100:00:00,500 –> 00:00:02,500I200:00:03,360 –> 00:00:05,360Know you have scientists300:00:06,000 –> 00:00:10,600experimenting with all kinds of genetic engineering today, but this fact remains true400:00:11,840 –> 00:00:15,500No woman has a child without a man500:00:16,660 –> 00:00:22,760I’ve often smiled when I’ve looked down and heard people say they struggled to believe in the virgin birth600:00:23,760 –> 00:00:27,219They say it’s a struggle for them. How do you think it was for me?700:00:28,080 –> 00:00:31,020Welcome to open the Bible with pastor Colin Smith800:00:31,020 –> 00:00:37,820I’m David pic glad you could join us today and Colin just imagine what it would be like to be in Joseph’s shoes or900:00:37,919 –> 00:00:42,119Possibly Sandal. Yeah, his fiancee comes and says I’m pregnant1000:00:42,360 –> 00:00:45,840We’re going to have a baby and he had no part in that he had1100:00:46,619 –> 00:00:50,720Absolutely, no part in it. And of course that is the miracle of the virgin birth1200:00:50,720 –> 00:00:54,880But what extraordinary faith he had and what obedience he had1300:00:55,320 –> 00:01:01,040The angel gives him the special word that he is not to put Mary away because God is doing something1400:01:01,040 –> 00:01:08,160And so this man has to persevere through all the difficulties that he must have felt internally and experience perhaps1500:01:08,760 –> 00:01:11,879Externally in order to be faithful to what God was calling him to do1600:01:12,019 –> 00:01:17,400Obviously Joseph’s been gone for about 2,000 years now, but if he were to speak to us today1700:01:17,400 –> 00:01:23,459How would you think he would respond to someone saying I have a hard time believing this virgin birth story1800:01:24,459 –> 00:01:28,239well, he would be the very best witness we could call wouldn’t he and1900:01:28,860 –> 00:01:32,919That’s the point of the story today as we go into another first-person2000:01:33,779 –> 00:01:35,180eye view2100:01:35,180 –> 00:01:38,040Version of the Christmas story what a great witness2200:01:38,040 –> 00:01:44,559He is to the great thing that God is doing in stepping into the world in Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary2300:01:44,779 –> 00:01:49,779Well, I hope you can join us in your Bible today in Matthew chapter 1 as we begin2400:01:50,379 –> 00:01:54,120Joseph’s story he has Colin. Well it really is wonderful to be here2500:01:54,120 –> 00:01:58,580You know John and simeon have told me about what a wonderful group of people you are2600:01:58,580 –> 00:02:05,580They really enjoyed their time down here with you because I’ve been in heaven with them for the last 2000 years. You understand2700:02:06,019 –> 00:02:11,139Although we don’t count time like you do by the way that is where I got this accent though2800:02:13,419 –> 00:02:16,800I’m sure that John and simeon told you the same thing2900:02:17,779 –> 00:02:23,339By the way I took the opportunity of looking at the tools you have in Home Depot3000:02:23,940 –> 00:02:30,940I tell you the chippies in my day couldn’t have imagined the tools that some of you have in your home3100:02:32,639 –> 00:02:39,639I tell you if I could travel back to the first century and try and describe to some of my old mates some of the stuff3200:02:39,639 –> 00:02:43,559That you’ve got there your skill saws and you’re cordless drills3300:02:43,639 –> 00:02:49,240I’m telling you they would not be able to conceive of what I was describing to them3400:02:51,919 –> 00:02:56,880And by the way if I was to tell you about heaven you’d have the same problem3500:03:00,139 –> 00:03:06,380But I want to tell you what’s there is as real as the stuff in Home Depot and it lasts for much longer3600:03:07,339 –> 00:03:13,000Anyway, I’ve got a marvelous story to tell you today because I had a ringside seat3700:03:14,259 –> 00:03:19,600For the greatest event that has ever happened in the history of the world3800:03:20,300 –> 00:03:25,059Now as I tell you my story, you’ll understand that there was a lot of traveling involved3900:03:25,059 –> 00:03:29,039and I’m told that there are some children in the service today, so4000:03:29,580 –> 00:03:34,360You might be interested as we go through the story to add up the number of miles4100:03:34,360 –> 00:03:37,460that Mary traveled and4200:03:38,279 –> 00:03:43,520If you can add it up, you might like to tell me afterwards how many you think it really was4300:03:44,199 –> 00:03:50,800Well, of course you, you all know that I was the one who was pledged to be married to Mary.4400:03:51,600 –> 00:03:56,000I knew that she was the one for me from the first time that I saw her4500:03:56,720 –> 00:04:00,380What I didn’t know was that she had been chosen by God4600:04:00,860 –> 00:04:05,960to bear the child that had been promised to the world since the beginning of time.4700:04:08,100 –> 00:04:11,419The first thing you need to know about Mary’s child is4800:04:12,660 –> 00:04:14,660that his birth had4900:04:15,100 –> 00:04:18,820absolutely nothing whatever to do with me5000:04:19,660 –> 00:04:21,660You see for us5100:04:22,019 –> 00:04:26,480The union between a man and a woman was sacred5200:04:27,320 –> 00:04:30,000It was to be kept for marriage5300:04:31,299 –> 00:04:31,899You know5400:04:31,899 –> 00:04:37,059There’s a purity about the union of one man and one woman in marriage5500:04:37,279 –> 00:04:40,339That isn’t found anywhere else.5600:04:41,119 –> 00:04:45,459I know a lot of folks in your day have lost sight of that and I tell you from up there5700:04:45,459 –> 00:04:48,679We see the pain and the insecurity that comes as a result5800:04:49,559 –> 00:04:57,600Of course, we never faced the pressure that some of you younger folks are facing through all the advertising that assaults your mind every day5900:04:57,600 –> 00:05:01,700but I can tell you that I have no regrets about6000:05:02,420 –> 00:05:04,420the choice that we made and6100:05:05,540 –> 00:05:11,320If you choose to obey God in this matter, you will have no regrets either.6200:05:12,119 –> 00:05:14,500I had kept myself6300:05:15,200 –> 00:05:17,200for Mary and6400:05:17,600 –> 00:05:19,600Mary had kept herself6500:05:20,880 –> 00:05:22,880For me and6600:05:23,660 –> 00:05:25,660That’s why you see I was6700:05:26,399 –> 00:05:28,399Completely devastated6800:05:28,899 –> 00:05:32,100when she came to me with the news that was to6900:05:32,739 –> 00:05:34,799Shatter our entire world. I7000:05:35,799 –> 00:05:38,059Don’t ask the remember how she started the conversation7100:05:38,320 –> 00:05:45,540And I can’t imagine the trauma that it was for her to begin to try and tell me all I remember is that she said7200:05:45,559 –> 00:05:46,540the word7300:05:46,540 –> 00:05:49,880Pregnant, and when she said that word I just about went through the roof7400:05:51,720 –> 00:05:54,079She said it wasn’t like I thought and7500:05:55,079 –> 00:05:57,239She has some story about an angel7600:05:57,600 –> 00:06:02,739Appearing to her, but I wasn’t able to listen to any of that. I simply couldn’t take it in after I’d heard that word7700:06:04,519 –> 00:06:09,040It would take an angel to make me believe what you’re trying to tell me I said to her I7800:06:10,500 –> 00:06:12,500May have lived 2,000 years ago7900:06:13,480 –> 00:06:16,179But that doesn’t make me naive nor foolish I8000:06:17,119 –> 00:06:20,540Know that no woman has a child without a man. I8100:06:22,019 –> 00:06:24,019know you have scientists8200:06:24,700 –> 00:06:29,579Experimenting with all kinds of genetic engineering today, but this fact remains true8300:06:30,540 –> 00:06:34,459No woman has a child without a man8400:06:36,859 –> 00:06:38,660so8500:06:38,739 –> 00:06:44,779I’ve often smiled when I’ve looked down and heard people say they struggle to believe in the virgin birth8600:06:46,260 –> 00:06:49,679They say it’s a struggle for them. Who do you think it was for me?8700:06:52,779 –> 00:06:55,320you may think you’re more sophisticated in your8800:06:55,940 –> 00:07:02,920scientific age than we were but I tell you no one in human history ever had more problems over this issue than me8900:07:04,579 –> 00:07:07,799Put yourself in my position, what would you have thought?9000:07:09,519 –> 00:07:14,179Well, all I can tell you is that I was absolutely distraught. My9100:07:14,920 –> 00:07:19,420Dream of a wonderful marriage had in a moment become a nightmare. Of course9200:07:19,420 –> 00:07:21,859There was no way that I could go forward with the marriage9300:07:22,100 –> 00:07:29,140How could I do such a thing with one who had betrayed my trust at least that’s how I saw it at the time.9400:07:30,660 –> 00:07:32,660I still loved her.9500:07:33,320 –> 00:07:36,619I still cared for her. I didn’t want to hurt her9600:07:37,100 –> 00:07:40,160Moving ahead with the marriage was simply not an option9700:07:41,220 –> 00:07:43,220for me.9800:07:43,739 –> 00:07:48,480That was when she told me that she thought the best thing to do was for her to go away.9900:07:50,339 –> 00:07:56,320She had a cousin Elizabeth who lived about 70 miles away in Judea.10000:07:57,600 –> 00:08:03,260I think I should go there for a while, she said, and then she was gone.10100:08:03,260 –> 00:08:05,359I was on my own.10200:08:05,480 –> 00:08:07,480My world was absolutely shattered.10300:08:10,079 –> 00:08:13,720One minute I’m on the brink of a beautiful marriage10400:08:15,640 –> 00:08:20,200and the next I’m sitting in my woodshop alone.10500:08:22,760 –> 00:08:29,399The strangest thing to me at that time was that while I was in an absolute panic over all of this10600:08:31,000 –> 00:08:33,140Mary had a radiance about her.10700:08:34,260 –> 00:08:39,239In all the trauma of what she was trying to tell me she was not filled with shame10800:08:40,799 –> 00:08:47,099but with joy and that was something I just could not begin to understand.10900:08:49,159 –> 00:08:56,260Then one night I had an experience unlike anything else that ever happened to me in all of my life.11000:08:57,739 –> 00:09:00,080An angel of the Lord11100:09:00,080 –> 00:09:05,799of the Lord appeared to me in a dream.11200:09:07,260 –> 00:09:11,719Now by the way I noticed there’s a lot of talk about angels in your country today.11300:09:13,359 –> 00:09:17,880Most of it of course is wild speculation you do know that don’t you?11400:09:18,539 –> 00:09:24,700I find it interesting you might be interested to know this yourselves that it was precisely the same in my day.11500:09:24,719 –> 00:09:32,400In fact from the end of the period when the Old Testament was written up until my generation there was all kinds of wild11600:09:32,400 –> 00:09:37,780speculation about the activity of angels. Most of it was sentimental nonsense.11700:09:39,739 –> 00:09:43,000The fact is you never heard more from people who knew less.11800:09:44,820 –> 00:09:49,099Let me tell you something worth remembering about angels.11900:09:49,099 –> 00:09:51,700Angels are servants of God.12000:09:51,799 –> 00:09:59,059Angels have the ministry of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.12100:09:59,059 –> 00:10:06,859So the best way to be discerning when you hear stories about angels is to ask this question.12200:10:06,859 –> 00:10:13,799Has this activity led people to think more or less of Jesus Christ?12300:10:13,799 –> 00:10:17,260That’s how you discern the activity of angels.12400:10:17,260 –> 00:10:21,340If it hasn’t led a person to think more of Jesus Christ12500:10:21,780 –> 00:10:30,799it isn’t the activity of an angel, or at least not the kind of angel you want to be associated with.12600:10:30,799 –> 00:10:35,200You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and A Message Called Joseph’s Story,12700:10:35,200 –> 00:10:38,940and that’s part of our series called Christmas Stories.12800:10:38,940 –> 00:10:42,539If you’ve missed any of the series to date, or if you want to go back and listen again12900:10:42,539 –> 00:10:47,979you can do that by coming online to our website OpentheBible.org.uk13000:10:48,280 –> 00:10:52,080or find us as a podcast, those are on all the main podcast sites,13100:10:52,080 –> 00:10:56,859search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates.13200:10:56,859 –> 00:11:01,260Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners, that’s people just like you,13300:11:01,260 –> 00:11:07,320and as we approach the end of this year, if you’ve been blessed by listening to Pastor Colin’s messages13400:11:07,380 –> 00:11:12,239perhaps you’ll consider making a generous one off gift to the work of Open the Bible.13500:11:12,380 –> 00:11:19,419If you’re able to do that, we’d love to say thank you by sending you three copies of the Gospel of John.13600:11:19,880 –> 00:11:25,059I recently caught up with Amanda Cunningham who is Open the Bible UK’s operations13700:11:25,059 –> 00:11:30,140and communications manager, and I asked her to tell me more about this free gift.13800:11:30,140 –> 00:11:36,099Thank you David. Yes, we are really excited to be giving away not just one,13900:11:36,099 –> 00:11:40,500but three of these ESV journaling copies of John’s Gospel.14000:11:40,520 –> 00:11:45,739Each page of text has a blank page opposite, on a lovely, thick cream paper,14100:11:45,739 –> 00:11:50,500which means they’re perfect for writing notes, reflections, or prayers.14200:11:50,500 –> 00:11:54,799Or, if you’re giving it to an inquiring friend, perhaps you could suggest14300:11:54,799 –> 00:11:59,539that they write down any questions that they want to ask you or anything that they’re struck by.14400:12:00,080 –> 00:12:04,780I also really love the beautiful gold ink illustrations in the book,14500:12:04,780 –> 00:12:09,880and the unique gold foil stamped cover, which gives it a feel of luxury.14600:12:09,900 –> 00:12:14,340So I definitely wouldn’t feel embarrassed about giving this Gospel as a Christmas gift.14700:12:14,340 –> 00:12:20,440After all, what could be a more precious gift this Christmas than the Living Word of God.14800:12:20,440 –> 00:12:21,760Thank you, Amanda.14900:12:21,760 –> 00:12:28,260Full details, terms and conditions are on our website, that’s at openthebible.org.uk15000:12:28,260 –> 00:12:30,840Back to the message now, here’s Collyn.15100:12:31,320 –> 00:12:36,440I’m here to tell you that an angel of the Lord appeared to me in a dream.15200:12:37,080 –> 00:12:38,479And this is what he said.15300:12:39,460 –> 00:12:46,900Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.15400:12:47,719 –> 00:12:53,919Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.15500:12:55,159 –> 00:13:02,440She will give birth to a son and you, he said that to me, you are to give him the name, Jesus.15600:13:05,400 –> 00:13:07,239I woke up in a cold sweat.15700:13:08,599 –> 00:13:12,299This was unlike any other dream I had ever experienced before.15800:13:12,299 –> 00:13:17,820I knew beyond all shadow of doubt that God had spoken to me.15900:13:19,580 –> 00:13:24,000And then I began to think about the scriptures.16000:13:24,479 –> 00:13:30,479By the way, that’s a sure way of testing when you think that God may have spoken to you.16100:13:31,880 –> 00:13:36,900If God has said something to you, it will always fit with the scriptures.16200:13:37,820 –> 00:13:45,039And after that dream, verses that I had read in the synagogue came flooding back to my mind.16300:13:45,039 –> 00:13:50,119Isaiah, for example, had said this 800 years before my time,16400:13:50,119 –> 00:13:57,119a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.16500:13:57,119 –> 00:14:03,960And Isaiah said, they call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.16600:14:04,900 –> 00:14:12,440It was staggering and overwhelming beyond words16700:14:12,440 –> 00:14:21,719for me to consider that what he had said so long ago had actually happened.16800:14:21,719 –> 00:14:27,840By the following morning, I knew what I had to do.16900:14:27,840 –> 00:14:29,760I headed straight south for Judea.17000:14:29,760 –> 00:14:33,080I don’t think I had ever traveled 70 miles so fast.17100:14:33,099 –> 00:14:39,039I could not wait to take her in my arms and to tell her what had happened.17200:14:39,039 –> 00:14:45,200The more I thought about it over that journey, the more staggering it became to me.17300:14:45,200 –> 00:14:50,760Our little lives had been caught up in the sweep of God’s saving purpose for the whole17400:14:50,760 –> 00:14:52,000of the human race.17500:14:52,000 –> 00:14:57,340Our little home was going to be the place where the child promised to the world would17600:14:57,340 –> 00:15:07,859be born and the calling of my life was to be the guardian of the Son of God.17700:15:07,859 –> 00:15:14,679Mary had spent three months with Elizabeth, and by the time we returned she was beginning17800:15:14,679 –> 00:15:17,760to show.17900:15:17,760 –> 00:15:20,919That was the beginning of our married life together.18000:15:21,599 –> 00:15:24,299Though we both agreed that we would not consummate18100:15:24,380 –> 00:15:30,179our marriage until after the child was born.18200:15:30,179 –> 00:15:36,380Well we were beginning to settle into a new life together in Nazareth when a herald arrived18300:15:36,380 –> 00:15:43,059in town with a proclamation from Rome that the new government had an initiative…18400:15:43,059 –> 00:15:45,099you’re always sceptical when the government has a new initiative.18500:15:45,099 –> 00:15:47,140It’s still the same is it?18600:15:47,140 –> 00:15:49,900Well we were, too, and sure enough it was bad news for us.18700:15:49,900 –> 00:15:58,239The entire population had been ordered to return to the town of family origin to reger18800:15:58,239 –> 00:16:02,020for a census that they decided they wanted to take.18900:16:02,020 –> 00:16:04,599Can you imagine?19000:16:04,599 –> 00:16:07,679It seemed that everybody was on the move.19100:16:07,679 –> 00:16:11,020A road’s absolute chaos.19200:16:11,020 –> 00:16:18,799Families with carts and animals, moving, all that they owned in every conceivable direction.19300:16:19,679 –> 00:16:23,520I could hardly believe it.19400:16:23,599 –> 00:16:31,500Mary was nearly due, but when the Romans gave orders there were no exceptions, so I saddled19500:16:31,500 –> 00:16:40,940up the donkey, and the two of us headed south on the road to Bethlehem, my home town.19600:16:40,940 –> 00:16:43,820Another seventy miles.19700:16:43,820 –> 00:16:47,940Of course, you get all sentimental about the donkey.19800:16:48,039 –> 00:16:54,940You should try riding on a donkey, and then imagine doing it for seventy miles, then try19900:16:54,940 –> 00:16:59,940and imagine doing it at the advanced stage of carrying a child.20000:16:59,940 –> 00:17:05,380I don’t know how she managed it, but she did.20100:17:05,380 –> 00:17:12,319Was on the journey that it dawned on me that even this was part of the plan of God.20200:17:12,319 –> 00:17:17,520You know, hundreds of years before, the prophet Micah had spoken of a ruler who20300:17:18,020 –> 00:17:24,099would come out of Bethlehem, not Nazareth where we’d been living, but Bethlehem my20400:17:24,099 –> 00:17:27,619town of family origin.20500:17:27,619 –> 00:17:32,239It was years since I had been in Bethlehem, and I would never have dreamt of going there20600:17:32,239 –> 00:17:34,060if it had not been for the decree.20700:17:34,060 –> 00:17:43,780Think about this, God put it in into the mind of a European dictator, who neither knew him20800:17:43,780 –> 00:17:50,780nor believed in him, to issue a decree that resulted in us going back to my hometown where20900:17:50,780 –> 00:17:54,839a prophet 700 years before said that this child would be born.21000:17:54,839 –> 00:17:56,239It’s amazing.21100:17:56,239 –> 00:18:00,819Bethlehem’s a tiny place of course.21200:18:00,819 –> 00:18:07,619When Luke says that there was no room at the inn, that’s what he means.21300:18:07,619 –> 00:18:16,680There was no room at THE inn, and all that was left for us was the shelter of a cave,21400:18:16,680 –> 00:18:20,479and that was where he was born.21500:18:20,479 –> 00:18:25,439Can I describe the joy of that moment to you?21600:18:25,439 –> 00:18:32,839Some of you have been present at the birth of a child, and you know what it is like.21700:18:32,839 –> 00:18:40,260I was the first to hold him in my arms.21800:18:40,260 –> 00:18:46,199My hands brought him into the world.21900:18:46,199 –> 00:18:56,219I was the first one to touch the gift of God.22000:18:56,219 –> 00:19:01,420The strangest thing being in the cave, just the three of us.22100:19:01,420 –> 00:19:09,000The child who had been born promised to the world since the beginning of time and just22200:19:09,000 –> 00:19:13,140the three of us knowing about it.22300:19:13,140 –> 00:19:17,219At least that’s what it seemed until a group of shepherds arrived saying that they had22400:19:17,219 –> 00:19:23,819seen that very night a company of angels in the sky praising God and telling them that22500:19:23,819 –> 00:19:27,160a saviour was born in Bethnal Green.22600:19:27,160 –> 00:19:37,239Now that he was born, I began to see the importance of the role that God had given to me as his22700:19:37,239 –> 00:19:38,719guardian.22800:19:38,719 –> 00:19:44,819Of course, my first responsibility was to find some proper accommodation.22900:19:44,819 –> 00:19:50,839We decided to stay in Bethlehem for a while and it was there on the eighth day, that I23000:19:50,839 –> 00:19:55,560had the immense privilege of naming him.23100:19:56,119 –> 00:20:00,560There was no discussion about this, the angel had already made it clear in that original23200:20:00,560 –> 00:20:07,739dream, he had said you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people23300:20:07,739 –> 00:20:13,660from their sins and so I named him Jesus.23400:20:13,660 –> 00:20:20,780Of course, I really had very little idea at that point as to what all this meant, he will23500:20:20,780 –> 00:20:23,199save his people from their sins.23600:20:23,219 –> 00:20:31,599Though I see the glory of it now, but even then it seemed to be a name full of hope and23700:20:31,599 –> 00:20:34,180of meaning.23800:20:34,180 –> 00:20:39,979And there was absolutely no doubt about why he had come into the world, he had come to23900:20:39,979 –> 00:20:47,000save his people from their sins, whatever that meant and whatever that would involve.24000:20:48,000 –> 00:20:52,839A month later, it was time for us to take24100:20:52,839 –> 00:20:56,199him to the temple in Jerusalem.24200:20:56,199 –> 00:21:01,540More travelling for his mother and me though this time it was just six miles into the city24300:21:01,540 –> 00:21:04,859from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.24400:21:04,859 –> 00:21:10,939Moses had given us a law that we should offer a sacrifice of two pigeons and that this was24500:21:10,939 –> 00:21:16,760to be done just over a month after the birth of a child, so that’s what we did.24600:21:16,760 –> 00:21:23,420We were just about through with the ceremony when an old man came rushing up to us.24700:21:23,420 –> 00:21:26,920Never seen him before, never seen him since.24800:21:26,920 –> 00:21:31,199But the old man asked if he could hold the child and Mary gave the child to him and as24900:21:31,199 –> 00:21:35,859he held the child, words began to flow from him.25000:21:35,859 –> 00:21:39,520My eyes have seen your salvation he said.25100:21:39,520 –> 00:21:44,859Would your have prepared in the sight of all peoples a light to the Gentiles and a glory25200:21:44,859 –> 00:21:46,380to your people Israel?25300:21:46,380 –> 00:21:50,199I looked at Mary and she looked at me.25400:21:50,199 –> 00:21:53,060Who is this old fellow?25500:21:53,060 –> 00:21:57,560We marveled at what he was saying.25600:21:57,560 –> 00:22:02,839The same God who had spoken to Mary through the angel and to me through an angel in the25700:22:02,839 –> 00:22:09,640dream and had revealed himself through angels to the shepherds and who put it into the heart25800:22:09,939 –> 00:22:13,640of believers under pressure of an unbelieving dictator to call a census.25900:22:13,640 –> 00:22:19,380The same God had answered the prayer of an old man who had evidently been praying for26000:22:19,380 –> 00:22:26,380years that he would live to see the birth of a saviour.26100:22:27,160 –> 00:22:31,420You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith on a message called Joseph’s26200:22:31,420 –> 00:22:36,920Story. It’s part of our series Christmas Stories, looking at the Christmas story through the26300:22:37,060 –> 00:22:39,920eyes of various people who were there at the time.26400:22:39,920 –> 00:22:45,020Of course we hope you’ll be able to tune in every night to listen to Pastor Colin’s messages,26500:22:45,020 –> 00:22:48,939but if you ever miss one of the series, you can always catch up or go back and listen26600:22:48,939 –> 00:22:55,780again on-line. Come to our website www.openthebible.org.uk and there you’ll find all the messages which26700:22:55,780 –> 00:23:00,560have already gone out on air. You can also listen to Pastor Colin as a podcast,26800:23:00,579 –> 00:23:05,760and those are on all the main podcast sites, search for open the bible uk and subscribe26900:23:05,920 –> 00:23:08,300if you want to receive regular updates.27000:23:08,300 –> 00:23:12,439Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners. That’s people just like you.27100:23:12,439 –> 00:23:16,900And if that’s something you’re considering doing in the future, why not set up a new27200:23:16,900 –> 00:23:23,699direct debit this month in the amount of £5 per month or more, or a one-off gift of £5027300:23:23,699 –> 00:23:28,859or more. In return, we’d love to say thank you by sending you three copies of the Gospel27400:23:29,819 –> 00:23:31,420But Colin, why John’s Gospel?27500:23:32,719 –> 00:23:38,420Well surveys tell us that 2 out of 3 people are interested in the Bible. I find that a27600:23:38,420 –> 00:23:44,160wonderfully encouraging statistic. Two out of every three people that I know and you27700:23:44,160 –> 00:23:51,219know express that they have some interest, some curiosity in knowing more about the Bible.27800:23:51,219 –> 00:23:57,180Well what if you were the person to introduce a friend of yours to the Word of God. Here’s27900:23:57,180 –> 00:24:02,479an opportunity for you to invite a friend to read through John’s Gospel, and more than28000:24:02,479 –> 00:24:08,599that to read through it with you. Let me encourage you, why not give a copy of John’s Gospel28100:24:08,599 –> 00:24:12,959to someone you know who needs to know the God of the Bible and then offer to just read28200:24:12,959 –> 00:24:17,300it through with them. You know, read a chapter at a time, talk about it either in person28300:24:17,300 –> 00:24:22,660or over the phone or even by text or whatever, but get a conversation going around the Word28400:24:23,400 –> 00:24:28,339God. If you get the living seed of the Word of God dropped into a person’s life, you can28500:24:28,339 –> 00:24:34,020look with hope and expectation at what God may do as a result. Well we want to help you28600:24:34,020 –> 00:24:38,939to get that living seed of the Word of God into your life and into the lives of those28700:24:38,939 –> 00:24:44,540you give a copy of John’s Gospel to. Three copies of John’s Gospel is our gift to you28800:24:44,540 –> 00:24:50,579if you are able to set up a new direct debit of £5 per month or more, or a one-off28900:24:50,599 –> 00:24:57,359gift of £50 or more this month to support the work of Open The Bible. Information and29000:24:57,359 –> 00:25:01,839full terms and conditions about this offer are on our website at openthebible.org.uk.29100:25:01,839 –> 00:25:08,839For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll join29200:25:09,160 –> 00:25:16,160us again next time on Open The Bible. If the Christmas story seems a bit sentimental29300:25:20,900 –> 00:25:26,719to you then you need to hear the rest of the story!29400:25:26,719 –> 00:25:27,920Find out what you’ve been missing next time on Open The Bible.