Malcolm Potts December 18th 2016 ~Give, give, give

This morning I put the words "God gave" into my bible search engine.  It's extraordinary to read what God has given.God gave:"The right to become his children", Jn 1:12"Gifts", Acts 11:17"Grace", Rom 15:16"Reconciliation", 2 Cor 5:18"Himself for our sins", Gal 1:4, 2:20"His promises", Gal 3:18"The word of God", Col 1:25"Eternal encouragement and good hope", 2 Thess 2:16"The Holy Spirit", 2 Tim 3:15, 1 Jn 3:24"Wisdom", 2 Pet 3:15"The revelation of Jesus Christ", Rev 11:13. . . as just a beginning.The truly extraordinary thing about the phrase "God gave" is that in the Ancient Near East the gods NEVER gave.  The gods took!  The gods played with people like rag dolls.  People served the gods in desperation and without hope.  You staved off the god's wrath.  Like Sid in Toy Story were the ominous gods, who loved to blow the toys up and dismember them piece by piece.Our God gave the earth, the sun, rain and productivity, love and compassion, truth and justice, beauty and wonder.  But beyond any possible imagining is a God who would condescend to visit what he had made, to give himself.We are made in his image, his likeness.  He has imprinted himself not just on us but in us. And unbelievably, far above what anyone in bible times could imagine, God gave his one and only son - not as a warrior of destruction but as a servant who would suffer for us, to set us free and to join us back into his eternal family.God gives and gives and gives and gives.  Our God is the gift who keeps on giving.I had breakfast with my daughter Clare this morning.  We shared about our common work as pastors, she with the youth of St Philips, her congregation at St Matthews Shenton Park and her friends.  She gives a lot!  So have Ben and Linda and Josh and James to our youth.What about Liz and her teams in Kids Church and Toddler Jam?  Give, give, give.  Cathy, looking after the place and so many people.  Pam dispensing wisdom, care and thought to so many.  What about the flowers and the church set up and sound desks and MUSIC?! And the office and the money and the welcoming and home group leaders and the dozens of ministry leaders and the carols crew and the mowers and gardeners, and the fixers of things, and the people who pastor one another, and the Parish Council?Give, give, give! And it is glorious.  It's glorious when we give out of our love - not because we love but because God in Jesus loved us first.I give because I am loved.  I give to others out of the love I have been given.When I give with a little prayer on my lips, "Use this for your glory, Jesus," the victory of God comes down and breaks through bit by bit.As James said to me this week, when we give by turning up for each other, the magic happens.  No turning up, no magic - simple as that!It's time; he is nearly here, the great gift given by God is nigh.  Let's come and give voice to God's unsurpassed generosity as we worship Jesus together tonight at the carols.Picnic from 6pm.Every Blessing,Malcolm