{"id":77,"date":"2019-12-16T12:42:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T12:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/?p=77"},"modified":"2020-11-03T15:09:56","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T15:09:56","slug":"its-christmas-countdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/12\/its-christmas-countdown\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Christmas Countdown!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Black Friday is already behind us. Ahead lies the anticipation of Christmas, with excitement, and perhaps panic and sheer hard work for those who have to pull it all together. It\u2019s just what we Britons do, spurred on by the media, many people over indulge in food and drink and generally having a good time.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this assessment of the festivities is a little cynical. After all, beneath the tinsel and tack there is much charity and goodwill. There is, too, for some, the real reason for Christmas \u2013 remembering the Birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago. Nativity plays familiarise us with that Bible message. Seasonal services in church and chapel remind us that Jesus is real, his existence a fact of history.<\/p>\n

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Many passages from the Gospels (Good News) of Matthew and Luke ring out clearly with authority and excitement. Hear the Angel Gabriel\u2019s message to Mary \u201c….the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – The Son of God\u201d. Luke 1:35<\/p>\n

Nine months later an angel pays a night time visit to Bethlehem\u2019s hill country bathing shepherds and their flocks with the light of God\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n

His message \u201cFor unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201d… and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God …”Luke 2: 11&13.<\/p>\n

Why such rejoicing for a baby? Decades later the apostle Paul writes \u201c… Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners\u201d 1 Tim 1: 15. Jesus did this by living a sinless life, dying painfully and then being raised to immortal life \u201cConsequently He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since he always lives to make intercession for them\u201d. Hebrews 7:25.<\/p>\n

Have you ever noticed that nowhere in the Bible are believers told to celebrate Jesus\u2019 birth, but they are commanded to remember his death? \u201cChrist… will appear a second time…to save those who are eagerly waiting for him\u201d Hebrews 9:28<\/p>\n

Now that is something to celebrate!<\/p>\n

(Quotes from English Standard Bible, ESV)<\/p>\n

*To find out more about our hope and how you can become a part of it, visit our website: www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk<\/a>. Our next public meeting will be held at 6pm on Sunday, in our hall, Foundry Road, Ammanford. All are welcome to attend!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black Friday is already behind us. Ahead lies the anticipation of Christmas, with excitement, and perhaps panic and sheer hard … Continue reading It\u2019s Christmas Countdown!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18,5,6,14,15],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-christmas","tag-god","tag-hope","tag-jesus","tag-saviour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1524,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions\/1524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ammanfordchristadelphians.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}