My dear friends,
The visit of the Magi (kings or wise men) is deeply imbedded within our Christmas traditions, for very good reason. These visitors from the East represent "the nations" that we read of in the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah and also proclaimed by the angels. They are as much a part of the miraculous Christmas events as the virgin birth, the pregnancy of Elizabeth in her old age, the visitation of angels, the acceptance by Joseph and the foretold birth in Bethlehem. We may have put away our decorations for another year but with this celebration of the arrival of the Magi from distant lands and the gifts they bring we are reminded again of faithful discipleship, endurance, devotion, selflessness and the central place that the worship of Jesus must play in our lives; this is the essence of Christmas.
This weeks video includes a very evocative version of "We three Kings" and a reading of Matthew 2 from a dear friend of Bransgore and Highcliffe, Elaine Gilhespy. Although there is no separate Bible Study prepared for us I have included some questions on the back of the Worship sheet that, either in a group or individually, will enable you to go deeper into the text. With thanks to the BBC and Bible Society for the clip showing the arrival of the Magi in the opening sequence of the video, from "The Nativity" 2010.
With God's blessings,
Phil
