1. Hope in an unsatisfactory world: Light in darkness
We have hope, not because we suppress tragic realities,
not because we have deceitful slogans which declare our problems to be unreal,
We have hope because of a victory found in Christ crucified and risen
and in this hope we seek and will find Christ in our unsatisfactory world.

2. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
1) Long time ago in Bethlehem So the holy bible say
Mary's boy child Jesus Christ Was born on Christmas Day
Hark now hear the angels sing A new king born today
And we will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day
Trumpets sound and angels sing Listen to what they say
That we will live forevermore Because of Christmas Day
2) While shepherds watch their flock by night
They see a bright new shining star
Then hear a choir sing The music seemed to come from afar
3 Now Joseph and his wife Mary
Come to Bethlehem that night
Then find no place to bear the child
Not a single room was in sight
4 By and by they find a little nook
In a stable all forlorn
And in a manger cold and dark
Mary's little boy was born
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

3. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
Isaiah 9:2,6,7
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Hope in an unsatisfactory world
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

4. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
1 Once, in royal David’s city, Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby In a manger for His bed.
Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ, her little child.
2 He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable, And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor and meek & lowly Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
3 And through all His wondrous childhood He would honour and obey,
Love and watch the lowly mother In whose gentle arms He lay.
Christian children all should be Mild, obedient, good as He.
4 For He is our childhood’s pattern: Day by day like us He grew;
He was little, weak and helpless; Tears and smiles like us He knew:
And He feeleth for our sadness, And He shareth in our gladness.
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

5. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
And our eyes at last shall see Him Through His own redeeming love;
For that child, so dear and gentle, Is our Lord in heaven above;
And He leads His children on To the place where He is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable, With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him, but in heaven, Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars His children crowned, All in white shall wait around.
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

6. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
War deaths in
Hope in an unsatisfactory world
South Sudanese Civil War 40,000
Syrian Civil War 30,000
Iraqi insurgency 13,460
Central African Republic conflict 5,186
War in North-West Pakistan 4,957
War in Donbass (Ukraine) 4,707
Afghan Civil War 3,188
Libyan Civil War 2,595
Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2,204
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria 2,000
War in Somalia 1,887
Mexican Drug War 1,401

7. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
Isaiah 11:1-9
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist.
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

8. The wolf will live with the lamb

9. the leopard will lie down with the goat

10. The calf and the lion and the yearling together and a little child shall lead them

11. The cow will feed with the bear their young will lie down together

12. and the lion will eat straw like the ox

13. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

14. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain

15. for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

16. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
South Sudanese Civil War 40,000
Syrian Civil War 30,000
Iraqi insurgency 13,460
Central African Republic conflict 5,186
War in North-West Pakistan 4,957
War in Donbass (Ukraine) 4,707
Afghan Civil War 3,188
Libyan Civil War 2,595
Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2,204
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria 2,000
War in Somalia 1,887
Mexican Drug War 1,401
Tear Fund – Peacemakers – politicians

17. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
1 Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother & Child. Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace
2 Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Saviour is born! Christ the Saviour is born
3 Silent night, holy night!
Son of God love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Silent night, holy night! Sleep
Hope in an unsatisfactory world
Switch to noteworthy

18. Hope in an unsatisfactory world

19. One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, "You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you."
Luke 1:26-38
Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant. Then the angel told Mary, "Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end."

20. Mary asked the angel, "How can this happen? I am not married!"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!"
Mary said, "I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said." And the angel left her.

21. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
12 Mary, did you know 23 that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know 23 that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
3 Did you know 23 that your baby boy has come to make you new?
234This Child that you delivered 34 will soon deliver you
2 Mary, did you know 23 that your baby boy 4 will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know 23 that your baby boy 4 will calm a storm with his hand?
3Did you know 23that your baby boy 4has walked where angels trod?
23When you kiss your little Baby 3then you kissed the face of God
8 -up4 The blind will see. The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again. 34The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak The praises of The Lamb5.
4 Mary, did you know 23that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know 23that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
3Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
34The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great23, the Great, I Am 2b+2b.
Ooh
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

22. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
Matthew 1:18-25
This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David's family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God's Holy Spirit. Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding. While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her.

23. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."
After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord's angel had told him to do. But they did not sleep together before her baby was born. Then Joseph named him Jesus.

24. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

25. God of God, Light of Light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb;
Very God, Begotten, not created:

26. See how the shepherds
Summoned to his cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither
Bend our joyful footsteps:

27. Lo, star-led chieftains,
Magi, Christ adoring,
Offer him incense, gold, and myrrh;
We to the Christ-child
Bring our hearts' oblations:

28. Child, for us sinners Poor and in the manger,
Fain we embrace thee with love and awe;
Who would not love thee, Loving us so dearly?

29. Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above:
'Glory to God In the highest:'

30. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.
Mary was engaged to Joseph and travelled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7
Hope in an unsatisfactory world
“The subversive power of obedience”

31. Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;
The stars in the bright sky looked down where He lay; The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes:
I love You, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky And stay by my side until morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus: I ask You to stay Close by me forever and love me, I pray;
Bless all the dear children in Your tender care, And fit us for heaven to live with You there. .

32. Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem
Hope in an unsatisfactory world
Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem

34. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
6b O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth234
1234Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth234
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall23 on your knees234
O hear23 the angel voices2 O ni2ght4 divine!23
O night23 when Christ was born23 O night234 divine!23
O night23, O night divine!234
1234Fall23 on your knees234
O hear23 the angel voi2ces4 O ni2ght4 divine!23
O night23 when Christ was born23 O night234 divine23!
O night23456, 1O night divine! 2b
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

35. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
King Herod
Matthew 2:1-15

36. When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, "Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"

37. They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,
'Bethlehem in the land of Judea,
you are very important
among the towns of Judea.
From your town
will come a leader,
who will be like a shepherd
for my people Israel.' "
Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too."

38. The wise men listened to what the king said and then left
The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

39. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, And peace to men on earth;
For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wondering love.
Hope in an unsatisfactory world

40. How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming; But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still The dear Christ enters in.
O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in; Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel!

41. He Came

43. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
We have hope, not because we suppress tragic realities,
not because we have deceitful slogans which declare our problems to be unreal,
We have hope because of a victory found in Christ crucified and risen
and in this hope we seek and will find Christ in our unsatisfactory world.

44. In the beginning was the one
who is called the Word.
The Word was with God
and was truly God.
From the very beginning
the Word was with God.
And with this Word,
God created all things.
Nothing was made
without the Word.
Everything that was created
received its life from him,
and his life gave light
to everyone.

45. The light keeps shining
in the dark,
and darkness has never
put it out.
God sent a man named John,
who came to tell
about the light
and to lead all people
to have faith.
John wasn't that light.
He came only to tell
about the light.

46. The true light that shines
on everyone
was coming into the world.
The Word was in the world,
but no one knew him,
though God had made the world
with his Word.
He came into his own world,
but his own nation
did not welcome him.
Yet some people accepted him
and put their faith in him.
So he gave them the right
to be the children of God.

47. They were not God's children
by nature
or because
of any human desires.
God himself was the one
who made them his children.
The Word became
a human being
and lived here with us.
We saw his true glory,
the glory of the only Son
of the Father.
From him all the kindness
and all the truth of God
have come down to us.

48. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
1 Joy to the world! the Lord has come;
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing!
2 Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns;
Your sweetest songs employ.
While fields and streams and hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy! .
Hope in an unsatisfactory world
3 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
The wonders of His love, The wonders of His love,
The wonders, the wonders of His love.

49. Hope in an unsatisfactory world
May the Wonderful Counsellor
Guide you in any difficult decisions
May the Mighty God
Give you strength when you feel weak
May the Everlasting Father
Give you compassion for those around you
May the Prince of Peace
Bring peace to you and those you love
Hope in an unsatisfactory world