Letter from Jon, January 2023 

 But the angel said to [the shepherds], ‘Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger’
Luke 2:10-12
 
Dear Liberty Friends
 
Welcome to 2023.  You might be thinking ‘why is he quoting a Christmas verse in January?’  Surely that season has come and gone. The mince pies are finished, the presents are opened (and perhaps even re-gifted!), the cheesy Christmas songs have been put away for at least another 10 months! It is time to move on into a new year.  I get that, and share a lot of those sentiments, but I also realise how easy it is to read the story of Christ’s birth at Christmas time and to not look at it until next Christmas comes around. 
 
A couple of weeks ago in our BOLD prayer meeting we were sharing verses about Jesus that were special to us, and I realise how much I love the words of the angel to the shepherds: ‘good news that will cause create joy for all the people’.  I have quoted this verse a number of times in sermons throughout last year and more and more I am starting to grasp how significant this is, not just for Christmas but every moment of life. 2022 for many/most of us was not a great year.  There was a lot of bad news around, both on our tv screens and in our own lives, and I became aware of how much we need the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a message of hope, of light that overcomes darkness, of the banishing of pain and death forever. 
 
Although there was much in 2022 that was far from good, what I witnessed in the life of Liberty Church was hugely encouraging, and this became so evident over Christmas.  To see the Liberty Community gathered to sing God praises with such joy and hope; to welcome family, friends and those we have met through the life of the Church this past year into our midst; to see a community sharing food and life together; to hear the message of the Good News being proclaimed in word, in song and in action has been such a joy.  And, as the angel declared, this good news ‘will cause great joy for all the people’.  I believe that 2023, regardless of what is happening in this world, or indeed in our own lives, will be a year of great joy for Liberty Church and the community that we serve.  I believe we will experience the joy of seeing individuals and families finding hope amongst us and of people being released from burdens and fears, set free to walk into a new destiny with their God.
 
This is Good News like no other and I pray that in this new year you and your families would truly know the great joy that it brings, for a Saviour has been born to us who is Christ the Lord.  Praise God for his overwhelming grace towards us.
 
Loads of New Year Love
 
Jon