Don't get distracted
The Moderator’s theme for the year is all about being confident in Christ – in his Word; in his love; and in his sovereign power. It is an apt message for the Church in the times in which we live since the challenge to speak out for Jesus and live his way is increasingly countercultural. It is also a poignant message in the midst of a world in chaos. Where our hearts and minds may fret over many things – including wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; the vast number of displaced people worldwide; the persecution of Christian brothers and sisters; poverty and pain – we can be confident that God is on his throne and he is in control.
There are many things to fill up our minds and distract us from fixing our eyes on Jesus and abiding in him. This month, Katharine Hill from Care for the Family highlights her new book Born Free, which is a welcome resource for helping us to reorientate our busy schedules and walk with God in a fresh and freeing way. She points out that, in the gospels, Jesus was always interruptible and says that if are prepared to be open to interruptions in our day, “we can find that God meets us there”.
Christmas is certainly a prime time for distractions – it is so easy to get lost in all the festivities of a secular Christmas and forget the real meaning underneath. The Marks and Spencer Christmas advert this year alludes to the many trappings of Christmas, but sadly misses the key point of our Saviour and his birth. Ruth Sanderson reflects on all of this, saying that the nativity scene is: “A moment in history that altered eternity. There is nothing in the supermarket Christmas ads that come close to that reality.”
For us as Christians, Christmas is the perfect time to refocus our hearts on what it means to be a community of believers. In this edition, we hear stories of faith, unity and witness from Balbriggan congregation in Co Dublin and Hazelbank Presbyterian in Coleraine. The importance of meeting together as the body of Christ, encouraging and supporting one another is so key to the growing and deepening of our faith. It is also important that we are set to welcome others into the fold – Deborah Sloan contributes helpful advice on the practical things we can do to welcome newcomers on a Sunday morning.
As we endeavour to clear the distractions this Christmas, our Moderator encourages us: “God has come and he will come again; his Word never fails and we can be confident of that truth and persevere.”
Merry Christmas from everyone in the Herald office.
The Presbyterian Herald is the official magazine of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. It provides a forum for debate and discussion on a wide range of topics and aims to challenge and encourage Presbyterians, as well as inform them about what the wider Church is involved in. It has a readership in excess of 25,000 and is distributed throughout Ireland.
To find out more go to www.presbyterianireland.org/herald or access the digital version via Issuu.