EditorialINSIDE“Messiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind” is veryappropriate theme for this year’s Parish MessengerMagazine as we approach His birth this season yet again.Christmas, the birthday of Jesus our Lord is revered andcelebrated throughout the world by believers and non-believers alike cutting across all communities of people. Itis celebrated with great fervor, pomp and gaiety. The festivalof Nativity is very unique and special to all of us as itengenders great happiness, togetherness etc., eventuallyculminating in bridging the bonds between families. It istime for indulging in fun and frolic by little trots and eldersalike.

It is the season which enables us to take a pause from thishussle-bussle busy work schedule and help us to review ourlives as to where we stand with our Savior, “The Messiah”who was gifted to Humankind by Jehovah, The Father.

The endeavor behind this title, “Messiah’s Rendezvous withHuman Kind” is to relate to the deeper, intrinsic spiritualedification of each and every child of god. It is relevant thatwe invite Christ into our homes and hearts once again duringthis Christmas season. (Rev.3:20)

Christmas is a time to cherish receiving greeting cards, gifts,novelties and many more, and some of them veryexceptionally love giving and making others happy, as this isalso the season of ‘Giving’. However, we cannot reduce thisvery historic event to such niceties alone.

Symbolically, we visit our fellow brethren and sisters, singcarols and spread the Good News of Messiah’s birth. Yet,there are millions of people throughout the globe who areto receive this Good News of “Messiah’s coming” and wecan play a pivotal role in reaching out to them through varioussources and institutions who are laboring in the Lord’svineyard.

Without flaunting, please note that this edition is very specialin nature since it covers a wide range of subjects relating toChristmas and New Year besides the theme, encapsulatingarticles that have been presented by our members and SundaySchool Children who with their innocent minds havedivulged their spiritual thought process through theirawesome, mind boggling art work.

It is also appropriate that we remember our loved ones whohave left us to their heavenly abode during this Christmasseason and express our solidarity and gratitude to each ofthem who have departed us during this year.

Wishing you all an enriching “Noël béni (A BlessedChristmas) & “Bonne année (Happy New Year – 2019).

Satri Chandrika Samuel

From the Presbyter’s Desk 1- Rev. K M Charles WesleyMessiah’s Meeting with Humanity 2- Rev. T BhaskerMy Rendezvous with God 3- Mary Manjula SuhasiniChristmas: Hope for Humankind and 4Creation - Secretary’s DeskMessiah Meeting Humankind 6- Bishop Rt. Rev. Surya PrakashWhy Christmas should be so merry? 8- B. Sunil KumarMessiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind 9- Rosalind RaoHerald the greatest event for all mankind 11- Captain IN A J Manohar (Retd)In Conversation with the Christmassy 14Knick-Knacks - Maneesha MohantyWith All Your Heart, Mind And Soul 15- Gabriela Keerthana GondhiReal Christmas Celebration 16- IPP PrabhakarGod’s Rendezvous with Humankind 19- Jason WilsonMessiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind 20- Shalini RaoThe cradle that rocked the world 22- Yashodhra DesappaRendezvous of Jesus - Priscilla Dhyram 24Messiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind 26- Rev. John RanganathLegends about Christmas 27- Bessie JohnMeeting with Jesus: A life-changing 28Experience - Mary SujathaThe Lord your God in your midst 29- Sunitha DavidMessiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind 31- P Samuel AlbertFlawless God into the Flawed World 33- Shebah WesleyMessiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind 35- James SamuelThe Joy of Sharing - Girija Augustine 36My wonderful residence: this Christmaswinter - Lydia Keerthana 40Out of a manger came our Saviour 42- Beulah SupriyaA time of wonder and love – Sucharita 43Messiah’s Rendezvous with Humankind 44- Gondi Annie SpoorthiTo Care for Those Who Once Cared for 52- Joyce ThompsonSuper Seniors Care - Joyce Thompson

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Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, atthis meaningful and most sacred time ofthe year, I wish to extend to you and yourloved ones Christmas greetings and goodwishes for the New Year.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is thetouchstone of our Christian faith. The Sonof God did come; "the Word becameflesh..." (John 1:1-14). Therefore, ourChristian faith is a historic, supernaturaland redemptive reality as nature. Thescripture declares the fact again and again.We see the promise in the Holy Bible isitself the outcome of the incarnation. Thetrue Christian Church in the world iswitness to the fact of the saving work ofChrist on earth. The power of the Gospel,the countless persons transformed by theredemption of Christ, and the assurancein Christian hearts all combine to declarethat the glory of God became manifest onearth in Jesus of Nazareth.

Here we have the reason for Messiah'srendezvous with humankind or the divineintention in the incarnation. In the comingof Christ the fullness of God came downto the human level, and thus the abundantgrace of God was offered to humankind.The OT law was weak and could not bethe means of salvation. But grace and truthwere not only revealed through Christ inthe NT, they were made available to allbelievers through Christ. God could notbe revealed adequately by the law; Hecould be seen in the fullness of His gloryin the Son. The one who came out from

From the Presbyter's Desk

The Rev KM Charles Wesley the bosom of the Father, even the Son,revealed God as living person, forgivingFather, all-sufficient Savior and everlastingLord. Through the incarnation Godrevealed His saving purpose, manifestedHis infinite love, and mediated Hisabundant grace and offered life and lightto humankind.

There will always be Christmas becausethe birth of Jesus Christ brought goodtidings of great joy to all people. But howdifferent Christmas should be from theseason rated to be the peak for buying,spending and eating and drinking.Christmas is for the recognition of God'scoming into the world, the praise of Christthe Son, the celebration of salvation, andthe proclamation of the good news that thelight of God has dawned upon those sittingin the shadow of eternal death and that thegrace of God has brought the forgivenessof sins and hope of eternal life to peopleeverywhere. Christmas should be markedby quiet periods of silent reflection aboutthe wonders of God's revelation throughthe Son, by happiness of greeting and joyfulcelebration to share faith, hope and love inthankful praise to God in our midst and bygiving gifts to share food with the hungryand healing for the sick and comfort forthe brokenhearted and the knowledge ofsalvation for the lost. Christmas will bedifferent if we realize that Christ Jesus hascome to visit us and fill our hearts withheaven's joy and our minds with God'speace. Let us make Christmas a season ofspiritual celebration to magnify God'ssaving love through His Son Jesus. Amen.

My Warmest thoughts and Wishes for aMerry Christmas 2018 and a Blessed NewYear 2019

The Rev Charles Wesley is the Resident Presbyter, Church of St John the Baptist.

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Journey through this advent seasonwith a purposeful focus on the Christ childwith the hope of meeting the Messiahencourages us to slow down and payattention to the real meaning of Christmas.The term “Messiah” is a translation of theHebrew word mashiach, a verbal nounmeaning “anointed one.” The Messiah hadbeen foretold throughout the OldTestament (OT), especially in book ofPsalms and Isaiah. In the Old Testamentwe also hear of God’s direct interventionin the lives of people of Israel. The peoplewaited confidently and patiently for thecoming of the Messiah. But what theywaited for differed significantly fromperson to person. Many felt the Messiahwould hail from David’s line, the tribe ofJudah, and be a conquering king. Somewanted a religiously oriented Messiah fromthe tribe of Levi. The Maccabees, heroesof the intertestamental period, with theirLevitic heritage, favored a Levitical priest.First century Jews generally expected aconquering messiah. However, there werestrong suggestions of priestly duties andeven suffering for the messiah in the Psalmsand by the prophets. Christ the Messiahand the anointed one has come as a saviorto save and redeem the entire humanityfrom the clutches of sin irrespective ofcaste, creed, race, gender and color. Hisbirth and his sacrifice on the cross ofCalvary two thousand years ago hadmetamorphosized the entire humanity.

Messiah's Meeting with Humanity

The Rev Dr T Bhaskar Reconciliation between God andHumankind

As Bible says in Romans 5:10 while wewere still enemies Jesus Christ the Messiahleft all his glory and power and emptiedhimself and has come to reconcilehumankind with God the almighty. Thewhole purpose of incarnation of Christ wasto make reconciliation between human anddivine. Hence, in this special season ofadvent firstly, there must be reconciliationbetween God and humankind. This is thetime where we, as individuals should leaveall our worldly desires and worldly life andjust like Christ, even we should emptyourselves and reconcile with Christ. Thetrue reconciliation will happen only if ourheart is pure and filled with God’s love.For this, especially in this advent seasonour hearts need to be metamorphosizedinto a manger so that Jesus Christ may takebirth in our hearts. When we hear theGospel and believe, God does severalmarvelous things in our lives. God “deliversus from the kingdom of darkness and leadsus to the kingdom of his beloved son.” Hequalifies us “to share the inheritance of thesaints in light. He reconciles us “in orderto present us holy and blameless in the sightof God” (Colossians 1:22). So, we go frombeing slaves of sin and darkness to beingheirs of Christ.

Restoration of Humankind with God

From the start of the fall in the Gardenof Eden, God planned a way to restore allhumanity to their earlier condition of purity.Many of the Old Testament laws weretransitional or situational to ease the lives

Rev Dr Bhaskar is also the Diocesan Vice-Chairman of Medak, CSI.

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of humans in a fallen world. These lawsbecame stepping points to restoration, butthe arrival of Jesus Christ brought astronger restoration by his birth as aMessiah to save the humanity from thebondage of sin. Jesus played a vital role asa savior in redeeming humankind andrestoring the intimate relationship withGod through his life, death andresurrection. Today in present context ifwe have gone astray from God this adventseason is a fabulous opportunity for eachand every one of us to prepare ourselvesand to look forward to meeting theMessiah who has come down as the newAdam who can restore what the first Adamlost through sin.

Transformation of our lives

Whether we like it or not, our thoughtsare shaped by the world we live in. Ourcultures and communities influence theway we think. Now, that’s not always a badthing, but there is a risk of being influenced

with attitudes and societal ‘norms’ thathave no place in a Christian’s life and thatis why there has to be a completetransformation in our lives. Even Bible saysin Romans 12:2 And do not be conformedto this world, but be transformed by therenewing of your minds, so that you maydiscern what is the will of God what is goodand acceptable and perfect.

This transformation happens if we letMessiah the Lord of Lords into our livesthen indeed we can witness transformation.Just as Bible says in II Corinthian 5:17 ifanyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.Encountering Messiah is very important butletting Messiah into our hearts will make agreat impact in our lives. His birth andhaving an intimate relationship with Himwill transform our lives from darkness tolight, imprudence to wisdom and fromdeath to eternal life. Therefore, this adventseason while we wait to meet the Messiahlet us all surrender our lives to the anointedone and the true transformer.

My Rendezvous with God....Mary Manjula Suhasini

As I sit in the small patio of our garden, watching these beautiful little buds blossom, I feel so very content, forI have created these with my own hands. Watching the seeds grow into saplings and saplings into plants.Plants flower into beautiful colours, birds nesting, chirping all the time, humming and flapping. Watching thesquirrels and our dog running and chasing around, warms my heart with love and immense pleasure. I lookup at the bright blue sky and thank God for showing in all this, His wonderful creation. This small habitat thatI created connects me to the Lord Almighty in a special way.But wait! Where did these crawling and irritating creepy insects come from? Eating, spoiling and killing myplants! What right do they have to destroy my creation? It’s not just that! The little plant which grew into agiant tree is cutting into the wall and breaking it. I say to myself NOT FAIR!! Day in, day out I have nurturedthese plants and trees in hope that one day they will make it good.Watching the habitat that I so dearly created blemish, I can relate and feel, how much does His creation hurtthe Lord God when He watches it being ruined? Does God make the difficult choices for us? Does He feel thesame pain and distress when He loses one of us to the evil and temptations of the world? In that moment, somany questions and doubts in my mind are answered. With a limited capacity, I understood some of the hardchoices and decisions which are made for us.Though God is omnipresent, I find this garden, a special place to interact with Him. Our good Lord Godspeaks to us through His word, His spirit and His presence, even in little things, which helps us to grow inJesus Christ. And that’s how I meet up with our loving and living God.

Mrs Manjula Suhasini is a teacher and social worker. She has been member of St. John’s Church from childhood. Sheis member of the Pastorate committee and was the women’s fellowship secretary

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Christmas: Hope for Humankind and CreationSecretary's Desk

“O little town of BethlehemHow still we see thee lieAbove thy deep and dreamless sleepThe silent stars go byYet in thy dark streets shinethThe everlasting LightThe hopes and fears of all the yearsAre met in thee tonight”

-Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

In the insignificant tiny town ofBethlehem something occurred that we canhardly imagine. The son of God becameMan; God revealed himself to us humanbeings through HisSon, Jesus Christ, “bornof a woman, born under the law”(Galatians:4:4). The son of God did nottake on the form of an angel but becametrue Man, so as to redeem humankind,through his sacrificial death on the cross.Humankind has continually dishonoredGod, ignored his commandments andpersisted in “self-will”. However, God soloved us that He sent His only Son toredeem us. The angelic host declared thebirth of the Son of God, in an expressionof praise, bringing in the declaration of GodAlmighty’s “goodwill towards women andmen”.

As we approach this Christmas Season,we are reminded once again that this is aseason of Hope. It is a season that remindsus, that no matter where we find ourselvesor what may be happening around us, Godis with us. God is there to lead us and guideus through the realities of our everyday

Dr M Udaia Kumar

Dr Udaia Kumar is the Honorary Secretary, St John’s Church.

lives. Inspite of the challenges we face inthis world, God is available to heal us andrestore us in ways we couldn’t possiblyimagine.

1. Christmas is a message of Hope thateach of us is important to Christ. The firstannouncement of Jesus’ birth -was tosome shepherds. The only invitation fromGod to anyone to come and visit Mary,Joseph, and baby Jesus was to a group ofshepherds.

God loves us and cares for us. Nomatter how insignificant we may think weare, God knows us, God cares for us, andwe are important to Him.

Shepherds were at the opposite endof the social strata from King Herod &all the influential people of the day. Theylived in the fields with their sheep. Theyhad no power or prestige. Yet, God’sangel came to them & said, “Unto you isborn this day in the city of David, aSaviour who is Christ, the Lord.”

You may be overlooked by friends,family or even society but God cares foryou. All throughout scripture we see Godhonouring and using people and thingsthat the world often overlooks or ignores.

1 Corinthians 1:26-28, ..26 Brothersand sisters, think of what you were whenyou were called. Not many of you werewise by human standards…27 but Godchose the foolish things of the world toshame the wise; God chose the weakthings of the world to shame the strong.28 God chose the lowly things of thisworld.

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2. Christmas is a message of Hope forPeace on earth. Angels said to theshepherds. Luke 2:14 “Glory to God inthe highest heaven, and on earth peaceto those on whom his favor rests.”Humankind needed something biggerthan a king. Humankind neededforgiveness of sins and therefore weneeded a Savoir. The angels thereforeannounced that a savior was born. He isChrist, the Messiah. He is the one aboutwhom it is prophesied so many timesover in the Old Testament scriptures.Jesus is our Savoir. Jesus brings us peacewith God. Romans 5:1 We have peacewith God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Christmas is a message of Hope forhelp in our present troubled world andGod’s creation. Psalm 46:1 “God is ourrefuge and strength, an ever-present helpin trouble.” In Jesus’ birth, the shepherdswere sitting out on the hillsides, watchingsheep all night long. They were poor. Lifewas hard & harsh for them, withoutmuch hope of it ever getting better. Oneglorious night, the angels appeared tothem and made this wondrousannouncement, “Unto you is born thisday in the City of David, a Savoir who isChrist the Lord.” And suddenlyeverything changed. God had becomereal to them. God had come to helpthem, to be their Savior, to be present intheir daily lives.

4. Christmas is a message of Hope forthe future and a world of sharing andcaring: Colossians 1:27 “To them Godhas chosen to make known among theGentiles the glorious riches of thismystery, which is Christ in you, the hope

of glory.” A meeting with Jesus changedthe perspective of the shepherds. Theywere joyful and jubilant. Inspite of theirhardships, they found joy and hope. Jesusis hope for the future. Luke 2:20 “Theshepherds returned, glorifying andpraising God for all the things they hadheard and seen, which were just as theyhad been told.” The shepherds shared thejoy of Christmas by glorifying andpraising God.

As we recount this great spectacle - ofChristmas, this much awaited Adventseason has a lineup of celebratory events.The Church of St. John the Baptist wouldbe blessed with insightful messages fromguest speakers as well as from our residentPastors. Events featuring the Sunday schoolchildren, Youth, Men’s & Womenfellowships and the church choir would beadding to the love, and joy of the Christmasseason.

I thank our Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. A CSolomon, our Presbyter in-charge Rev. T.Bhasker, and our resident Presbyter- Rev.K. M Charles Wesley for shepherding ourChurch and guiding us through this adventseason. Thanks to the Pastorate Committeemembers and sectoral secretaries for all thecooperation, support and efforts.

God brought the message of hope tous through Christmas. An unimaginableevent has come true- “Peace with Godwhich gives us hope for the future.”Perhaps there is sickness, pain, failure,and struggles in this world. But Jesusbrings hope and comfort. As we celebratethis amazing gift of God, I pray that you,your families and friends have a MerryChristmas and a Joyful and blessed NewYear!

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As Christmas approaches, our thoughtsgo to the coming of the Lord, commonlyknown as the Advent. In this connectionour parish magazine committee decided thetheme, Messiah meeting Humankind, forthis edition.

Messiah in Hebrew language means,God's Anointed or God's Chosen for a par-ticular purpose. Whenever the people ofIsrael were in trouble, they prayed for adeliverer and God sends a messiah or de-liverer to rescue them. (Read the story ofJudges).

As the people of Judah were under Ro-man rule, they prayed and expected Godto send them a messiah to liberate them.From the time of Babylonian captivity, theexpectation of a messiah grew and devel-oped during the Greek and Roman rule inIsrael. (Read messianic prophesies in theBooks of Isaiah and Zechariah).

In the life and work of Jesus ofNazareth, although He does not claimopenly as the Messiah, people recognizeand acknowledge Him as the Messiah. Evilspirits recognize him as the Anointed.(ReferMark 5).The disciples, more so ever, Peter,having lived with him, and being his con-stant companion, confesses that Jesus is theMessiah, the Son of God.(Refer Mark 8and 9 and the parallels in Mathew andLuke).

Messiah Meeting Humankind

P Suresh Kumar Babji The overwhelming witness of the NewTestament, and the testimony of Peter inActs of the Apostle, Paul in all his letters,reaffirm that Jesus of Nazareth is the God'sAnointed.

This gave rise to several theological andChristological discourses as well as doc-trines. The most important are, the doc-trine of Incarnation, the doctrine of theWord, the doctrine of Atonement, the doc-trine of Resurrection and the doctrine ofParousia (the second coming). That Jesuswas the expected Messiah also gave rise tothe discussion of Historical Jesus and Mes-sianic Secret. The doctrine of person andwork of Christ is very significant in NTStudies.

INCARNATION: That God becomeshuman. Transcendent God becomes Immi-nent God. Divinity meets humanity. Son ofGod becomes Son of Man. There are reli-gions and faiths that speak about Incarna-tion. The majority religion in India, speaksabout, God incarnating himself when righ-teousness decreases and unrighteousnessincreases to punish the wicked and save therighteous. God in Jesus Christ loves theworld, sent him to save the world and togive life in abundance. (Refer John 3, ITimothy and John 10 again).

WORD: In the incarnation of Jesus, theeternal Word becomes flesh (human) andlives with full of grace and truth. (ReferJohn 1).He comes proclaiming the kingdomof God (see the Gospels) and after Resur-rection, Ascension and Coming of the HolySpirit, the Proclaimer becomes the Pro-

The Rt Rev Dr. Surya Prakash is Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Karimnagar, CSI

The Rt Rev Dr P. Surya Prakash

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claimed (Refer Acts).The Word is embod-ied in Jesus and Jesus becomes the contentof the proclamation.

ATONEMENT: There are several theo-ries of atonement. The most important andcommonly accepted are, the doctrine ofRedemption, the doctrine of Justificationand the doctrine of sanctification. We areredeemed by grace through faith (Refer Paulin Romans), we are justified by faith (ReferPaul in Ephesians), and we are sanctifiedby the Holy Spirit (Refer Paul in Romansand Corinthians).

The results or effects of the Messiahmeeting with humanity are attested to inthe Gospel narratives. No one has ever seenGod but the One who sits at God's righthand only manifested him. He who has seenJesus has seen God (Refer John I and 24).Many studies have been undertaken on theissues of Historical Jesus. Who exactly wasthis Jesus of Nazareth? The Gospel narra-tives are not historical records but faithnarratives of that which have been handeddown orally from generation to generation.One needs to unwrap these records to getto the question of Historical Jesus. Thoughnot historical records, but they are accu-rate portrayal of the life and work of Jesus,who was born, lived and died in history.(Refer the creeds). There is also a discus-sion about Jesus of History and Christ ofFaith. The Gospels are eye witness accountsof those who have seen, heard and livedwith Jesus (Refer 1 John). The Gospel writ-ers acknowledge that the Messiah meetswith people who are in distress, the para-lyzed, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, thehungry, the dead, the blind etc. He comesas a blessing and St. Peter says that Jesusgoes about DOING GOOD. (Refer Acts10).We sing the hymn, Rescue the perish-ing, Care for the dying ...

God has not forgotten the world, nor youand me. God still loves the world. Hecomes down to meet those in distress of allsorts. He suffers with those who suffer andgives solace.

When you read the Gospels particularlythe first three, commonly called SynopticGospels, for they look alike in chronology,form and content, though each is also dif-ferent and contain many specifics, you willnotice that Jesus himself does not speakabout himself as the Messiah but others aswe have seen already. And every time some-one recognizes Him as such, He strictlywarns them not to tell anyone about it. Insome cases the warning is till resurrection.This particular issue has come to be knownas the Messianic Secret. That the identityof Jesus as the Messiah be withheld till hisdeath and resurrection. This is to avoidpopular belief of the Messiah waging a warto liberate. Jesus avoids as much as pos-sible revealing himself through word anddeed that He is the Messiah (see the narra-tive of Transfiguration and the words fromthe cross).

That Jesus is the Messiah is freely spo-ken about only after the Resurrection. It isthe matter of faith. Jesus appears only tothose who believe in him.

What does this all mean for us today?

1. That God was in Christ reconcilingthe world unto Himself (Refer Paul in 2Corinthians 5). God came down to meetwith humanity in Jesus of Nazareth.

2. By faith and experience we recognizeand acknowledge the same and we are calledupon to bear testimony to this fact. Com-munities of caste, creed, ideology and faithneed reconciliation. Our country needs thisnow more than any time.

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3. That God is not far off but among us. One day God will be with his people perma-nently. (Refer Revelation 21 and 22).

4. Since God is with us, we have free access to God to approach His thrown ofGrace (Refer Hebrews).The sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist make this real toeveryone who believes.

5. Since God is with us we are not hopeless people. But we are people of hope andreconciliation. We have a mission to fulfill.

6. Above all, we are children of God and have the privilege to call him, Our Father.

7. At this time of Advent, Christmas and New Year, we once again affirm that Mes-siah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth came to meet with humanity, in order that thefallen, sinful human nature will be transformed and made into a new creation, newredeemed human being to live a life of dignity, honesty, truthfulness and above all withlove for God and fellow humans in God's lovely and beautiful creation.

GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF.

MAY WE ALL HAVE A BLESSED SEASON OF ADVENT, CHRISTMAS AND NEWYEAR 2019.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” “Merry Christmas!” “Happy New Year!” As the end of the yearapproaches, everywhere we turn someone is telling us we should be happy.In “O Holy Night,” we sing, “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.” Grieving peoplearound you feel the weariness of life and death in this world and wonder how anyone aroundthem can rejoice. They are in desperate need of the reality of Christ to break through theirloneliness and despair. While we don’t want to preach at them, we do look for the opportunityto share with them the comfort and joy to be found in the coming of God himself in Christ torescue us.The life of Jesus that began in a manger will culminate in death on a wooden cross. But it willnot be a senseless, meaningless death. It will be a death-conquering death, followed by newresurrection life. The writer of Hebrews explains, “The Son became flesh and blood. For onlyas a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, whohad the power of death” Hebrews 2:14. The power of death has now, to bring so much sorrow,will not be the way it is forever. What Christ set in motion when he defeated death at his firstcoming, will come to its full zenith when he comes again.This is our great hope at Christmas, and the hope we have to share with those who are grievingat Christmas — that “yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” The Christ who came as a babyand died as our substitute will one day return to consummate his kingdom. And when he does,“he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there bemourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” Revelation 21:4.B. Sunil Kumar, MCJ (P.hD); Research Scholar; Dept. of Communication & Journalism, OU.

Why Christmas Should Be So MerryB. Sunil Kumar

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The angel said to Apostle John(Revelation 22:6-7) "These words aretrustworthy and true: 'I am coming soon!'God who tells his prophets what the futureholds, has sent his angel to tell us this willhappen soon. Blessed are those who believeit and all else written in the scroll".

Indeed, Jesus is coming soon!

The whole Torah spoke about thecoming of the Messiah. The prophets"wondered what the Spirit of Christ withinthem was talking about, for he told themto write down the events, which, since then,have happened to Christ; his suffering, andhis great glory afterwards. And theywondered when and to whom all this wouldhappen." (1 Peter 1:11)

And now at last this Good News hasbeen plainly announced to all of us. Praisethe Lord and glory be to God!

Yes, "...the one who is the true lightarrived to shine on everyone coming intothe world. But although he made the world,the world didn't recognize him when hecame. Even in his own land and among hisown people, the Jews, he was not accepted.Only a few would welcome and receive him.But to all who received him, he gave theright to become children of God. All theyneeded was to trust him to save them". (John1:9-12)

So we see that all who abide in Christ,

Messiah's Rendezvous with Humankind"I am coming soon!" - Revelation 22

Rosalind Raotrust in him and have faith in him will trulybe saved.

Hence "All those who believe this arereborn - not a physical rebirth resultingfrom human passion or plan - but from thewill of God" (John 1:13), who sends lifefrom heaven. (Read John chapter 3)

Let's take the story of the Samaritanwoman who met Jesus at Jacob's well. Shesaid to Jesus thinking that he was a prophet"Well, at least I know that the Messiah willcome - the one they call Christ - and whenhe does, he will explain everything to us."(John 4:25)

The prophets of the scriptures wroteabout the Messiah and the Samaritansbelieved and were waiting for him to come.

Jesus told her that 'he is the Messiah(John 4:26), she believed and went back tothe village and told everyone about theMessiah "He told me everything I everdid!" (John 4:39)

So the people came streaming from thevillage to see him. Jesus explains to hisdisciples "Look around you! Vast fields ofhuman souls are ripening around us andare ready now for reaping or harvest. Thereapers will be paid good wages and willbe gathering eternal souls into the granariesof heaven! What joys await the sower andthe reaper, both together! For it is true onesows and someone else reaps". (John 4:35-37)

"Many from the Samaritan villagebelieved he was the Messiah because theyheard him themselves." (John 4:39)

Ms. Rosalind Rao is a research analyst and a freelance writer, pursuing higher studies in renewable technologies.

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"He is indeed the Savior of the world."(John 4:42)

He promised his disciples "Remember whatI told you - I am going away, but I will comeback to you again. If you really love me,you will be very happy for me, for now Ican go to the Father, who is greater than Iam. I have told you these things before theyhappen so that when they do you willbelieve in me." (John 14:28-29)

"It was not long afterwards that he roseinto the sky and disappeared into a cloud,leaving them staring after him. Suddenlytwo white robed men appeared and said"Men of Galilee, why are you standing herestaring at the sky? Jesus has gone away toheaven, and some day, just as he went hewill return!" (Acts 1:9-11)

Yes, Jesus is coming soon!

"Then I saw a new earth (with nooceans!) and a new sky, for the presentearth and sky had disappeared. And I, John,saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem,coming down from God out of heaven. Itwas a glorious sight, beautiful as a bride ather wedding. I heard a loud shout from thethrown saying, "Look, the home of God isnow among men, and he will live with themand they will be his people; yes, God himselfwill be among them. He will wipe away alltears from their eyes, and there shall be nomore death, nor sorrow, nor crying, norpain. All of that has gone forever."(Revelation 21:1-4)

"And he pointed out to me a river ofpure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowingfrom the thrown of God and the Lamb,

coursing down the centre of the mainstreet. On each side of the river grew Treesof Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, witha fresh crop each month; the leaves wereused for medicine to heal the nations.

There shall be nothing in the city which isevil; for the thrown of God and of the Lambwill be there, and his servants will worshiphim.

And they shall see his face; and his nameshall be written on their foreheads. Andthere will be no night there - no need forlamps or sun - for the Lord God will betheir light; and they shall reign forever andever." (Revelation 22:1-5)

"See, I am coming soon, and my rewardis with me, to repay everyone according tothe deeds he has done. I am the Alpha andthe Omega, the Beginning and the End, theFirst and the Last. Blessed forever are allwho are washing their robes, to have theright to enter in through the gates of thecity, and to eat the fruit from the tree oflife.

Outside the city are those who havestrayed away from God and the sorcerersand the immoral and murderers andidolaters, and all who love to lie and do so.I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you to tellthe churches all these things..." (Revelation22:12-16)

Hence, dear friends, take heed, repentand return to our Lord and Savior JesusChrist, our Redeemer. Amen!

Come, Lord Jesus! Praise the Lord.

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Christmas, signifying the birth of Jesusis celebrated the world over with muchgaiety and fervor. For a world which hasseen much of bloodshed with many warsacross nations, Christmas is seen as a muchawaited event to herald peace and joy tomillions of people across the globe.Christmas is a festival to some, to others itmay be a holiday and for many it is indeedvacation time. But few will recall that onChristmas Eve, during World War I, thehostilities were stopped for a day tocelebrate Christmas. History reveals thatthe only time a brief truce was called duringan ongoing war, was during Christmas Evein the year 1914. The Germans ran acrossinto no man's land to greet the Britishsoldiers with shouts of 'Merry Christmas','Happy Christmas' and even sangChristmas carols on Christmas Eve. Mydear friends, that is the power of themessage of Christmas. It transcends eventhe barriers of warring nations and trulyherald's peace and joy in a disturbed world.The question raised by many, the worldover, as to what the message of Christmastruly is? It was the prophet Isaiah whomade the proclamation in the year 800 BC.He said, "For unto us a child is born, forunto us a son is given. The government shallbe upon His shoulder. And He shall becalled wonderful, counselor, the mightyGod, an everlasting father, the prince ofPeace" (Isaiah 9:6). Consequentially, inJesus, we have a solution to all the

Herald the Greatest Event For All MankindAhoy! It is Christmas

Captain IN A J Manohar (Retd) problems that the world is facing this day.Do you need to be free from sin in yourlife? Do you need healing? Do you need tobe free from financial problems? The onlyanswer to you is JESUS. That is what theprophet Isaiah foretold when he prophesiedthe birth of Jesus. Is your life dull andlifeless? Then the answer to that problemis JESUS again. In contemporary world, theinformation technology seems to providemany of the solutions for the corporateindustry. But our Lord Jesus has come intothis world to provide solutions to theworld's most complex problems. Adisturbing trend in modern day living is theproblem of 'boredom'. You talk tomillennials, teenagers, professionals, homemakers and they all say in one breath, "weare bored with life". You talk to employeesand they say they are bored with routinework. Even the housewife is bored with thechores of daily routine of cooking food,keeping the house and taking care of theendless demands of bringing up children.But did we ever ponder and take theproblem to our Lord Jesus Christ? I tellyou this, because Jesus holds the title as'Wonderful'. Just imagine, with such awonderful God living in you, there cannotbe a dull moment ever. Every passingmoment becomes exciting, interesting,thought provoking. Christ living in yougenerates feelings of love, excitingmoments and propels you to be proactivein every situation. The class room, workplace, home and our interaction with thesociety will be filled with fun time,happiness and joy. I want to ask you aquestion at this moment; did you jump with

Captain IN A J Manohar (Retd) - is a trained faculty at the Bible Study Fellowship International and hasa passion for alternative medicine.

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joy when you woke up today? I keep tellingpeople that with Jesus in us, there is noway we can feel bored. Rather Jesus in usmust make us totally and wonderfullyexuberant.

If you are alive - Jump with joy. If youhave woken up without pain - Jump withjoy. If there is bright sunshine - Jump withjoy. If there is perfect peace - Jump withjoy. Go one step further, even if you areburdened with troubles, place them beforethe Lord and still Jump with joy. If we dothis, my dear friends, our hearts will be filledwith praise and adoration for our LordJesus. He is indeed the greatest gift tomankind whose title is 'wonderful'.

The next title that I would like to dwellis on the title of "Counselor". Every humanbeing goes through ups and downs in theirlife. While we enjoy and welcome happytimes like the carol services and festivities,it is difficult for many of us to cope withthe trials, setbacks, defeats, illnesses,misunderstandings with our near and dearones, failures, financial difficulties etc. JesusChrist came into this world to solve all ourproblems. Even at this very moment Jesusis inviting us to seek his help for ourproblems. Jesus says in Mathew 11:28,"Come unto me all ye that labor and areheavy laden and I will give you rest". It wasin the year 1976 while I was in the thirdyear of engineering, I attended anevangelical union camp and my lifechanged totally. There in that camp, I gavemy life to Jesus. Ever since, Jesus has beena constant companion to me in times ofhappiness, day to day activities and in timesof trouble as well. As a counselor, he gaveme solutions to my problems. For problemsthat did not have a solution, Jesus gave methe strength to manage the problem. As acounselor, he may not take away all theproblems, but he will surely make the

problem lighter, only if you invite him tobe your counselor.

Friends, Jesus born on Christmas dayhad many other titles as well. He is also a"Mighty God". He is the "Eternal Father"and the "Prince of Peace". I will dwell onthese titles briefly. As a mighty God, Jesushas sovereign control over events,happenings even in our day to day life.Nothing happens without the sovereignknowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Allgovernments, nations and the elements ofnature are under His total sovereigncontrol. The title eternal father reveals hisdivine nature and his dominion over timeand space. His promise to you and me isthe gift of eternal life which is the verycharacter and nature of our Lord JesusChrist. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace.In an age of wars, conflicts, terrorism andthe proliferation of weapons of massdestruction, Jesus reigns supreme inpeople's lives and the political affairs ofeach and every nation around the world.Jesus came into the world and reigns withtotal control as the Prince of Peace. Mydear friends, truly the government is uponthe shoulders of our Lord Jesus Christ.Even as doomsday prophets announce theend of the world with some going to theextent of setting a date, month and the yearof the end of the world, the prince of peace'Jesus' reigns with total control. He willreign in your life and in the political affairstill it is God's time to return. Till such timeHe will be the Prince of peace. My dearfriends, are you looking for the Prince ofpeace to reign in your life? Is theresomething disturbing you this Christmastime? Is it a health problem? Financialproblem? Sickness?

Some misunderstanding with your near anddear ones? I challenge you to cast yourburden on the Lord Jesus Christ and he

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will give you perfect peace in your life."For unto us a child is born", has themessage and essence of the celebration ofChristmas. Indeed we are celebrating thegreatest gift to mankind. But why do weneed to spread the message of Christmas?Aren't the Bibles, churches and the massmedia adequate to spread the message ofChristmas? Why does it need humanintervention to spread the message ofChristmas? To illustrate this point, a storyis told about a little boy who was watchingthe rain through the window in his room.Suddenly he saw a small sparrow whichwas totally wet flying in to take shelter atthe window frame. The little boy was soconcerned that he wanted to tell thesparrow, 'please come in'. So he went closerto the window to tell the sparrow to comeright inside and not become wet due to theheavy rain. But alas the sparrow was tooscared as the boy came towards it andsimply flew away. Maybe, the sparrowwould have listened to another sparrow butnot to a little boy in this instance. This isthe same principle that applies to us aboutour concern to the unsaved people. It isnot merely the TV message or the Radioor the satellite that is going to spread themessage of Christmas. Our heavenly fatheruses you and me to spread the message ofChristmas. For the same reason Goddescended on earth through his son Jesusto spread the good news of salvation. Ichallenge you my dear friends with this veryimportant message of Christmas. Becausetime is running out for many unsaved andperishing souls and we need to be onoverdrive to spread the message ofChristmas. The answer to the question asto 'why do we need to tell?' is also

elucidated by God himself when he sent Hisonly son Jesus as the greatest gift tomankind. God set the perfect example byHis son taking up human form, by beingborn as the Baby Jesus to save mankind byHis death eventually. In the Old Testamentthe prophet Isaiah volunteered immediatelywhen the Lord's call came. God is lookingfor people to take up the missionary rolevoluntarily like prophet Isaiah. Ourparticipation in the greatest event, the birthof Jesus Christ, must generate new ideasand innovations this festive season so as toreach out to the unreached people. Oursinging must attract people to Christ. Ourfestivities and celebrations with new clothesthat we wear or the elaborate cakes andbakes that we make must inspire our peergroup about our spiritual fervor. Ourdevotion to our Lord Jesus Christ thisfestive season must evoke and provokethose with out of Christ to be challengedto be in Christ. The perception that ourculture is akin to "eat, drink and be merry"must change to a perception that whateverthe parishioners at the Church of St. Johnthe Baptist do is solely to bring Glory toGod. Therefore, let us spread the messagethis Christmas which was foretold byprophet. May we truly celebrate thegreatest event in history so that the peoplewhom we truly serve, see us as the 'salt andlight' of the world. The word of God says,"Let your light so shine before men, thatthey see your good works and praise ourGod in heaven." Showcase Jesus Christ asWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father and Prince of Peacerolled in one! I wish all you folks a MerryChristmas and a Happy New Year 2019.

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In Conversation with the Christmassy Knick-Knacks

Christmas is the season of love andwarmth and I had been running around theentire day checking on the decorations,wrapping gifts, cooking, baking, and layingthe crockery and cutleries. I was expectingguests for dinner. Phew, all was set, well aheadof their expected time and I could find sometime to relax before their arrival. With a cupof hot coffee I made myself comfortable onthe sofa, cuddling the cushion that looked sobeautiful in the silk covers embellished withmotifs of three wise men riding on the camels.I looked around my decked up home and thetiny red and green candles with shimmeringgolden halo atop, looked so mesmerizing.With every flicker, I could hear a soft echoingof Jesus' words, 'I am the light of the world,whoever follows me will never walk indarkness, but will have the light of life' (John8:12). These tiny aromatic artifacts wereresonating the truth that Jesus is the realessence of Christmas. The Christmas treewas standing in a corner looking majestic andevery time the blinking lights lit up they weretelling me, let your light shine before others,that they may see your good deeds and glorifyyour Father in heaven (Mathew 5:16).

The gift boxes of different sizes, sittingunder the Christmas tree, wrapped inglittering silver with red bows on top lookedperfect. They were reminding me that 'everygood and perfect gift is from above' (James1:17) and 'each of you should use whatevergifts you have received to serve one another,as good stewards of God's grace' (1 Peter4:10). The colorful shopping bags withchocolates and goodies for the little onesmade the bottom of Christmas tree look, oh

Maneesha Esther Mohanty so bright and inviting. They were calling outto me with the most important message that'the free gift of God is eternal life in ChristJesus our Lord' (Romans 6:23).

As the beauty of everything around mewas engulfing my senses, I could feel freshcold breeze gushing onto my skin and as Iturned my face towards the porch, I saw thestar shaking vigorously, trying to draw myattention to itself and my thoughts to the starof Bethlehem. 'The Magi from the east cameto Jerusalem and asked where is the one whohas been born King of the Jews. We saw Hisstar when it rose and have come to worshipHim' (Mathew 2:1-2). The shaking shiny starat the porch was pleading me to constantlyfocus on the star of Bethlehem which willlead me to Jesus every single day of my life.The gush of wind also filled the room witharomas from the kitchen. Were the culinarydishes resting on my kitchen platformcompeting with the star to grab my attention?As the aroma filled my senses, I could hear itwhisper gently, 'Jesus is the bread of life,whoever comes to Him will never go hungryand whoever believes in Him will never bethirsty (John 6:35).

And then I heard ding-dong, the door bellringing, shifting my focus to the door adornedwith a wreath. 'At midnight there was a shout,Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meethim' (Mathew 25:6). The bell seem to ring alittle longer in my ears reminding me to 'Comenear to God and He will come near to you(James 4:8). Was everything around me tryingto remind me of the divine rendezvous?

The bell rang a second time and I jumpedon my feet to open the door before my dinnerguests disappear. As I opened the door myhome was filled with shouts of 'MerryChristmas'!!

Mrs Maneesha is a homemaker and an editorial board member for this edition of the Parish Messenger.

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High and low, like the tide you move,

With selfish desire, you joyfully groove;

Heart, oh my heart, where can you trace?

In Christ or world, the amazing grace?

Beguiled by worldly ways, success you chase?

With deceptive thoughts, leaving behind grace?

Why oh my mind, can’t you see and comprehend

Christ is the savior, who will love and mend!

Gratified by rusting crowns, blinded by the glamour,

Bewitched by the glitz, is your rant and clamor.

Soul, oh my soul, why don’t you meander to the cross?

For only there will Christ make your beauty surpass!

Riches and fame, every day you amass?

Beauty and greed, your needs so crass.

What oh what dear life, is your moral stance?

Today is your salvation day, come take the chance!

Take the Chance, Take the Chance.

Ms. Gabriela Keerthana Gondhi, completed her Doctor of Pharmacy working as an Assistant Professor, Department ofPharmacy Practice. She is also pursuing MBA in Hospital and Health Systems Management from BITS-Pilani.

Gabriela KeerthanaGondhi

With All Your Heart, Mind and Soul

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Christmas Season and the Reason forit, is given below:

This question arises often in ourminds. Was it really necessary for God tobecome man and suffer such gruesomedeath for our Salvation? God could haveeasily done this in many other ways. Weare all well aware of the Salvation story soI need not go over it once again. The firstportion of the article explains also whyJesus is called the "Begotten of God"

But why such a cruel death? In thebook of Leviticus we find that remissionof all trespasses and sins was by offeringa heifer or a bull or a lamb. These had tobe ceremonially slaughtered on the Altarand their blood sprinkled on the Altar andon the people. The writer of Hebrews says,"…and almost all things are by the Lawpurged with blood and without sheddingof blood is no remission" Hebrew 9:22;Leviticus 17:11. Since there is life in theblood, shedding of blood denotessacrificing a life Genesis 9:4. There wasagain a stipulation in the Law that theanimal to be sacrificed was to be withoutany blemish. Jesus became sin to removeour sin and became curse to remove thecurse on the earth and its fullness. So Jesushad to hang on a tree because cursed is theman that hangs on a tree Deuteronomy21:23. To shed blood Jesus had to becomea man and a man without any blemish. Jesusas the second person of the Trinity is alsospirit and spirit has no flesh and bones and

Real Christmas Celebration

IPP Prabhakar Rao

no death Luke 24:39. Hence if Jesus wereto save us from our sins, He had to becomea man with flesh and blood and withoutblemish and duly enabled to die. InHebrew 10:5-7, we read that Godprepared a body, (a body that will bleedand die) to be a worthy sacrifice. To besinless he had to be God and to shed bloodhe had to be Man. In addition to be cursedHe had to hang on a tree.

On Jesus being blameless, we have todig into science. Jesus was both free fromsin by word, deed and thought and also bynature. Unlike human beings who inheritedAdam's sin, Jesus did not. He wasabsolutely pure and worthy to beacceptable as a sacrifice sufficient for allhumankind, past, present and future. Virginbirth should be interpreted in this sense.Mary though a virgin did not contributeanything for Jesus' absolute pure blood.Hence Jesus is called 'The begotten of God'and not of anyone else. When placed in herwomb by the Holy Spirit, Jesus as zygote(pre foetal form) did not draw any bloodfrom Mary's system. Modern studies tellus that foetus does generate its own bloodand does not draw it from its mother. (Thisexplains why a person does not necessarilyhave the same type of blood either of thefather or the mother). Mother then sustainsthe growth of the foetus with her own foodintake. Thus the blood of Jesus isabsolutely pure and free from any inheritedsin, being begotten by only the Holy Spiritand none else. Mary could be called thesurrogate mother in this case. This is thereason why in the book of Hebrews, Jesusis compared to Melchizedek, the HighPriest of the Most High God who had nofather or mother or without a beginning oran end of his days and who received tithe

Mr. IPP Prabhakar, A graduate in Engineering specialized in Dam Construction of all major projects in AP.Actively carrying out mission work and charitable work. Senior member of St John’s church.

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from Abraham the ancestor of Levi.Melchizedek thus can be stated to be theArchetype of Jesus Christ.

In Leviticus 25:25, we read acommandment given by God to the nascentIsraeli nation. If a brother becomes poorand sells any part of his inheritance, hisbrother can redeem it. Similarly if abrother becomes very poor and sellshimself to a stranger he can be redeemedby his brother or nigh of kin. This was thelegal position. When Adam sinned he lostthe authority which God gave him over Hiscreation Genesis1:28. Not only Adam losthis authority, but he had sold himself to sinand became its slave. So Adam's next ofkin only can redeem his inheritance andfor Adam who is this next of kin? This oneshould be a free man to redeem Adam. Aslave cannot redeem a slave. After Adam'ssin every human being inherited the sinfulnature and became a slave to sin. Romans3:23. So there was none to redeem Adamor his inheritance. Seeing this irredeemablesituation, God Himself came as a man tobe the next of kin to Adam eligible toredeem His enslaved brother.

Nobody should have any doubts ofJesus being God Isaiah 9:6. Luke 3:38 saysAdam was the son of God. And in Luke1:35 Angel Gabriel tells Mary that the Onewho was going to be born of her would becalled the Son of God. Thus Christ as aman, in reality becomes the brother ofAdam and hence a true next of kin eligibleto redeem Adam and his inheritance.Hence after Jesus' sacrifice at the Crosseverybody who claims His salvation basedon this sacrifice becomes a brother to Jesusand is redeemed. If one does not claim this,he is not a brother and this redemption willnot be applicable to such. Dear Reader, areyou willing to say yes to Jesus?

Jesus not only provided unblemished

blood as a sacrifice sufficient for the sin ofthe whole world but we also see anothernecessity for the unblemished blood. InExodus 24:1-8, we read that Mosessprinkled blood of the slaughtered animalsupon the Altar raised by him and upon thepeople when he read the Law and peopleagreed to obey the Law. He thus confirmedthe First Testament as binding on thepeople and God as well. Now the time forthe New Testament has come which wasprophesied and promised six centuries agoin Jeremiah 31:31-34 to be written not onstone tablets as before but on human heartswho say yes to Jesus. This New Testamentinstituted at the Last Supper by Jesus hadalso to be confirmed with blood but not ofanimals but of the pure blood of Jesushimself which was done on the Cross. ThisNew Testament is thus binding on all thebelievers and honored by Christ himself.

But this is only half the story why Jesusbecame Man. The doctrinal root for theother reason is even earlier than the sin ofAdam and is even more astounding. Pleaseread Genesis 1:26-28. God made man andentrusted him with the authority to subduethe earth and to rule over all the livingspecies, the beasts, the birds, the cattle, thesea creatures etc and all the resources ofthe earth. (Man is not covered in thisauthority because mankind is God's deputy.Man cannot rule over another man. Godwould rule man). God willingly gave thisauthority to man because man was Hishandwork. Please also refer to the Psalm8. Looks as if, God sat back and let manrule the earth, and not He. We can see thisclearly because in the next chapter inGenesis we read in v19 God wanted to seewhat names Adam would give to each ofthe species and it is said that what Adamcalled that was its name. God did notmodify nor cancel nor suggest any alternatenames, as Adam was engaged in this task.

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Obviously Adam did that on his ownprobably, by what he saw or heard or feltor smelt of these beings. I believe God musthave been watching and smilingapprovingly of the names. Name-giver isgreater than the name-receiver; So Adamruled the earth under the authority givenby God uninterrupted and withoutinterference. After all God was in day today dialogue with Adam. Can we imaginethat kind of world? So now thisrelationship needed to be continued.

Enter Satan into this pristine world.Adam sinned and fell, his relationship withGod broke down, and Satan usurped thisauthority. (We also lost the extraordinaryprivilege of dialoguing with God on dailybasis and hence today the necessity forprayer. Genesis 4:26 we now make ourhumble petitions to God through Jesus).Since the fall, Satan has been the ruler ofthis world and Adam was helpless. God stillowns the earth and the fullness thereof butSatan usurped and rules it. That is thereason why Jesus calls Satan the ruler ofthis world. John 12:31. Satan also veryarrogantly offered to hand over the stolen

kingdoms and nations to Jesus on theMount of Temptations if only Jesus

bowed down to him. God allowed this fora time and in fullness of time He sent HisSon as the Second Adam. The secondreason is now clear- To defeat Satan andwrest power from him. God could havedefeated Satan any time and on any terms,but to be fair, God wanted Man to defeatSatan on Satan's terms and get back man'sauthority. Jesus before His ascension toldHis disciples Now "All power is given toMe in heaven and on earth" Mathew 28:18.Now we know, Jesus is the Second Adamand Satan considered Him to be his enemyand to fight Him by fair and foul means todefeat the Second Adam.

Christmas is, celebrating Jesus comingdown as man to be able to shed blood as aredeemer and to wrest power from Satanin a fair duel fulfilling every title of the LawLuke 24:44. It is difficult to separateChristmas from Easter. Christmas withoutthe bloody battle is not Christmas andEaster without the pure unblemished birthof the Lamb is not Easter. All glory to thebirth of the Paschal Lamb.

How can I improve myself within a month? Few ideas -:

1. Read Psalms 51 daily to detoxify your speech. Reduce the use of negative words. Be polite.2. Read and meditate on the word of GOD every day.3. As disciples of Jesus, practice OBEDIENCE4. As Jesus did, feed the hungry – feel good factor5. Imbibe the virtues of being calm and let the day take its freshness and awe6. Keep distance from people who give you negative vibes about the word of god, but never

hold grudges and try to teach him GOOD virtues.7. “I cried as I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet”. Never complain the LORD will

provide us.8. In a healthy body resides a healthy mind filled with eternal grace. Do not litter it with junk.9. Keep your body hydrated at all times, practice praising his name all the time10. Our lord never spoke rudely, promise yourself that you too will never talk rudely to elders/

parents11. Taste his love it’s found in abundance and with grace12. Do not be afraid – God will command his angels to protect you wherever you13. Let prayer become your habit, never give up, no matter what comes your way14. Converse daily with God through prayer, ask him for his favor15. Have patience, everything happens according to its clock

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Jason Wilson

God's Rendezvous with Humankind

"Praise to the thought that dreamed us"

God created the earth in order to provide aplace where His purpose and goals forhumankind might be fulfilled. God designedhuman being as a triune being (body, soul andspirit) possessing mind, emotion and with whichthey can respond to Him freely with worship.God had so desired this intimate relationshipwith human race.

God the Father created Adam and met himoften and spoke to him in the Garden of Eden.After the fall, God promised to send the Saviorto redeem humankind. (Genesis - 3:15).

God had spoken to Noah, Abraham, Mosesand other prophets sometimes through angels.These prophets had been sent to bring the driftinghumanity closer to the Almighty. God revealedhimself in the form of the burning bush to Moseson Mount Sinai where the Ten Commandmentswere handed over. In fact, God was with theIsraelites throughout the 40-year journey in thewilderness. When He parted the Red Sea, Hewas with them; when the multitudes were hungry.God sent Manna from heaven and during thePassover too.

The Messianic Prophecies, prophesied byProphets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah, Habakkuk.Zachariah, Malachi are being fulfilled asrecorded in the New Testament.

Prophet Isaiah 9:6 The birth of MessianicKing Wonderful Counselor

God sent His only Son for the salvation ofhumankind. His love for us was so much, thathe sacrificed His own son. Gospel according toSt John 3:16 - God so loved the world that Hesent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ toredeem us.

Mr. Jason Wilson is a Retd., AGM with Bakelite Hylam LTD.,

Jesus himself spoke often to God the Father.When he multiplied the five loaves and twofishes to feed 5000 people, Jesus spoke to God;When he brought out Lazarus from the graveJesus spoke to God; at the garden of Gethsemane,Jesus prayed to God and finally on the cross Jesusspoke to God to let the cup pass.

The Gospels and Epistles record Messiah'sinteraction with various cross section of people,fishermen, demon possessed, rich, poor, male,female, sick, tax collectors, people in authority,etc. After the resurrection and till today Jesusappearing to both Believers and also topersecutors is well known.

By His direct interaction and appearances,God has transformed Nations, Groups,Churches, Assemblies, bringing mankind toenjoy his fellowship. Ex. Jacob, Paul, BillyGraham, Mother Theresa and so on.

In our day to day life too we encounter ourMessiah. When we feed the hungry or clothethe naked, show concern for the widows andorphans, visit the prisoners and counsel them andspare time for the lonely and broken hearted, weare in an encounter with God. "Whatever youdo to the least of my brethren that you do untome." This is like meeting Jesus everyday of ourlives. These are all one-on-one meetings. Blessedare they who have not seen but yet believed.

This world is going back to the days ofSodom and Gomorrah and Biblical revelationsare coming to pass. In this time of religious,political and environmental turmoil, theMessiah's Rendezvous with humankind is theonly way for purposeful and peaceful existence.As promised in the Bible, Jesus our Messiahwill come for that ultimate rendezvous and pickup the righteous souls to be with Him in heaven.

As we come to the end of 2018, enteringthe Advent season moving on to 2019 havingthe light within us continually assures us a safedestination.

New Kingdom Promise: Isaiah 65:24 And itshall come to pass, that before they call, I willanswer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

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Lenten Cottage Prayer Meetings&

The Fellowship Thereafter

The messiah-

The gospel of Luke in 2:11 (NIV) wesee the wonderful declaration by the angelof god - "today in the town of David a saviorhas been born to you; He is the Messiah,the lord". This instance where theshepherds in that part of country who werespending the night in the field, taking careof their flocks were terribly afraid as theangel appeared before them to deliver thegood news of the birth of Jesus Christshows us that Jesus is the messiah.

This reminds me of yet anotherdeclaration in the new testament by Peter,which is beautifully recorded by Matthewin 16:13-16 (NIV) "When Jesus came tothe region of Caesarea Philippi, he askedhis disciples, Who do people say the Sonof Man is? They replied, some say Johnthe Baptist others say Elijah and still othersJeremiah or one of the prophets. But whatabout you? He asked. Who do you say Iam? Simon Peter answered," You are theMessiah, the Son of the living god."

What a great revelation Peter received.Yet it wasn't by his flesh but by our fatherin heaven. Matthew 16: 17). Peter was ahuman being as well. Then why do manyof us yet being Christians struggle to havethat sort of revelation in our hearts? It'sbecause of our evil nature, faithlessness,prayerlessness and unbelief. We get achance here to repent of our shortcomings

before Christ. Let's not miss the chancebut grab it.

The rendezvous -

John 1:1 (NIV) says "in the beginningwas the word, and the word was with god,and the word was god." We all have ourbibles with us which contains the word ofgod, which enables us humans to meet godany moment of the day. What a greatprivilege! Are we willing to meet him? Howmuch of our time are we spending withgod? John 1:14 (NIV) says "the wordbecame flesh and made his dwelling amongus." Our Heavenly Father chose the humanform to meet us so that he could be closeto us and spend time with us, know us andour problems. What a great God we havewho is so thoughtful about us.

I want to share the lyrics of a song whichgoes like this,

"My bible, my bible and I

What a wonderful treasure god gavewithout measure

We are travelling together, my bible and I

My Jesus, my Jesus and I

What a wonderful Savior God gave withoutmeasure

We are travelling together, my Jesus and I

His spirit, his spirit and I

What a wonderful comfort god withoutmeasure

Messiah's Rendezvous with Humankind;Christmas and New Year

Ms. A. Esther Shalini - 3rd Year Medical Student At College Of Medical Sciences & Teaching Hospital, Nepal

Andra Esther Shalini

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We are travelling together, his spirit and I."

With the world around us boastingabout materialistic riches which last for ashort time, our Heavenly Father providesus with riches which are forever with us.This song reminds me how God hasgraciously met the humankind.

Christmas -

Once I read an article in thenewspaper, a Christian woman was askedto speak a few words about Christmas. Iread the whole article but couldn't findJesus Christ's name in it anywhere. Shementioned about family, sweets anddecoration but essence of Jesus Christ wasmissing. Which isn't right?

We all are delighted since Christmasabout to arrive. But what are we delightingin? Is it the family gatherings and feasts,decorations, vacation, new outfits or giftsplenty other things as well which are sadlynot Christ centered. Psalm 1:1,2 (NIV)says "Blessed is the one who does not walkin step with the wicked or stand in the waythat sinners take or sit in the company ofmockers but whose delight is in the law ofthe lord, and who meditates on his law dayand night". What you delight in is what willdirect your life, so be careful as to what todelight in.

What are we delighting in thisChristmas? Let's have a quick spiritualcheck up and ask god to correct us andfocus on celebrating a Christ centeredChristmas this year.

New year- Time is flying.

People nowadays more often than notuse this phrase "Time is Flying". I too havethe same experience. What I learnt thisyear is that time will fly but how are we

using it makes the difference to us as wellas god. Ephesians 5:15-17(NIV) "Be verycareful then how you live not as unwisebut as wise, making the most of everyopportunity because the days are evil.Therefore do not be foolish but understandwhat the lord's will is."

What about the salvation of us and ourfamily and friends? Are we praying for themwith a burden in our hearts? Apostle Paulis a greatest example we have. Romans10:1 (NIV) "Brothers and Sisters my heart'sdesire and prayed to god for the Israelitesis that they may be saved"

What is our heart's desire and prayer?

Some questions haunt us anddiscourage us but through all this miseryand shortcomings, Christ is our everlastinghope and help. We can only look to himalone.

I WISH ALL MY DEAR CHURCHMEMBERS A MERRY CHRISTMASAND A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019.

Tid_Bits-Count your blessings, not your problems-Don’t just wear the cross – bear the cross-Put your creed in your deed

-All Christians have the same boss

-Blessed are those who can laugh forthemselves, for they will never ceaseto be amused

-If the devil is knocking to your front door, let Jesus answer it

-Orange you glad; you’re the apple of God’s eye?

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It is Christmas once again, a time tocelebrate the Birthday of birthdays.Christmas is the time, where the veil isdrawn back and the Invisible God becomesa visible God to us. With all the hype ofChristmas, we forget the real meaning ofChristmas.

The angel told Mary, you shall call his nameJESUS, which means that HE will save usfrom our sins.

WHO IS JESUS? He said “I am the Breadof life” John6-35and was born in the Houseof Bread - Bethlehem. He can satisfy thedeepest hunger in our hearts. The Prophetsforetold this, 100’s of years ago.

WHY DID HE COME?

(a) HE came to give HIS life as a ransomfor many. Mark 10-45and as1 John 3-5 saysthat “He was manifested to take away oursins”. John 8-36 says, “If the Son sets youfree you will be free indeed”.

(b) HE came to destroy the works of thedevil.1 John 3-8 says “The Son of God wasmanifested that HE might destroy theworks of the devil”.

(c) HE came as John 10-10 says, “we mighthave an abundant life”.

(d) HE came to prepare us, for His SecondComing. Hebrews 9-28says, “To them thatlook for Christ, shall HE appear the second

Time, without sin unto Salvation”. WhenHE came the first Time, there was no roomin the inn. John 1-11says, “His ownreceived Him not”, how tragic. When HEcomes the second Time Philippians 2-10says “Every knee shall bow and everytongue confess that Jesus is the Lord”.

WHY SHOULD HE DIE?

(a) Hebrews 9-22says, “Without sheddingof BLOOD, there is no remission for sin”.This means that by HIS death, HE removesthe guilt and punishment of sins, by payingthe price. HE did it because HE loved usand died instead of us. Paul says in Galatians2-20 “The Son of God LOVED ME andgave his life for me”. John 1-7 says” theblood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins”.

(b) The wages of sin is death and on thecross, HE took our penalty.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO? The greatestthing we can do this Christmas is to acceptGod’s unspeakable GIFT—Jesus into ourlife.

RENDEZVOUS - Christianity is aboutrelationship and not rules. Jesus said “LoveGod first and love your neighbor asyourself ”. The Christmas Connection isdiscovering a relationship with God. ARendezvous is a meeting at a particular timeand place. Galatians 4-4says, “When thefullness of time was come, God sent forthHIS Son, made of a woman—to redeem usthat we might receive the adoption ofsons”. What a privilege to be sons anddaughters of the king.

The Cradle That Rocked The World

Yashodhra Desappa

Mrs. Yashodhra Desappa is a Business woman, women’s fellowship secretary and an ambassador for Christ.

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HE stands at every heart’s door andknocks. HE will not barge in. We have toopen the door of our hearts, if we want tohave a relationship with HIM. It is notenough that HE was born in Bethlehem.HE has to be born in our hearts today. Thatis Christmas. This Christmas let our lostConnection with God and others beRESTORED through JESUS.

HOW CAN HE BE BORN IN OURHEARTS? By saying this simple prayer“Jesus of Nazareth, who died for my sinsand rose again, I thank you for forgivingme and accepting me as your child. Comeinto my heart and be my Lord.”

When we say this prayer and believe, thenthis Christmas will be reallyMEANINGFUL as we think of Jesus, notmerely as an infant but as Immanuel-therisen, presently living, soon coming, King

of Kings, ever living in our hearts. Ourrelationship with Jesus starts NOW andcontinues through ETERNITY.

WRONG WAY – a driver had taken awrong turning at a traffic junction withoutnoticing it. So he continued in the wrongway unconcerned. He was a careful, correctdriver, following all directions, EXCEPThe was going the wrong way. It can be likethat in our lives also. We can keep all therules, but the only right way to heaven, isGod’s way through Calvary. This seasonwe can say, “I know JESUS”, but whatmatters is, does Jesus know you?

May the Blessings of our Lord and SaviorJesus Christ, cause us to really experiencethe Joy of Christmas and the SupernaturalSHALOM, of SAR SHALOM, the Princeof Peace Isaiah 9-6.

EpiphanyEpiphany has its origin in the Greek word epiphaneia meaning to ‘showforth’.

Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian Feasts. It refers to a realization thatChrist is the Son of God.

Western churches generally celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany onJanuary 6th to commemorate the visit of the Magi who came to see JesusChrist soon after he was born.

Traditionally, Eastern churches, following the Julian rather than theGregorian calendar, have celebrated Epiphany in conjunction withChrist’s baptism by John the Baptist and celebrated it on January 19th.

Some Protestant churches celebrate Epiphany as a season, extending fromthe last day of Christmas until Ash Wednesday

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Sis. Priscilla Dhyram

Rendezvous of JESUS

Jesus was born into a world that hadchanged drastically from the time Hispeople, the people of Israel, had returnedfrom exile some 500 year earlier. Politics,Culture, Language and religious practicesin Israel had all undergone great shifts. Thetime was right for God to send his son intothe world to be the Messiah, Savior andthe King. But He wouldn't have come in away that everyone expected.

Israel had been waiting for theirMessiah and there were manyexpectations about what He would do forthem and how it would look. He wassupposed to be a mighty leader who wouldre-establish Israel's hold on the land Godhad given to their ancestors Abraham,expelling the Romans and recalling theGlory of the age of David and Solomon.The Messiah was expected to be the climaxof Israel's story, the ultimate fulfillment ofGod's promises to His people. Nobodyexpected the Messiah to come as a babyof a humble girl from a small un-importanttown in Galilee. Nobody expected Him togather a small group of disciples and walkaround the country, telling their stories andchallenging the religious authorities.

But Jesus is the climax of God's story.He is the ultimate fulfillment of God'spromises to all God's people. The fourGospels tell the story of how this man fromthe margin of Israel society displayed God'spower through mighty miracles and

through teaching with authority. They tellthe story of how this unlikely Messiah gavethe world far more than any military orpolitical leaders could ever have. They tellthe story of God with us, the eternal Sonof God made flesh to live among his peopleand offer them Salvation and Eternal Life -far more than the earthly kingdom they werehoping for.

In order to understand the story ofJesus, the Messiah, we need to get the layof the land - who were the key people andsocial structures at that time? Where andwith whom Jesus spent His time? Whowere the people that flocked to see Him?Who were the ones threatened by Hispopularity?

People and Culture

Greek influence: A few centuriesearlier, the Greek Empire had conqueredmost of the known world and along withthe rule they brought the culture andlanguage to the Jewish people. Jesus wasborn into a world that was still heavilyinfluenced by Greek thought and virtuallyeveryone would have known the Greeklanguage in addition to their local language.

Roman Rule: Roman Empire was incontrol of the entire world of Gospels andhad been for nearly a century. There wereseveral level of Roman Government as canbe seen in the Herod family, Pontius Pilate,the Roman Soldiers and who madeappearance throughout the Gospel. Romecollected taxes, enforced peace sometimeswith brutal violence and allowed manyreligious freedoms that were not alwayspermitted under the Greek rule.

Mrs. Priscilla Dhyriam, is an Evangelist, founder and President of Sweet Fragrance Ministries. Her program called“The Holy Land”, is a researched oriented program which has gained a lot of viewership because of its facts.

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Jewish People: There were several Jewishgroups during the period in history. ThePharisees and the Sadducees bridged thepolitical and religious leadership; theteachers of the religious and the priest wereprimarily responsible for the religious lifeof the people. The group such as theZealots and Essenes were radicals. TheZealots wanted to take political power byforce, while Essenes separated themselvesfrom the world in an effect to live in puritymarked by ritual holiness. Ordinary Jewishpeople were able to worship regularly inlocal synagogues, led by the main streamreligious leaders in the community. Theywould journey to Jerusalem only to worshipin the temple for special life events andreligious festivals.

John the Baptist: John did not really fitinto any of the major Jewish group of his

day. He was a Harold of the comingkingdom of God, calling everyone torepentance and preparing the way for Jesusand his ministry. Many people traveled intothe wilderness to hear his message and bebaptized, including a number of people whowould eventually follow Jesus.

Jesus and the Disciples: Jesus was borninto an ordinary family and grew up in anordinary town, but his life He chose a verydiverse group of disciples, some followersof John the Baptist, at least one Zealot, aman who collects taxes for Rome and thecollection of uneducated fisherman. Jesustaught these disciples what it meant tofollow him and prepared them to be hisambassadors on earth after his resurrectionand ascension.

Christmas Riddles(answers are printed in reverse order)

Divij Samuel

1. The snowman went to see the dermatologist because his head was itchy and dry. Whatdoes the snowman get when he itches his dandruff?kselafonsw

2. What is parents favorite Christmas Carol?tthslghniei

3. If a lion had a Christmas music album, what would it be called?ebglsluelnj

4. I come with many colors, so beautiful and bright, I turn so many houses into a beautifulsight. What am I?htsamtshgilsirc

5. I get chopped, decorated and on one end you’ll see Star on top. What am I?hstsameetrrisc

6. What would an apple and a Christmas tree get if they had a baby?eleapppeni

7. Why did the little drummer boy allow the chicken to join him in his band?dahehskcitsmurdseuasbe

(Source Getriddles.com)

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The Bible foretold that the Messiahwould come into the world and deliverpeople from sickness, suffering and death,is Jesus Christ that one?

How would people recognize the Messiah?

According to Bible Prophecy, theMessiah or Christ, would come in twodifferent roles separated by a long periodof time. In his first role he would be ahuman so that he could be clearlyrecognized. Bible writers foretold manyaspects of his life and ministry. In fact, thewriter concerning Jesus is a primaryobjective of Bible prophecy:

"Then I fell down at his feet to worshiphim, but he said to me, you must not dothat I am fellow servant with you and yourbrothers who hold to the testimony ofJesus. Worship God. For the testimony ofJesus is the spirit of prophecy". (Revelation19:10)

As a human, Jesus did on a small scalewhat he will do on a Global scale as a mightyspirit. What Bible says, the Messiah wouldbe:

"A descendent of King David - Isaiah9:7; Luke 3:23 - 31.

"Born in town of Bethlehem - Micah5:2; Luke 2:4 - 7

"A humble proclaimer of Good news -Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:43

"Despised and held of no account -

Messiah’s Rendezvous With Humankind

Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 26:67, 68

"A sacrificial Lamb who would annul sinand enable humans to have a clean standingbefore God - Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29, 34, 36.

"Buried with rich - Isaiah 53:9;Matthew 27: 57 - 60

"Resurrected on the third day -Matthew 16:21; 28:5-7

Jesus fulfilled all those prophecies andmany more. He also healed the sick andraised the dead. He thus not only providedus with further proof that he was theMessiah but also gave us a solid basis forfaith in the Bible's promises that he will dothose things on a global scale in the future(Luke 7:21-23, Revelation 21:3, 4). Afterhis Resurrection Jesus sat at God's righthand awaiting the time for him to finishhis Messianic work- Psalm 110:1-6

How will the Messiah complete his work?

The Jews of Jesus day expected theMessiah to liberate them from Roman Ruleand to reign over a restored Kingdom ofIsrael (Acts 1:6)

Only later did that Jewish followersunderstood that he would complete his rolefrom heaven as a mighty spirit vested withvast authority - Matthew 28:18

What the Bible says:

"In his second role: The Messiah would ruleas king of Gods kingdom, a world government- Daniel 7:13, 14; Revelation 11:15

"Be a blessing to all humans who exercise faithin him - Genesis 22: 17, 18; Psalm 72:7, 8

"Startle many nations and their rulers when

Rev. John Ranganath

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he crushes them for opposing him - Isaiah52:15; Revelation 19:19, 20.

"Preserve an international great crowdof righteous humans into a peaceful newworld - Revelation 7:9, 10; 13 - 17.

"Teach his subjects the ways of truepeace - Isaiah 11:1, 2, 9, 10.

"Eradicate sin, the underlying cause ofsickness and death- John 1:29 ; Romans 5:12

"Ultimately break-up all of Satan'sworks and unite the human family under

Jehovah's Gods rule - 1Cor 15: 25 - 28; 1John 3:8.

Jesus fulfilled his first role as Messiah.He will also complete his second. The wisetherefore study him closely for Jesus said Iam the way the truth and life - John 14:6

In his days the righteous will flourishand peace will abound until the moon is nomore. He will have subjects to the ends ofthe Earth. Psalm 72: 7, 8.

Legends about ChristmasBessie John

CarolsInitially created in the form of a song about the Nativity. This tradition disappeared for sometime and re-appeared in 1822 when carol singing became popular.Christmas treeAs cities began to grow, the original YULELOG was replaced by the Christmas tree. Usuallya Fir or Spruce tree would be decorated. This tree represented Christ bringing new life toEarth, after a long, cold winter. It was in 1604 that the first tree appeared in Strasbourg.Christmas tree lightsAn old manuscript in the Sicilian Monastery tells the following story about the tree lights.When Jesus was born, all creatures on Earth, including the trees, went to Bethlehem to giveHim the gifts. The fruit-bearing trees had much to give and they pushed Fir trees (which hadonly Evergreen leaves), to the back. An angel felt sorry for the Fir trees and asked the stars tocome down and rest on the boughs of the Firs. When Jesus saw this He blessed the Fir trees.Thus was born the custom of Christmas tree lights.TinselAnother legend tells us why we use Tinsel on our Christmas trees. Many years ago a lady putup her Christmas tree and during the night spiders crawled over the branches and left theirwebs behind. Jesus wanted to reward the Lady for all her good deeds, so He blessed the tree,and all the webs became sparkling silver threads.PoinsettiaMexican legend tells us that the Poinsettia originated as a miracle. A poor boy with nothingto offer Jesus at Church fell on his knees and told God how much he loved to give Himmoney. As the boy stood up, there grew the first flower of the Holy night. He plucked theflawing red flowers of poinsettia and laid his gift on the altar.Christmas cardsThe first formal Christmas card was designed in 1843. It was lithographed on stiff, darkcardboard, which depicted people with glasses of wine, raising a toast and saying, “MerryChristmas & a Happy New Year”. Today over 1 billion cards are sold in U.S.A. and U.K.alone.

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The word "Messiah" always reminds me thatJesus is coming soon. The word makes me alertand be ready to go along with Jesus. He came tothis earth as a human being and lived like anordinary man. Jesus, being born in a simplecarpenter's family, must have observed andexperienced the problems in a family. That's whyhe was very passionate towards the humankind.

Jesus meeting with the disciples:

When Jesus started his ministry, He wasconsiderate towards the illiterate fisher men -Simon and his brother Andrew. He loved themand asked them to follow him and made them asfishers of men. Both the brothers loved and trustedJesus and followed him. Simon, called as Peter,had become a great evangelist and was likened toa rock on which Christ built his temple. Do youwant to become like Peter -- a rock on whichchurches are built?

Jesus meeting with the Samaritan Woman:

Jesus met the Samaritan woman, knew verywell that she was living in sin. He interacted withher not minding any customs. Jesus had concernfor her so he gave her living water. The womanhad a great opportunity to meet the Messiah. Sherealized to whom she was talking and left her waterjar and went back to the town and told the peopleto come and see Christ. She became an evangelist.What a wonderful thing. People when they interactwith Jesus they will leave their sinful life and willbe ready to proclaim Him as Christ. Do you wantto become like the Samaritan woman -- anevangelist?

Jesus meeting with the Bethany family:

Jesus loved a small family at Bethany. Mary,Martha and Lazarus loved Jesus very much and

Meeting with Jesus: A life-changing Experience

He was one among them. When they lost theirbrother, Martha blamed Jesus for not being therewith them. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrectionand the life. He who believes in me will live eventhough he dies and who ever lives and believes inme will never die" (John 11 : 25). Here we can seehow much Jesus loved Lazarus. Marthaacknowledges that Jesus is the Messiah. Are youacknowledging Jesus in your life?

Jesus meeting with Zacchaeus:

Jesus had an association not only with simpleand common people but also with people like taxcollectors. Jesus called Zacchaeus by name andtold him, "I must stay at your house today" (Luke19:5). What a surprise for Zacchaeus! He justwanted to see who Messiah was, but the Lord calledhim by name and salvation has come to his housethat very day. There was a tremendoustransformation in Zacchaeus: the lover of moneygave half of his possession to the poor and paidback four times the amount to the poor whom hecheated. Jesus meeting with people brings changein their attitude. Do you want to become like thetax collector Zacchaeus -- a cheerful giver?

Jesus meeting with Pilate:

Jesus met Pilate in the court. As Jesus wasunder Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod,who was also in Jerusalem at that time. But Herodwas greatly pleased because for a long time he hadwanted to see who Jesus was. Herod ridiculed himand sent him back to Pilate. It indeed was a surprise!Until then Pilate and Herod were enemies, but themoment they met Jesus both became friends.Meeting with Jesus, makes enemies to becomefriends. Do you want to meet Jesus and becomeHis friend?

In the above context, we have seen that peopleafter meeting with Jesus, their lives were changedand became witnesses for the Lord. Don't you wantto meet Jesus and be a living witness?

Mary Sujatha

Mrs. Sujatha is a Chemistry lecturer @ Nrupatunva Jr. College. She is involved in children's ministry since 1993.

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Sunitha David

The Lord your God in your midst

Mrs. Sunitha teaches English language and Literature at St. Anns' College for Women, Medhipatnam.

The Lord your God in your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV ??

Christmas is synonymous withCelebration. Families, churches and heartsopen to hope and joy. Cashing in on thebuoyant spirit is the world of commerce.They steal our hearts with enchantingdisplays that set cash registers ringing.Alexander Pope, an 18th century poet'scomment on women, "They shift themoving toy shop of their heart" has becomeuniversal, cutting across time and genderbarriers. Affection can always be shiftingwithout the "Love, Joy, Peace" to anchorourselves in that which the season rings in.

Guess what? Heaven still celebratesbirthdays and Zephaniah shows the wayin chapter 3:v17. The New King JamesVersion says He will quiet you with Hislove. 'To rejoice' 'to quiet' and 'to sing' arewords associated with watching over achild. And, God the Father does this forHis children! We have seen mothers doingit, with their nurturing nature but here Godis doing it. He is the creator God. He madefamilies, their bonds and ties.

In the nativity story, we celebrateMary's obedience to God. In the'Magnificat' Hymn, we hear Mary's songof prophecy set to music. Mark Lowry's

'Mary did you know' is a song tugging atthe heartstrings. It sings about the motherexperiencing joy at the baby's birth yetknowing there is a much greater plan ofGod to save Man at work in her little baby.Michelangelo's famed 'Pieta' celebratesmotherhood in marble. Makes us wonder,can stone convey so much of humanemotion. Mary and the baby Jesus arecentral to the nativity. The shepherds, thewise men and the angels complete thebeautiful picture.

Can we see the father in the Christmasstory? Not Father Christmas with his jollylaugh and an overflowing bag of presents.But do we see the pain and embarrassmentof Joseph as he quietly decides to put asideMary? He does not want to subject her topain and shame, till God intervenes and anangel of the Lord instructs him to takeMary to be his wife. The child to be bornis begotten of God. There are two difficultjourneys to be undertaken by the newly-weds. One to Bethlehem for the birth ofJesus and the other to Egypt away fromjealous Herod. Life has not gone accordingto plan for them. By opening their heartsand home to the savior, they together obeythe will of God for their lives. Joseph isthe quiet, strong, God-fearing andcompassionate man working the will ofGod in their home. In every home andevery heart Christmas holds the promiseof love, joy and peace when Christ comesin. Surely Mary and Joseph's homeexperienced it first-hand!

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

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And the government will be upon Hisshoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -- Isaiah 9:6

The Mighty one will save, saysZephaniah the prophet. He will not justsave but nurture those He saves as a mothernurtures her child. "Can a woman forgether nursing child, And not have compassionon the son of her womb? Surely they mayforget, Yet I will not forget you." Isaiah49:15. God celebrates the birth of Hischildren, every one of His children areprecious in His sight. God became man.The gift is given. It is given to us. So, the

word says "Unto us a child is born, to us ason is given". It is a gift to all mankind yetso personal. It is only when we accept it;we unfold the gift of salvation. It's a giftthat never gets old. It's a blood covenant,forging a relationship with our father, God.We can rest in His love. The moving toyshop of our hearts can find rest. He quietsus with His love.

His eye is on the sparrow and I knowHe watches over me. The calm assuranceof being loved is ours as He watches overus. The song writer could not have pennedit better when he said... "how quietly theprecious gift is given" also "the hopes andfears of all the years are met in thee tonight"(O little town of Bethlehem).

Cryptic Description of Common Carols/Christmas SongsExample: Approach everyone who is steadfastAnswer: O come, all ye faithful

1. Ecstasy toward the Orb2. Hush the foretelling spirits harmonize3. Still nocturnal period4. The primary carol5. Embellish the corridors6. I’m fantasizing about a blanched yuletide7. The good, old days, of long ago8. Hard fruit made edible by combustion9. Hey miniscule area south west of Jerusalem10. Proceed and narrate gossip from a high location

Answers: ( printed reverse)

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Messiah's Rendezvous with Humankind

It's Christmas Polka Season and rightlyit's the time to eulogize the greatrendezvous of Messiah with humankind.Yes, indeed this overwhelming rendezvoustook place at a time when the human racewas facing a huge crisis, the economies ofthe world were in tatters and there waswidespread unrest, upheaval and socialinjustice and discontent amongcommunities across the world. Humankindwas at it's lowest ebb and was longing for aSavior, a Messiah to save it from extinction.Ironically, this rendezvous of Messiah withHumankind was prophesized two thousandyears ago and the human race had totallygone into oblivion by forgetting this verypromise by God the Jehovah.

The humankind was in such anawkward situation that it could not evenrecognize the coming of Messiah until theAngels broke the news to the Shepherds inthe fields. There were ample signs throughwhich this mega event was foretold bynumber of prophets many many years ago.Nevertheless, this rendezvous is what hassaved the world of today from its extinction.

Ironically, Jesus Christ's birth in theform of a human being into this sinful worldwas agog to witness this unimaginable,unforeseen intrusion by the meta-physicalworld, the heavenly world of Jehovah theAlmighty to keep His promise to mankindby sending His only begotten son JesusChrist to save mankind/humankind fromthe excruciating clutches of bondage to sin.

Until the coming of Messiah,humankind never knew or experienced the"Realm of Spiritual Life". I would go onestep ahead and categorically assert thatthere was no intrinsic value for humanbeings in this secular world. Human beingslived a meaningless life serving their selfishgoals and wants. Hedonism was at its peakwherein all that people knew was "Eat,Drink & make Merry". To say it differently,"Enjoy your life till the hilt" a well knownslogan predominantly doing the roundseven these days among the young folk.Astonishingly, it is the same case with manyof the regular church going youngsters andadults. Many live in superficial world notknowing the real meaning of Messiah'smission.

The dawn of social media era, hassignificantly contributed to this hedonisticfollowing as many lives seem to be in greatdisarray as they are unable to understandor realize their potential of physical andspiritual lives. Today, people are gettingexasperated because they are not in aposition to achieve either of it, ie.,materialistic life and Spiritual life. They arestruggling to achieve both the spheres withtheir own strength which is not happening.

This is the consequence of the failingsocial fabric because of the emergence ofdominance of the satanic forces across theworld. The evil one is ensuring that thepresent generation is far away from thespiritual world, far away from the Lord andHis Kingdom. Though the nuclearChristian families still continue to hold ontothe tenants of Christianity, the presentgeneration is very easily lured to the freebies

Mr. P Samuel Albert, is a trumpeter and chorister of St.John's Church & Tabernacles.

P Samuel Albert

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the satanic world offers on a continuousand unrelenting, unabated manner.

In this context, it is overwhelminglyimportant to remind these young minds ofthe glorious rendezvous of our Lord JesusChrist with Humankind several decadesago and who continues to touch the livesof millions of people across the world. TheHoly Spirit, the spirit of God, which waspromised by our Lord Jesus Christ duringHis ascension to Heaven, powers on in fullthrottle doing the mighty work ofcounseling, comforting and revealing thewill of God in our lives from time to time.It is the Holy Spirit which convicts us on aregular basis of the sins committed by usand enables us to make up with our LordJesus Christ in spite of our failures,breaking of our covenants, promises, etc.,

We as human beings are at a prolongedwar with the physical and spiritual realmsand often tend to get messed up in ourunderstanding of the real purpose of ourMessiah, which is a natural process. KarlMarx, philosopher Descartes and manygreat philosophers attribute this tendencyby human beings to the instability of ourfeeble minds as spiritual realm is meta-physical.

The Bible, the law book of spiritualrealm of Christians is the only way for usto understand the will of God and thepurpose of Messiah's Rendezvous with us(humankind) and we should continue tocherish and flaunt our revered position ofbeing called the Children of God bykeeping our bodies and souls infallible.

For me, the rendezvous of Messiahhappened at the age of 14 when I attendeda Youth Camp conducted for SundaySchool Children at Nellore. Manyyoungsters flocked this venue and thepreacher aggressively preached the purposeof our Messiah and what it means to be a

Born-again-Christian. I would term thisexperience the real rendezvous of Messiahwith myself. Ever since that experience, ithas been a great war within myself withboth the worlds (physical and spiritual) andI can, without an iota of doubt, testify thatthe rendezvous of Messiah in my life hastransformed me as a better human being, aperson who is in a position to understandthe purpose and will of God in spite of myinnumerable iniquities which Iunknowingly and unintentionally committhroughout the day or days of my life.

This recognition of the purpose ofMessiah in our lives is pivotal to ourprolonged hope of meeting our Lord JesusChrist in His Kingdom and livingeverlasting to everlasting praising Him andhonoring Him.

Jesus, our Lord has assured us a placein His Kingdom (John 14) and it is my andall other Christians endeavor to attain thispurpose which is carried out by the HolySpirit.

To illustrate the rendezvous of people ofIsrael with Lord the Jehovah, I havesourced the following picture of the Templebuilt by Moses from the internet. Howeverthe rendezvous of Messiah withHumankind has transformed our bodies asthe temple of God as rightly written bySt.Paul (1Cor:3:16).

Truly, Messiah's rendezvous withHumankind has transformed the verypurpose of this sinful and physical world.God Bless.

Picture – Source from Internet

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Flawless God into the Flawed world

In the movie Home Alone, Kevin wakesup to find that his entire family has goneon their Christmas Vacation and have lefthim behind. In all the chaos and confusionof trying to get their large family out of thehouse, no one notices that Kevin is not withthem, so he wakes up in the morning andrealizes he is in home alone. If you haveseen the movie, you know that Kevinexperiences some of the joy a 10 year oldboy faces when he is left home by himself,but the movie also shows some of thesadness and fears he faces as he encountersdangerous and uncertain situations.

While for many the Christmas seasonis filled with love and laughter, for othersit is a dark and depressing time. Christmasis a time where we invest so much effort,time and hope into creating specialChristmas moments, but then hopes collidewith reality. May be an unresolved stressled to yet another fight with your spouse,and tension is still on, May be your dearchildren (whom you have lived your life for,done all hard work and made manysacrifices for) have become overwhelmedby their me, my family and my worldattitude. May be your vision of gatheringthe whole extended family together hasimploded. And you have reached your limit

on your time with parents, in-laws, orsiblings and now trying to just survive withhurt piling up all around, may be itssomething more serious. May be, whileeveryone else seems warm with delight andjoy, you are feeling cold and lonely. Behindyour beautiful smile, there is an unspokensore, a hollow ache, that feeling ofloneliness in a crowd, or may be this seasonof business and stress has taken a heavytoll not just on your body but also on yoursoul. Your physical and emotional fatigueare only compounding your feelings ofdisconnection with God, and you seem tobe swallowing secret tears. Or maybe, thisseason you are marked by grief. You havelost a loved one or are carrying a heavysorrow and Christmas triggers feelings ofmourning rather than joy. Whatever it maybe! We might be struggling this season goingthrough any of the above and areexperiencing and examining the reality ofloneliness… Christ's incarnation bestowsa unique hope in such times of grief andsorrow!

Luke 2:8-14.The fact that God sentAngels to make the announcement toshepherds about the birth of Jesus, helpsus to understand the real meaning ofChristmas. The Shepherds wereinsignificant people who were encircledwith fear yet through the Angelicannouncement of the Good News, Christtransformed their lives. The reason God

Mrs. Shebah Wesley is Women's Fellowship president, and is actively involved in the ministry along withher husband Rev.Charles, in teaching and preaching the word and empowering women.

Shebha Wesley

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sent Jesus into this world is because Heloves us and He wants us to know that andHe wants us to love Him in return. John3:16 says, "God so loved the world thatHe gave His only begotten Son." God lovedus so much that he came here in the personof Jesus, to forgive us and to save us sothat we can have the opportunity to livewith God and love him forever. "No matterhow insignificant you may think you are,whatever we may be going through, Godknows, and you & I are important to Him."

There are many hearts that are brokenand struggling to celebrate the gift of lifeand love in the midst of tragedy, violenceand death - but Christmas reminds us thatGod has not forgotten us and neither hasgiven up on us. In fact, we ought tocelebrate Emmanuel - God with us … rightin the midst of our situations! God is withus in this mess and we need to be there forthose that are hurting. Elizabeth was willingto be a support and mentor to Mary. Arewe willing to support and mentor thosearound us who need someone of faith intheir lives? Are we willing to reach out inlove to those that are hurting today?

Christmas reminds us the mostmarvelous message of the Messiah'smeekness to meet humankind. He enteredmiraculously into our messy world, intoour frustrated situations, into ourdysfunctional families, promising us hopeof restoration, healing & good tidings!

Advent season reflects on the perfect &the impartial God, entering into ourimperfect and problems filled humanity.Son of God arrived as a Savior makingSupreme sacrifices: being born in a manger,humbled himself as a slave and was willingto be that slaughtered lamb for our sins.Christ's rendezvous was to redeem us fromthe bondage of sin, to reconcile us with thefather, to restore the relationships, rebuildthe broken walls and heal the hurts. Christis very much present in our flaws andfailures, frustrations and fatigue!

The wonderful mystery of theincarnation isn't set apart only forreflection but calls to remember his"Parousia"(Second Coming), to celebratethe Good news, to reconciliation with theredeemer and receive Christ into ourhearts and homes. No matter where lifetakes us. Christ loves us; He is always withus, by our side, as Shepherd to lead us, anda Savior to save us.

Christ the Messiah of rendezvous withHumankind... Right where we are at!

6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us aSon is given; And the government will be uponHis shoulder. And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

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Messiah's Rendezvous with Humankind

Pondering about "Messiah'sRendezvous with Humankind" fills me withanticipation, wonder, fear, awe,amazement, excitement and a great amountof speculation as to how this encounterwould be?

Assuming that He met each one of usin person, how would the scenario be??Would our Messiah hug us, embrace us andenvelope us in His loving arms? Would Hebe 'Happy' or 'Sad' about us? Would Hewipe away all our tears? Would He thinkwe have been obedient to His calling?Would He see if we have done enoughjustice to His Image (for He so lovinglycreated us in His own image - Genesis1:26)

This list can go on.....

But, conversely we do not have to makesuch assumptions because we can probablysee the 'Messiah meeting Man' in so manyforms as God as He keeps revealingHimself to us in the least expected way ona daily basis. The onus then is on us to bealert, active and always on the watch forwe don't know when or how He may come(Matthew 24:44).

So as the loving Messiah keepsrevealing Himself to us - The Church (TheBody of Christ), needs to keep vigil at alltimes and exude Christ-Like demeanor to'ALL' alike.

This Christmas, let us be reminded ofthe 'Blessed Babe' who came in a humble

form and lived for us here on earth as ourSavior, Guide, Friend, Companion,Confidant, Provider, Father, Brother etcfully human, yet fully divine.

He knows how it is to be human andhow vulnerable we all have been to theshortcomings of the flesh, yet his divinepower far exceeds human attributes and'WE' in 'HIM' can be more thanconquerors through His love (Romans8:37) and nothing can separate us from Hislove (Romans 8:39).

Therefore, we ought not to shy awayfrom displaying our Godly nature, for Helives in us (2 Corinthians 13:5) and we Lovejust as He Loved us (1 John 4:10) and Godsending His Son as the Blessed Messiah tomankind as a human being gives us a greathope to live as He expects us to live.

As we gear up to celebrate His birthsoon, let us prepare our hearts to receiveHim with thanksgiving and gratitude andshare the same love we received from Godto everyone around us irrespective of caste,creed, religion and race.

Mr. James Samuel is the property secretary of St. John's Church and has been worshipping in this church since 1971.

James Samuel

Christmas HumorWhat would have happened if three wisewomen would have visited the Manger,instead of the three wise men?The first Lady would have brought ahome-cooked meal for the Holy family.The second Lady would have brought alayette of clothes for the Infant.The third Lady would have picked up abroom and cleaned the stable thoroughly.

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The Joy of Sharing

As the advent approaches, my imaginationgoes down the memory lane of the factualhistory described in our Holy Bible. I hearthe deadly cries of the babies, below twoyears of age, some 2018 years ago, alongwith the terrible lamentations of the Jewishmothers. These boys were robbed off theirlaps while they were happily playing ordrinking milk from their mothers' breasts.This was an order from the King Herodwhen he was informed of the birth of ourLord Jesus Christ as the King of Kings, bythe travelling Wise Men. It is a moment toremember the sacrifice of these voiceless,innocent children. We don't see themothers' grumbling nor their disunity evenin their darkest moments of history. Thiswas the conviction and hope they had in

the Messiah. Many a time this aspect ofHOPE, LOVE and PEACE go unnoticed.It is the hope that the MESSIAH who isborn amongst them is going to bringPEACE and JUSTICE to their nation whichwas curdling up in horrendous slavery andoppression.

Often times, words seem easier thanactions. The path of our Lord is a path ofsuffering and sacrifice. Yet, he says "MyGrace is sufficient for thee." We are Hisblessed children.

As we are preparing to celebrate the birthof our Lord, let us question ourselves,amidst the laughter and joy of Christmas,how much of our love are we sharing withothers in despair and in need.

Let us all take our Loving Lord who nevercondemned anyone, beyond the structuralplaces of worship and share the joy ofChristmas in UNITY, PEACE and LOVE.

Mrs. Girija is an academician, social worker and administrator. She is also part of our Church choir.

Girija Augustine

“Angelic Voices” during Sunday School Christmas Pageant

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Find the bible references related to ‘Salvation’.Chandrika Samuel

As we celebrate the birth of Christ who came to this world to save sinners, let usrejoice in his gladness. Find answers from New Testament

1. And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servantDavid

2. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: butthe sorrow of the world worketh death.

3. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth uponthe throne, and unto the Lamb.

4. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of theGentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

5. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is theword of God:

6. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and thesupply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

7. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.

8. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that lookfor him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

9. Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtainthe salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

10. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God untosalvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

(answers in reverse)

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Christmas Games 2018Joyce Thompson

Guess the Carol.....1. Lord...earth....heart...nature2. Faithful...joyful...king....adore3. Little...sleep...stars...light4. night...calm...bright...child...tender...sleep....peace5. glory....nations.....Bethlehem...king6. glory...earth...creation...messiah7. city...shed...baby...bed....mild...child8. Emmanuel....rejoice....Israel9. Night...stars...shining...savior....holy....divine...10. first...angels....shepherds....fields...cold.....born....Israel11. kings...gifts...mountain....star...bright...guide...light12. watched...flocks....ground....glory

Quiz:1. What guided the three wise men to the infant Jesus?2. Where did the three wise men see the celestial body?3. Who did the three wise men say they were looking for?4. What country was Herod the king of?5. Where did Herod send the three wise men?6. Why did Herod want to know when Jesus was found?7. What reason did Herod give to the Three Wise Men to explain why he

wanted to know about the birth?8. What was the name of the Roman Emperor who sent out a decree that the

entire world should be taxed?9. What was the name of Joseph’s city?10. What is the other name for the city of David?11. Why was Jesus laid in a manger?12. What did Mary wrap the baby Jesus in?13. What were the shepherds doing in the fields?14. Who gave the shepherds good tidings of great joy?15. Who did the angel refer to when he spoke to shepherds - (Clue: For unto you

is born this day...)16. Who else appeared with the angel?17. Where did the angels go?18. What gifts were given to Jesus by the Three Wise Men?19. Where did Joseph and Mary go to flee from Herod?20. How old were the infants that were slain under the orders of Herod?

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Word Search:(Find all the 15 words which are related to Christmas)

(Sourced from the Internet)Scrambled Words:

(Sourced fromthe Internet)

NOTE: Please send in your entries to joycethompson09@gmail.com at the earliest. The first 10 entrieswho get all the games answers right will be given prizes by me. So hurry up with your entries. Please noteONLY ONE ENTRY per individual per family. Families from the editorial team are not eligible toparticipate. :)The answers will be sent across to your email ids on request only after the 7th of Jan 2019.

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My wonderful residence: this Christmas winter Keerthana Lydia

On a cold winter night,

Babies clinging so tight,

Stars shining so bright.

Frost crystals with all its charm,

Snowy pines into their calm,

Blooming cherries in the farm.

Glimmering icy lakes everywhere,

Skaters slithering here and there,

Smell of joy in the air.

Snowcapped mountains,

Flowery fountains,

Colorful curtains.

Oh, what great bliss does the winter dance bring,

With the glorious ring,

And lovers’ Kissing.

A king is born to save me and you,

Innocent and true.

In a manger full of hay,

He will take us with the horses’ neigh.

Psalms 46:8 “Come and see what the Lord has done. See what amazing things hehas done on Earth.”

Christ has come as a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,Prince of Peace”

Ms. Keerthana Lydia is an avid reader and achieves contentment in all that she writes. Shebelieves that some words are just not enough words and can pull a reader into her worldon utter imagination.

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Cross WordDivij Samuel

1. To escape from which king did Joseph take Mary and Baby Jesus to Egypt2. Where did Jesus grow up after returning from Egypt?3. In which city was Jesus Born4. In the Gospel of Mark, how does the Virgin Mary learn of her pregnancy?5. According to the Gospel of Matthew, how many wise men visit Jesus at his

birth?6. After leaving Bethlehem, to which country did Joseph, Mary, and Jesus travel?7. Which country does St. Nicholas originally belong to?8. Which is the most popular ornament used to place at the top of the Christmas

tree?9. Every elf has this ornament on the tip of their shoes. Which ornament are we

talking about?10. Everyone is familiar with the mistletoe tradition. What is the color of berries

of the plant?11. How many points does a snowflake traditionally have?12. Which country was the first to use the tradition of Christmas trees?13. According to the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ was born in a __________14. December 26th, the day after Christmas is celebrated as __________ day15. How many days do we have between Christmas and the Epiphany?16. Which of these was not a gift given by the ‘Wise Men’ to Baby Jesus – gold,

silver, myrrh, or frankincense?17. James ___________was the first person to wear a tailored Santa costume and

walk around the store, distributing gifts?18. How many reindeer drive Santa Claus’ sleigh (counting Rudolph)?

Answers

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Ms. Beulah Supriya

Out of a Manger Came Our SaviorMuch has been said of the Savior lying in a manger for a bed.

And yet I still write to remind myself the purpose of that starrynightwhen God stepped down to bring us new life.

Peace on earth we sing as the baby was born to be king.

A baby our Savior? God in a manger?To empathize with man he put on the garb of flesh yet was treated a stranger.

The same God rode on a donkey and reached out to the outcasts and the lowly.

Freedom from Rome and a leader to guide was sought by the Jews.But an issue much darker God addressed when He let his son become theaccused.

For since Adam, sin along with death reigned supreme;shackled with no remedy we were slaves and salvation a distant dream.

So Christ bore our pain, our guilt and sin.Prophecy told, its price could only be paid by him; a losing battle He did win.

The broken, the bruised, the affluent and leaders, Him followed;and for the world even the ungrateful, the cup of God’s wrath he swallowed.

What we want may not always be what we need.We seek the ephemeral but for the cry for longing hearts Christ did bleed.

We treasure this miracle, it fuels our hope,Especially when in the darkness we grope.

For unto us a child is born unto us a son is givenThis gift is not what we deserve but comes from grace unbidden.

Ms. Beulah Supriya is a science graduate with a love for the arts.

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A Time of Wonder and Joy–A. it

Ms. A. Suchitra is a Senior Sunday school student at St. John’s church andis pursuing her Intermediate second year.

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Messiah’s Rendezvous with HumankindWhile David’s star lit up the sky,In Bethlehem, one winter night,From a manger, an Infant’s cry,Among the darkness, was joyful, bright.Like a victor’s song it rung,Among the faithful blessed ones.And from God’s abode above,If you listened close enough,You’d hear divine music unwindA song celebrating the startOf Messiah’s Rendezvous with humankind.

For years, God’s Son spread out the WordAnd in the end, gave up his lifeThe line of death did he blurTo end our pain and strife.He died for a bigger reason too,So to make sure that humankindFails not its heavenly rendezvousWith its Savior Jesus Christ.

Ms. Gondi Annie Spoorthi, is studying at Johnson Grammar School, ISC, in the M.P.C. stream.

Gondi Annie Spoorthi

Senior Citizens Day Felicitations.

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Christmas PuzzleMrs. Ramya Champion

Items having to do with Christmas are found among these letters. The names may beread forward, backward, up, down or diagonally. Draw a line around each word asyou find it.

Checklist for Puzzle

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Confirmation-2018 Solemnized by The Rt.Rev Dr A C Solomon Raj, Bishop in Medak Diocese

Confirmed Members of St. Johns’ Church. Secunderabad - 2018

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Christmas Social-Snippets of Christmas Regale

Christmas Social – “F.O.G – Force Of God”presented by Youth, St. John’s Church.

Christmas Social – Men’s Fellowshippresentation in collaboration with Families.

“Rose Buds”of Women’s Fellowship dazzling in Pink & Green preforming during Christmas Social.

Little Jewels Shining for Christ – SundaySchool performance, during Christmas Social

Sunday Evening Worshipers chipping in theirglorious melodies – Christmas Social

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Outreach program by Church members

Handing over a cheque for Rs. 32000 for repair of the roof for a school in Wadiaram

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–Jane Andrea John - Juniors

Ashton

KidsCorner

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The “9 Lessons Candle Light Service”

Our dedicated and long serving Sexton

Mr.Philip & family.

Graceful - 9 Lessons Candle Light Service bydedicated choir of St. John’s Church

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St.John’s Carolites

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To Care for Those Who Once Cared for Us is One ofThe Highest Honors

Joyce Thompson

We honored our members that haveweathered the storms of life for more than80 years but have never quit and have beenvictorious.

We showed our appreciation to all the superseniors for many years of service to theLord, for their positive attitude and happysmiles, many years of teaching, serving oncommittees and leadership in the life of thechurch. Because of their rich experience,expertise, and dedication to life, allSEENAGERS (Senior Teenagers) deservedto be recognized.

Prior to the big day, we visited few superseniors who were unable to move around,at their homes along with ReverendMuthanayagam and the men’s fellowshipfamilies. We spent time talking to them,recorded few videos of super seniorsespecially their valuable advice to theyounger generation of the church, clickedbeautiful pictures and enjoyed everymoment with them and we have loads ofbeautiful memories stored within ourhearts.

To summarize, the youth sang a beautifulsong and while the Sunday school childrenenacted the biblical characters that Godused in their old age, the super seniorsguessed the characters within seconds.They were all so lively sharing theirmemories about the church and theirchildhood memories and very energetic toguess the hymns when hummed. We were

extremely happy to felicitate all our superseniors who could make it their day as atoken of our gratitude.

Our guest speaker Mr. Adam Swarupaddressed the super seniors about God’sadvice to older men and women.

· Moses was 80 when God called him tolead Israel. He gave many excuses but agewas not one of them. Don’t underestimateyour capability.

· Caleb was 40 years when God promisedhim his inheritance. He waited 45 yearspatiently to claim his promise. It is nevertoo late to claim your promise from God.

· Anna was in the advanced years. She waswidowed in her teens but kept her faith tillthe ’80s and waited upon the Lord.

· John Wesley traveled 2,50,000 miles onhorseback or on foot to preach. Hepreached 40,000 sermons, written 400books, mastered 10 languages. At 83 yearsof age, he was annoyed that he could notwrite for more than 15 hours a day. At 86he was ashamed that he could not preachmore than two sermons a day. He hatedthat he is not able to get up from bed before5:30 am because of his age.

What advice does the bible give to oldermen and women?

· Older men are to be temperate, dignified,sensible, sound in faith, sound in love andsound in perseverance.

· Older women are to be reverent in theirbehavior, no malicious gossip and teachwhat is good.

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· Older people have the Strength, Stability,and Wisdom

o Leviticus 19:32 - Honor the aged grey-headed

o Job 12:12 - Wisdom is with the aged, withlong life is understanding

o Psalm 71 - And when I am old and grey,do not forsake me until I declare yourstrength to this generation.

· Older people have spiritual experience,spiritual strength, spiritual endurance, andSpiritual Wisdom.

o There is no value in growing old if youare not godly.

o Older women have to set an example andteach younger women as to what is good.

And finally some tips from our esteemedspeaker to the super seniors were given:

· Look forward to tomorrow

· Do simple exercises

· Do crosswords and puzzles

· Spend time on the internet

· Listen to Christian radio stations

· Get covered by medical insurance

· Cook or do gardening

· Travel if you can

· Draw your family tree

· Teach or preach the word of god

· Be an active member of the church

· Help those who are in need - comfort them

I thank God Almighty for the encouragingmessage which Mr. Adam Swarup hadshared with us.

We pray and assure to you all SEENAGERSthat we would cling on to the advice givento us of honoring our elders and taking careof them and be children of the Word andlight.

We the Church of St John the Baptist, wantto take time to say a BIG THANK YOUfor your “contribution to growth of theChurch over the years” and we all churchfamily LOVE YOU.

Brains of older people are slow becausethey know so much. People do not declinementally with age, it just takes them longerenough to recall facts because they havemore information in their brains, scientistsbelieve. Much like a computer struggles asthe hard drive gets full, so do humans takelonger to access information when theirbrains are full. The human brain worksslower in old age, said Dr. MichaelRamscar, but only because we have storedmore information over time the brains ofolder people do not get weak. On thecontrary, they simply know more.

Also, older people often go to another roomto get something and when they get there,they stand there wondering what they camefor. It is NOT a memory problem; it isnature’s way of making older people domore exercise.

What does the Bible say about?

Old age- Due honor should be given to theelderly. Leviticus 19:32, “Rise in thepresence of the aged, show respect for theelderly and revere your God.”

About Wisdom of older people-Job 12:12Wisdom belongs to the aged, andunderstanding to the old.

About strength- Joshua 14:10 “And now,behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as hesaid, these 45 years ... and now, lo, I amthis day 85 years old. As yet I am as strong

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this day ...as my strength was then, evenso, is my strength now, for war, both to goout, and to come in...”

About Grandchildren-Proverbs 17:6“Children’s children are the crown of oldmen...”

About long life-

· Psalms 91:14, 16 because he hath set hislove upon me ... because he hath knownmy name... With long life will I satisfy him.

· Exodus 20:12 “Honor thy father and thymother: that thy days may be long uponthe land ....”

· 1 Kings 3:14 “And if thou wilt walks inmy ways, to keep my statutes and mycommandments ... I will lengthen thy days.”

· Proverbs 9:10, 11 “The fear of the Lordis the beginning of wisdom: and theknowledge of the holy is understanding. Forby me thy days shall be multiplied, and theyears of thy life shall be increased.”

· Proverbs 3:1, 2, 16 “My son, forget notmy law; but let thine heart keep mycommandments ... For the length of days,and long life, and peace, shall they add tothee ...”

· Isaiah 46:4 And I will still be carrying youwhen you are old. Your hair will turn grey,and I will still carry you. I made you, and Iwill carry you to safety · Proverbs 16:31Grey hair is a crown of glory; it is obtainedby following a righteous path.

My personal Testimony:

I thank God for giving me an opportunityto honor our dearest supers for thisprogram as it has been a great blessing tome and I personally thank every memberwho has contributed in their own waytowards this program.

Through this program, the Lord taught me

many in-depth revelations of his word. TheLord Almighty helped me, guided me, leadme to the right people to receive help withinthe time. All I had to do was surrendereverything in the hands of the Lord and hemade everything possible.

The interactions with all the super seniorswere informative, heartwarming, lovingand knowing few seniors’ personalcircumstances and situations were heart-rending. In a few situations tears just rolleddown my eyes while listening to their sadlife stories.

Peter said Each of you should use whatevergift you have received to serve others, asfaithful stewards of God’s grace in itsvarious forms ( 1Peter 4:10)

Matthew 25: 35-40 Jesus said 35 For I washungry and you gave me something to eat,I was thirsty and you gave me somethingto drink, I was a stranger and you invitedme in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothedme, I was sick and you looked after me, Iwas in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him,‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feedyou, or thirsty and give you something todrink?38When did we see you a strangerand invite you in, or needing clothes andclothe you? 39 When did we see you sick orin prison and go to visit you?’40 “Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, whateveryou did for one of the least of thesebrothers and sisters of mine, you did forme.’

I wish and hope that we as church familyand during this Advent season await andrendezvous with the Lord strengthen eachone of us to make a difference in the livesof that humankind especially to the needyand those who are suffering. Through uslet the Lord touch the lives of many and let

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us all make this our resolution for thecoming year.

Ms Joyce Thompson is a Sunday school teacher and is active in various church programs.

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Acquire the Fire Competation

Dr Carol Ann Reddy - first prize winner for CRAFTin ACQUIRE THE FIRE competition .

Dr. NIRMALA PRABHAKAR - first prizewinner in KINDLING THOUGHTS.

Mrs. Sujatha prize winner for Telugu singing

Ms. Nikhita prize winner for English singing competition

The Glittering and Glorious Mistletoe - St John’s Church, Secunderabad

EDITORIAL BOARDRev. K. M. Charles Wesley (Chairman)

Mrs. Chandrika Samuel (Editor)

Dr. Paul Gunasekar

Dr. Maneesha Mohanty

Mrs.Francina Samuel