25 December 2023 - Blessed Christmas

“Why do…the peoples plot in vain?” says Psalm two

The Lord and His Anointed One the leaders try to outdo

From heaven, the Lord scoffs and rebukes them all

For His King on Zion – the holy hill - God did install

“You are my Son…and I [am] your Father,” God said

God will make “the nations [His] inheritance” instead

“Therefore, you kings, be wise [and] be warned”

For they should serve the Lord they once scorned

 

The Lord said to Jesus, according to Psalm one hundred ten

To “sit at [His] right hand” and rule over all earthly men

For on “the day of battle”, “[His] troops will be willing”

Jesus is a “priest forever”, thus old prophecies fulfilling

God “will crush kings on the day of His wrath”

For Jesus will always be found on God’s path

There have been many priests, per Hebrews seven

But only one lives forever, He was sent from heaven

“Therefore he is able to save completely” any person

“He lives to intercede for them” before their lives worsen

 

The birth of Jesus is briefly written about in Luke two

Joseph went to Bethlehem, for a census all had to do

He went with Mary, his betrothed who was expecting

She gave birth to her son in a stable without objecting

There were shepherds in the nearby fields with their flock

The glory of the Lord shone, and their knees did all knock

But an angel came and told them about the good news

That in Bethlehem had been born the King of the Jews

They were told to rejoice, for they were not in any danger

They would find Jesus wrapped in clothes lying in a manger

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem,” per Matthew two

Magi from the east came, a star in the sky was the clue

The king of the Jews is who they wanted to worship

So they brought gifts with them on the very long trip

King Herod was disturbed; the Magi in secret he did call

They were to report back to him; his evil plans not to stall

The child they did find as to the star they did refer

They worshipped him with gold, incense, and myrrh

About Herod’s evil plot from a dream they did learn

So by another route to their country they did return

25 December 2022 - ENCS

Pastor Josh shared with us on this special day

A brief message about Christmas, he did say

Per Isaiah nine, to us a child born, a son given

Jesus came here so our sins would be forgiven

Five attributes of Jesus are listed in that book

Wonderful, counsellor of wisdom - take a look

Mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace

His leadership means our joy will never cease

Paradoxically His birth was to enable his death

Per Isaiah, he bore our sins with His last breath

Chapter fifty three says that we have all strayed

But thanks to Him, our eternal life is re-made

What this means for us is stated in Romans ten

Confess that Jesus is Lord and will come again

Everyone who believes will not be put to shame

But will be saved when we proclaim His name

25 December 2018 - Luke 2:1-11

At Keene UCC, my mother read Luke two, one to eleven

The background and the arrival of Jesus from heaven

A census for the empire, Caesar Augustus did decree

Everyone returned to their hometown, per verse three

So to Bethlehem, Joseph and his fiancé Mary did travel

From Nazareth in Galilee, on roads made just of gravel

There were no rooms, so in a manger Jesus was born

He was wrapped in cloths, no crown our King did adorn

Shepherds were watching over their flocks that night

And the glory of the Lord around the angel was bright

The shepherds were terrified at the extraordinary sight

But the angel said not to be afraid, verse ten does cite

For the angel was bringing good news and great joy

The long awaited Messiah was actually the baby boy

"In the town of David a Saviour has been born to you”

Little did the shepherds know everything He would do

Christ humbled himself as a human in a lowly manger

To most at the time, He was just the son of a a stranger

But He came to show the world the right way to live

And then gave his life so our sins God would forgive

To follow the example of Jesus Christ the servant king

We should humble ourselves as a sign of worshiping

Remembering the humbling that Jesus did not deserve

We should have no complaints no matter how we serve

24 December 2016 - ENCS

Pastor Josh Harris spoke at ENCS this Christmas Eve

In advance of the food and presents we would receive

On “what Christmas Eve was like in heaven’ he spoke

From Hebrews chapter ten, his message did invoke

Old Testament annual sacrifices, per verses one to four

Could never our once sinless state ever fully restore

But then Christ, as detailed in verse five through seven

Came to earth as a man, per the will of God in heaven

To be that perfect sacrifice and for all our sins to bear

In this way, Christmas Eve was very far from being fair

God loves us so He sent His son to atone for our fall

We have been sanctified by His sacrifice, “once for all”

In this way, Christmas Eve proves God’s immense love

That is why we should celebrate Jesus in heaven above

And as into communion and worship we transitioned

We were reminded that we are eternally positioned

The reason for the season is what Jesus has done

So a very blessed Christmas I now wish everyone

25 December 2015 - PLMC

Rev Dr Isaac Lim spoke at PLMC this Christmas Day

About “Christmas as a heart story” he had lots to say

The heart of God always reaches out to the heart of man

Throughout the Bible, this was evidently the game plan

Mary, Zechariah, and Joseph were examples of this

Angels came to assure each that nothing was amiss

John’s perspective differs from the others, it is seen

As evidenced in chapter one, verses one to eighteen

Per the first two verses, Jesus was there at the beginning

In fellowship with God and He actually was God the King

Darkness entered the world, per verses three and four

Evil intentions come from within and defile forevermore

But verse five says that in this dark world, Jesus is light

And light cannot be overcome, because of God’s might

John the Baptist was not the light, per verses six to nine

For man alone cannot with paradise completely align

Similarly, Christmas is actually a celebration in darkness

Unless Christ is present to bring His love into the mess

Evidence of God’s love for the world, Christmas is in fact 

But we need to receive His wonderful gift and then act

Verses ten to thirteen say Jesus is not accepted by all

Each person’s heart decides how to respond to His call

Our response is what limits God’s willingness to save

Once we do accept Christ, a new path He does pave

Then moving onto verses fourteen through seventeen

From Jesus alone, grace and truth are clearly seen

These establish Christ’s presence within our mix

Any challenging situation we can with love then fix

We then heard of a monastery looking for a breakthrough

A wise rabbi told them that “The Messiah is one of you”

Which led everyone to treat others with more respect

For in each person, at least part of Christ we can detect

Christmas isn’t Christmas until it happens in the heart

By bringing light to the darkness, we can do our part

25 December 2014 - KKMC

At a very full Kampung Kapor Methodist Church on Christmas Day

On Luke 2 verses 15-20, Pastor Kenneth Huang had much to say

His sermon was aptly titled "Christmas, Jesus, Me, and You"

The word "reason" in "the reason for the season" he did undo

Breaking it down into "re" "a" "son" makes it extremely clear

Why the shepherds visited Jesus after the angels did appear

 

In the same way, Pastor said we should want to see Jesus too

As what John three sixteen says about God's plan is so true

God so loved the world, which He created in His own likeness

He gave His only son Jesus to pull out us of our sinful mess

And for those who believe in Him, going in the right direction

Eternal life is a certainty, not just an assumption or projection

A short summary of this key verse Max Lucado did give

We repeated, "God loved, God gave, we believe, we live"

 

Several other "REs" with us Pastor Kenneth did then share

RE-align life's priorities, RE-shape life's values he did declare

RE-direct life's goals, RE-deem from our sin were the next two

And finally RE-lease us to live as our Lord God wants us to do

We don't need to prove our worth in front of God even if we could

For none of us is righteous enough, that should be understood

 

We should follow the shepherd's example and accept the good news

Sharing this with others is what Pastor said that we should choose

In doing so, however, to God's script we must always stick

Even - or especially - in the face of challenges thin and thick

According to God's ways and plans, we should never stop living

Because unique plans for each of us God will never stop giving

 

When we do the good that we can, per verses nineteen and twenty

Like Mary and the shepherds, we will end up being blessed a-plenty

We must know Christ and Christmas to respond to the world of today

For whatever we face, peace and favor from God will come our way

God wants each of us to seek Him all the time, in whatever we do

And to praise Him and share the good news with more than a few

25 December 2014 - A Christmas Poem

People often say that Jesus is the reason

For this festive and meaningful season

Of course that is true but perhaps there is more

About three types of gifts I will briefly explore

 

The first gift is covered in John three verse sixteen

God gave us His Son, the greatest gift ever seen

He did that because He loves us so much

And each of our lives Jesus did then touch

Jesus showed us how to live and conquered death

We should give thanks for this with every single breath

 

The second gift is what God has given each person

He gave us a unique set of talents, not just for fun

Each person on earth God does love for He did create

We each have a mission that we should not leave to fate

Because of our unique talents we each have a unique role

To utilize them for God's glory should be our ultimate goal

 

The third gift results directly from the stanzas above

It happens when we use our gifts to share God's love

By sharing God's love, we can be a gift to others

Whether old or young, rich or poor, sisters of brothers

Gifts of love are shared in many a different way

What we do, what we show, and what we say

 

In conclusion, I guess what I am trying to convey

Is that God's gifts to us are visible every day

Our way of showing thanks should therefore be

Showing His gifts and His love for the world to see

24 December 2012 - ENCNY

I attended Morning Star New York this Christmas Eve
From Pastor Adam Burt the sermon we did receive
Once the Christmas hymns were sung and done
We partook of a meaningful and special communion
About Christmas Pastor Adam wants us to remember
Not just the lights and presents that appear in December
Jesus is the one we should remember instead
Although Mary and Joseph did once, Pastor said
He then read from Colossians 2 verses 16 and 17
We should not be judged by what may be seen
Instead, in Christ is where we should find our reality
With His light, through the shadows we clearly see

We should see Jesus in each and every light
When the tree is lit up, everything seems right
Pastor Adam then read from Isaiah nine verse two
They saw light in the darkness, more than just a few
For in the dark, even a small light shows the way
Jesus is the light of world, for all time including today

For many, Christmas is about anticipation
For presents and food there is expectation
Humanity had been waiting 400 years since Malachi
For the Saviour about whom so many did prophesy
When God sent his son Jesus to the earth
Man being reunited with God is of great worth
Yet remember that He will return once again
This was just a foretaste of what will be seen

In gifts we receive, we should also Jesus see
They are all around us, aware we should be
We should never take these gifts for granted
John 3:16 and God's greatest gift Pastor recanted
This gift addressed our greatest need
It allows forgiveness of every sinful deed

I wish a blessed Christmas to each of you
And of course your families and loved ones too