This Sunday – 25th January 2026

(Isaiah 43:18-19)

This week, the sections of the email are:

There will not be an email next week.

  • Opening reflection: 2026 Verse of the Year
  • Key notices: Safeguarding Officer, Life Groups
  • Coming Up: Churches Together in Ramsgate  United Service, Marjorie Woodward’s funeral, Prayer Breakfast, Thanet Churches Together Prayer Gathering, Confirmation Service
  • Interesting Blogs: New Things, our changing culture
  • Weekly Calendar
  • Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

Last Saturday, ten of us met for our monthly Dare to Pray prayer meeting at St. George’s. As part of the meeting we had committed to discerning the verse for the year. Some people had sent in suggestions beforehand, which were shared with those there, but in the end we chose the verses above. They were brought to the meeting by two people independently of each other, one from St. Luke’s and one from St. George’s, which in itself suggested they may be God’s choice.

They also seem to capture something of our present situation. Across the country, there is talk of a “Quiet Revival”, which is particularly showing itself among younger men. It seems that God is indeed doing something new with those who are new to adulthood. As churches we need to be aware of that so that we can be more pro-active at welcoming them into our church families and communities and supporting them as they explore and start out in faith.

In addition, Vision 2030, which came out of our year of discernment is also seeking to do something new in our town. We are seeking to reduce the number of buildings we have and improve the ones we keep, so that we can be more focussed on people not buildings. Our deep prayer is that through the new structure of shared buildings and administration, resources can be focussed on developing new worshipping communities (or congregations) so that there will be significant growth in those finding salvation through Christ.

Please pray that God will indeed, be doing new things with and amongst us in 2026 and that we will have eyes to see it.

Paul Worledge

Key Notices:

Parish Safeguarding Officer Role

Safeguarding in church is the responsibility of everyone. However, we need someone to champion and promote safeguarding in the church and to be a point of contact for any concerns raised. There is a lot of Diocesan training and support for this role. If you think you might be the person to take it on then please let Paul know and he can share more about what is involved.

Life Groups

Will you dare to share the Christian life with others? Life groups are a great way to meet together regularly with a small group of other Christians, for mutual support, to share in reading God’s word and to pray for one another.

Please see Paul if you are interested in joining one. There are groups at the following times:

  • Monday evenings
    • Tuesday afternoons
    • Wednesday mornings
    • Wednesday evenings

Coming Up:

Churches Together in Ramsgate United Service

Sun. 25th Jan., 6pm, Royal Harbour School (Upper Site, entrance off the New Haine Road).

There will be activities for children organised by ACTS and a choir led by the St. Lawrence and Coastal Community choir director.

Anyone is welcome to join the choir. Just turn up at the venue at 4:30pm for a pre-service rehearsal. There’s no particular dress code and you don’t have to be a trained singer, just someone who enjoys singing.

Marjorie Woodward’s Funeral Service

Tue. 10th Feb, 1pm, St. George’s Church, 2pm Thanet Crematorium

For those who knew Marjorie Woodward, please join us for her funeral service.

Churches Together in Ramsgate Prayer Breakfast

Sat. 7th Feb, 9am, Centenary Hall, Hardres Street

Thanet Churches Together Prayer Gathering

Sunday 22nd February, 6:30pm, St. James’ Church, Westgate, CT9 5JU

Confirmation Service

Sat. 28th Feb., 5pm, St. Luke’s Church

Please come and support candidates from St. Luke’s, St. George’s and other local churches being confirmed and baptised at the end of February. Bishop Rose will be taking the service.

Interesting Blogs to Share:

New Things? Our Changing Culture

In this 5 minute read, Graham Tomlin surveys the seismic changes happening in our world and asks whether the church is up to the challenge? Read more…

Weekly Calendar

There will not be a new notice sheet on Sunday 1st February.

Sunday 25th – The Third Sunday of Epiphany

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Numbers 17:1-11 – 9:30am

CTiR United Service (Royal Harbour Academy, CT12 6FA) – from 6:00pm

Tuesday 27th          

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 28th     

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Saturday 31st          

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 1st February – The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Numbers 21:4-9 – 9:30am

Tuesday 3rd           

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 4th     

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Thursday 5th           

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Saturday 7th         

CTiR Prayer Breakfast (Centenary Hall, Hardres Street) – 9:00-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 8th – The Second Sunday before Lent

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Numbers 22:21-41 – 9:30am

Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Online Forms:

Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:

  • Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
  • Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
  • Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.

Safeguarding Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.

If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@churchramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, let’s have a faith that truly relies on God.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

Grumbling about Plans (Numbers 13-14)

“So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)

So, what kind of faith do you have? Is it a simple interest in religious activity and comfort. Or do you truly rely on God, for your eternal salvation?

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

Grumbling about Plans (Numbers 13 and 14)

Will you follow Jesus, when it seems impossible?

As Christians we receive incredible blessings. We can become children of God, and come to him as our father, because Jesus his Son became one of us. We are no longer under condemnation for our sins, because Jesus died for us and we receive the gift of eternal life, because Jesus in his death and resurrection has defeated death.

These are incredible blessings, but at times it can feel like it is impossible to follow Jesus. Jesus, himself said that to follow him, we need to take up our crosses and deny ourselves. In other words, it is going to be tough at times. When challenges come, the temptation can be to give up and return to our old life.

It may be that we struggle with temptations and resisting them just seems too hard, we don’t believe God will help us. It may be that we are experiencing pressure from friends or family for being a Christian, and we don’t believe that following Jesus will bring us enough support, when human support seems to be rejecting us. It may be that we are struggling financially and we feel we have to fiddle our taxes or cheat on our benefits or steal from others in order to make ends meet, because we do not believe God will provide for us anyway.

To follow Jesus, through tough times, means trusting that he will be faithful in those times. When we stop trusting or believing, then we end up on Jesus and returning to the seemingly easier life without him. But to do so is also to lose out on the blessings he offers us, to fail to enter into the promises he gives to us.

The writer of Hebrews, who was trying to encourage Christians not to give up, warns about this danger of unbelief. He says,

“So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)

He is using an example from the Old Testament, the story of Israel when they first came to the edge of the Promised Land.

Ready to Enter?

Israel had seen some amazing things. They had seen God force Pharaoh, the king of Egypt forced to release them from slavery, by sending a series of ten plagues on the Egyptians. They had seen God miraculously rescue them from the pursuing Egyptian army by enabling them to cross the Red Sea on dry land. They had experienced God’s miraculous provision of food and water in the Wilderness and they had met with God at Mount Sinai, spending a year camped there with him.

Now after travelling for a few months, they were on the edge of the Promised Land, a wonderful land that God had promised to their ancestors centuries before. This was the moment, where they were to receive that amazing promise, to enter the land and conquer it.

But first in preparation, Moses sent out Twelve Spies, one from each of the tribes to check out the land. To see if it lived up to the promise of God in turns of bounty and to assess the challenge of the people they would have to defeat.

After travelling around the land, the spies returned. The land was indeed good, a land flowing with milk and honey, a term used to describe places of abundant resources of food. They even brought back some massive clusters of grapes to show how good the land was. All the spies were agreed on this, but when it came to the people of the land there were two different assessments.

Ten of the spies emphasised the impossibility of conquering the land, whilst two emphasised that God was with them and they could do it. In the words of the children’s song. Ten were bad, two were good. So, let’s explore what was bad about the ten and what was good about the two.

The Ten Bad Spies

  1. Grasshopper Mentality – 13:27-29; 31-33

The first problem with ten spies, was their grasshopper mentality.

Their speech ends by comparing themselves with the warriors in the land:

Bring

Throughout their speech they have increasingly exaggerated the military challenging facing Israel in conquering the land. The land was full of different peoples, the cities were large and fortified.

In particular they mention the descendants of Anak. These were a people particularly renowned for their height. It may be that Goliath was one of the last surviving members of this tribe.

These descendants of Anak were associated with the Nephilim, a mysterious group, that Genesis 6 implies were semi-divine superheroes. How could the Israelites fight such people?

So, this was the report they brought back to the Israelites. They were basically saying, the land God promised is wonderful, but there is no way we can capture it.

  1. Incite Rebellion – 14:1-4; 14:10

To the people of Israel who had come so far in order to reach the promised land, this message was devastating. Their response was to grumble against Moses and Aaron. Had they led them to the Promised Land just to be destroyed by its ferocious inhabitants? Wouldn’t their children just become plunder to the locals. Surely they would be better off ditching Moses and Aaron as leaders, appointing a new leader and heading back to Egypt. After all, being a slave in Egypt was better than being dead in Canaan!

When Joshua and Caleb tried to argue against this, they were so enraged that they actually tried to stone them.

The bad report from the Ten was not just them being a bit negative, it was leading to the complete abandonment of the whole mission by the whole people. Their lack of faith in God’s ability to help them defeat the people in the Promised Land, had caused disbelief among the whole nation. It was a lack of faith that made them want to give up and return to their old life. To give up on all hope of entering the Promised Land, of receiving the blessings God wanted to give to them.

  1. Bring Judgement – 14:11, 20-38

But this was a lack of faith in the God who had rescued them so powerfully from Egypt. Look at how God sees their response in 14:11:

“The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11)

To disbelieve God is to treat him with contempt. It is to tell him, I don’t think you are loving enough, faithful enough or strong enough to help me.

It is no wonder that God is angry with the Israelites. He tells Moses that none of the Israelites who are twenty years and older will enter the Promised Land. Instead they will wander around the wilderness for forty years until they have all died out, then the next generation, those under twenty and yet to be born, will go into the promised land. The ones they feared would become plunder in the land will be the ones to eventually plunder it.

This judgement fits God’s description of his own character. Moses quotes it in 14:18:

“The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” (Numbers 14:18)

God could have wiped out Israel completely for their sin, but he limits his judgement on Israel to the third and fourth generation. The generation that sinned, will not enter the promised land and receive its blessings. Their children and grandchildren and even some of the great-grandchildren will suffer as a result, because they will be stuck in the wilderness for forty years, but they will eventually receive God’s blessing and future generations would enjoy the blessing of living in the land.

The results of the ten spies bad report was judgement on their whole generation, a judgement that would affect the next few generations, but would not prevent God’s plans overall.

But, the judgement on the ten spies was to be even more immediate. Those who lead others into disbelief or sin are worse than those who follow them and are worthy of more severe judgement. The ten spies are immediately struck down with a plague.

  • As we reflect on the ten bad spies, we need to see the seriousness of disbelief. It is corrosive and contagious. It destroys our relationship with God and separates us from the blessings he offers, and ultimately it ends in judgement.

But, our individual disbelief will never destroy God’s plans. The first generation may have failed to enter into God’s promises through disbelief, but the next generation will receive the promise.

Most of us have grown up in the midst of generations that have shown complete disbelief in the Christian message. Now, however, there are signs that the younger generations are beginning to turn back to God. Our generations may be losing out because of their unbelief, but God’s plans will not be thwarted!

The Two Good Spies

  1. True Faith – 13:30; 14:7-9

In contrast to the ten bad spies, the two good spies show true faith. Whereas their colleagues emphasised the impossibility of conquering the land, Joshua and Caleb emphasise that they can do it. Whereas the others ignored God in the equation, Joshua and Caleb emphasise that because God is with them, they do not need to be afraid of the giants in the land. At the end of their speech they say:

“Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:9)

Now is not the time for giving up and going back to the old life, now is the time for faith and going forward to receive the promises God longs to give to us.

  1. Speak Out – 13:30; 14:7-9

To speak out in this way was brave. They were the minority speaking out against the majority. They were outnumbered 5 to 1. It would have been very easy to have kept quiet and go along with the crowd. Especially when it was becoming obvious that the ten were swaying the whole people to give up on going into Egypt.

In 13:30, Caleb has to silence the people to speak out, and in chapter 14, Joshua and Caleb speak out, even though the people are now set on choosing new leaders and going back to Egypt. Speaking out, was becoming increasingly risky, but they still did it. The result was that the Israelites became so angry with them, that in 14:10 we are told that were on the point of stoning them. If it wasn’t for God appearing in glory, they may well have been the first spies to die.

Yet, Joshua and Caleb were passionate about receiving God’s blessing. They wanted the best for the people and were desperate to try and persuade them.

  1. Receive Blessing – 14:30-31

In the end what looked to be a serious mistake turned into a great blessing for these two spies. They were rescued from being stoned and did not die along with the ten spies who were struck down with plague. In fact, God honoured their faith and courage by pronouncing that out of all of their generation, they would be the only ones who would enter into the Promised Land. In fact, they would be the ones to lead the new generation in faith into the conquest of the land and enable Israel to finally receive the blessings that God had been promising.

  • As we reflect on these two spies, we see the example of their faith in the face of so much disbelief. Democracy has its merits as a system of selecting a government and making decisions, but there is no guarantee that the majority will always make the right decisions. At times, we will need to be those who speak out, in defiance of the majority opinion if we are to be true followers of Christ. That takes courage and faith, but God will ultimately bless those who do.

After all, Jesus spoke out against the majority of the religious leaders of his day, even though in the end they took him and crucified him for it. But, he trusted in God, and God blessed him by raising him from the dead.

Faith or Disbelief?

So, when following Jesus looks to be impossible, will you have faith that God will help you through or will you give up and return to your old life? Will you embrace the promised blessings God has for you or will you treat him with contempt and abandon his way.

Look again at the God for whom nothing is impossible. Have faith and follow him with courage to the ultimate blessings he will give you.

This Sunday – 18th January 2026

“So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)

This week, the sections of the email are:

  • Opening reflection: Faith
  • Key notices: Safeguarding Officer, Life Groups
  • Coming Up: Dare to Pray (this Saturday), Men’s Group (this Saturday), Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Churches Together in Ramsgate  United Service, Confirmation Service
  • Interesting Blogs: Six Things Younger Generations are looking for…
  • Weekly Calendar
  • Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

What is faith? Does it matter? We often talk about faith in fairly vague terms. To say someone, “has faith” is often a way of saying they are a Christian or at least a member of a religion. But faith as an idea is not a purely religious word. It has a concrete meaning in day to day life. For example, I will only board a plane because I have faith that it will fly me safely to my destination, even though it is hard to imagine or understand how a big lump of metal can fly! We need faith in something or someone before we will rely on it or them.

Israel were travelling with God. They had embraced the religious dimensions of their relationship with God in the setting up of the Tabernacle, which now stood in the middle of the camp. But was their faith strong enough for them to rely on God to do what seemed impossible?

When they reached the edge of Canaan, the land God had promised to give them, they sent in twelve spies. On their return all twelve agreed this was a land that lived up to the hype. What they did not agree on was whether they were able to conquer it. Ten emphasised the impossibility of the challenge, the size and ferocity of the present inhabitants. In contrast, the other two emphasised that God could do what he promised. Ten did not truly rely on God, they did not believe his promises, whilst the other two did. Unfortunately, the people were swayed by the ten and so because of their unbelief they did not enter the promised land. The nation had to wait for the next generation who did have the faith to rely on God in the face of impossible seeming challenges.

So, what kind of faith do you have? Is it a simple interest in religious activity and comfort. Or do you truly rely on God, for your eternal salvation?

Paul Worledge

This Sunday

Grumbles about Plans (Numbers 13-14)

Join us this Sunday for our monthly communion service, when we will be discovering why Israel failed to rely on God and receive his promised blessing. There will be all the normal young people’s groups.

Key Notices:

Parish Safeguarding Officer Role

Safeguarding in church is the responsibility of everyone. However, we need someone to champion and promote safeguarding in the church and to be a point of contact for any concerns raised. There is a lot of Diocesan training and support for this role. If you think you might be the person to take it on then please let Paul know and he can share more about what is involved.

Life Groups

Will you dare to share the Christian life with others? Life groups are a great way to meet together regularly with a small group of other Christians, for mutual support, to share in reading God’s word and to pray for one another.

Please see Paul if you are interested in joining one. There are groups at the following times:

  • Monday evenings
    • Tuesday afternoons
    • Wednesday mornings
    • Wednesday evenings

Coming Up:

Dare to Pray – This Saturday 17th, 9:30-10:30am, St. George’s Church

We had a small but important Dare to Pray meeting in December just before the Christmas services, which, as vicar, certainly boosted me for the Christmas period. For our January meeting we are going to be praying for positive developments for our vision in 2026 and discern together what should be our verse of the year. Suggestions in advance for the verse of the year are welcome.

Men’s Group – This Saturday 17th January

Meeting at 8:30am for breakfast at Wetherspoon’s followed by a tour of Ramsgate tunnels at 10:00am. For more information contact Bruce Stokes or grab a flier.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

This week, Monday to Thursday, 9am to 9:30am, there will be joint prayer meetings for all the Ramsgate churches at the United Church in Harbour Street. Do come along on any day you are available.

Churches Together in Ramsgate United Service – Sun. 25th Jan., 6pm

Join Christians from all over Ramsgate for this joint service at Royal Harbour School (Upper Site, entrance off the New Haine Road). There will be activities for children organised by ACTS and a choir led by the St. Lawrence and Coastal Community choir director.

Anyone is welcome to join the choir. Just turn up at the venue at 4:30pm for a pre-service rehearsal. There’s no particular dress code and you don’t have to be a trained singer, just someone who enjoys singing.

Confirmation Service – Sat. 28th Feb., 5pm

Please come and support candidates from St. Luke’s, St. George’s and other local churches being confirmed and baptised at St. Luke’s at the end of February. Bishop Rose will be taking the service.

Interesting Blogs to Share:

Six things the younger generations are looking for…

Reflecting on the research about the Quiet Revival James Lawrence gives 6 things that under 35s are looking for in church in this 2-minute video. Watch now…

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 18th – The Second Sunday of Epiphany

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Num. 13:1-2,21-33 – 9:30am

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Monday 19th         

Prayer for Christian Unity (United Church, Hardres Street) – 9:00-9:30am

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 7:30-9:00pm

Tuesday 20th          

Prayer for Christian Unity (United Church, Hardres Street) – 9:00-9:30am

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 21st    

Prayer for Christian Unity (United Church, Hardres Street) – 9:00-9:30am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Thursday 22nd          

Prayer for Christian Unity (United Church, Hardres Street) – 9:00-9:30am

Saturday 24th         

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 25th – The Third Sunday of Epiphany

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Numbers 17:1-11 – 9:30am

CTiR United Service (Royal Harbour Academy, CT12 6FA) – from 6:00pm

Online Forms:

Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:

  • Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
  • Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
  • Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.

Safeguarding Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.

If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@churchramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, let’s have a faith that truly relies on God.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

Grumbling about Provision (Numbers 11:4-34)

“And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel.” (1 Corinthians 10:10)

As Christians we need to be honest about the difficulties and struggles we face, but we must not allow ourselves to be caught up in a negative spiral of grumbling that makes us forget the power of God to help. We must not abandon hope. As we enter 2026, lets lift our eyes from our problems to the God who promises us ultimate blessing.

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

Grumbling, Campaigning or Lamenting?

In our culture complaint is increasingly encouraged. We are told, if there is a problem, don’t keep quiet say something about it. Whistle blowing is seen as a heroic activity. Even churches now have to have complaint procedures to make sure complaints are taken seriously. This is especially important in the light of all the safeguarding cases where people’s genuine complaints about bullying, sexual abuse or harassment had sadly in the past been ignored.

And yet, not all complaining is good. Much of our complaining can be quite negative, merely increasing the bad feeling with no positive effect.

How can we distinguish between good complaint and bad complaint? I want to suggest there are three types of complaint: grumbling, campaigning and lamenting.

Lament is when we come directly to God with our complaints.

When Jesus was on the cross he complained:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

It was a quote from Psalm 22, which is itself a lament, complaining to God about the persecution of enemies in a way that closely reflects Jesus’ experience on the cross.

Campaigning is when we complain in order to bring about needed change.

Some of the great heroes of the Twentieth Century did this. Just think of Martin Luther King and Ghandi.

Grumbling on the other hand is merely complaining because you are fed up.

If we are honest much of our complaining is often just grumbling. We are not bringing our problems to God and we are not really expecting anything to change. We are merely seeking to share our upset and dissatisfaction with others and so increase the general mood of annoyance.

 The New Testament has some strong warnings about grumbling:

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe…” (Philippians 2:14-15a)

 “And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel.” (1 Corinthians 10:10)

This last verse was referring to the attitude of the Israelites as they travelled through the wilderness towards the promised land. Our passage is itself a key example. In the first section, the Israelites grumble about the lack of variety of food, there’s no meat, cucumbers, onions or garlic. Just manna to eat. God is angry with them and his judgement comes on those who desired to have meat and the place is named, Kibroth Hattavah, which means grave of craving.

Yet, also in the passage, there is a lament by Moses and God responds to Moses’ lament with a wonderful provision. Two forms of complaining, grumbling and lament. One is condemned, the other is held up as an example for us.

Israel’s Grumbling…

Let’s look more closely at Israel’s grumbling and see what made God so angry about it?

Re-Imagines the Past

Grumbling often complains that things aren’t the way they used to be. The past was much better than the future. In so doing grumbling often re-imagines the past, focussing on what was good and forgetting what was bad.

Israel do that in this passage. They look back to their life in Israel and remember the variety of food that they ate: fish, cucumber, watermelons, leaks, onions and garlic. It all sounds delicious, a wonderfully varied menu. But now all they had as they travelled through the wilderness was Manna to eat.

As it goes, this is all true, but it ignores the hardships they faced in Egypt, forced to work as slaves, and having their newborn babies killed by Pharaoh. Was that really worth it for the sake of some nice food?

This re-imagining of the past is particularly bad, because it reframes who God is. Rather than celebrating God as the great redeemer who miraculously rescued them from slavery in Egypt, they see him as the one who has brought them into a life of boring food! No wonder God was angry!!

Are you in danger of grumbling about life in a way that reimagines the past in this kind of way? Are you in danger of grumbling about the struggles in your Christian life, in a way that forgets how God has rescued you from your pre-Christian life, where there was no relationship with God, not hope beyond death and no freedom from guilt or son?

Despises God’s Blessings in the Present

Grumbling can also despise the blessings that we have now. Israel were travelling through the wilderness. There should have been nothing there for them to eat, but God miraculously provided Manna every morning, which was easy to collect and cook and tasted like cake. This was a miraculous blessing, but Israel were complaining about the lack of variety. What God had generously and freely provided they despised. No wonder God was angry!

Are you in danger of despising the good things God has given you in this life? Instead of being grateful for the small things, do you moan about your lack? We need to stop grumbling and start being grateful.

Ignores God’s Promises for the Future

Finally, their grumbling ignores God’s promises for the future. Their present situation in the wilderness was tough, but it was also temporary. God was leading them into a promised land, where there would be plenty of lovely food. Rather than complaining about present hardships, they should be trusting God for his future provision. Trusting that God could meet all their needs and desires. No wonder God was angry!

Are you in danger of focussing so much on present hardships, that you forget about God’s future promises, about his power to save? We need to see again the big picture of what God is up to.

 Israel’s grumbling was more than just expressing dissatisfaction about their diet, it expressed a failure to acknowledge the good God who had gone to incredible lengths to rescue and bless them. No wonder God is angry.

…Leads to God’s Punishment

So, at the end of the passage God sends his punishment.

He gives them what they want: meat and lots of it, but he also sends a plague that kills them. This may seem harsh, but we have already seen how the grumbling expressed a fundamental lack of gratitude towards God or trust in his power to save.  

But also, this was not the first time Israel had grumbled about lack of provision. They had done so a few times already and each time, God had provided for them and not punished them. This now was becoming a pattern, God needed to act to stop a grumbling attitude that would ultimately drive the people away from the God who saves them.

It is also a blessing for future generations, because this punishment was made as a warning. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians referring to the events in Numbers:

“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” (1 Corinthians 10:6)

 Will we heed the warning and refrain from grumbling like the Israelites?

Moses’s Lament:

In contrast to the Israelites, Moses’ complaint is a lament, not a grumble.

He brings his concerns to God in prayer. Let’s look in more detail about how he approaches things.

Honest

First of all, Moses is honest with God. In particular, he is honest about his feelings. He feels the immense pressure of leading such a large group of people, a people that are not his family, but whom God has called him to lead. He is angry with God, but he is bringing his anger to God. He is on the point of giving up, and he tells God this, saying that he would rather be dead than continue in the misery.

When the Bible tells us not to grumble, it is not telling us to pretend that everything in life is well. That the pressures we face do not matter. To just keep calm and carry on. Rather it calls us to lament. To bring our struggles to God in prayer. To be honest with him about how we are feeling.

As Peter puts it:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Humble

Secondly, Moses, comes humbly before God. He is not telling God what to do or where God has gone wrong. He acknowledges, that he is God’s servant, that God is ultimately in charge.

This is where lament differs from grumbling. Grumbling is ultimately self-centred and often self-important. It says my opinion is ultimately what matters. Lament on the other hand shares your opinion and feelings with God with the recognition that God knows best and God is in charge. It frames the complaint in the context of our relationship with God.

Trusting

Thirdly, Moses, shows that he trusts God to be able to deliver. When God says that he is going to give the people enough meat for a month, Moses initially throws up his hands in despair before God. There’s no way I can find that much meat to feed this many people!!

But, God’s response, which comes in one of the verses which we skipped over is:

“Is the LORD’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” (Numbers 11:23)

Moses finds God’s promise hard to believe and tells God so, but ultimately he trusts that God’s arm is not too short, that he is able to do anything he promises. So, Moses gathers the people and tells them what God has promised.  And God does indeed, provide more meat than they could possibly have imagined! Quail a meter deep for miles around!

Lament comes to God honestly with our problems and feelings, it does so understanding that God is in charge, but it also does so trusting that God is able to bring salvation. Will we come to God in lament and trust that God will work for our ultimate good?

God’s Provision:

Moses lament was that the burden of leadership was too much for him alone. So, God provided for Moses. He told him to find 70 elders and that he would take some of the Holy Spirit and put it on them, so that they too would be empowered to share in the leadership of the people, and the burden on Moses could be lifted.

And this is what God did. He gathered the chosen 70 at the tabernacle in the centre of Israel’s camp, God came down, and the Spirit was shared with the other elders. Initially it showed itself in the fact they were all prophesying, probably in the sense of becoming emotionally overcome with ecstatic praise of God, rather than in giving predictions of the future. This was a unique moment for them, but it demonstrated that God had indeed empowered them to support Moses.

Two on the list, however, had not made it to the Tabernacle. But God put his Spirit on them too and they were prophesying, but in the camp. Reports of this came to Moses and his inner circle and Joshua, Moses’ right-hand man was concerned that these two had gone rogue and that because they were in the camp, they may get all the attention rather than Moses.

But Moses is not concerned. He went to God, because of the pressure of solitary leadership and now God has responded by raising up 70 leaders to help him. What matters is not his status or reputation, but that the work of God can be done. He is not going to start grumbling about sharing leadership, but rejoice that more are doing God’s work.

When we bring our concerns to God in lament, we need to celebrate the way he helps us not focus on any downsides to us. Such an attitude slips into grumbling!!

Grumbling, Campaigning or Lamenting?

Next time you feel a need to complain ask yourself what are you doing: grumbling, campaigning or lamenting? If you are just sharing a moan with someone who can do nothing about it, then you are probably just grumbling. If, however, you are intentionally going to someone to sort out a problem or deal with an issue, then you are campaigning to make things better. Even better if you are bringing your concerns to God in prayer, then you are lamenting and you know that God is the one who has power over all problems!

This Sunday – 11th January 2026

“And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel.”

(1 Corinthians 10:10)

This week, the sections of the email are:

  • Opening reflection: Mustn’t Grumble
  • Key notices: Life Groups, Parish Safeguarding Officer
  • Coming Up: Join Up Confirmation course, Dare to Pray, Men’s Group, Churches Together in Ramsgate  United Service
  • Wider Church: Thanet Prayer Diary, Celebration Event for Safer Families
  • Interesting Blogs: Leaving the European Convention on Human Rights?
  • Weekly Calendar
  • Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

“And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel.” (1 Corinthians 10:10)

“Mustn’t grumble….” is a phrase, which is these days often associated with older people. It seems to be a concept that has been lost among younger generations! Most of us too easily slip into complaining about everything from the poor performance of our cricketers to the failures of our politicians.

Complaining does of course have its place. Where it is raising legitimate concerns with superiors in order to improve the situation for ourselves or others, then it can be very helpful and constructive. In this sense prayer can be a kind of complaint and the Psalms give pleny of examples of prayers that complain to God about the difficult circumstances of life.

So, what does the Bible mean when it says, “Do not grumble…”? To fully understand we need to know the stories about Israel as they travelled through the wilderness towards the promised land. These appear in the book of Numbers and our sermon series is looking at some of those events. In those stories, the Israelite grumbling went beyond calling on God for help, because of their difficult situation. When they faced any difficulty they focussed so much on the problem, that they forgot the power of God to help and so decided they would be better off without God and back in Egypt. It amounted to an abandonment of God and his whole project.

As Christians we need to be honest about the difficulties and struggles we face, but we must not allow ourselves to be caught up in a negative spiral of grumbling that makes us forget the power of God to help. We must not abandon hope. As we enter 2026, lets lift our eyes from our problems to the God who promises us ultimate blessing.

Paul Worledge

Key Notices:

Life Groups

Will you dare to share the Christian life with others? Life groups are a great way to meet together regularly with a small group of other Christians, for mutual support, to share in reading God’s word and to pray for one another.

Please see Paul if you are interested in joining one. There are groups at the following times:

  • Monday evenings
    • Tuesday afternoons
    • Wednesday mornings
    • Wednesday evenings

Parish Safeguarding Officer Role

Safeguarding in church is the responsibility of everyone. However, we need someone to champion and promote safeguarding in the church and to be a point of contact for any concerns raised. There is a lot of Diocesan training and support for this role. If you think you might be the person to take it on then please let Paul know and he can share more about what is involved.

Coming Up:

Join Up Confirmation Courses

We will be hosting a Confirmation Service at St. Luke’s on 28th February 2025. Paul will be running a course called, Join Up, from 8th and 12th January, which is both a follow up to Christianity Explored and a preparation for Confirmation. If you have not been baptised or confirmed or are just interested in taking part in the course, then please talk to Paul, asap.

Dare to Pray – Saturday 17th, 9:30-10:30am, St. George’s Church

We had a small but important Dare to Pray meeting in December just before the Christmas services, which, as vicar, certainly boosted me for the Christmas period. For our January meeting we are going to be praying for positive developments for our vision in 2026 and discern together what should be our verse of the year. Suggestions in advance for the verse of the year are welcome.

Men’s Group – Saturday 17th January

Meeting at 8:30am for breakfast at Wetherspoon’s followed by a tour of Ramsgate tunnels at 10:00am. For more information contact Bruce Stokes or grab a flier.

Churches Together in Ramsgate United Service – 6pm, Sunday 25th January

After the success of the united service at Pentecost last May, we are planning another united service at the Royal Harbour School, for Sunday January 25th at 6pm. This will be more traditional in style and there will be a joint choir for the event. If anyone would like to be part of the choir, please let Paul know.

Wider Church

The Thanet Prayer Diary

The Prayer Diary for January and February is available at the back of church or download.

Celebration Event for Safer Families – This Saturday

You may have thought that the celebrations were over…… but we would love to invite you to join us to celebrate the first year of Safe Families and Home for Good in East Kent.

Do come along this Saturday 10th January between 2pm and 4pm to St Christopher’s Church, Newington (Princess Margaret Avenue, Newington, Ramsgate, Kent, CT12 6LG).

Interesting Blogs to Share:

Should the UK leave the European Convention on Human Rights?

This is a meaty article but tackles a controversial issue of today. Should we abandon the convention because it is an obstacle to controlling irregular migration or is it a necessary safeguard against key rights for us all? Read more…

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 11th – The First Sunday of Epiphany

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Num. 11:4-17,24-34 – 9:30am

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Monday 12th         

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Tuesday 13th          

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 14th   

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Thursday 15th        

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 11:30am-1:00pm

Saturday 17th        

Dare to Pray (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 18th – The Second Sunday of Epiphany

Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Num. 13:1-2,21-33 – 9:30am

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Online Forms:

Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:

  • Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
  • Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
  • Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.

Safeguarding Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.

If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@churchramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, stop moaning and start rejoicing in the Lord!

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

Setting out with God (Numbers 10:11-36)

“Jesus said,””And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””” (Matthew 28:20b)

A key moment in the life of Israel.

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

Setting Out with God (Numbers 10:11-36)

New Year’s Resolutions – Life Tweak or Reset?

As we start a New Year, one of the big questions around is, “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?” People will give all kinds of answers, eat less, drink less, give up smoking, exercise more, read more.

But there are also some more outlandish suggestions that I found on the internet:

  • Learn how to communicate with plants…
  • Only eat food that matches your outfit…
  • Memorise the entire dictionary…
  • Adopt a new accent every month…

Generally, though most New Year’s Resolutions amount to life tweaks, changing small habits in order to improve life a bit. They do not amount to a complete life reset.

Yet, Christianity invites us into the Kingdom of God. This is not a tweak, it’s a complete life reset. It sets God as our King, sets God at the centre of our lives and commits to setting out with God on an exciting journey.

And a complete reset is what has been happening to Israel in the last couple of years.

Israel’s Year of Reset –

Our passage in Numbers 10, may feel fairly obscure and full of weird names, but it comes at a key moment in the life of Israel.

The date at the beginning is crucial. It tells us that it was the twentieth day of the second month of the second year. In other words, it is only just over a year since Israel’s calendar began. I am sure you are fed up with recaps of 2025, but here is a quick recap of what has happened to Israel in the previous couple of years.

Israel had been oppressed slaves living in Israel.

The God sent Moses to lead the Israelites and demand that Pharaoh, the king of Israel let the people go.

Pharaoh refused, so God sent a series of ten plagues, each one worse than the previous one, until Pharaoh finally agreed and Israel as a left Egypt, slavery and oppression behind. They were free.

That event marked the start of their calendar. It was a big reset in itself, but it was only the start of the story.

Those events are retold in the first third of the book of Exodus,

but having escaped Egypt, Israel travelled through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where they met with God.

What happened in the following 11 months and nineteen days is retold in the second two thirds of the book of Exodus, the whole of Leviticus and the first third of the book of Numbers. Under a year in Israel’s history takes 59 chapters of the Bible. It is arguably the longest year in Israel’s history!

So, what happened in that year? God through Moses was setting Israel up for the future. He gave them rules to live by, a tent called the Tabernacle to show his presence with them, and a sacrificial system and priesthood to help them relate to him in the right way. Then in the first third of Numbers, he prepares them to set out on the journey to the Promised land he was going to bless them with.

After nearly a year at Sinai, going through a complete reset as a nation, Israel are now setting off on the journey to the Promised Land or at least to the Desert of Paran, which was on the edge of the Promised Land.

The middle part of Numbers tells us about the journey. Lots goes wrong and it turns out to be a lot longer than planned, but we will look at that in the coming weeks. The last part of Numbers, then tells us about the next generation of Israelites preparing to enter the Promised land.

So, now they are setting out, what can we learn from the way that they do it?

Setting out with God

On New Year’s Eve, I took part in Ramsgate’s Lantern Parade. The large number of people with their different lanterns gathered at St. George’s ready to set off on the short march through town to the Ramsgate Tunnels. Whilst we were waiting to set off, it all felt fairly chaotic, but there was a plan pinned to the door of the church, telling us in what order the parade was to march out. So, we all got into our respective places and left. For me it was easy – I was at the back!

Our reading in Numbers gives us the marching order for Israel as they travelled through the wilderness. The Twelve tribes are split into four groups of three and each group has its position, Judah’s group at the start, then Reuben’s group, Ephraim’s group and at the back Dan’s group.

But at the end we are told something remarkable. The whole procession is led by the ark of the covenant, the golden box that is meant to represent God’s throne and so his presence.

In other words, Israel are not setting out alone, they are setting out with God, and more than that God is going ahead of them to guide them and show them the way.

Whilst at Sinai, Moses had made it clear to God, that he was not prepared to go on the journey with Israel unless God was with them.

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”” (Exodus 33:15)

But, God agreed to go with them. So, Moses could be confident that the journey would ultimately be successful. Israel’s enemies would be defeated and Israel would come into the Promised Land, the place of rest.

  • In the New Testament, Jesus similarly promises that he will go with us. At the end of Matthew’s gospel as he sends the disciples off on their mission to convert the world, the resurrected Christ says,

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

As we enter 2026 as individuals and as a church, we do not know what will come, but the more we know that God is with us, the more confident we can be that he will bring us through to his ultimate rest.

Setting God at the Centre

But, we need to take not of Israel’s reset. Not only does God promise to be with them, so they can be confident on the journey, he also wants them to make sure that he remains at the centre of their life and community.

Did you notice that as well as the tribes, the parade order mentions the Tabernacle and the Holy Things. Remember the Tabernacle was the tent where God was meant to dwell. There was another tribe the Levites, who were split into three clans. The Levites as a whole were set apart to make sure the worship of God could happen at the centre of the nation and each of the clans had a role to play. The Gershonites and Merarites were responsible for carrying the tents and poles that made up the Tabernacle, whilst the Korahites, were responsible for transporting the Holy Things, the altars, the lamps and so on.

All of this, shows what a priority the reset for Israel had placed on the Tabernacle, the place where Israel were to meet with God. But, there is more. If you go back to chapter 2 of Numbers we are told how the camp was meant to be set up when Israel were not marching.

The groups of three tribes were to be around the edge, Judah’s group to the East, Reuben’s to the South, Ephraim’s to the West and Dan’s to the North. In the centre was to be the Tabernacle with the Levites camped around it. The point was God’s tent was to be in the centre of all the other Israelite tents. The whole thing was set up to make sure Israel kept God at the centre of their community and life.

  • For us as Christians, we too are called to put God at the centre of our lives? Jesus tells us,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.”

(Matthew 6:23)

‘All these things’ means all the things that people run after in life, like food, clothes, shelter and so on. We are to put God first and trust him that these other things will be provided.

So, what does it mean to put God centre of your life in 2026?

A helpful thing to consider is our time and resources. Does God feature in our diaries? Do we invest our resources in him?

He can feature in our diaries, by committing to spend time with him each day, in prayer and personal Bible reading and committing to spend time with him and his people each week at church services and by joining small groups. If God never features in your day or week can you really say he is centre of your life?

And what about our resources? Are we giving generously to God’s work? The Israelites had to give generously to build the Tabernacle in the first place and they had to commit to supporting the Priesthood and the Levites, so they could maintain God at the centre of their nation. Are you using your finances to help support God’s work today? Or are you content to see it dwindle for lack of funds? And are you willing to give time to serve others as God calls us to, both in his church and as representatives of the church?

What will it mean for you to have God at the centre of your life in 2026? Do you need to make some tweaks or a complete reset?

Setting God as King

As well as setting out with God and keeping God at the centre, we need to also set God as our King. This is the point of the way the Tabernacle was set up.

Interestingly, they have discovered a diagram from the 13th century BC around about the same time as the Exodus of an Egyptian military camp. At the centre of the camp is a tent, with a large  outer room and smaller inner room. In the smaller inner room is the symbol for the Egyptian king, flanked by two heavenly beings.

This is exactly the same as the Tabernacle, which was also at the centre of the camp, had a larger outer room and a smaller inner room, where the ark of the covenant with two golden cherubim on top was placed. This was the throne room of God, where he was meant to dwell. This is where you met with him.

The point is that the Tabernacle showed that God was the king of Israel. Although, Moses was the human leader, we are not told anything about his tent. The tent that is special and elaborately decorated, where people went to find out what to do, was the Tabernacle. Moses was God’s spokesperson, God was the king.

  • And so, we as Christians are called to set up Jesus Christ as king or Lord of our lives.

In his first letter, Peter writes:

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” ( 1 Peter 3:15a)

The Tabernacle was set apart in the heart of the nation, to show who was king. We need to set God apart as special and ruler in our hearts, too.

All kinds of things will want to hold sway over our hearts, some are important things, like family, career, relationships, others are more frivolous, such as TV programmes we want to watch, holidays to go on. They all take up space in the encampment of our hearts, but we need to set God up in the royal tent, the one that has the ultimate say over how we should live our lives.

This is the ultimate reset we all need.

Inviting others to Join in

Setting out with God, is an exciting prospect. It can give us confidence as we travel through the ups and downs of life. But, we need to ensure God is central to our lives and we need to set him apart in our hearts as king.

Setting out with God, also brings us to the ultimate place of blessing and rest. It may not be an easy journey, but it is a good one to go on.

Moses turned to his brother in law, who was not and Israelite and invited him to join with them and help them on the journey. Your life may already be set on travelling with God, why not like Moses, invite others to join the journey in 2026?

Joy out of Oppression (Matthew 2:13-23)

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

Joy out of Oppression (Matthew 2:13-23)

Knitting…

I can’t really knit. But knitting is amazing. People take a long thread and turn it into a beautiful jumper.

As we look at our Bible passage today, we will see that Matthew is knitting together some amazing themes, to show us a true picture of who Jesus is and how he came to fulfil the Old Testament.

1 simple story and 3 strange quotes

In the passage is a simple story. Jesus has been said to be the new King of the Jews, by the Wise Men who visited. But Herod, who was made king of the Jews by the Romans, did not want the threat of another king.

So, God warns the Wise Men not to return to Herod and Joseph to flee to Egypt with Jesus. Sadly, though, Herod desperate to destroy the baby who may be king, orders the murder of all the children in Bethlehem. Jesus is safe, but Bethlehem is sad. Soon, however, Herod dies, and Joseph it is safe to return to Israel and settles in Nazareth.

One simple story, but Matthew uses the story to knit together three rather strange quotes. He seems to be saying, that Jesus fulfils the quotes, but none of the quotes are about a future king, the first looks back to the birth of the nation of Israel as it came out of Egypt, the second records the sadness of Israel being taken into exile by the Babylonians and the third does not even appear in the Old Testament. This is not a simply the Old Testament said this would happen and now it has. Matthew is doing something much deeper with the quotes here.

So, let’s follow the threads and see what we can find.

Egypt

Follow string to 1st board, with ‘Egypt’ written on front.

“Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea 11:1)

Egypt, is where the nation of Israel were slaves,

until God brought them out of Egypt and made them into the nation.

Coming out of Egypt was the birth of a new nation.

This verse looks back to that moment.

‘My son’ refers to the people of Israel.

Tear off ‘Egypt’ half of sign to reveal star of David and X

However, in Hosea it tells us that they kept turning away from God,

even though God longed to have them back.

Again and again, Israel proved to be a failure as God’s son.

Tear off ‘Egypt’ half of sign to reveal Jesus and tick

Now, Matthew seems to be saying,

that Jesus was going to fulfil God’s vision for Israel as his Son,

in a way that Israel never would.

In Matthew 3, at his baptism,

God speaks from heaven and says,

“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

When Israel left Egypt they went into the wilderness

and often failed God there.

When Jesus was taken into the wilderness,

he was tempted, but never gave into temptation.

Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeds.

  • Jesus proves himself to be the true Son of God.

He does not just give us rules to follow, but a life to copy.

He shows us what it means to live as part of the true family of God.

Will you live to be like Jesus?

Ramah

Follow string to 2nd board, with ‘Ramah’ written on front.

In the Old Testament, Rachel was the favourite wife of Jacob.

However, there is confusion about where she was buried.

Some texts suggests she was buried near Bethlehem,

other texts suggests she was buried in Ramah.

So, in some way Rachel is associated with both places.

So, because Rachel was associated with Bethlehem, he uses a quote from Jeremiah:

“A voice heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more.”

(Jeremiah 31:15)

Tear off half ‘Ramah’ to reveal sad face.

Matthew tells us about the terrible killing by Herod of the children in Bethlehem,

in an attempt to destroy Jesus. The people in Bethlehem must have been very upset indeed and because of their association with Rachel, this verse seems to fit their upset.

The verse actually refers to the people of Israel being taken away from their homes

and forced to go into exile in Babylon.

Ramah was the staging post for those taken from Jerusalem as they were prepared

for the long journey. This was a sad moment. Israel were being oppressed

by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.

This also all echoes Israel’s time in Egypt, when the king of Egypt Pharaoh,

ordered the firstborn males of Israel to be killed and thrown into the Nile.

All these stories record terrible moments for Israel under oppression.

Whether by Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar or Herod.

Tear off half ‘Ramah’ to reveal happy face

But, they are also only parts of a story that are all about hope in God’s

ultimate rescue.

Moses miraculously survived the murder of the babies in his time and God ultimately used him to lead Israel out of slavery and to the promised land.

The next verse in Jeremiah tells Israel to stop weeping, because God will rescue them from exile in Babylon and bring them back to the promised land. And God did as Jeremiah promised.

Jesus like Moses was miraculously rescued from the murder of babies, by a warning in a dream to Joseph to flee to Egypt. And Jesus will return to bring salvation. Not from Herod, but from sin and death itself.

  • Jesus offers hope to the oppressed. We live in a world ravaged by sin and in particular, the oppression by terrible tyrants like, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar and Herod. But even as we suffer in a sinful world, Jesus brings us hope that just as he ultimately died on the cross, because of human sin, he will lead us to the promised land of God’s eternal kingdom.

Nazareth

Follow string to  3rd board, with ‘Nazareth’ written on front.

So, we come to the last quote. Except it is not a quote. You won’t find it in the Old Testament, and the fact Matthew says what was said through the ‘Prophets’, suggests that this is meant to be a summary statement of a theme of the teaching in the Old Testament.

“He will be called a Nazarene.”

So, what could it mean? This is debated, but I am most persuaded that the link should be made to the Hebrew word, Nezer, which means, Branch.

“Branch,” is a title used in the Old Testament of the hoped for Messiah.

Tear off  half ‘Nazareth’ to reveal crown

The clearest link is to the famous verse in Isaiah 11:1.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1)

Jesse was the father of David, so this is looking forward to God’s promised king.

But there is another quote, with the title, ‘Branch’, which goes further.

Tear off half ‘Nazareth’ to reveal people

“Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: `Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD.” (Zech. 6:12)

Just as David’s son, Solomon, was the one to build the first temple in Jerusalem, so the prophecy says, a future Messiah will build a new temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus was born, there was already a temple being built in Jerusalem, by the King Herod. What Matthew seems to be saying with this title, is that this child has come to build the true temple, by the true king.

  • But, Jesus did not build a temple out of stones, but of people. He built his church, the new temple to replace the stone one built by Herod. Not built on the backs of oppression, but on the foundation stone of Jesus crucified. This temple, would be worldwide and spread the glory of God worldwide.

Today, you too are invited to be a part of that temple, and bringing glory to God, where we are in this place. As we approach a New Year, why not take the opportunity to be built by Jesus, the Nazarene, into the true temple of God.

The Gift of Joy (John 1:1-14)

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” (Luke 2:10-11)

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

The Word Became Flesh (John 1:1-14)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Traditional Carol Service – Joy

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” (Luke 2:10-11)

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

How to eat a burger?

What is the best way to eat a burger? Should we grab it with both hands and stuff it into our mouths, not caring what spatters out on either side? Or is it best to be more civilised and eat your burger with a knife and fork, carefully slicing off small chunks to place carefully in your mouth?

My guess is that probably you think it doesn’t matter. Each to their own. But I came across an article the other day, which said that a woman had been kicked out of a restaurant because she was eating her burger with a knife and fork! Apparently, it was the restaurant rules that you had to use your hands to eat a burger.

What an outrage!!!

Rage Bait…

Or was it?

This year, the Oxford University Press decided its word of the year was ‘rage bait.’

Rage bait is online content that deliberately provokes a strong emotional reaction in you, so that you will respond or comment. Many posts are interesting or funny, you may read them, but you will soon scroll on. If the post makes you angry, however, then you are more likely to engage, to make a comment or add a horrified emoji.

The thing is the more comments or reactions a post receives, the more it will be promoted by the algorithms and the more money the content creator will receive. Rage bait is a lucrative business.

The story about being kicked out of a restaurant for eating a burger with a knife and fork was of course a fake story. It was rage bait made for fun. But the author has become very wealthy making similar stories!

The sad truth is we are all more easily engaged by appealing to our base instincts, like pride, lust, greed and anger. That is how we can be manipulated by people to make us do what we want. Historically, leaders have tapped into people’s anger to build their power and cause wars, which lead to destruction and heartache.

Prince of Peace

Jesus, however, was announced by the angels to be the bringer of peace. He comes not to stir up anger, but to lead us in the way of joy and peace.

The term Prince of Peace comes from Isaiah 9, a prophecy looking forward to a better ruler. It is a passage written to a people being oppressed by angry warring nations and looks forward to a time, when wars will cease, joy will break out and the Prince of Peace will come. He is the son, that is given to us the child who is born for us.

But, what is so special about the promised Prince of Peace? Why might we want him to be our leader? How can he bring us personally joy and peace now?

Is this the leader we need?

As well as the term, Prince of Peace, Isaiah uses three other titles for this coming king. The King Christians claim is Jesus.

Wonderful Counsellor:

First of all, he is a “Wonderful Counsellor.” In our world we find counsel from all kinds of sources. Through the internet, we can find counsellors from all over the world, commentators and influencers with all kinds of different ideas and philosophies. But, why should we choose one human over another to be our guide in life?

Perhaps we should allow Artificial Intelligence to guide us? But that is also a very poor guide, mainly because it is simply trying to imitate human thinking, not offering us anything better and often something worse.

The claim, however, is that Jesus is a wonderful counsellor. ‘Wonderful’ suggests something beyond mere human, it points to his divine nature and wisdom.

And when we look at Jesus, we see his teaching, which is so powerful, memorable and radical. Here is not a preacher of anger, but someone who says, “Blessed are the peacemakers” and “love your enemies”.  Someone, who appeals not to our base instincts, but call us to a better way of life.

Isn’t this a leader you can trust for the best guidance in life?

Mighty God:

Secondly, he is described as ‘Mighty God.’ Leaders in our world build their power on military strength. But in the Bible, we are encouraged to put our trust in God to save us. After all Israel did not escape Egypt by military strength, but by the power of God.

In the same way, Jesus came demonstrating the power of God, through miracles that healed sickness, calmed storms and even raised the dead. He didn’t live by the sword, but in dying at the hands of military executioners he overcame the power of death itself by rising again on the third day.

Jesus may not meet our immediate desires, but he offers to give us lasting joy and security. Isn’t this a leader you can trust for your ultimate security?

Eternal Father:

Thirdly, he is called, “Eternal Father.” When the term, ‘Father’ is used of a leader if suggests a caring authority. Many leaders are in it for their own status, power or wealth gathering. Fortunately, they never last!

Jesus, however, said that he had come not to be served, but to serve. To give his life as a ransom for many. And that is what he did through his sacrifice on the cross to save us from our sins. He showed deep care for us, a care that continue because his reign is eternal.

Isn’t this a leader you can trust to care for your needs, not just now but always?

Rage Bait or Peaceful Rule

So, what will you let lead you this Christmas? Rage bait or peaceful rule?

Will you allow yourself to continue to be manipulated by those who appeal to your base instincts, or the one who offers you wonderful counsel, eternal security and caring support?

Can I invite you this Christmas to consider following Jesus. I would love to give you a copy of Luke’s gospel, so that you can read it and find out more about the Prince of Peace and see whether he might be a better leader for your life.

Family Carol Service – Joy

“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” (Luke 2:10-11)

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

What brings you joy?

Turn to person next to you and see if you can answer this question:

  • What brings you joy? What makes you happy?

Lots about Christmas is meant to bring us joy. Giving and receiving presents. Eating good food. Spending time with family.

True joy often comes through connecting with others: family, friends, loved ones. But increasingly, our society is becoming less good at connecting. Anger, upset or bitterness destroys relationships. We hide ourselves behind social media, only putting our best selves on display and closing ourselves off to real relationships. We become wrapped up in our own lives too anxious to truly engage with others and too keen to protect ourselves from harm. The result is that our lives, lose their joy.

Wrap up Card with ‘JOY’ on.

Joseph – Closed Off

Joseph was engaged. He was looking forward to marrying his bride, Mary. But then he discovered something shocking. Mary was pregnant and the baby was not his! What was he to do?

Rather than tackling the problem head on, Joseph wrapped up in his own thoughts and ideas, seems to come up with his own idea of how to deal with the situation. Rather than confronting Mary or find out what has really happened, he decides to act in what seemed like a righteous and kind way. He decided to divorce Mary quietly, saving her and him  embarrassment. In this way he wanted to close down the issue, cut himself off from the pain and move on to continue his own life. Shut off from the joy of marriage to Mary.

Joseph – Unwrapped

But, God had other ideas.

Pull wrapping paper and Joy sign off.

God sent a messenger, an angel in a dream. He wanted to unwrap what was really going on. To unwrap the truth of what had happened to Mary. To open up the possibility of joy not just for Joseph, but for all of us. In unwrapping this truth, God also provides a way for us to be unwrapped to the possibility of real joy.

The Holy Spirit

The first thing the angel says, is that the baby is from the Holy Spirit.

Unfold left arm to reveal Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit appears right at the start of the Bible. The world is empty,  chaotic and lifeless. But, the Holy Spirit hovers above the waters and God acts. From the emptiness comes everything, from the chaos comes beauty, from lifelessness life comes in abundance.

Now, the angel says, the Holy Spirit comes to make something new again. This baby was a completely new creation for our world.

When the world seems full of chaos and horror, we can be tempted to shut ourselves away, to become wrapped up in ourselves. But, when we realise God can create something new, beautiful and full of life by His Holy Spirit, then we can begin to open ourselves up to the work of his Holy Spirit. We can open ourselves up to joy.

Jesus = The Saviour

The second thing the angel says is that the baby is to be called, Jesus, which means ‘God saves’, because he will save his people from their sins.

Unfold right arm to reveal cross.

Sin is ultimately, a focus on myself above others and God. It is to disobey the great commandments to love God and neighbour. To sin is to become wrapped up in yourself. It destroys relationships and creates guilt and shame, which make us withdraw from God and others more and more. Sin can often look like a means for joy, but ultimately it cuts us off from the true source of joy.

Yet, the angel says that God in Jesus came to deal with our sin. Jesus was born not just to be a cute baby, not just to teach us God’s way of life, but by his death on the cross to condemn sin and bring us forgiveness. To free us from guilt and shame and free us to discover true joy through love of God and others.

Jesus = God with Us

The third thing we are told, is that Jesus is Immanuel or God with us.

Unfold top arm to reveal hand from above…

When we become wrapped up in ourselves we become cut off from God and others. We experience loneliness and lose joy.

In a recent survey, 33% of 16-29 year olds in Britain reported being lonely. They find it hard to reach out to others, and others are less likely to reach out to them.

But, Christmas tells us that God reaches out to us in our loneliness and estrangement from him. Jesus is God with us and God will be with us if we let him. He invites us not just to let him be with us in the ups and downs of life, but to become part of his family and find friendship and community in his church. This is the root to true joy.

Joseph finds joy in faith

So, this was the message of the angel to Joseph. It was an invitation to Joseph to unwrap himself, to open himself up to what God was doing with Mary and to become part of the plan.

But would Joseph trust or believe the angel. Would he stop being afraid of the embarrassment of marrying a woman who was pregnant with a child not his? Would he take her to be his wife and name the child Jesus as the angel said? Would he find joy in trusting the angel and doing what God said or would he remain wrapped up in himself?

Unfold bottom arm to reveal tick…

Joseph did trust and obey and found the joy not just of marrying Mary, but the honour of becoming the father of Jesus himself.

In the same way God invites all of us to stop being wrapped up in ourselves. To instead allow ourselves to be opened up to a life with God, a life freed from sin and a life made new by the Holy Spirit.

Why not open yourselves up to God more this Christmas? Let me suggest two ways you might start to do that:

Grab a Luke’s gospel off me on the way out today so you can read more about Jesus for yourself.

Join the church community by coming along in the New Year. Register now online now, to receive the church email so you can be reminded of what is coming up.