving and generosity”, “I think Christmas is about Santa Claus and presents”, “Christmas is a time to reflect and give thanks for all the blessings we have”… the list goes on.
In many ways, Christmas really is a lot of different things; the birth of Jesus, the coming of God to live among his people in a way we had not known since the very beginning, does bring with it, hope, peace, love, joy and so much more. But in the hustle and bustle of all the preparations, decoration, gift giving and carol singing it can be hard to keep our focus on what Christmas really is. That’s why this Christmas, we’re stripping things right back to what God’s people have known and taught about the birth of Christ right from the beginning; and this week we rediscover the hope that is Christmas.
Part 1 of our Advent/Christmas series: "Christmas Is..."
Consider the patience you show to a loved one or co-worker, the forgiveness you offer a friend, the whispered 'thank you' at sunrise—what if they're more than simple acts of kindness?
According to Colossians 3, they're rehearsals for eternity. Right now, across heaven and earth, 'thousands upon thousands' are worshiping the Lamb who makes all things new. This mourning we'll discover how Christ transforms our ordinary living for him into 10,000 reasons to live for what lasts forever.
Final week of our series: "10,000 reasons"
For followers of Jesus the future isn’t something to fear—it’s a promise we can count on.
We don’t just passively wait for Jesus to return—we actively anticipate it! It’s like the joyful expectation of children counting the days to Christmas, but with far more at stake. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the world’s bad news, we’re invited to live alert and hopeful, ready and watchful, with hearts full of light. Jesus never told us to hide when times get tough—he called us to lift our eyes, because our rescue is on the way!
So what does faithful waiting look like? It’s not about obsessing over dates or predictions. It’s about renewing our hope each day—praying “Come, Lord Jesus!”, serving others as if his kingdom is already breaking in, and relying on grace that shines brighter than any darkness.
Part 3 of our series: "10,000 reasons"