An Advent Hymn by Colin Gordon-Farleigh : "Emmanuel Now"

      Soon we will be celebrating Advent in the run up to Christmas, and so I thought it fitting to share "Emmanuel Now", which is one of my Advent Hymns, with you today. 
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Emmanuel Now 10.10.6.6.13.5.
Angels are singing, high up in heaven,
Church bells are ringing on earth down below;
The world’s celebrating,
The birth of the Christ Child,
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel now,
His glory does show!

Shepherds in fields were watching and waiting,
God’s angel singing, and all heavens ring.
He told them how God’s Light,
Would banish the darkness,
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel now,
All worship the King!

Bright star is shining, high in the night sky,
Stopped o’er the stable where Jesus, He lay.
The  babe in the manger,
God’s love and God’s glory;
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel now,
Asleep in the hay.

Softly and gently, Mary is singing,
We kneel to praise Him with kings from afar;
The oxen are lowing,
As all join in worship;
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel now,
All follow the star.

Lifting our voices, we sing our praises,
With heav’nly choirs our worship we bring.
We tell the great story
Of Jesus the Saviour,
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Emmanuel now,
We worship our King!
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

'O Holy Night' sung by Cantoris.

Check out this Advent song on Youtube. Please feel free to use it in your worship services or school assembly, but please report its use to CCLI. I wrote this a couple of years ago and since then it has been widely sung in services around the world.

Advent Hymn: 'To The Stable'

'Calon Lân' is a favourite Welsh hymn tune in chapels and churches across the land, and I wrote the words to this Advent hymn to the tune back in December 2006. It has proved a firm favourite with many folk since then.

I hope you will enjoy it and use it in your worship services this Advent time.

To the Stable 8787 
TUNE: Calon Lân

Hurry down to that small stable,
With star shining bright above,
See the infant in the manger,
Look on Him with eyes of love.
See the face of mother Mary,
Glowing softly in the light,
She has borne the Son of Heaven,
To the world this holy night.

In the fields the shepherds watching,
Heard the angel choir above;
Saw the star that shone so brightly,
Telling all of God’s great love.
Wise men from the east came quickly,
Worshipping the Christ-child there;
Bringing royal gifts a-plenty,
Gold and frankincense and myrrh.

From the darkness of that stable,
From the simple infant birth,
Came the glory of the Father,
Bringing light upon the earth.
Light that all the blind may see,
Light that shines from Christ alone,
Through the grace of God the Father
Can be ours to have and own.
© Colin Gordon-Farleigh, 2006

A Hymn for Advent: 'Guiding Star'

Here is a simple Advent song which is well-suited to All-Age-Worship. I hope you like it and will include it in your forthcoming Advent celebration services.

Guiding Star   5556
TUNE: Starlight

May the guiding star
Lead us all the way;
To the stable bare,
Where baby Jesus lay.

See it brightly glow
In the midnight sky;
God has let us know
His love in manger lie.

Brilliant and bright,
In the sky above,
Telling of God’s Light,
It tells us of God’s love.

Children all around,
Praise the Lord today;
For God’s guiding star
Has led them all the way. 
© 2010 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

A Hymn for Advent: 'Christmas Lullaby

Christmas Lullaby    8787

TUNE: Stuttgart

Picture Jesus in the manger,

Dream of love and royal birth.

Children sleeping in their cradles,

All is silent on the earth.

All await the coming morning,

And the joy that it will bring;

They will open up their presents,

And remember Christ the King.

He is gentle, just a baby,

Softly sleeping in the hay;

Kings and shepherds, beasts and wise men,

Worship Christ in manger lay.

Children waking, joyful singing,

Greets this special holy day;

Concert voices raised together,

As we praise our Lord today.

© 2012 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

A Message for the 4th Sunday in Advent

Read Luke 1:39-56

If you think things were tough for Mary, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, spare a thought for Joseph, talking to his mother-in-law.

Anna: You're taking her where? I don’t believe my ears.

Joseph: Bethlehem. I have to go there, so I'll take her with me.

Anna: My daughter. Nine months pregnant. You want to walk to Bethlehem. You want to take her with you.

Joseph: Not want to take her with me. I'm going to take her with me.  The gossips can't pin down the date of birth if she's out of town. Besides, a son of David should be born in David's town. Where else?

Anna: A son, is it? Where else, you say? On the road there, maybe? If the robbers don't get you first, God forbid.  Joseph, nobody knows when this baby is due.  This isn’t the moment to take her on a walking tour.

Joseph: It’s a long way to walk. I could try to find her a donkey.

Anna: A donkey? Why not a chariot? And this is supposed to be an improvement? You should try being pregnant, and riding a donkey. Joseph, be reasonable. Leave her here. In a mother's care.

Joseph: She's in my care, now - I'll take care of her. The angel said to take her, and how can I take care of her, if I leave her behind?

Anna: You 'II take care of her! Suddenly you're a midwife, as well as a carpenter! Joseph, this is her first baby. The only one that knows less about it than her is you.

Joseph: Don't try to frighten us out of it. We were both told, 'Don't be afraid', by the angel.

Anna: Did the angel mention any other details? Like how she was to manage? In her condition, in a strange town, with no help, no mother, only Joseph, the midwife carpenter, who dreamed it would be alright. On your head be it!

Joseph: I dreamed I was told not to be afraid to take her. So, if I have to go to Bethlehem, then she's coming with me.

Anna: (heaviest sarcasm) Oh well, if an angel comes into your dreams, with a personal message... then why listen to the voice of common sense? I'm amazed the angel didn't tell you that you were pregnant, too.  Why not?

Joseph: (grins) He told me it was going to be a boy, and to name him Jesus.

Anna: Jesus? MY grandson? What about Reuben? Reuben, after my father? Or David, even? Why Jesus? What sort of a name is that?

Listen to your mother-in-law! A radio sketch from The Angel and the Paper Bag and Other Sketches by Cecily Cupit (Melbourne: Joint Board of Christian Education, 1993).

Preparation for Christmas can be difficult: difficult for Mary, for Joseph, for Mary's mother, Anna, for Elizabeth, and for us.

Are you ready for Christmas to come? Cakes baked, house cleaned and tidied for guests, travel arrangements in place? Are all your gifts purchased and wrapped, and the tree decorated? I confess I'm usually late on a lot of those things, and probably some others I've yet to remember. During Advent we talk a lot about remembering to prepare for Christ to be born in our lives. It’s easy to get behind on that one too. We need to ensure that we get our Spiritual House in order as well.

After reading today's lessons, though, I wonder where Jesus will choose to visit -- Will it be the well-prepared house with all the perfect colour-coordinated decorations and the beautifully wrapped gifts? Is Jesus looking to be born in the soul that is really prepared for his birth? The person who’s really got their act together?  The one who has neatly ordered his spiritual life? Does our God search out the people and places who are perfectly prepared and in control of things?

In Luke’s Gospel, we hear that our Lord is going to be the child of an unwed teenager. Elizabeth might logically have greeted her young pregnant cousin with "Mary, what have you done? You've ruined your life!"

Our imagined dialog between Joseph and his mother-in-law paints a picture of God coming into people’s lives in radically unexpected ways. Right in the place that one is least prepared: A carpenter is going to be a midwife?  Surely our God has a sense of humour. Showing up where least expected.

Instead of pointing out our strengths, God shows up and magnifies the lowly places in our lives.

Did you really hear Mary's familiar song -- the Magnificat? It's not an affirmation of the good stuff of the status quo. It's a radical turning of the world upside down. The proud are scattered. The powerful are brought down. The rich are sent away empty. The lowly on the other hand are raised up; the hungry are fed. Apparently when the Lord is magnified, the ‘down and outs" are magnified also.

God seems to prefer the needy have nots, to those who have it all.  He chooses strange and unexpected ways to make history. This most important event in all human history happens not to a powerful and wise man, but to a powerless teenage girl. It’s announced not by an assembly of royal heralds, but by an elderly pregnant woman.

The miracle is not the virgin birth.  The miracle is that God spoke and Mary heard. God spoke and Mary heard AND obeyed, and the result of that obedience is a miracle. God sends totally unexpected miracles in unexpected places to unprepared and needy people.  God sees human need and answers our deepest longings.

So instead of looking for God in the beautiful, well kept part of our lives. Let's take time to consider our neediness. The unprepared places.

When you look at your life, where is it that you are truly needy? Where is your life broken? Where do you feel inadequate and unprepared for life? Where are the empty spaces? Where do you hunger? Maybe it's loneliness or alienation?  Poor health or financial stress?  Depression or overwhelming fears?  These are the mangers of our lives where God is asking to be born. Listen carefully in the broken places of your life. God is looking with favour on your lowliness.

Hear God's unexpected word promising to fill your greatest needs. Hear and leap for joy. The Lord will do great things for us and Holy is God's name,

Nativity Scene with a difference!

A Nativity Scene was erected in a church yard.

During the night the folks came across this scene.

An abandoned dog was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose baby Jesus as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so he was there all night.

We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus' lap from time to time.

No one mentioned that the dog breed is a "shepherd!"

First Sunday in Advent

A Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent

You know the signs. There's a growing excitement and some anxiety; the house is scrubbed clean and decorated to look special: someone's coming.


You know the signs: a faint, light headed-feeling, the swelling of hands and feet, changes in appetite, odd cravings, and nausea, especially in the morning. You know the signs: It's advent and we're pregnant again.


Someone's coming -- a whole new person to be part of our lives. The birth of a child changes everything. Radical change: Surprise. Earth shaking, all consuming. Nothing is the same . . . Are you willing to change that much?


When God decided to tell us what it's like to have God come into our life, we are not told a story of a conquering king. God tells a story of birth. Birth is what it is like for God's kingdom to come -- hard work & tears; fear & hope. Are you willing to change that much to have God come into your life?


When we read lessons like today's about Christ's Second Coming, we do so already knowing the surprise method God chose the first time Christ came into the world. Everything changes for Joseph and Mary. Everything changes for the whole of the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. The kingdom of God is near - Are you willing to change that much?


Perhaps that is the change suggested in the bumper sticker I saw recently: "Jesus is Coming--look busy!" No one wants to get caught goofing off. Would you be ready if Jesus and all his saints were to show up right here, right now?


Looking busy probably isn't much help. Again and again Scripture reminds us that nothing we do can save us. We are told to hope in God's promises, not in ourselves. Salvation is God's work, not ours.


So when we see the signs are we to sit back and let God do God's thing? Our job then would be to wait for salvation, to wait to be delivered from our distress, to wait to be loved and given life. A bit like winning the lottery -- that's where most people look for their redemption -- to have everything paid off and all their problems solved. (That's literally what "redemption" means--being 'bought back.') We just wait and trust that our "redemption is drawing near." Just remember that we are to hope in God's promises, not in ourselves. Let God do all the work.


But we are Christians -- having been baptized, we are "in Christ." God's promises are for us AND in us.


The signs point to a new heaven and a new earth -- to a place of both justice and peace. And the signs point also to us -- to our judgment and our redemption. Perhaps the signs point not only to our redemption but also to our becoming Christ-like -- that sort of "Christ-likeness" that accounts for the joy that Paul feels because of the Thessalonians. This too is a sign that the kingdom of God is near: The world becoming Christ-like.


That’s our calling -- to become more and more like Christ. So, rather than expecting to be the passive recipients of salvation we are expected to be like Christ, like the one who saves us.


We're not going to win the lottery - we're asked to give it all away. In the coming of God's kingdom we are not so much to be rescued and loved, as to be rescuers and lovers. In this pregnancy we are not the much-loved and protected babies, being given life. We are the workers, the labourers who give birth.


Notice that today's gospel does not say that when we see the signs we are to relax. Jesus tells us instead: "Now when these things begin to take place, STAND UP and RAISE YOUR HEADS because your redemption is drawing near."


Birth is what it’s like for God's kingdom to come -- hard work, tears, fear & hope: New life that changes everything. Are you willing to change that much?


The signs say we're already pregnant. That's God's gift. We did nothing to deserve it. We can do nothing to avoid God's being born -- God's coming in this world and into our lives whenever God chooses. But we can work for it -- labour and delivery is our calling.


We can't make salvation happen. We can prepare ourselves for it. Get ready for the birth -- do what expectant mothers do: Eat healthy: Strengthening spiritual food is served here every Sunday. Get in shape: Try some spiritual exercises - like regular prayer. Listen to stories of experienced birth givers: Who brought Christ into your life?


In your own life, in the life of this church, and in the life of the world, we're pregnant. Are you ready to bring Christ to birth in the world?


You know the signs - Jesus is coming. "Stand up and raise your heads ---redemption is near"

A Hymn for Christmas: 'Songs of Joy'

Songs of Joy 8787 D
TUNE: Hyfrydol
I can hear the children singing
Songs of joy on Christmas Day;
All the happy sounds are winging
Jesus Christ was born to stay!
Angel choirs, in highest heaven,
Sing their praise to God above;
All the Christmas bells are ringing,
Messages of joy and love.


In a manger, in a stable,
He came down from heav’n to earth;
And the star that shone so brightly
Told the world of Jesus’ birth.
Shepherds in the fields were watching,
As their sheep lay down to rest;
When the angel came upon them,
By his news they were rich blest.


Then they hurried off to worship,
As did kings from lands afar;
They were led to that poor stable,
By the brilliance of the star.
Ox and ass looked on in wonder
At the infant there that night;
Son of God, come down from heaven,
Bringing to the world new light.


Now the sounds of voices singing,
Of the Life, the Truth, the Way,
Join the joyful church bells ringing
Out the news on Christmas Day!
O such happy sounds are winging,
Jesus Christ was born to stay;
Hear the joyful children singing
Songs of joy on Christmas Day!
© 2010 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

A Christmas Hymn for Today

The Infant Christ SM
TUNE: Dennis
Worship the infant Christ,
Asleep in manger bare;
The Son of God, come down to earth,
His glory shining there.

Then Mary, looking down,
At the baby where He lay,
Saw all the angel promised her
Asleep on bed of hay.

She shed a tear of joy,
For the infant laying there;
A kiss she placed upon His head,
The world her joy to share.

God’s love complete in Him,
Is there for us to find,
He is our Saviour and our Lord,
Our souls He’ll care and mind.

So may we ever praise,
With heart and voice and soul,
The blessed Saviour of the world,
Who came to make us whole.

Now, as we gaze on Him,
In the manger crude and bare,
Our voices we will lift in praise
Of the Christ-child lying there!
© 2005 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Christmas Eve Message 2009

Karl Barth, arguably one of the greatest theologians who has ever lived, was once asked what the most profound theological insight that he had ever known was. After a few moments deliberation he said simply, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’

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I’m sure that we all appreciate a good love story, and from early childhood we are raised on ‘Happy endings’. At this time of the year there are pantomimes galore being performed around the country, and many of the basic stories that lie behind them are love stories. Take Cinderella, for example, which is a classic love story about poor put-upon Cinderella who falls in love with Prince Charming.

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But there is one love story that is timeless and never-ending, and that’s the story of God’s love for people. Of course we know that God has always loved people from the very beginning, even though He has been angry with them from time to time. After all, do not all of us who are parents say at one time or another that we love our children always even though we might not like them sometimes.

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Just over two thousand years ago something miraculous occurred, the like of which had never been seen before and has never happened since; God came down to earth to live amongst His people on that night when Jesus was born in the stable at Bethlehem. He didn’t come purely for a visit, but with a purpose, and that purpose was to put into operation His plan for the salvation of mankind.

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The world was a sinful place then, just as it is now. The Bible tells us that not only does God hate sin altogether, but that He demands retribution for it by way of death for the sinner. Yet God also loves His people with such tremendous love. How could He exact the payment for sin ― the result of which would exile His people from Him for eternity ― yet still find a means to forgive them and reconcile them once more to Himself?

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It was this conundrum that resulted in the birth of Jesus on that night so long ago. Born into the humblest of circumstances, He was born for a purpose, and that purpose would take thirty-three years to be fulfilled.

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It’s not hard for anyone who is a parent to imagine the scene in that stable. In those days the houses were what we would now refer to as multi-purpose dwellings. The animals lived on the lower level whilst the family lived in rooms above. The stable would have been adjoining the family rooms. It’s most likely that Mary gave birth in one of the rooms in the living quarters but moved into the stable because of shortage of space afterwards, tenderly laying her new-born baby in the manger which had been filled with fresh straw. You can imagine them watching the tiny infant with a mixture of concern and intense love, just the same as any new parent would.
The greatest miracle of all about the event of Jesus’ birth is that it was the point where God and humanity met in a very real way. This was the moment when the Divine and the human arrived at life’s greatest intersection to become joined together forever. The birth of Jesus was much more than just the birth of a new baby, it was the physical demonstration of Gods love for His people, love that depended only on the person who loved, love that was selfless and freely given, even to those who would go on to deny it and refuse to accept it.

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One of the greatest tragedies in this world is for someone to feel that they are unloved and unwanted. Because of the event that took place in the stable that night in Bethlehem, that night of miracles, this need never be the case. Karl Barth chose the hymn ’Jesus loves me’ to quote from. Perhaps I can illustrate my point with the title of another great favourite hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’.

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The miracle of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem was followed by many other miracles as the child grew into a man, culminating with the greatest miracle of all when Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God and died on the cross at Calvary as the once-for-all payment for the sins of mankind. The price of sin that God demanded has been paid in full for everyone who chooses to claim Jesus Christ as their Redeemer and acknowledge Him Lord.

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The hymn-writer tells us that ‘God is Love’, and the love story starts for us at Bethlehem in that stable, continues to the cross at Calvary, and on into an eternity spent with Christ our Redeemer. It’s a love story that embraces everything and assures us that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer.

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I started by quoting the words of the hymn, ‘Jesus loves me’, and now I’ll conclude with a line from another well-known hymn by Samuel Medley (1738-1799):

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I know that my Redeemer lives!

What joy the blest assurance gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead;

He lives, my everlasting Head!

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He lives, to bless me with His love;

He lives to plead for me above;

He lives, my hungry soul to feed;

He lives, to help in time of need.

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What amazing love! And it’s there for all of us to share in, simply for the asking.

An Advent Poem for Today

A Carolling!

A carolling! a carolling!

Hot toddy, snow and holly;

Mistletoe and mince pies,

A time for being jolly!

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A carolling! A carolling!

Sing of the Saviour’s birth;

Of angels and of shepherds,

Of peace on all the Earth.

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A carolling! A carolling!

The songs so full of joy.

Sing of the heavenly choir

That praised the infant boy.

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A carolling! A carolling!

Sing of the guiding star;

Of shepherds and of wise men

Of how they journeyed far.

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A carolling! A carolling!

Sing of that glorious day

When God came down to Earth

A baby in the hay.

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A carolling! A carolling!

A story of God’s love:

The Christ child in the manger,

Who came from up above.

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A carolling! A carolling!

From that crude manger bare,

His travelled to the cross,

He hung and suffered there.

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A carolling! A carolling!

His death ordained to be;

He bled upon that cross,

And died for you and me.

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A carolling! A carolling!

Our Saviour, brother, friend;

Destined soon to rule

That Kingdom without end.

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A carolling! A carolling!

Our song will never end,

Till everyone on Earth

Knows Jesus Christ as friend.

© 2005 Colin Gordon-Farleigh