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Advent 2025

Advent 2025: Week 2: Peace

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Advent 2: Peace
Horsham: 7th December 2025

This is the second week of Advent. The theme of this week is ‘peace’

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 From Isaiah 9:6

Prince of Peace

Isaiah, writing about 800 years before the birth of Jesus, prophesied that he would carry the name ‘Prince of Peace’. Most of us know very little of the Hebrew language, but many of us are familiar with the word which is usually translated into English as ‘peace’. The Jewish word is ‘shalom’ (שָׁלֽוֹם). 

This is one of those moments when the English language is inadequate. In English, the word ‘peace’ generally means something to do with silence, being quiet, or the absence of war. The Hebrew word ‘Shalom’ means so much more than that. 

Shalom says ‘may you be blessed in every way’ It is an expression of genuine, profound, heartfelt goodwill towards the person or the household to whom it is addressed.  It’s like a prayer for the pouring out of God’s goodwill into someone’s life.

The names of Christ are profoundly important and meaningful. The  Prince of Peace, is the one who offers that extraordinary blessing of absolute goodwill in the richest, deepest and most generous way possible.

Advent Challenge

So here’s a challenge for this Advent week.  A challenge to make advent Shalom part of your life as a follower of Jesus.

The challenge is simple. Go for a walk. Wander around the shops or your neighborhood. Look around at fellow passengers on the bus or train. Wherever you go, look into the faces of the people you pass. 

As you walk through your day, pause to notice the people around you. Silently pray shalom over them—friends, strangers, even those very different from you. Desire God’s deepest blessings for each one, because all are loved by Him.

Be intentional. Be ready to speak the blessing of Shalom over those who actively follow other faiths or have no faith. Even those who have lifestyles and tastes which we don’t approve of or are in some way very different from our own. 

Why are we doing this? Because all people are loved by God, and so as his followers we are called to be ready to share His love and blessing, His shalom, with them too.

Of course, conversations are great, but as a first step, you don’t even have to speak to people. You simply need to silently pray over them as you pass each other (don’t shut your eyes.. you’ll either bump into people or fall down a pothole). Try to look at them. Try to notice them. Try to see them through the eyes of the Prince of Peace.

On that first Christmas, heaven’s heart was to pour this shalom over all mankind. Let that same heart shape your Advent journey, not just for this season, but as a way of life.

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14, NKJV)

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Advent 2025

Advent 2025: Week 1, Hope

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Advent 1 Hope (Prophecy)

30th November 2025

Advent is about looking forwards to the coming of Christ. The four Sundays before Christmas are called ‘Advent Sundays’. Four weeks. Four themes.

The first week of Advent is traditionally about hope. I seem to always start my first Advent blog by commenting that hope in our world is in short supply. This year doesn’t feel any different.

False Prophecy = False Hope

There are always people who will tell you that this world would be so much better if we only adopted their policies. There are always people who think that the world is only in this mess because of someone else’s policies. We have people who claim that the most fragile, in fact non-existant ceasefires are actually peace deals. People who ignore scientific data, denying climate emergency whilst forest fires burn and hurricanes and typhoons gather force, setting new records for loss of life and destruction. People who say one thing today and the complete opposite tomorrow. This is the stuff of the modern world. False prophets. False prophecies. Fake news. False hope.

2,500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel criticised those who claimed to be prophets in Israel (Ezekiel 13). They spoke encouraging words, not because they were (as they claimed) God’s words, but because they were words, possibly well intentioned words, from their own imagination. Prophets should be dependable, but they were letting people down. False prophets. Fales prophecies. Fake news. False hope.

A prophet is judged by the efficacy of their prophecies. ‘If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

True Prophecies = True Hope

Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, when the people of Israel were at a very low point in exile, the prophet Isaiah said that the day would come when ‘a virgin would give birth to a son, and would call him Immanuel’  Isaiah 7:14 . Around the same time, the prophet Micah told the people of Israel that these supernatural events would happen in Bethlehem, a small and dusty town in Judah. Micah 5:2. This child, he said will be ‘one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Some months before Christ was born, the angel told Joseph that his fiancé would give birth to a son. The boy would be called Immanuel (Matthew 1:23 which means ‘God with Us’. The angel said that the child would be called Jesus, because he would ‘save the people from their sins.‘ (Matthew 1:21)

Long after Isaiah and Micah had died, a child called Jesus was born to Mary, a young woman in Bethlehem, in circumstances which were extraordinary and surrounded by the profoundly supernatural.

When Jesus was about 33, as prophesied in Scripture by the prophet Zechariah, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was welcomed as the Messiah. He was acclaimed in that moment as the ruler over Israel. 

Prophecy fulfilled

You get the point. Scripture tells us that these, and many other prophecies about Jesus came true. They can be trusted.

In this world of endless misinformation, we need to be careful, O so very careful, where we place our hope. False prophecy abounds.

Advent is about looking forwards to the coming of Christ. This week, I encourage you to reflect on the baby who was called Immanuel. The one who was called Jesus. The one  who would save his people from their sins. The one who was subjects of prophecies which came true.

Unto us a child is born
Unto us a Son is given.
(Isaiah 9:6)

In his birth, life, death and resurrection, Jesus was in every way a fulfilment of prophecy.

He can be trusted. Take a risk this Christmas. Put your hope in Him.

ADVENT 2025 Posts

Richard Jackson, Horsham, West Sussex, UK

Contemplative

Christ the King 2025

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Horsham: 26th November 2025

23rd November was the last Sunday before the start of Advent, the season when we look forward to the coming of Jesus as a baby. For many Churches across the world, last Sunday was also a  celebration of ‘Christ the King’.  So, preparing to preach at a local Church in Horsham it seemed a bit of a challenge that the Lectionary gospel reading for that day was Luke 23: 33-43, which is the story of the execution of Jesus alongside two criminals.

At first sight, this reading from Luke sits uneasily in the week before advent. Advent is about birth. The reading is about death. The advent themes are, after all, hope, peace, joy and love. Reminding ourselves at this point of his death somehow sets a grotesque spoiler alert to the anticipated birth of a child.

But of course, this reading is here exactly because it reminds us that this baby, this helpless child, is Immanuel, the Son of God. This child is the lamb of God who, through this act of supreme sacrifice, will take away the sins of the world.

So what about the celebration of  ‘Christ the King’? To celebrate that you might expect us to read the story of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, or perhaps a reading from Revelation, showing Christ as truly shown as King – Christ in glory, filled with power and authority, ready to establish the New Jerusalem. And yet we had our reading about the death of our King. The crucifixion of Christ.

Again, it seemed to sit awkwardly against the celebration of Christ the King.

Looking at things differently

I think that we need to look at this story differently – like picking it up and looking at it from a different angle. Fortunately there were a couple of witnesses who, alongside the Pharisees, and a bunch of Christ’s family and friends, were there.

You may remember that one of the criminals who was dying alongside Jesus, turned to him and said ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Somehow, he has noticed something that other people might have missed. For Jesus, this is not the end. Indeed, his death opens the opportunity for a new beginning. Without his death, there could have been no resurrection.

There was one more unexpected witness to these events. The centurion who headed the squad who have carried out the execution and been responsible for crowd control (Matthew 27, Mark 15). This man had watched Jesus die. This man was used to seeing violent death up close and personal, and yet he had seen something that others might have missed. He looked upon the body of Christ and said ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God’.

Hope.. Peace.. Joy.. Love..

We might start to see that this is a story which gives us hope, because by his sacrifice Christ has indeed come into his kingdom.

It is a story which should give us peace, because we know that this is indeed King Jesus, the Son of God. The voice of the criminal alongside him reminds us that this was not the end for Jesus. In a sense, it heralds a new beginning in his Kingdom. He is truly Immanuel, God with Us in His resurrection.

And it is a story through which we know that Christ has conquered death, that we have the hope of salvation, because we share in the joy of his resurrection.

It is a story of sacrificial love, the shedding of blood and the breaking of his body for the forgiveness of sin, for me – for you!

This is not the end..

Christ is King, but his Kingdom is more than this! The fact that, in reality this was not the end, that on the third day Jesus was raised from the dead and is, by the power of the Holy Spirit amongst us now, gives us the confidence to have hope in our own resurrection and salvation to eternal life  with Christ.

For surely, the baby whose birth is celebrated at Christmas, becomes this man who is crucified 33 years later. This man was, and is, Christ the King. Truly this man is the Son of God.

Lord Jesus. Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

 

Advent 2024

Advent 4: Love – 2024

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Horsham December 2024

The traditional theme for this fourth week of Advent is ‘love’.

I’m wondering whether ‘love’ may be one of the most confusing words in the English language. I love my wife. I love my children and my Grandson. All ok so far. I love sitting on a beach watching a beautiful sunset and the view from the top of the hill down the road. That all makes sense. I love my apartment and I love the Christmas decorations in the town Square. These are all valid uses of the verb ‘to love’ in contemporary usage in the UK. I love paella and my wife’s cheese pie (she makes a very good cheese pie). You might love your car or your phone. But now there’s a hint of a problem. My love for my wife (we have been together since we were teens) is surely very different from your love of your iPhone? Can we really be talking about the same thing?

But of course as native English speakers our culture resolves the problem, because we all sort of know what we mean. We can see a difference. We’ve sort of learned a scale – a continuum if you like – which allows us to use the same word in many different situations and mean something similar, but not the same. That sense of continuum helps us to understand what each other means. It’s as if we sub consciously pick up the word love, look at it in the context of our conversation, and get a good idea what we mean. Most of the time, we get it right.

You see, I can use the word love when I mean like. I can use the word love when I mean sex. It can mean affection. It can mean passion. I can use the word love sarcastically (I love Donald Trump) (spoiler alert – I don’t). I use the word carefully in social media messages (that’s my culture), although younger people than me will use it much more freely (that’s theirs).

In the Christmas story we see the love of a mother for a newborn child. We recognise in a heartbeat that the love of a mother for their new born child is a world apart from my affection for my wife’s cheese pie or your experience of an iPhone. It’s not the same thing at all. That kind of parental, especially maternal love is just about the top end of our continuum. It’s deep. It’s selfless. It’s passionate. It’s profound. The fact that Mary is in some sense a refugee, and the birth takes place in the most difficult of circumstances, adds depth, poignancy and richness to the love narrative. This is a story of really deep love.

But what if our understanding of the word love is incomplete. What if that continuum, which we think we’ve got sussed, goes much, much further than we ever knew or imagined. The idea isn’t as crazy as it might look. If you’ve been fortunate to experience a really good and fulfilling relationship, you’ll know that you can suddenly discover new depths of love that you never knew were there. You’d simply never experienced them before. It’s awesome. Your mind is blown.

What if there are levels of love beyond our experience or understanding? What if there are depths of love which go further than our culture can explain, or our minds can explain. What if the fact of this birth was itself an expression of love far greater than the unquestioned love which Mary felt for the baby?

What if there is a God sized love which is indescribably profound and yet somehow expressed in the birth of a small boy in a backwater of Bethlehem on a winters night. A love which goes far beyond our experience and the constraints of our culture. The kind of love which would break through the boundaries of our worldly perceptions and cause legions of angels to visibly sing praises to God and blow the minds of shepherds and wise men alike.

Pick up your concept of love, look at the context of the Christmas story, and recognise that there is something here more powerful and profound than you have ever noticed before. Just imagine. A love even deeper than you ever thought or imagined. Even more selfless. Even more passionate. Even more profound.

In the Christmas story, Jesus is called Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us. A God of love, whose love is for you.

Continuum re-evaluated.

Mind blown.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Advent 2024

Advent 3 Joy: 2024

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December 2024: Horsham

Alongside the earlier themes of hope and peace, the traditional theme of this third week of Advent is joy.

Whilst my outlook on life is generally ‘glass half full’, joy is not an adjective I would generally apply to myself. It’s not that I’m always unhappy, but even when I’m excited, I don’t always express my feelings exuberantly. I have one or two friends who do just that in a big way, but I’m not sure that I would necessarily describe them as joyful.

I think that ‘joy’, as it’s used here, really expresses something much deeper. In the past, I could say that I have felt ‘joyful’ about the safe delivery of a child. A couple of years ago, I was ‘joyful’ when, having been expecting some very bad news from the doctor, the diagnosis turned out to be unexpectedly good. The feelings I experienced at those moments were so much deeper than the short term relief, excitement and delight I felt when I heard a couple of years ago that my football team (Leyton Orient, thank you for asking) had avoided relegation. I wonder whether you sense that there’s a lasting and continuing angle to this Advent ‘joy’ which I need to unpack a bit.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this series that Christmas is about looking back and celebrating the birth of Jesus. In the context of my faith, that is the moment when Christ took on human form and came into the world. The Angel gives Jesus the name ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). That’s a critical, defining moment of my faith. The moment when God stepped into this world in the person of Jesus. That was such an impactful moment that  connects with me in a very special way. In some way, Emmanuel gives me an inner sense of joy.

You may recall that the Apostle Paul lists ‘joy’ as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Paul says that when you recognise Jesus for who he is, the Holy Spirit impacts your life. Your life is irrevocably changed (Ephesians 4:22-24). The old self is swept away, and the new life will reflect an inner sense of, amongst other things, joy. As a Christian, joy becomes part of my character. Again, this points towards something much, much deeper than the superficial happiness which we hopefully encounter on a good day in our everyday life. It’s literally in my soul. I can only experience that kind of joy because I have this inner confidence, this faith, that Christ is real, and that in some way He has His hand on my eternal life.

Of course, the fact that it falls in our calendar in the weeks before Christmas, means that Advent is a time when our culture looks ‘forwards’ to the Nativity, celebrating the coming of the Christ child. Alongside that, people look forward to all the fun and indulgence which goes with it. Yet hold on a minute, because there is something incongruous if not illogical about looking forward to something which happened 2000 years ago. If the only thing I’m really left looking forward to is the trappings of 21st Century Christmas with it’s western commercialisation, I’m missing the point. That bit certainly doesn’t fill me with the right kind of joy.

So what should I be anticipating? Scripture tells me that Christ will come again and fully establish His eternal kingdom, and that whatever it looks like, I will be a part of it. That is at the heart of what I believe. It means that I don’t have to be anxious about the future, because Christ has it all in hand. Now that gives me a real deep and inner sense of hope, peace and joy, which happen to be the first three  themes of Advent. I can only experience these emotions because the baby of the Nativity is the same Jesus who will come again in glory. As a follower of Jesus, I will be celebrating the birth of the child, but I’m also looking forward to his return.

End Piece…

I wonder if you get the idea that the joy of Advent is about much more than clapping my hands with delight and walking round with a big smile on my face. It’s about looking forwards to something extraordinarily special. Looking forward to the day when Christ will come again. The day when ‘every tear will be wiped away, and there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more suffering, and no more pain.’ Revelation 21:4.

Of course, there will be trials and tribulations for me along the way, but just knowing that that day is coming does something deep in my soul. Alongside hope and peace, it gives me joy. It occurs to me that maybe this is the reason why I am generally ‘glass half full’. Maybe, after all, ‘joy’ is an adjective I should be using when describing myself!

As Christmas drawers near, get ready to enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem. But my prayer for you this Christmas is that you too might experience that hope, peace and joy which can only come from having confidence, having faith, in Christ and the promise of his return.

This Advent, will you allow the Lord to give you ‘a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.‘ Isaiah 61:3

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK

Advent 2024

Advent 1 2024: Hope

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The first week of Advent is traditionally about hope. Last year I wrote that right now, when we look at the world, hope feels like a bit of a challenge. Some of the detail has changed, but I feel pretty much the same as I write this in 2024.

Refugees are crossing continents as the effects of economic collapse and climate change start to bite. There is no end in sight to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine. Religious violence continues across Africa and Asia. US Politics seem to be charging into uncharted waters and there is the sense of, or at least the potential for, massive geo political change occurring all around us.

Perhaps it’s not so surprising that people around us, and across the world, are discouraged. Hope, if it can be found at all, is in short supply right now.

Advent is about looking forward. It is about living in anticipation of the arrival of something. If we feel that we’re short of hope we need to lift our sights and remind ourselves what it is that we are supposed to be looking forward to.

One of the greatest themes of Scripture is the faithfulness of God to his people. I’ve seen his faithfulness in history and it has been part of my own life and experience. Knowing that He has been faithful in the past enables me to trust God for the future.

Advent is about looking forward to his continued faithfulness and love for humanity.  We are reminded of his faithfulness through the fulfilment of prophecy in the coming of the Christ child. We look forward to the fulfilment of prophecy in the return of the Messiah and the restoration of the Kingdom of God. Such is his past faithfulness that we can live in anticipation of his ongoing faithful presence. It’s about encouragement. It’s about hope.

Take Jesus out of the picture and it’s not surprising everyone feels discouraged. Put Jesus in the picture and there’s one major difference. Hope.

Of course we’re praying for peace and justice across this troubled world and for the restoration of hope in our communities. But the true hope for us all in this first week of Advent is Jesus.

Romans 15: 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK