Hi everyone and welcome to our Tuesday Podcast at STC. These daily Podcasts are a great way to build Godly Foundations in our lives as we look to follow Jesus every day.

We continue our reflections in Matthews gospel – I hope the Lord blessed you greatly as we read through the Jesus family tree yesterday! Today’s reading is Matthew 2:1-12, another familiar Christmas reading, and you can hear this read after the prayer. Our focus verse today is v1b and v2:

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

REFLECTION:

I became a Christian at the age of 28. I had no church background, my family didn’t go to church and indeed I had absolutely no inclination at all to connect with the church. I lived on a large council estate (nowadays called social housing!) and the local church looked dark, dismal and very uninviting – definitely not for me. However, I always had a sense that there was ‘something else’ and as a boy I would often pray even though I had no idea of who or what I was praying to! I had so many questions but had no idea where to find the answers – maybe that rings bells for you in your life? Questions that need answers? Then read on …

I met a colleague at work who was a Christian; We became friends and things began to change. Roger and his wife Sue befriended Tricia and I and the rest as they say, is history. Tricia and I spent several years searching for that ‘something else’; we went with our friends to their church and heard the story of Jesus and we asked lots and lots of questions usually over food and a glass of wine – or maybe it was a glass of Ward’s beer in those days! They really were great days and we will always be eternally grateful to our dear friends for leading us to Jesus.

A good time to ask this question – who led you to Jesus? If they are still around, remember to thank them for their perseverance and to always thank God for such good and Godly friends. Here’s another question – who can you lead to Jesus? Pray for them today and don’t stop until the day they tell you they have decided to become a Christian. Persevere in prayer – it’s tough but it works! It was through asking the questions about life that both Tricia and I found the answers – it was in the searching that Jesus broke in.

I love today’s bible reading, another Christmas reading – the story of the wise men. Do find time to read the whole passage today, but let me focus on one phrase

Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

These wise men had travelled ‘from the east’ – a very long way. No motorways or trains in those days, just camels, donkeys and sore feet! Why? They asked ‘Where is the one…’

They were looking for that ‘something else’ in their lives and they found their answers in the small baby in the manger for when they saw him ‘they worshipped him’. Two thousand years later a young man called Mick off a council estate in Sheffield also found the answers to his questions about life in Jesus Christ. Do you have questions about life today? Always remember this truth, never be afraid to ask your questions because it’s through persevering with the questions that we eventually find the answers – it’s in the searching that we find Jesus. If you know someone who is searching let me encourage you to do two things; firstly, why not invite them to the Alpha course here at STC – it begins on the first Tuesday in October and runs for 9 weeks – details on our website. Or maybe you still have questions about life and faith – then why not come al...