21st December 2025 Pip's talk "Christmas"

What names they want to give to their children because they're

important. They're going to have them their

whole life. So if you're at school, you're

going to hear your name called every single morning, every

single afternoon for the register.

You'll need it when you're at the doctor's anyone like, Oh no,

they're going to use my actual name when they call it out the

doctor's that's me or it just makes me sound really posh.

When they call out my full name, I'm like, or I feel like I'm in

trouble. One of those two.

My real full name. My real name is Philippa.

Well, it is quite posh when your grandmother says it's you.

Yeah, but there we go anyway. Yeah.

Anyway, that was not in my notes at all.

OK. You have to use your names to

fill out forms, all sorts of official things.

Your parents probably gave you a name because either they like

it, maybe it's a family name, maybe it's something that they

chose because it means something to them.

It means something that they want of you.

They want this thing for you. It's almost like a spoken

promise over you. When someone calls out our name,

it gets our attention. You know, if we're saying

something about someone else, we mention their name.

So I might say, oh, yeah. Do you know Nicky?

Do you know what she loves? Christmas.

She would celebrate Christmas every day of the year if she

could. That's something I know about

Nicky. And names are a way of

identifying us. I'm Pip.

I'm not Libby. I'm not Essie.

I'm not any of you other lovely people.

I'm me. And if you know me, you'll say

you'll think, oh, yes, Pip. She's like this.

Oh yeah, I know who you're talking about.

I know who that person is. So what do we think of when we

think of the name Jesus? So to start off, start us off,

we're just going to think about some of the names and faces of

the people that were around that first Christmas.

And I'm not going to need a little bit of help to play this

game. So anyone played Pictionary at

Christmas? OK, so we've got a board up

here. Got a couple of pens.

This is where I've not checked the pens.

I'm really hoping that they work, but, you know, we'll put

them out there and see. So I need a volunteer, first of

all, to come and draw. What?

The thing, the person, no letters are allowed, no cheating

is that you're not allowed to just go through all the people

in the actual Christmas story and just call them out.

You've got to wait for the drawing.

OK, The drawing's going to happen.

Be something to do with that first Christmas, Chris.

So you a volunteer. Excellent.

Big hand for Chris, please. So, Chris.

Oh, I'm going to have to turn my mic off, won't I?

I'll move this away. OK.

This is what I'd like you to draw.

OK. It doesn't matter how big you do

it, but obviously people have got to see it.

Yeah. And then when Chris is drawn,

he'll he'll wiggle it around a little bit so everyone can see.

OK, OK. But if you've got any ideas.

Oh, we're going for a different pen already.

Any thoughts so far? Anybody call it out?

Call it out, Shepherd. Excellent.

He didn't even have to finish the drawing.

Was this the biggest clue? Yeah.

Excellent. OK.

Thank you, Chris. OK, another volunteer, please.

Sam, up you come. Big round of applause for Sam.

Are you ready, Sam? Here we go.

Lots of concentration going on with this drawing.

This is where we need one of those big screens where you can

draw on the iPad and it appears on the screen, don't we?

Oh, OK, in a minute. I'm going to ask Sam to move out

the way when he's finished so everyone can see.

Good job, Sam. OK, here we go, Donkey.

Yes. Nicely done.

OK. Another volunteer, please.

Who's next? Ben, Were you volunteered or did

you What? Sorry.

Oh, Other Ben. Other Ben?

Sorry. You looked slightly shocked when

I said Ben. Then Ben Woodward.

Come this way. Who's like, really?

Have I been volunteered? And I didn't know it.

Come up. Ben, Are you ready?

You can do it. You can do it.

Oh, Tia. I think we might need to change

the pen. Could someone just grab us

another pen, please? Hold on a minute.

Ben, stop for a minute. Let's just have a whole chunk

over here just in case this is a rookie error, not testing the

pen beforehand. OK, Go for it.

Here we go. The anticipation in the room,

it's it's definitely smiling. I think it might be a person.

Oh, there's a big clue. Yes.

Let's move out the way, Ben, so these people can see over here.

There we go. Spot the clue.

Looks like a big Jelly Bean in the stomach.

There we go. Excellent.

Well done, Ben. OK.

Another person, please. Another volunteer.

What's going on? What's going on, Aya?

You're all like. I know there's some budding

artists in the room. Come, Daisy.

Come, Daisy. Let's go for this one.

Big round of applause for Daisy. Sorry.

Sorry. You can do this.

Oh, OK. OK.

Yeah. Have you got it?

Yes, there we go. Look at this.

Like, here we go. That's the clue for Gabriel.

OK, the little A circle for a face and an Oval egg for a Halo,

I think. Brilliant.

Excellent. Let's do one more.

Oh, maybe 2. Nat, Come this way.

This way. Big round of applause for Nat.

Come, Nat. Nicely done.

Walk this way. With an O.

OK, this is what I didn't quite think.

You guys. Sorry.

We will turn it around for you. There we go.

Oh, yes, the innkeeper. There we go.

The room, but no room at the inn.

Nicely done. Right.

Last one. Last one.

Caleb. Up.

You calm. Big round of applause for Caleb.

Ready. Nice, Nice.

Hold on. One moment.

Lots of concentration going on here.

Brilliant. Look at all that detail.

Wonderful. Good job, Caleb.

You done. I'm going to hold it out so

everyone can see who's in there. Yes, nicely done.

Big round of applause. Good job all those people in

that first story. You guys are off to a start with

those games. That's brilliant.

We're going to watch a short little video now, and then I'll

be back with you. I forgot one thing which I need

to say at the start. I forgot where Mary and Joseph

lived before they had to move to Bethlehem.

Once Upon a time in the city we'd nice with in a swell Hut,

there was a woman called Mary, and she was washing all the

clothes and all the stuff. And then, oh, about the Angel

Angel. April.

Came to Mary in the backyard and the Angel, do not be afraid.

I have come to give you good news.

You're going to have a baby sent by the Holy Spirit, and he was

going to be the Son of God and he would be a very special king.

But Mary said I'm not married yet.

He would have felt scared, kind of.

But the Angel said the Holy Spirit is with you.

And then it just disappeared and she believed and she was going

to get married to someone called Joseph.

Then she's away to tell Joseph all about his life.

That can't be true, honey. And 20 went to sleep and Joe

Gabriel went to Joseph and he was telling him all about how

Mary has the baby be in her tummy.

He was going to marry Mary and have a baby.

And then he said sorry. But then Mary and Joseph went on

the donkey. Joseph went on foot with the

donkey. Oh, Caesar.

He told everyone could go back to their native lands because

they were being registered. And that's where Joseph's

because he was from the family of David and that's where David

lived. Many, many years ago, when they

managed to go to Bethlehem, they couldn't find an inn because

they wanted to give birth and off the floor somewhere else.

They went to all the innkeepers but said no room left But the

last one they went to. They said they had a free

stable. So they ended up sleeping in the

stables with all the cows and the sheep.

They had to give birth to Jesus in a barn in a sack of hay, and

he was in a Manger where animals usually eat out of.

So they went in the stable with all the sheep.

There was a cow. What?

A mouse. I eat a corn, a chicken.

But there's a talking donkey, tea, a donkey.

It was quite crows and Mary said to Joseph the baby's name was

little Jesus. And when Jesus finally came, God

placed a star in the sky. And then out in the fields 3

shepherds were watching their sheep.

An Angel appeared to them in the sky.

Shepherds that watched their sheep.

Only one sheep. The talk. 1 shepherd. 3

shepherds. You mean there was only three,

only three shepherds lying on the grass looking at the sky.

And then one of the angels came into the air.

The Angel said, do not be afraid, I have sent you good

news. There is a baby, the Savior of

the Lord, in the stable of Bethlehem, David's town, and

said that you should go follow the star to where King Jesus is

sleeping. And then millions of angels

appeared in the sky and they were singing glory, Glory.

And then the shepherds said to each other, let's go and see the

Savior. And then off they went to

Bethlehem. They're quite amazed you.

He's in a stable. They're like, I thought it would

be in an inn because their father was going to be an actual

king. And then they told the story to

Mary and Joseph and praised all their way back.

During that time, 3 wise men saw the star in the sky and went to

follow the star on their free money looking camels.

See camel, donkey. Which one?

A donkey? A camel and the supper had a

king, and the king wasn't very nice.

And then what's his name again? King Horrid Herod wasn't a good

man at all. Then they saw the palace and

they thought that that was where he was born.

They went over there and gave him gold, frankincense and more.

And they were like, wait a SEC, you're not the new king.

They said to him, do you know where this baby is born?

And and he didn't know so. So they looked in the big book,

they told them all about the little baby.

And Herod said, if you search for the baby in Davidstown,

Bethlehem, once you do it, come back and tell me and I'll go and

praise the court Lord, too. But he whispered to one of his

servants instead, I'm gonna kill him because he was scared Jesus

would take over as king so he wouldn't be special anymore.

And that was no. Good.

But he didn't tell the wise man he was lying.

And off they went so soon until he found him in a Manger.

They finally reached the little stables.

They went in and gave Jesus some of their gifts, gold, silver and

murr. They brought gold, murr and

banking sense. Then they weren't in a sleep.

They heard God saying don't go past Harrah's castle, the baby

will get killed. So they went to different

routes. King Herod, like when they

didn't come back, he was very angry.

He told his men letting you some stuff.

He sent the bad guy to destroy every birthday but and then in

the middle of the night an Angel said to Joseph get up and get

Jesus and Mary to go to a different land until King Herod

and his men die. When King Herod died an Angel

appeared to them in Joseph's dream and said it is safe to go

back. Herod is gone and finally Mary

and Joseph and little baby Jesus lived happily ever after having

his Mama. OK, Becky, Mary and Joseph too.

The end. That's some good, good drawers

there, didn't they? Isn't that excellent?

OK, great. And if any of you want to keep

your hands busy while you listen, there's some Christmas

crafty bits over on the table. Please do gather.

Go gather some bits. Doesn't just have to be for

little people. If any of you want to do that,

you can go get some bits. Please be careful as you just

walk, as you go along, so that no one trips over a thing.

OK, so there's often this big announcement when a baby is

born. After all that waiting, after

all that preparation, the baby is finally here and with Jesus.

Everyone was busy and everyone was full, so the only place

available was this stable tucked round the back with the animals,

including the Unicorn. If you kind of go with what we

just watched, it's quite an unassuming entrance for the Son

of God. But everyone in that first

Christmas story could feel it in the air.

Something was happening, something holy was happening,

and they were right in the middle of it.

There was this supernatural conception.

Promises were being spoken about this child who would be coming,

a whole sky full of angels celebrating his arrival in this

ordinary backstreet in an ordinary town.

And there was this special star that guided people coming from

afar. So who was this baby?

Could this be the one whose birth was foretold so long ago?

What was his name? Who is he?

And the Angel, as we've heard in the story so far, Angel

reassured Joseph Mary will give birth to a son, he said, and you

ought to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people

from their sins. That's what the name Jesus

means. It means the Lord saved.

It means the Lord rescuers. You're my rescuer.

The Angel reminded Joseph of promises from old of old and he

said he will be called Emmanuel, which means God with us.

Jesus name speak of who he was and of who he is.

And we're going to look at a few more of those names this

morning. So with the help of a little bit

of a theme tune from yeah, I won't tell you what it's from,

Hopefully it'll come up on the screen.

We're going to look at our first name, but I've muddled it up.

So I just want to apologise to all the people in the room who

struggle with reading. I realized after I've done this,

I know quite a lot of people here who have dyslexia.

So I'm really sorry if this is really hard for you, but OK, the

first name is this. It's in a muddle.

Anyone done that kind of mixing up trying to work out what the

word means? So we're going to have a bit of

a count, a theme and a thing on the.

There we go. OK, right, ready.

This is the first muddled up name.

Cafe Open Price. Cafe Open Price.

What name is that? Prince of Peace.

Prince of Peace. Here we go.

Let's check. Here we go.

Yes. Excellent.

OK, ready for the next one? Here we go.

Lasagna. River theft.

Any thoughts? This is a bit trickier.

Everlasting father. Nicely done.

Everlasting Father. OK, next one.

Are we ready? Cello round Sunflower and

wonderful counselor. Excellent.

Wonderful counselor. Last one coming up.

Are you ready? This is for January.

Dig gym, though. Dig gym, though.

Mighty God, nicely done. Excellent Prince of Peace,

everlasting Father, wonderful counselor.

Mighty God. Years before Jesus was born, a

man called Isaiah heard God speak about Jesus's coming.

And this is where we find those names.

So if you've got a Bible, it'll be on the screen as well.

But if you've got a Bible, turn to it now in Isaiah Chapter 9,

Isaiah 9:6

verse 6, this is what is said for to us, a child is born to

us, the son is given and the government will be on his

shoulders and he will be called wonderful councillor, mighty

gods, everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

They're talking about Jesus of the increase of his government

and peace. There will be no end.

OK, there's some, there's some big words there.

Wonderful. Counselor, let's think about

those words. What do they mean when I say the

word wonderful? Can you give me another word for

the word wonderful? Shout out another word for the

word wonderful. Stupendous, amazing, brilliant,

glorious, fantastic, fabulous, splendid, amazing.

All those words. Magnificent, marvellous,

awesome. All those things mean the same

as the word wonderful, beautiful.

And what does the word counsellor mean?

What comes to mind when I say the word counsellor?

Apart from Anne, who is a counsellor?

Yes, yeah, OK. Someone who listens, an advisor,

someone who's wise, someone who helps, a helper, All those

things, yes, kind, thoughtful, caring.

Someone who knows what is best, knows what is right, knows what

is good. Put those two together.

Then, wonderful counsellor, we have this pretty incredible name

for Jesus. That is who Jesus is.

His very name says I am your helper.

I will comfort you. I know you deeply, even better

than you know yourself. Follow me.

You can trust me. Let me show you the way.

So when you don't know which way to go, when you're not sure of

what's ahead, when you don't know what to do, call on Jesus,

your wonderful counsellor. Remember who he is.

Remember his name. Let's move on to the word

mighty, the phrase mighty God, Can you give me another name for

mighty, another word for mighty, strong, powerful.

All those words, strong, powerful, mighty God and God,

the one who created the heavens and the earth, who made the

skies and the sea and the land and the mountains and the

animals and everything that we see put them together.

That's a pretty incredible name. That's who Jesus is.

His very name says I am strong. I am the God who made this

world, who created the heavens and the earth.

Nothing can get in the way of my love for you.

I will move mountains for you. So when things feel a bit too

much and you feel a bit too small, when things feel

impossible, remember who Jesus is.

Almighty God, another word for everlasting anymore out there,

enduring, eternal, forever, never ending, infinite, always

unfailing. What about another word for

Father, Dad, Daddy, Pops, Papa, whatever you kind of wanna call

him, Put them together. That's a pretty incredible name

for who Jesus is. Our everlasting father.

His very name is like Jesus is saying, come sit with me, rest

your head on my chest, feel my very heartbeat for you.

I am yours and you are mine. I love you and I will always

hold you close to my heart. I will never leave you.

So when you feel a bit lonely or you feel a bit bruised, remember

who Jesus is. Come up close like a child and

tell him everything that's on your heart.

OK, Prince of Peace, when you hear the word Prince, you might

think of royalty or of kingly heritage of the King's

household. It speaks about how people are

governed. It speaks about priorities and

values and kingdoms. And what about the word peace?

It doesn't just mean the end of conflict.

This word speaks about wholeness, about healing, about

forgiveness, about restoration, about reconciliation.

Lots of those massive words, they all mean goodness.

Prince of Peace, Prince of Goodness.

That's a pretty incredible name. That's who Jesus is.

His very name says you can know that I am always with you.

Whatever comes your way. I am where your heart feels

safe. I am the one who heals you and

makes you whole. That's how I do things.

That's my way. That's what Prince of Peace

means. So when you are feeling anxious

or afraid, remember who Jesus is and ask him to fill you with his

peace. So Jesus, who was with the

Father and the Spirit at the very beginning of creation, all

three in one, he came as a baby here on earth to be with us.

God with skin on, wonderful counsellor, mighty God,

everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus's name is revealed. Who he was and who he is and

what he came to do, He's amazing.

I wonder if there are some other names or titles that we could

come up for, come up with for Jesus, bearing in mind the

things that we know about him, the person that we know him to

be. So words that are true to who he

is, but they say something about what he came to do.

So Nikki, could you come and help me?

Would you be up for doing a little bit of writing?

That would be great. I'm here, so we're going to fill

in the blanks. Ready.

OK, OK, thank you. Wonderful.

Blankety blank. Here we go.

So we've got a blank, We've got an of and we've got a blank.

So I've helped you a little bit. I've come up with some words

that I know to be true about Jesus because I read them in

here and and because I've experienced them and know them

to be true in the lives of you guys and in my own life.

So let's just look at some of these words.

So the idea with this coming up on the next slide is that the

words on the left, you choose a word from the left, we choose

the of in the middle and we choose a word from the section

on the right. And as we do that, all those

words, I'm going to read them. We're going to read them

together in a minute. So let's start from here.

We've got the word king, truth, way, Prince, gift, giver, light,

star, holy one, Savior, rescuer, Lord, and heart.

Some of the words on the other side, life, kindness, peace,

mercy, grace, all these things that we know about Jesus, the

world, giving light, truth, hope, my heart, happiness,

heart, healing, goodness, joy, wholeness, restoration,

forgiveness, reconciliation, some of those big words again.

So I want you to take a word from the left and that middle of

word and a word from the right and we're going to come up with

some more words that speak about who Jesus is.

Does anyone want to shout out one that they've got to start

off with? Abby?

Prince of Peace. Yep.

Prince of Peace. We've got that one.

That's a solid start. It's in here.

OK. Any others?

Savior of the world you can make.

You can use these. We don't have to do the ones

that are already in here. Light of the world.

Yes. Light of the world.

Thank you, Nikki. Anymore pardon.

Heart of Grace. Heart of grace, rescuer of my

heart. Any others coming up, say it

again to you. Giver of mercy, Lord of

happiness, Lord of joy, King of the world, any others, Giver of

life. Sorry Nikki, we were just

motoring through. Giver of life anymore.

Life, Light, Light of light, Light of light, Heart of hearts,

yes. Heart of heart, Star of truth

anymore King of Kings of truth, star of truth, star of light.

There's so many different options you could have from

this. I mean, I'm just looking at the,

I don't know, King of kindness. Like what beautiful thing to say

about Jesus. Like all these things.

He is all these things. Thank you, Nikki, we, I'm going

to leave some words like these out there so when we are having

tea and coffee and stuff like that later, you can do some more

and keep scribbling on here. All these names of Jesus, but

speak of who he is and what he came to do.

They're great names. Maybe all this is news to you

this morning, but it is good news.

If you want to know more about Jesus, come chat to one of us.

Pick up a Bible from out there on on the info table at the end.

Take it away. Read all about him or sign up

for the Alpha course in the new year.

Jesus came as a baby into the mess of our world to be with us.

He lived this sinless life. He lived a life that showed us

what God is like and he said come be with me and follow me.

He loved us to the very end. He didn't stay a baby.

He grew into a man and he gave up his life for us, paying the

price for all of our mess and all of the brokenness in the

world so that if we turn to him and if we believe in him, we

might know how much God loves us and be with him forever.

And Titch Harrison Warren, who is an Anglican vicar in the

state, she says this even if we had never heard of the name of

Jesus, we would still need all that he came to give.

In the Bible it says that Jesus is the name above all names.

If you want to turn to Philippians chapter 2 verses 9

Philippians 2:9–10

to 10, this is what Paul writes. God exalted him.

He's talking about Jesus. God exalted him to the highest

place and gave him the name that is above every name, that the

name of Jesus. Every knee should bow in heaven

and on earth and under the earth.

There is no name greater than the name of Jesus.

There is no name more powerful. There is no name more loving, no

name more gracious, no name more merciful.

Think about some of the attributes that were on that

screen. There is no name more than the

name of Jesus. And as we encounter him and

experience him and meet him, it involves a response on our part.

You know, when the Angel spoke to Mary about her bearing God's

Son, Mary's response was to trust.

She said, let it be to me, as you have said, which means yes,

Lord. And then later she, she burst

into song, into this song of praise to God.

And Joseph's response was one of shock and then this surrendering

to God's plan. King Herod's response was one of

anger, like rejecting the idea that someone else could possibly

be the King of kings. The angel's response was glory,

glory, glory, filling the skies with their praise.

The shepherd's response was bowing down on their faces at

the sky, lit up with angels and then praising God after they

visited Jesus. The wise men's response was to

follow and bring presents, gifts that spoke of his life that he

was to live. When Jesus comes again, every

knee will bow and our response will be worthy, worthy, holy.

Holy are you Lord. But for now, we also have this

moment, this opportunity to respond.

So this Christmas, what do you need to remember about the name

of Jesus? What do you need to remember

about who he is? Or what do you need to know

again or experience who about who He is?

Do you need to know that He is a mighty God, all powerful and

able to do things that at the moment seem impossible?

Do you need to know the closeness of a loving Father who

has promised never to walk out on you, who has promised to

always be with you, and who is forever good and forever kind

and forever present? So you need to know that He's

the bringer of peace to your mind, to your body, to your

family, to your gatherings over the next few days.

He is all these things and more. He is who He says He is.

We can trust Him. It's all in His name.

So if you need reminding who Jesus is, go back to some of

these words and some of these words that describe him in the

Bible. The name of Jesus is beautiful

is all your heart is longing for.

So we're just going to take a little moment now to respond and

we're going to be quiet for a moment.

And I want to invite everyone of you to just have your own little

conversation with God just quietly in your heart.

And to help you do that, I'm just going to give you a few

openers to get you started. Like they're conversation

openers that you can continue and the rest of your day and

your week. So first of all, I'd love for

you to tell God the bit of Christmas where you feel closest

to Him. And then I wonder if you could

tell him something that you might find difficult this

Christmas. You know, when Jesus was born,

the shepherds bowed down and the angels sang.

I wonder what you would have done had you been there and what

would you like to do now? Just stay in that place of

having a conversation with Jesus and we're just going to have a

song that's going to be sung to us while we're in that space.

Why don't you stand And we're going to worship together.

Yeah. Lord Jesus, our response, Lord

Jesus is to is to worship you. We come to worship you.

Thank you that we can celebrate your coming.