So Merry Christmas and seven up…

1) What is God Saying Through 2020? – Andrew Wilson reflects on how the book of James might help us consider, in the providence of God, what 2020 was all about.

2) 2020: The Year For Good News – A headline that may surprise (as most good headlines do!), but I valued David Robertson’s perspective here.

3) The Queen gives us a model of how to talk about faith publicly – Some pertinent reflections on the Queen’s speech this year. Many have noted how Her Majesty has been increasingly open about her faith over the last decade or so – and some have suggested the fact she name-checks Jesus repeatedly makes 2020 perhaps her most evangelistic speech.

4) 20 Pieces of Goodness in 2020 Pop Culture – In the spirit of identifying God’s ‘common grace’ in the world around us (and not just in the Church), this is a fun and positive round-up of some 2020 pop culture ‘diamonds in the rough’, from films and TV shows to YouTube Clips and cultural trends.

5) News from RZIM – Sad and frustrating news coming out of RZIM, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, this past week or so. Seemingly new allegations made against renowned apologist Zacharias, who died in early 2020, emerged last year and a commissioned law firm have published an interim report on them, ahead of a fuller report in Jan/Feb 2021. This was accompanied by a statement from the Exec Committee of the RZIM Board of Directors, followed by internal calls for a radical reform of ‘governance, leadership and accountability’ within the organisation. I appreciated this interview with Dan Paterson, former head of RZIM Australia, and his call for truth, light and integrity, despite the fact some might say covering this up or downplaying it somehow ‘serves the gospel’.

6) ‘A Thrill of Hope’: Celebrating Christmas – Sure, the 25th has been and gone, but we’re still in the traditional twelve days – and anyway, ‘God with Us’ is for life, not just for Christmas, right? The opening five minutes or so of HTB’s Alternative Carols is especially delightful. All Souls offered this more classical affair. And this was our ‘Carols with a Twist’ – perfect for putting on in an evening whilst you write thank you cards or… un-decorate the tree!

7) Nazareth: A Hamilton Parody – Well done Simon Camilleri! Perfect for all lovers of the hit musical.

Last year I also produced a reflection tool called the Life Audit. I haven’t had time to update the dates for 2021, and I’m sure there would be some questions that would be useful to add in light of this past year, but you may still find it a helpful guide to ‘looking back’ and ‘looking forward’. It’s a series of worksheets to print off and ponder your way through, coffee and pen in hand. You can download it for free here.

And for a bit of festive cheer, click the image below to watch our Virtual Nativity – if they had Zoom two thousand years ago…

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Seven up…

1) ‘It brings cheer after a rubbish year’: Advent windows light up UK streets – Great to see this initiative get coverage in the national press.

2) Coronavirus vaccines and Christian ethics – I haven’t got to reading this article from Christian medical doctor and Professor Emeritus at UCL, John Wyatt, yet, but I’m told it’s a really stimulating read.

3) The sad irony of celebrity pastors – This is a perceptive and chilling piece in the US Spectator, the last paragraph perhaps especially prophetic: “I am not religious, so it is not my place to dictate to Christians what they should and should not believe. Still, if someone has a faith worth following, I feel that their beliefs should make me feel uncomfortable for not doing so. If they share 90 percent of my lifestyle and values, then there is nothing especially inspiring about them. Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me. That, sadly, appears to have been true of Lentz and his celebrity acquaintances.”

4) Roots of Jazz Christmas Special – If you’ve not come across RoJ, check this out! The group of musicians put on concert-style events where they explore the parallel stories of the history of jazz and the history of Christianity – it’s really quite unique. This is their Christmas special and it’s just brilliantly done. After a really tough year, the hunger for the hope of Christmas is greater than ever. Stick this on one evening, share it with your friends, and encourage your church to do the same and so share the joy of ‘God with us’ in the birth of Jesus Christ.

5) A Quarantine Christmas Kit – Christian childrens’ writer Sally Lloyd-Jones, author of The Jesus Storybook Bible, shares a treasure trove of online goodies to make the most of in this strangest of all Christmases.

6) Can we learn anything from 2020? – Glen and Paul from Speak Life react to Russell Brand’s thoughts on the continuation of Black Friday sales throughout a worldwide pandemic. Is Russell onto something? Can the world and the church learn something from 2020?

7) Most British Interview Ever – For something a bit different, CNN’s spontaneous interview with 91-year old Martin Kenyon, as he became one of the first people to receive a non-trial COVID vaccine, will bring a cheer to your day. For an Advent bonus, here’s the acapella group, Eclipse, performing their Christmas ‘Hamilton’ parody.

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Seven up…

1) Home for Christmas – Phil Moore & team have put together an excellent resource here. The Home for Christmas project is a set of high definition, high-quality videos of carols and contemporary Christmas Christian songs that can be downloaded and used in Carol Services (physical or online), as well as Bible readings and a guest-friendly talk from Roger Carswell. Similarly, St Helen’s Bishopsgate have produced ‘Christmas in a Box’, a collection of videos to create your own bespoke carol service, including talks, carols (tending to have a more classical feel compared to H4C) and more.

2) Go Chatter Customisable Christmas Videos – The Go Chatter team have produced a series of customisable video invites to use on social media, etc, this Christmas. They look great, are easy to make, and are a bargain! In fact, this one is even free!

3) ‘Children ripping bags open for food’ – This BBC report from Burnley is desperately sad, highlighting how the poorest communities have been hit hardest during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report features two clergy as they respond to this poverty. Stephen Kneale, who ministers in nearby Oldham, reminds us that our reaction as Christians should be more than simply a temporary emotional response of the moment.

4) Free Audiobook: Christmas Playlist by Alistair Begg – This month ChristianAudio’s free audiobook is this engaging and evangelistic book by Alistair Begg, which picks out four songs that were sung by people at the very first Christmas and unpacks the true meaning of Christmas.

5) Christmas Bake-Along – Next Saturday at 2pm, Faith in Kids will broadcast a bake-along video featuring former Great British Bake-Off contestant Martha Collison, who will guiding families through baking gingerbread men & women. This realtime baking lesson will be interspersed with short all age talks explaining the reason for the season. Why not deliver all the ingredients needed to your friends and invite them to join this all age bake-along experience.

6) Is Christianity Good for Women? by Passion for Evangelism – I really appreciated catching up on this last week. Passion for Evangelism is a network of female evangelists who would like to grow in communicating the good news of Jesus Christ. This online event featured three speakers, Abi Marthinet-Glover, Gabrielle Samuel, Ellidh Cook, who spoke into the question of whether a religion sometimes labelled as sexist, misogynistic, and patriarchal can have anything good to say to 21st century women.

7) Hope Christmas Gets You To Me – Well, this is delightful. Two Glasgow-based teachers have produced perhaps the unexpected Christmas song of the year. As one of them put it, ‘We really hope that we’ve captured something hopeful that chimes with people despite the sadness of this Christmas, and the huge challenges of the year’. As of yesterday it was #8 on Amazon Music and #99 on iTunes, which is pretty remarkable with no marketing. Why not go buy the song here?

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And if you’re looking for a little bit of Hope in the Darkness, each Tuesday evening in December on Facebook Live we’re exploring one of the four titles given to Jesus in Isaiah 9. It’s a simple format: an interview, a song and a thought for the day. Last week I chatted to my friend Tony Ford on the theme of ‘Mighty God’.

Finally, some news from us:

And if you’re looking for Week 2 of Dr Luke Investigates Christmas, check it out here!

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