By the First Sunday after Christmas, our culture has completely finished its observance of Christmas; But in the church, because we know that the blessings of Christmas are never finished, we continue to celebrate Christmas for a full twelve days.
December 26 is Boxing Day, a day on which historically ‘Masters’ presented gifts to their servants, reversed, in a small way, the role of master and servant - the master serving the servants.
Today’s Epistle speaks of sons and slaves, suggesting that we might think of Christmas as a spiritual Boxing Day, a day when our Lord and Master Jesus Christ reversed roles with us. He was born into our world to serve us by his death on the cross and so rescue us from our slavery to sin and death - that we might enjoy the blessings of being sons of God.
This gift of God’s grace happened at ‘just the right time’ because….
There were many Jewish communities scattered throughout the Mediterranean world.
The Persian Empire’s allowed Jews to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple.
Alexander the Great’s conquests (4 BC) meant that the Mediterranean world had a common language: Greek.
The Roman conquest of the Mediterranean world meant that a Roman census would cause Jesus to be born in David’s city and that he would die by a Roman means of execution, crucifixion, showing that his death redeemed us from the curse of the Law (Gal 3:13).
The Pax Romanawould soon enable the Gospel to spread rapidly over Rome’s excellent and relatively safe road system, taking missionaries like Paul to distant places like Galatia.
Today Jesus continues to break into our personal worlds at ‘just the right time’ too – because He loves us deeply.
Mark Hampel is an enthusiastic communicator of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was ordained in 1988 and has served in churches and schools in 3 states. He currently lives in Chinchilla, Qld. His passion is building up the faith of God’s people and working with them so that all will come to know Christ as their joy and salvation.
Mark is happily married to Veronica and they have 4 children and 4 grandsons. He is also a farmer of sorts, having spent the last decade establishing a date plantation in Western Queensland. Other hobbies include Australian history, travel, film & literature and of course, family.
St John’s Downfall Creek, has been a centre of Christian faith and life in the area for over 100 years. They operated a Christian school for twenty-two years (1940 – 62).
This faith community is a warm-hearted bunch, who love to share their hospitality with the district. They enjoy many a pot luck dinner and host ‘Easter Dawn Service & Breakfast’, ‘Christmas Eve’ & ‘Advent Tea’’ and ‘Games Nights’ for the community.
Home Groups are an important part of life in the Downfall. Discussion and exploration of the faith are encouraged.
Religious Education at the nearby Guluguba Primary School is provided by St John’s.
Redeemer Miles, is a dedicated group who know the love of Christ and are keen to share it. They meet regularly in various homes throughout the district for intergenerational worship and home groups.
Religious Education at nearby Drillham State Primary School is provided by Redeemer.
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