Advent Day 24 – Matthew 2 verses 11 – 12 (Song – Starlight, starbright)

Bible Reading – Matthew 2 verses 11 – 12

¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Opening Prayer

Loving God, we thank you for sending Jesus, our Saviour. The Creator and sustainer of all that is. We ask that you will accept our worship and praise. We ask that you will use each of us to further your kingdom in the world. We offer this prayer in the all powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

Reflection

Here we are we have reached Christmas Eve. Our journey is nearly complete. The star shines over the stable and we approach its doors.

It is the real challenge of Christmas that we are prepared to bring our gifts to you. We do not bring the same gifts of the wisemen but we do bring ourselves and all of the sklls and talents we have. We offer ourselves into the service of Jesus our Saviour. We will in a few short days start a new year and share in our annual covenant service where we declare our willingness to be used in any way God chooses to help spread the Good News to all of the people we meet.

I hope you have found some of these short reflections or any of the songs helpful to your Advent journey.

It has been a wonderfully powerful expression of my faith as I have written particularly the songs. Although I started fearful that I would not be able to manage. I did infact complete most of the songs by the end of November. Creating the reflections, prayers and YouTube videos was another matter! Chris

A time for your own reflection

Read the passage again and spend a little time thinking of how the passage speaks to you. The wonder of scripture is that there is always something new to discover and each passage speaks to us in our own need and circumstances.

Only if you feel you want to – share your thoughts with someone. God inspires our thoughts and you never know, the person you share with may be waiting to hear what you have to say.

Song

Here is the next song –

“Starlight star bright”

One to celebrate the starlight which guides us on our way. A pop style song today.

Words: Chris Hancock
Music: Generated on Suno.com

[Verse]

Star light, star bright in the sky tonight,
Guiding travellers through the night,
You light our path in your silver glow,
Showing us the way that we should go.

[Verse 2]

We stumble and we fall when the way is tough,
Your light, a beacon, when the path is rough,
Our way is lit, by your light,
Lead us on until the stable is in sight.

[Chorus]

Oh, guiding light your light will shine,
Dispelling darkness with your sign,
To the traveller who’s lost and alone,
You are the light which guides us home.

[Verse 3]

Star light star bright in the sky tonight,
Give dreams and visions to our sight,
Catch them and hold them in your glow,
Send them gently to us below.

[Bridge]

In the quiet nights, when the world is still,
The whole world with your hope you fill,
Guiding hearts with your glorious spark,
Even when the journey is long and dark.

[Chorus]

Oh, guiding light your light will shine,
Dispelling darkness with your sign,
To the traveller who’s lost and alone,
You are the light which guides us home.

[Bridge]

In the quiet nights when the world is still,
The whole world with your hope you fill,
Guiding hearts with your glorious spark,
Even when the journey is long and dark.

[Chorus]

Oh, guiding light your light will shine,
Dispelling darkness with your sign,
To the traveller who’s lost and alone,
You are the light which guides us home.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the image of the wise men, travelling so far to find Jesus. We thank you that you have guided us to the stable so that we too can worship and offer the gifts that we carry.We do not have the gifts of the wisemen but we have the gifts you have given to us. We bring them and offer them back into your service.

We praise and worship you that through the coming of Jesus we are able to come into your presence. We are set free so that we can fully devote ourselves to you. We pray that you will give us opportunities to speak the good news of salvation to everyone we meet. Amen.

Copyrights

Reflections and Prayers

By Chris Hancock

Songs

Words of the songs are by Chris Hancock
Music generated on Suno.com
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Bible Readings

Bible readings are from the New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Images

Images where used are from pixabay.com and free for commercial use no attribution required.