Peter writes to churches on the fringe of society and suffering for their faith, to strengthen their faith with hope for the future and to prepare them for action.

We know that our rebellion against God has had a major effect on the world around us, we live in the effects of the brokenness that sin created and, sadly, humanity has continued to contribute to that brokenness. Recognising our part in that is important. However, we don’t live without hope. The Fall was a major moment in human history but we have not been left there! As we consider the role that human fallen-ness has had in our world, let’s also remember the restoration and the new creation that God has invited us into through his Son, Jesus! How can we join God in the renewal of all things?

At the beginning of Genesis, in the beautiful creation poem, we see the mandate given to humankind. We who are part of God’s creation are given responsibility within it, to care and to steward. We are told that we have responsibility over this earth and the things that inhabit it. Over centuries this idea of our ‘dominion’ over creation has been misused to allow humankind to do whatever they want and use creation for their own gain and we are all too aware of this. What fresh vision might God give us as we consider our role in his creation? How can we allow a bigger and more eternal perspective to influence this as we live towards the day when God will bring full restoration to his creation?

The opening lines of Psalm 24 paint a picture for us of something that we see across all of Scripture and which is particularly present in the Old Testament – the earth is not for human dominion but rather it is God’s creative power that holds back the forces of chaos and sustains the whole world in being and everything that exists belongs to him. It was his voice that brought the earth and everything in it into being (Gen 1) and Scripture shows us again and again that God is the Lord of all creation, not just of humanity! This is where we want to begin as we open this series, reminding ourselves of our place in God’s creation and remembering that it is first and foremost God’s creation.

This is the amazing truth that we celebrate at Christmas, that Light has come and it has not left us. We are those who live in the light of Jesus and that light is an overcoming light against which the darkness of the world around us cannot and will not prevail. As we desire to be those who seek to have a more ‘Just Christmas’, let us remember this great and wonderful truth – Jesus is the light we need, he is shining into the darkest of places and darkness, pain, suffering and injustice will not win. Light has come!

Justice at Christmas can feel overwhelming, especially if we find our own lives overwhelming as well. The good news that Jesus brings is that the fullness of our lived experience does not need to be diminished. In his incarnation, Jesus came to bring freedom but he also came to bring comfort, because he knew we would mourn. What does the justice of God look like in the middle of our brokenness and our sadness? What does the justice of God look like when Christmas is not shiny and happy? Perhaps justice in this context is allowing the things that are hard and unfair to be hard and unfair, the truth that Jesus brings to us in this season is that he mourned as we mourn, he carried our burdens and our sorrows (Is. 53), every one of them is fully known to him and he is our Saviour who provides for those who grieve in Zion.

When we consider the incarnation of Jesus, his coming to earth as a baby we rejoice in the miracle of that and the wonder of it. However we know that this God incarnate grew up and when Jesus began his ministry he began by declaring the words of Isaiah 61. This babe in the manger became the man in the Temple courts who showed us how he was the fulfilment of these words. As his followers we get to join in with this declaration, we get to follow Jesus in the way of justice for the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives and prisoners. As we consider the work of IJM and Bethany, how can we be people who embrace God’s heart for a ‘Just Christmas’ this year?

We reach the end of Ephesians with a call to be fully equipped in Christ for the times of struggle ahead of us. Paul reminds us that we have everything we need to stand firm in the face of opposition: God’s truth; righteousness; the gospel of peace; faith; salvation and Holy Spirit. What does it look like to daily clothe ourselves in these gifts God has given us? Paul lands his letter with the repeated encouragement to pray. Not only are we equipped in Christ, but we also get to continue to come to God for all our needs and participate in his plans. Prayer is what sustains us, and Paul makes it clear that this is not just one-on-one prayers between us and God, but that essential to life in Christ is praying for all members of the church.

We know that in this life there are hierarchies and unjust power balances. But we also learn here that God shows no favouritism. In the case of seemingly inescapable powerlessness, such as with a child and their parents, or a slave and their enslaver, we are reminded that God knows what is in our hearts and sees whatever good we do. We know that ultimately there is freedom in Christ and that God is a God who enacts equality and justice. The message for the church is that for it to be a place of ‘on earth, as it is in heaven’ we too need to be without favouritism or injustice.

Mutually submitting to one another is the mark of those who follow Jesus, as Jesus demonstrated Himself at Passover by adorning the clothes of a servant and washing his disciples feet. In chapter 5 Paul is continuing his argument for the church family to live life in the Spirit. The primary context is to view all relationships in light of being those who follow Christ and who are filled by the Holy Spirit. The marriage relationship is used as an example to help demonstrate the mutual self-giving and submission of all believers to one another as an expression of being the bride of Christ.