It was Christmas day 2011, I was in the kitchen attempting to start the washing up whilst the rest of the family lay in a turkey-induced stupor in the living room. I could hear the beginning of the Queen’s annual broadcast quietly starting on the TV and continued to put gravy coated cutlery in the dishwasher, not paying too much attention to what she was saying. Then I stopped, sprout dish in hand, as her majesty started talking about the Christian faith. Heart pounding I listened intently as she spoke of forgiveness and community and most importantly of Jesus!
The Queen spoke of finding hope in adversity and of how Jesus was born to bring hope into a world of fear, quoting Luke 2v10-11. Boldly she talked of our need for a Saviour and how God brought Jesus into our world not as a general or politician but as the one to heal our wounds and save us from ourselves. She talked of how it is though forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s Love.
What a message! I was struck by how evangelistic the Queen’s speech was in an age that is growing ever more secular. The Queen’s message is broadcast to the 53 nations of the Commonwealth. Just think of how many people heard about Jesus on Christmas day! How encouraging is it for us that she had the courage to tell people the Good News!
The Queen’s speech was a stark contrast to some of the other comments I heard over the holidays. Whilst frantically trying to buy my last few presents I overheard one man say “It’s Santa and Jesus who are symbolic of Christmas, except Jesus isn’t real.” For so many people this is the reality of Christmas. Jesus is irrelevant, forgotten in the wrapping paper. My own nativity set spent most of Advent stuck inside a Santa candle holder courtesy of my 5 year old cousin.
The world is in as much need of a saviour now as 2000 years ago. Jesus is just as important and his message is just as Good News. The Queen’s boldness to tell her people about God’s love should be an encouragement and a challenge to us all. Not all of us have the opportunity to speak to 53 nations, but we all have the chance to spread Jesus’ message to those around us. As we look forward to the New Year we can make resolutions but without God’s help we can easily give up. But with God’s help change can happen. This New Year can our resolution be to follow the Queen’s example and tell someone about God’s love?
The Queen ended her message by praying that we all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the Love of God. I would like to echo that prayer for us all and that 2012 be a year full of hope. Hope gives you strength to go on, it breaks down barriers and it keeps you trying no matter what is thrown at you. Hope for a future in which every knee bows at the throne of God is a hope worth holding on to. Jesus is only delaying returning to Earth to give everyone the chance to become Children of God. We once did an activity in my youth group where we each wrote our names in the centre of a piece of paper then wrote around it the names of all the non-Christians we knew. You would be surprised at how many people it is in our power to reach. The 19th Century preacher D.L Moody prayed for a list of 100 people throughout his life to become Christians. By the time of his death 96 of the people on his list had become Christians and the final 4 gave their lives to God at his funeral. We should never be afraid of stepping out for Jesus’ sake, when we put our trust in him he will honour that trust and be there with us.
I hope that you all have a fantastic New Year and that 2012 be a year overflowing with God’s blessings for his people.
Emma
Check out the Queen’s Speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEp_3Spc1g
The Queen spoke of finding hope in adversity and of how Jesus was born to bring hope into a world of fear, quoting Luke 2v10-11. Boldly she talked of our need for a Saviour and how God brought Jesus into our world not as a general or politician but as the one to heal our wounds and save us from ourselves. She talked of how it is though forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s Love.
What a message! I was struck by how evangelistic the Queen’s speech was in an age that is growing ever more secular. The Queen’s message is broadcast to the 53 nations of the Commonwealth. Just think of how many people heard about Jesus on Christmas day! How encouraging is it for us that she had the courage to tell people the Good News!
The Queen’s speech was a stark contrast to some of the other comments I heard over the holidays. Whilst frantically trying to buy my last few presents I overheard one man say “It’s Santa and Jesus who are symbolic of Christmas, except Jesus isn’t real.” For so many people this is the reality of Christmas. Jesus is irrelevant, forgotten in the wrapping paper. My own nativity set spent most of Advent stuck inside a Santa candle holder courtesy of my 5 year old cousin.
The world is in as much need of a saviour now as 2000 years ago. Jesus is just as important and his message is just as Good News. The Queen’s boldness to tell her people about God’s love should be an encouragement and a challenge to us all. Not all of us have the opportunity to speak to 53 nations, but we all have the chance to spread Jesus’ message to those around us. As we look forward to the New Year we can make resolutions but without God’s help we can easily give up. But with God’s help change can happen. This New Year can our resolution be to follow the Queen’s example and tell someone about God’s love?
The Queen ended her message by praying that we all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the Love of God. I would like to echo that prayer for us all and that 2012 be a year full of hope. Hope gives you strength to go on, it breaks down barriers and it keeps you trying no matter what is thrown at you. Hope for a future in which every knee bows at the throne of God is a hope worth holding on to. Jesus is only delaying returning to Earth to give everyone the chance to become Children of God. We once did an activity in my youth group where we each wrote our names in the centre of a piece of paper then wrote around it the names of all the non-Christians we knew. You would be surprised at how many people it is in our power to reach. The 19th Century preacher D.L Moody prayed for a list of 100 people throughout his life to become Christians. By the time of his death 96 of the people on his list had become Christians and the final 4 gave their lives to God at his funeral. We should never be afraid of stepping out for Jesus’ sake, when we put our trust in him he will honour that trust and be there with us.
I hope that you all have a fantastic New Year and that 2012 be a year overflowing with God’s blessings for his people.
Emma
Check out the Queen’s Speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEp_3Spc1g