100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:09,200I was going about my usual business when I felt this inner compulsion that I had200:00:09,200 –> 00:00:13,800to go to the temple. God did not usually speak to me in this way, but on this300:00:13,800 –> 00:00:16,080occasion it was just like a voice in my head.400:00:16,080 –> 00:00:18,799Go to the temples to me and go to the temple!500:00:18,799 –> 00:00:23,820Go right now! I knew I had to go. I thought, Lord I can go when I’ve finished600:00:23,820 –> 00:00:28,120my work, but I knew that would be disobedience. I had to go right there and700:00:28,940 –> 00:00:32,980Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. I’m glad you800:00:32,980 –> 00:00:36,439could be with us today. Colin, today we’re doing something a bit different900:00:36,439 –> 00:00:40,500in the lead-up to Christmas. It’s the Christmas story but in character.1000:00:40,500 –> 00:00:45,959Yes, I have had so much fun trying to think through the Christmas story from the1100:00:45,959 –> 00:00:49,680perspective of the people who are actually players in it. I’m thinking1200:00:49,680 –> 00:00:55,480today about Simeon. What was it like for that guy, an old man who had followed the1300:00:55,680 –> 00:01:00,520faithfully and he gets to hold the Promised Christ child in his own arms1400:01:00,520 –> 00:01:05,239and he says now I’ve seen your salvation and he has peace in his heart, he knows1500:01:05,239 –> 00:01:09,260all is well between him and God. It must have been marvelous. So often we hear the1600:01:09,260 –> 00:01:13,080Christmas story from the perspective of Luke and we read from it every Christmas.1700:01:13,080 –> 00:01:18,300It’s a tradition in so many churches and families. What stands out to you as you1800:01:18,300 –> 00:01:20,980look at these different characters in the Christmas story?1900:01:20,980 –> 00:01:24,720Well of course the significance is that Luke is one of the Gospel writers and2000:01:24,720 –> 00:01:29,519Matthew. They do record for us the eyewitness stories and they’re there2100:01:29,519 –> 00:01:33,440for a reason. We have the words of these folks, the experiences of these folks and2200:01:33,440 –> 00:01:39,059they are pointing to the glory of Christ that we want to be able to see ourselves.2300:01:39,059 –> 00:01:42,940Well we’re going to see the Christmas story today through the eyes of Simeon2400:01:42,940 –> 00:01:49,580So if you can join us in Luke Chapter 2 and verses 21 to 40 as we hear Simeon’s2500:01:49,580 –> 00:01:52,279story. Here’s Colin. It really is good to be2600:01:52,580 –> 00:01:57,639you today. The only problem for me coming down here of course is this old body2700:01:57,639 –> 00:02:02,5592,000 years up there I’d forgotten how many aches and pains2800:02:02,559 –> 00:02:09,479I had. I love to tell you by the way what it’s like up there but I’m not allowed2900:02:09,479 –> 00:02:15,740to and I couldn’t even if I tried. It’s beyond anything I’d ever imagined and3000:02:15,740 –> 00:02:21,020some of you are going to find that out one day. All I can tell you is that being3100:02:21,020 –> 00:02:24,419up there for 2,000 years is how I got this accent.3200:02:29,199 –> 00:02:34,940By the way the pastor told me that he’s using these new fangled screens up here.3300:02:34,940 –> 00:02:40,320I just said to him that’s alright for you son I said but don’t expect anything3400:02:40,320 –> 00:02:46,800fancy like that from an old guy like me but I mustn’t get sidetracked. You know I3500:02:46,800 –> 00:02:52,080found that happen more as I got older. I must try and keep to the point you see3600:02:52,080 –> 00:02:59,600up there now my mind is so clear. I’d forgotten how confused my mind sometimes3700:02:59,600 –> 00:03:07,000got in this old body. So I’ll try and keep off things that are by-the-way. I3800:03:07,000 –> 00:03:15,259want to tell you my side of the story. I wasn’t in Bethlehem. I didn’t see the3900:03:15,259 –> 00:03:26,020angels. And I didn’t visit the inn. But I did hold him in my arms eight days4000:03:26,020 –> 00:03:36,279after he was born. But I start a bit further back. Oh by the way you need to4100:03:36,279 –> 00:03:40,720know it’s not easy for me to get up and speak in public like this. A lot of4200:03:40,860 –> 00:03:45,179people assume that I was a priest because I was in the temple courts.4300:03:45,179 –> 00:03:50,020I don’t know where they got that idea. Certainly not from the Bible. I wasn’t a4400:03:50,020 –> 00:03:58,240priest. I was what you would call today a layman. I was just an ordinary guy living4500:03:58,240 –> 00:04:03,300in Jerusalem. That’s why Luke described me in his Gospel as just a man in4600:04:03,300 –> 00:04:09,279Jerusalem. A man who happened to be there at the same moment as Mary and Joseph4700:04:09,539 –> 00:04:15,259were coming into the temple with Jesus. This was the amazing thing to me. That he4800:04:15,259 –> 00:04:20,559was born and yet the king knew nothing of it except when he was told by some4900:04:20,559 –> 00:04:27,940foreigners traveling from the East. He came as a child and a baby into the5000:04:27,940 –> 00:04:34,700temple in his mother’s arms. Some priests circumcised him, and went through all the5100:04:34,799 –> 00:04:40,339rites and did the offerings and didn’t have the slightest idea of who he was.5200:04:40,339 –> 00:04:47,359What happened was that God opened the eyes of ordinary people. Shepherds,5300:04:47,359 –> 00:04:56,559foreigners, and an ordinary guy like me who just happened to be living in5400:04:57,160 –> 00:05:07,579Jerusalem. Let me tell you a little more about myself. The Holy Spirit was on me.5500:05:07,579 –> 00:05:11,200Now, all of you know what that means because that is true of you if you’re a5600:05:11,200 –> 00:05:16,980believer as well. So, you folks don’t know how blessed you are. All of you who5700:05:16,980 –> 00:05:23,779believe have God’s wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit with you and in you. It’s5800:05:23,799 –> 00:05:29,320true of every believer now, but when I lived before Christ came that was not5900:05:29,320 –> 00:05:36,899the case. In my lifetime, God’s Spirit was given to some, but not to all. God gave6000:05:36,899 –> 00:05:41,739his Spirit to some people who had special tasks. I guess the fact that he6100:05:41,739 –> 00:05:47,880gives his Spirit to all of you means that he has special tasks for all of you.6200:05:48,579 –> 00:05:57,399But I enjoyed then what you enjoy now. God’s Spirit was on me, and the other6300:05:57,399 –> 00:06:02,179thing that you should know is that I was waiting for the consolation of Israel.6400:06:02,179 –> 00:06:07,899Maybe I should explain what that means. You folks know from the Bible that the6500:06:07,899 –> 00:06:13,799Lord Jesus Christ has promised to come back at any time. Now, you believe that6600:06:14,160 –> 00:06:20,059don’t you, that he can come back at any time? I hope you believe that because I6700:06:20,059 –> 00:06:24,079just read it in your statement of faith out there. He can come back at any time,6800:06:24,079 –> 00:06:36,480can’t he? Good. Lot more people did that in our day. Of course that’s all the talk6900:06:36,480 –> 00:06:44,679up there. We will come with him. You’ll come up, we’ll come down and we will meet7000:06:44,679 –> 00:06:49,160together and we shall always be with the Lord and it could happen at any time, but7100:06:49,160 –> 00:06:55,799you don’t know if you will be alive when it happens or not. By the way, we don’t7200:06:55,799 –> 00:06:58,760know when it’s going to happen either because even up there we haven’t been7300:06:58,760 –> 00:07:05,720told. Now that’s exactly what it was like in my time. You see we had the Old7400:07:05,720 –> 00:07:11,619Testament scriptures. The Old Testament was completed 400 years before my7500:07:11,619 –> 00:07:17,399lifetime. The last words written by the last prophet really spoke about a day7600:07:17,399 –> 00:07:21,579when God would suddenly come to His temple. We knew it could happen at any7700:07:21,579 –> 00:07:28,079time but none of us knew whether we would be alive at the time when God’s7800:07:28,079 –> 00:07:35,160Deliverer, Redeemer would come or not. So we got into the habit of praying for Him7900:07:35,260 –> 00:07:38,820to come. I expect now as you think about His second coming that some of you do8000:07:38,820 –> 00:07:42,660the same. You should. The first of our Christian family did8100:07:42,660 –> 00:07:49,140that, Lord Jesus, come quickly they would pray. Well, I used to do that about His8200:07:49,140 –> 00:07:54,619first coming. By the way, it is a wonderful thing that ordinary people8300:07:54,619 –> 00:07:59,920like us can pray isn’t it? You don’t need to be a priest or a pastor to pray, you8400:07:59,940 –> 00:08:05,480can pray. Well anyway getting back to my story I mustn’t keep getting distracted.8500:08:05,480 –> 00:08:13,260One day something quite extraordinary happened. All I can tell you is that it8600:08:13,260 –> 00:08:22,000was revealed to me that the Christ would come before I died. Now don’t ask me to8700:08:22,000 –> 00:08:26,380explain that, God didn’t see fit to tell us in the Scriptures and I’m not going8800:08:26,380 –> 00:08:32,260to go into it right now. All I can tell you is that it was revealed to me.8900:08:32,260 –> 00:08:40,059I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that I would not die until I had seen the9000:08:40,059 –> 00:08:46,359Deliverer for whom the whole world had been waiting. By the way it is an9100:08:46,359 –> 00:08:54,059interesting experience to know that you will live to see a future event. There9200:08:54,059 –> 00:08:57,599were times of course when I was quite ill and people were worried about9300:08:57,599 –> 00:09:02,820whether I would ever recover. Well I was never in any doubt. One time I was in an9400:09:02,820 –> 00:09:07,500accident. I knew I would pull through. God had promised that I would see Christ.9500:09:08,640 –> 00:09:16,219I was immortal until he came. I sometimes wondered of course how I would know him9600:09:16,219 –> 00:09:22,280when I saw him, but somehow deep down inside I just knew that I would know.9700:09:24,280 –> 00:09:28,400Well let me tell you how it happened. It seemed like the whole of my life was a9800:09:28,400 –> 00:09:33,979preparation for that day. Strange thing was it was a day like any other. I was9900:09:33,979 –> 00:09:39,559going about my usual business when I felt this inner compulsion that I had to10000:09:39,559 –> 00:09:44,359go to the Temple. God did not usually speak to me in this way but on this10100:09:44,359 –> 00:09:48,880occasion it was just like a voice in my head go to the temple Simeon, go to the10200:09:49,719 –> 00:09:55,020right now. I knew I had to go. I thought Lord I can go when I’ve finished my work10300:09:55,020 –> 00:10:01,380but I knew that would be disobedience, I had to go right there and then and I’m10400:10:01,380 –> 00:10:09,640so glad I did. I arrived in the temple and of course crowds of people as there10500:10:09,640 –> 00:10:15,619always were. That place was a constant hive of activity just like your church10600:10:15,619 –> 00:10:22,500really, except you don’t have the animals. People were making offerings and10700:10:22,500 –> 00:10:27,219children were being circumcised, people asking priests for prayers confessing10800:10:27,219 –> 00:10:35,280sins others just looking round at the building. I got there just as a young10900:10:35,280 –> 00:10:41,559couple were standing before the priest with their baby. They handed over an11000:10:41,700 –> 00:10:47,820offering of two young pigeons. Priest circumcised the baby. Must have done that11100:10:47,820 –> 00:10:54,700a hundred times. Went through the whole routine like nothing really mattered, but11200:10:54,700 –> 00:11:05,940as I watched I just knew that this was the one. Don’t ask me how I knew. I cannot11300:11:06,179 –> 00:11:10,679tell you except to say that the Holy Spirit of God revealed it to me.11400:11:10,679 –> 00:11:16,099God led me to make the identification. I was never more sure of anything in all11500:11:16,099 –> 00:11:22,000my life. He was the one that the whole world had been waiting for. I don’t know11600:11:22,000 –> 00:11:25,679if you’ve ever noticed that as you’ve read the story.11700:11:25,679 –> 00:11:32,940Nobody worked it out on their own. The angels had to tell the Shepherds. The11800:11:33,039 –> 00:11:38,500wise men had to be led by the star. Even John the Baptist said I wouldn’t have11900:11:38,500 –> 00:11:45,780known him except that the dove came down upon him when he was baptized. Peter said12000:11:45,780 –> 00:11:50,140you are the Christ and Jesus said you didn’t work that out on your own. He12100:11:50,140 –> 00:11:56,299said blessed are you Peter because the Father in heaven has revealed this to12200:11:56,299 –> 00:12:00,820you. The women went and found the tomb empty. Didn’t have the faintest idea what12300:12:00,820 –> 00:12:06,940it meant. It was God who had to tell them through the angel he is risen. Oh12400:12:06,940 –> 00:12:12,619you see all the evidence for Jesus is there for anyone to examine and you12500:12:12,619 –> 00:12:20,320should. But it is God who opens your eyes to the truth. You’re listening to open12600:12:20,320 –> 00:12:25,200the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Simeon’s Story. It’s from12700:12:25,380 –> 00:12:29,460Luke chapter 2. And if you’ve missed any of the Christmas stories that we’re12800:12:29,460 –> 00:12:33,020broadcasting all this month or if you want to catch up and go back and listen12900:12:33,020 –> 00:12:39,340again you can do that online as our website openthebible.org.uk or find us13000:12:39,340 –> 00:12:43,440as a podcast those are on all the main podcast sites and you can find them by13100:12:43,440 –> 00:12:47,659searching for open the Bible UK. Subscribe to receive regular updates13200:12:47,659 –> 00:12:53,340back to the message now, here’s Colin. Oh you see all the evidence for Jesus is13300:12:53,400 –> 00:13:00,299there for anyone to examine and you should, but it is God who opens your eyes13400:13:00,299 –> 00:13:07,919to the truth, and if you know who Jesus Christ is today, you give thanks to God13500:13:07,919 –> 00:13:19,059because he has opened your eyes. Well anyway, I walked up to the family, just a13600:13:19,059 –> 00:13:23,900little crowd that were gathered around them for the ceremony and when the13700:13:23,900 –> 00:13:30,000priest was finished, he passed the baby back to Joseph. That was when it happened.13800:13:30,000 –> 00:13:35,460I knew that God was giving me words that had to be spoken at that moment, so I13900:13:35,460 –> 00:13:41,739just tapped Joseph on the arm. I told him I felt God had some words He wanted me14000:13:41,739 –> 00:13:49,559to say, and I asked if I could hold the baby. He seemed rather surprised. I mean,14100:13:49,559 –> 00:13:55,900me, a stranger, a man in Jerusalem, not even a priest, but he agreed and I found14200:13:55,900 –> 00:14:06,599myself, think of it looking into the eyes of this child, and then the words came.14300:14:07,260 –> 00:14:14,520I was speaking, but the words I spoke were given. This had never happened to me14400:14:14,520 –> 00:14:19,080before, but I knew instinctively that this was what happened when prophets14500:14:19,080 –> 00:14:28,320spoke. God was giving me words. By the way, I had a bit of a discussion with Peter14600:14:28,320 –> 00:14:35,140about this up there, and he described it rather well. He said to me,14700:14:35,140 –> 00:14:45,219Simeon, men spoke from God when they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Then he14800:14:45,219 –> 00:14:48,260laughed, and he said, I know that’s definitely right because these are the14900:14:48,260 –> 00:14:51,599very words that God gave me to describe it. And I wrote them down in the second15000:14:51,599 –> 00:14:57,559letter in the New Testament. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me. They were15100:14:57,559 –> 00:15:03,340not my words. I can only say that I spoke from God as I was carried along by the15200:15:03,359 –> 00:15:12,820Holy Spirit. I held him in my arms and then I said, sovereign Lord my eyes have15300:15:12,820 –> 00:15:18,359seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people a15400:15:18,359 –> 00:15:26,599light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory for your people, Israel. Well, of15500:15:26,599 –> 00:15:32,799course Mary and Joseph were absolutely astonished at this. What surprised them15600:15:32,799 –> 00:15:36,460was not that I should make these great statements about their child. They15700:15:36,460 –> 00:15:41,760already knew his greatness. What surprised them was that a complete15800:15:41,760 –> 00:15:48,179stranger, a layman should walk into the temple ask for permission to hold their15900:15:48,179 –> 00:15:56,099baby in his arms and then prophesy the very words of God over him because I’ve16000:15:56,099 –> 00:16:01,979enjoyed talking with Mary about it up there too. She told me I wondered who in16100:16:01,979 –> 00:16:10,239earth you were but we knew that God was speaking through you. I was about to hand16200:16:10,239 –> 00:16:20,299the baby back to Mary and then more words came like wind blowing into your16300:16:20,299 –> 00:16:27,119body on a cold day you folks should know what that’s like. Words forcing16400:16:27,859 –> 00:16:35,659me and I knew that there was more that God had for me to speak still holding16500:16:35,659 –> 00:16:43,320the baby and standing right next to his mother I said this child is destined for16600:16:43,320 –> 00:16:50,760the falling and the rising of many in Israel. The words seemed strange to me16700:16:51,659 –> 00:17:00,780I understood but why falling? The words kept coming and to be assigned that is16800:17:00,780 –> 00:17:07,619spoken against so that the thoughts of the hearts of many will be revealed I16900:17:07,619 –> 00:17:12,219could hardly believe the words I was speaking now how could this child be a17000:17:12,219 –> 00:17:20,719light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel and then be spoken against I17100:17:20,719 –> 00:17:27,699looked at Mary at that moment there was a beauty in her eyes that spoke of the17200:17:27,699 –> 00:17:35,280depths of her soul and as I looked at her still holding the child these words17300:17:35,280 –> 00:17:48,719came and a sword will pierce your soul to we all stood rooted to the spot we17400:17:48,719 –> 00:17:52,579understood every word that had been spoken we could not begin to fathom what17500:17:52,579 –> 00:18:02,260they meant just at that moment an old lady arrived just as I’d spoken these17600:18:02,339 –> 00:18:07,180words to Mary her name was Anna and anyone who was17700:18:07,180 –> 00:18:11,500regularly around in the temple knew her well she was from the tribe of Asher now17800:18:11,500 –> 00:18:22,540by the way very interesting Asher was one of the so called lost tribes you17900:18:22,540 –> 00:18:26,280know the ten tribes in the north that were scattered when the king of Assyria18000:18:26,540 –> 00:18:33,819invaded and they were referred for years after that as being the 10 lost tribes18100:18:33,819 –> 00:18:40,640well Hannah was from the tribe of Asher and she was a reminder that they were18200:18:40,640 –> 00:18:48,800not totally lost God knows his own people you see and he18300:18:48,959 –> 00:18:57,599does not lose any who have faith in him well Anna was known as a woman of prayer18400:18:57,599 –> 00:19:04,020she gave herself to worship and fasting and she went into the temple you could18500:19:04,020 –> 00:19:08,979you that you could count on finding her there wonderful lady never underestimate18600:19:08,979 –> 00:19:16,219the prayers of older people and she was a prophetess which is interesting18700:19:16,400 –> 00:19:20,719because of course a true prophet could only speak words that came from God18800:19:20,719 –> 00:19:23,280and the fascinating thing is that there had not been18900:19:23,280 –> 00:19:27,199a true prophet for 400 years19000:19:27,219 –> 00:19:31,400Well here we are standing the group of us, I’ve just been given these19100:19:31,400 –> 00:19:37,319extraordinary words about a sword piercing Mary’s own soul we’re all19200:19:37,319 –> 00:19:41,439rooted to the spot wondering what on earth this could mean19300:19:41,439 –> 00:19:45,260and up comes old Anna19400:19:46,219 –> 00:19:51,500and as she approaches us she begins speaking out words of praise and of19500:19:51,520 –> 00:19:56,780thanksgiving and it’s so obvious that she’s prophesying these words again are19600:19:56,780 –> 00:20:02,380coming from God and they’re wailing up in her soul and being expressed to his19700:20:02,380 –> 00:20:10,160praise and his glory and I’m thinking to myself, God’s just19800:20:10,160 –> 00:20:21,319given me words that indicate a sword will pierce Mary soul and now God’s19900:20:21,319 –> 00:20:26,839giving her words that are words of praise and a thanksgiving and I can’t20000:20:26,839 –> 00:20:31,219hold these two things together in my mind20100:20:31,760 –> 00:20:37,339how can it be that this child who’s a light and the glory of Israel will be20200:20:37,359 –> 00:20:46,780spoken against and there a sword will pierce Mary’s soul and yet that this can20300:20:46,780 –> 00:20:54,160be an occasion of praise and of thanksgiving at the same time you know I20400:20:54,160 –> 00:21:03,640think Anna knew then what I understand now I knew that the Lord’s Christ had20500:21:03,699 –> 00:21:14,859come to deliver us but now I know that he delivered us through his suffering he20600:21:14,859 –> 00:21:25,319was despised and he was rejected he became a man of sorrows and acquainted20700:21:25,319 –> 00:21:34,219with grief we thought the God would punish him but he was wounded for our20800:21:34,219 –> 00:21:43,099transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities and the punishment that would20900:21:43,099 –> 00:21:53,900bring us peace fell on him it would be by his wounds that we would be healed21000:21:53,959 –> 00:21:58,160You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible & Simeon’s21100:21:58,160 –> 00:22:03,660story taken from Luke chapter 2 seeing the first days of Jesus through the eyes21200:22:03,660 –> 00:22:09,239of Simeon who held Jesus when he was just eight days old. It’s from our series21300:22:09,239 –> 00:22:13,339Christmas stories and if you’ve missed any of the series or if you want to go21400:22:13,339 –> 00:22:17,479back and listen again you can do that by coming online to our website21500:22:17,479 –> 00:22:21,660OpentheBible.org.uk. There you’ll find all the messages that have already gone21600:22:21,660 –> 00:22:26,660out to date. You’ll also find them as a podcast and those are on all the main21700:22:26,660 –> 00:22:30,479podcast sites. Search for Open the Bible UK or follow21800:22:30,479 –> 00:22:36,099the link from our website our website address again openthebible.org.uk21900:22:36,099 –> 00:22:41,660Open The Bible is entirely funded by our listeners and we’re very grateful so if22000:22:41,660 –> 00:22:46,140you already give to the work of Open the Bible thank you so much. If that’s22100:22:46,140 –> 00:22:49,859something you’re considering doing in the future we have an offer for you this22200:22:50,000 –> 00:22:53,800month which I hope you’ll be interested in. During the month of December if you22300:22:53,800 –> 00:22:58,520are able to set up a new direct debit to the work of Open the Bible in the amount22400:22:58,520 –> 00:23:04,560of £5 per month or more or a one-off gift to open the Bible of £5022500:23:04,560 –> 00:23:09,219or more we’d love to say thank you by sending you three copies of John’s22600:23:09,219 –> 00:23:13,619Gospel. You might want to keep one for yourself and give two of them away or22700:23:13,619 –> 00:23:17,780you might want to give all of them away. I recently caught up with Amanda22800:23:18,319 –> 00:23:24,079who is Open the Bible UK’s Operations and Communications Manager and I asked22900:23:24,079 –> 00:23:26,319her to tell me more about this free gift23000:23:26,339 –> 00:23:31,640Thank You David. Yes we are really excited to be giving away not just one23100:23:31,640 –> 00:23:38,420but three of these ESV journaling copies of John’s Gospel as well as an Open the23200:23:38,420 –> 00:23:44,300Bible bookmark with five questions to reflect on as you open the Bible. Each23300:23:44,540 –> 00:23:49,979page of text is a blank page opposite on a lovely thick cream paper which means23400:23:49,979 –> 00:23:55,140they’re perfect for writing notes reflections or prayers or if you’re23500:23:55,140 –> 00:23:59,239giving it to an inquiring friend perhaps you could suggest that they write down23600:23:59,239 –> 00:24:03,660any questions that they want to ask you or anything that they’re struck by.23700:24:03,660 –> 00:24:09,239I also really love the beautiful gold ink illustrations in the book and the unique23800:24:10,079 –> 00:24:15,119stamped cover which gives it a feel of luxury so I definitely wouldn’t feel23900:24:15,119 –> 00:24:19,239embarrassed about giving this Gospels a Christmas gift but if you do feel a24000:24:19,239 –> 00:24:23,140little nervous about giving it to someone why not bundle it in with a box24100:24:23,140 –> 00:24:25,520of chocolates or the pair of socks that you are already24200:24:25,520 –> 00:24:30,920giving. After all what could be a more precious gift this Christmas than the24300:24:30,920 –> 00:24:36,219living Word of God and these beautiful illustrated Gospels of John would be a24400:24:36,219 –> 00:24:37,500perfect way to give that gift.24500:24:37,660 –> 00:24:43,780thank you Amanda. So those three copies of John’s gospel are our gift to you if24600:24:43,780 –> 00:24:47,979you’re able to begin a new direct debit to the work of open the Bible this month24700:24:47,979 –> 00:24:52,859in the amount of five pounds per month or more or a one-off gift of fifty24800:24:52,859 –> 00:24:58,400pounds full details terms and conditions are on our website that’s at24900:25:00,339 –> 00:25:05,040For Master Colin Smith and open the Bible I’m David pig and I hope you’ll25000:25:05,040 –> 00:25:09,599join us again next time on Open the Bible25100:25:13,140 –> 00:25:18,739an ordinary person was given extraordinary words about Jesus just a25200:25:18,739 –> 00:25:24,920few days after he was born find out what he had to say next time on open the25300:25:24,920 –> 00:25:27,339Bible