Rachel "rings the doorbell" with prayer - unlayering the complexity by explaining how Jesus spoke about God as neighbour and father. She uses the modern parallel of egg-sharing during lockdown to highlight the "shameless audacity" in the bible story of waking a neighbour to help a friend. She then goes on to clarify that God is the never-sleeping, eager father cherishing his child not just a reluctant neighbour to be disturbed through prayer. This is how we are to approach God - knowing that he wants us to be present, not just petition, and to listen, not just ask, and to act for others, not just be filled ourselves.

Linz starts with a gutfelt reaction to the familiar good Samaritan tale - what would you do if you saw somebody battered and bleeding on the road? She references our hero's pro-activity, pity and generosity - with his time, his resources and his attention. He is an example of selflessness Jesus exhorts us to follow - attending to spiritual needs as well as physical.

Charles talks about how spectacular growth can suddenly emerge from seeming insignificance. The kingdom is God's kingdom and it grows without needing our attention - though we might feel less able to contribute during lockdown God's kingdom is growing anyway. Captain Tom's remarkable story is an example of how simply doing what we can can balloon into blessing - we are encouraged to keep eyes open for whatever opportunities arise.

Rachel prepares us for new things ahead. She separates imagination from fact and points out that faith leads to fact but is often based on fiction - what we believe not just what we know. She talks about the parable of the 99 sheep and how the shepherd rejoiced over the 1 lost sheep - a cause for celebration. "If reason changes our minds imagination changes our hearts" and such parallels help us appreciate how much we each are valued.

Maf starts with Lego and a cheeky grandson to introduce the topic of obstacles - for Nehemiah, this ranged from threats and scorn to the need to clear the ground - down before up. For us too, Maf talks about our rubble - the risks of nostalgia clouding our vision, traditions blinkering our openness to options and consumerism clogging our attention - and invites us to clean our ears, expect to be challenged and look forward to the new things God wants to do.

Tim transports us to the build stage as we take a "Grand designs" tour around the rebuild of Jerusalem's walls. The list of people in chapter 3, though a challenge to pronounce, celebrates the individuals and their respective talents and how they have been each helped "get things done" collaboratively. What talents to do you have and what role is it that you're being called to fulfil as we rebuild post pandemic?

Hannah highlights that although this is a turbulent, draining time for us all, as we come to the end there is also a great opportunity - to put life ahead of productivity, for exposed inequalities to be reduced, for creation to flourish, for communities to remain connected as we emerge from this long hibernation... She looks at how Nehemiah seized his opportunity and encourages us to similarly listen and look out for our opportunities to renew and rebuild.

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king in title but in practice lived more like a prime minister than a servant. Dan reflects on why somebody so successful would make a 1000 mile across a desert to a city he'd never known. He shares from his own career in magic and reflects on another's $45bn giveaway to help us understand why living for others is so much more than money, prestige and power.

Karl welcomes us to 2021 with three main messages: 1. the gospel is good news for everyone, everywhere; 2. God is surprising; 3. Jesus is worth pursuing. Against a pandemic backdrop he highlights the injustices coronavirus has magnified, the lowly circumstances Jesus chose to be born into and the application of the wise men, who determined to investigate with open hearts.

Rachel invites us to contemplate how Mary and Elizabeth grew closer through their pregnancies. Mary, a young lady, when met by the angel Gabriel would have appreciated the provision of a friend to talk to as well as the promise of a son. She raced to Elizabeth to share her hope - may we do likewise through whatever means are available to us this Christmas.