It's Begining To Feel A Lot Like Christmas! Series

It’s December.

Is it beginning to feel a lot like Christmas?

Do you like this time of year?

December, possibly one of the most wonderful months of the year!

and possibly one of the most stressful months of the year!

December, what more could you want this month than the opportunity to go Christmas shopping,

actually Christmas fighting might be a better description,

fighting through the crowds of caffeine fueled, adrenaline filled people hunting for those special bargains in the pre-christmas sales.

You know the bargains I’m talking about -

the stuff that seems like a good deal now,

but on December 26th,

in the Boxing Day Sales will cost a tenth of the

pre-Christmas price.

December and Christmas Shopping,

forget about the stress of finding the so-called bargains;

what about the stress that comes from making sure you get the right gift for the right person.

When you bought them something similar last year, did they REALLY like it or were they being polite.

So many people celebrate Christmas -

I grew up in a Jewish household.

We celebrated Christmas.

Well, by celebrate I mean we sent cards,

we exchanged gifts,

we pulled crackers and groaned at the jokes,

Mum cooked a Christmas Pudding that nobody ever had the intention of eating after we ate turkey to our limit and beyond,

Brussel Sprouts made their annual appearance on the table, and came back for a repeat visit during the Queen’s Speech.

And Dad would open a bottle of Baileys so that my Jewish Granny could have “just the one” - one bottle that is...

Christmas, wrapping paper, tinsel, trees, baubles, lights, music, food, family, candy canes and crackers.

Christmas, everything you would expect Christmas to be. Except - it was Christmas without Christ.

Jesus is the reason for the season, yet so many people celebrate Christmas without Christ.

In the “Celebration” of Christmas many chose not to celebrate what Christmas is really all about.

In many traditional churches this time of the year is called Advent.

Advent is simply the time before the coming of Christ to earth and this month in our Fresh Fire Series we are thinking about the Holy Spirit in Advent, Christmas and Healing.

Actually this is our Final month, month 12 in our Fresh Fire Series.

12 months. It doesn’t feel that long does it.

We have been on quite a journey so far haven’t we.

In January we looked at “the Spirit in the World Today”

February was The Spirit in the Old Testament

March The Spirit in the History of Israel

April The Spirit in the Writing Prophets

May The Spirit in the Life and Ministry of Jesus

June The Spirit in the Teaching of Jesus

July The Spirit in the Book of Acts

August The Spirit in the Everyday Living

September The Spirit in the Ministry of Believers

October The Spirit in the Ministry of the Church

This month we have been hearing about

“The Spirit in Supernatural Demonstrations”

And now, as I said, for December our focus will be:

The Spirit of Advent / Christmas & Healing

12 months of teaching about who the Holy Spirit is

What the Holy Spirit does, and what the Holy Spirit enables us to be and do.

Has this series of sermons made a real difference in your Christian Life?

Have you gained a greater understanding of who the Holy Spirit is?

Have you experienced Him doing more in your life?

Has the Holy Spirit enabled you to be more the person that God has called you to be?

Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you?

After nearly a year of preaching - is there a real difference in your knowledge, in your understanding, in your experience of the Holy Spirit in your life?

The purpose of the Fresh Fire series was to do more than give us a head knowledge of the Holy Spirt, the purpose was for each of us to experience more of the Holy Spirit each day.

And young or old, male or female, each of us need to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, move us and empower us.

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This morning, the message the Lord has laid on my heart is an Advent message -

we are going to to consider an event that took place before the incarnation of Christ.

There is more to Advent and Christmas than the story of Jesus birth.

There is life changing truth by God’s Grace and the Power of the Holy Spirit we should share with others.

Let me draw your attention to Luke Chapter 1,

and an angels visit to the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah.

And let’s consider how this event relates to the promises of God in your own life.