Preparing for Christmas Songs of Praise


Preparing for Christmas

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This week,

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I'm in Devon on a Christmas tree farm as the Christian owners

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prepare for their busiest time of year,

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and they've even got reindeer!

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Welcome to Songs Of Praise.

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This week, I follow the journey of a Christmas tree

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-from the forest to the local church... CHILDREN:

-Hurray!

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It's a real privilege that one of our trees should take centre stage

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in the middle of our community at this time of year.

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..a church leader dealing with serious illness

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during the season of Advent...

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I have a joy, through knowing Christ, that is not impacted,

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is not wrecked, by the circumstances of my life.

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..and why JB Gill is giving blood this Christmas.

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Our music this week comes from right across the UK,

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and we begin in Manchester with a carol written for the Advent season.

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And for a real treat, it's accompanied by a full orchestra.

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Here in Devon,

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it's the busiest time of year for Christian farmers Helen and

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Lester Bowker and their team as they prepare Christmas trees

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for delivery to homes and communities.

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Lester, how many trees do you have here?

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-About 40,000 spread over two sites.

-Wow! How much land is that?

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It's about 25 acres.

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I know you also have reindeer here, which is so charming.

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Where do they fit into the picture?

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Well, we went to a farm in Wales in 2008 and saw them,

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and they were just so magical that we fell in love with them

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and decided that we would have them for the Christmas business,

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and we felt we probably could learn the expertise that was

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required to look after them.

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So definitely the star of the show.

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Helen and Lester believe they were guided by God to take on this farm.

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One of our relatives offered us the 25 acres and, at the time, we were

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both not local to here, we were in Dorset, and had both well-paid jobs.

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And it was quite a dilemma

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because you can't easily make a living off of 25 acres.

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So how did you approach this dilemma?

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We did go back and pray about it quite a lot, didn't we?

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We did, and then we got a phone call.

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It was offering us work in the West Country.

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And that seemed to me

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a divine coincidence or the confirmation

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we were looking for, that this was the direction

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we should be taking, however mad it seemed at the time.

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No, this one!

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Today, Helen and Lester are giving me

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the honour of selecting the tree being donated to their church.

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What is the meaning of Christmas for you two?

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It's all about rebirth and starting again, isn't it?

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It's always a time of wonder as well for us.

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It's a time of excitement, I suppose, as well, isn't it?

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You know.

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Jesus and everything that he then went on to do and his promises

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to us is just the rock, really, on which we now try and base our life.

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Later on, we'll see the tree given pride of place in Helen

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and Lester's village church.

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Our next piece of music reflects our Advent theme -

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the modern hymn Christ Be Our Light.

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With Christmas just around the corner, if you're anything like me,

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you'll be starting to wonder about gifts for family and friends.

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Well, in London, a choir has been set up with the hope of inspiring us

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all to give a very different present through becoming a blood donor.

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The campaign is inspired by the organisation behind the MOBO Awards.

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JB Gill has been finding out more.

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I've been lucky enough to win five MOBOs with my band, JLS.

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But, as well as the prestigious award ceremony,

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the MOBOs run important social campaigns.

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This year, they're encouraging people to give blood.

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I'm doing my bit. I'm about to give blood for the first time.

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-How does that feel?

-It's all right.

-Yeah, it's not too bad, is it?

-No.

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The campaign was a joint partnership between NHS Blood & Transplant

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and MOBO, and the idea is we're trying to encourage

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more younger people to register and donate blood,

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in particular from the black and Asian communities.

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There we go. That's going fine.

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-If you get any pain, just let me know.

-I will do.

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There's a crucial need.

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We need to encourage 40,000 people over the next three years,

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and we want to use the power of music,

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which inspires young people in particular,

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to kind of get them engaged, get them involved

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and use this to get that crucial message out there.

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# I'll rise up... #

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And so, to raise awareness,

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MOBO and NHS are creating a choir to spread the word.

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It's called the B Positive Choir.

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# And I'll do it 1,000 times again... #

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Being in this season of Advent,

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and everybody's thinking about giving and sharing

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and the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ, the gift that we can

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give is the gift of lifeblood that others really do need.

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I had a kidney transplant four months ago and, throughout

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the whole time on dialysis, I needed a lot of transfusions.

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I needed transfusions just to get up and walk around the house.

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Faith is one of the things that gets me through my illness,

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my belief in God.

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I love gospel music, so for me, being able to be a part of this and

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enjoy something compassionate about it at the same time, it's fantastic.

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# All together, let's rise up... #

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B Positive is the name of the choir,

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and that's not only a rare blood type,

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but it's also about having that positive thinking, that powerful

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mind-set can help kind of change your life in many different ways.

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-You're finished.

-I'm done!

-It's not painful?

-No, it's not painful.

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It's actually...well, relatively therapeutic.

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Some people feel better, like they're regenerating themselves.

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Some people do feel better afterwards.

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Well, I'm regenerating myself and somebody else.

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What better gift to give at Christmas?

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# Oh, oh, oh, oh

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# Rise up! #

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What a nice reason to put a choir together.

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Perhaps many more will give blood as a result.

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Our next piece of music is by Christian writer Matt Redman,

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who's been inspired to link the Christmas story with

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the redeeming work of Christ on the cross in his song called How Far.

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# In Nazareth of Galilee

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# An angel speaks the sacred words

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# Mary, you will be with child

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# The miracle of virgin birth

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# Joseph heeds the angel sign

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# And takes her as his promised wife

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# Now through the night they journey on

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# How far is it to Bethlehem?

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# Wise men plan their course ahead

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# Searching for the promised king

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# Now from the east a guiding star

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# How far is it to Bethlehem?

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# How far

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# How far

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# To the place

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# Where hope was born?

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# How far they went to Bethlehem

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# How far you went for Calvary

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# No greater grace was ever known

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# No greater love was ever seen

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# We set our hearts on pilgrimage

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# We're caught up in your story too

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# From Bethlehem to Calvary

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# Our hearts will always follow you

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# How far

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# How far

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# Saviour, lead us to your heart

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# How far

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# How far

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# Jesus, lead us to your heart. #

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The season of Advent has many traditions associated with it,

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including, of course, the lighting of Advent candles.

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The Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin explains what they symbolise.

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We light the first candle on the first Sunday of Advent

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as a reminder of the Patriarchs - the men and women of old.

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They were courageous and they were faithful.

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The second candle is a reminder of the Prophets.

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They received the message from God, and they were going to give it

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to the people, whether the people wanted to hear it or not!

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On the third Sunday of Advent, that candle is a reminder of John

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the Baptist - the forerunner of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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On the fourth Sunday, Mary, the mother of Jesus.

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She made the incarnation - God becoming man

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and dwelling in our midst - possible.

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The fifth candle we light because Christmas is now here,

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and so we light it to represent Jesus Christ in our midst.

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The incarnation is now a reality.

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The season of Advent is all about looking forward to

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the coming of Christ.

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It's a time of joy and expectation but, for many,

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it's also a poignant moment to reflect.

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For the last 14 years,

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the Reverend Andrew Gardiner has been the Minister of Hope Baptist Church in Plymouth,

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and the church's growth has been a success story.

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But 18 months ago, Andrew found out that he had cancer

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and that it was spreading.

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I was shocked beyond belief, really, to be told that I'd got cancer

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because I didn't really feel that unwell.

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So it was a huge, devastating blow.

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I've had further treatments - two courses of chemotherapy,

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and neither of those have been effective in dealing with

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the tumours in my liver.

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While he was in hospital, Andrew sensed he was receiving

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some divine inspiration in the form of lyrics to a new song.

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I was quite scared, really.

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I didn't know what was going on and I wasn't feeling good at all.

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And suddenly, these words came to me,

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and they were the beginning of the song that I wrote.

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Friends and family rallied round and turned Andrew's lyrics into

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a video, which has now had thousands of views online around the world.

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# For now I know

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# His word is true

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# And I am more

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# Than my work or what I do... #

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Despite my circumstances, God has used the cancer in order to give me

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an opportunity to share my faith in Christ and to declare who Jesus is.

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And so that's been a tremendously powerful thing -

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that I can still be used by God in that way.

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In the run-up to Christmas, Andrew's family are gathering

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together as often as they can.

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The other remarkable thing is joy in God,

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and that is very different from happiness.

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I am far from happy, my wife

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and children are far from happy with the situation that we find

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ourselves in, but that is different from joy in God - that I have a joy

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that is in my heart and soul through knowing him that is

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not impacted, is not wrecked, by the circumstances of my life.

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# Joy to the world!

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# The Lord... #

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Andrew has had to take the decision to stand down as the church's full-time minister,

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but his positivity continues to inspire family and friends.

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We love Andrew as a congregation and we are deeply,

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deeply moved by what's happening.

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We are praying that God will lead him through this

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and that we can have him for as long as is possible to have him.

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We just really want to stand with Andrew.

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He's got a very real faith, so we're not concerned about where

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he's going, but we are concerned about what he's going through.

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If God hadn't worked powerfully in my life

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then we wouldn't be here this evening.

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We're just going to treat this like any other Christmas.

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It's going to be special, as always.

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Yeah, we'll just treasure it like we always do.

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Aw.

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They say that however dark a room is that the striking of a match

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or the lighting of a candle transforms that darkness.

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Reaching out to God and him coming to me through prayer,

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that has transformed the darkness.

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I've known his light at work in my life.

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Earlier, we met Christmas tree farmers

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Helen and Lester Bowker here in Devon.

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They gave me the job of selecting the tree

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to give to their local church.

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It'll have pride of place in St Mary's in the village of Whimple.

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I'm helping the Sunday school to get it decorated.

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-ALL:

-Three, two, one... Hooray!

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Brilliant job.

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In the spirit of Christmas,

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we're also packing gifts into shoe boxes for families

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in Europe, Africa and Asia who'd otherwise receive no presents.

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So I'm putting in gloves and a hat,

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because sometimes it can get really cold.

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I've got toothbrushes, some sweeties.

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Because children around the world, they don't have a lot of things.

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That we give things to them, we're, like, all the same.

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I think a child might quite like...

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Sara Artingstall from the charity Samaritan's Purse UK

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organises the collection of the shoe boxes.

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We're talking 12 million boxes worldwide.

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850,000 boxes from the UK.

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So, regardless of the size of it,

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it's each individual box goes to an individual child.

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When they receive these gifts, it's such a powerful thing

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and such a joyful thing.

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You know, at Christmas, God gave us

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the greatest gift that we could have received.

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I just think that sometimes people feel like,

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"What can I do to help other people?"

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But we can know that we've brought some joy somewhere with some of the

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gifts that we've distributed that have been so generously donated

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by so many people.

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And so a tree nurtured and grown on Helen and Lester's farm is now

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being used to help bring Christmas joy in their village and beyond.

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It's a real privilege that one of our trees should take centre

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stage in the middle of our community at this time of the year.

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I hope evermore numbers of people will hear

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and understand the true meaning of Christmas.

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# This is the truth sent from above

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# The truth of God The God of love

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# Therefore don't turn me from your door

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# But hearken all

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# Both rich and poor

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# The first thing that I will relate

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# That God at first did man create

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# The next thing which to you I'll tell

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# Woman was made with him to dwell

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# Then after that

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# 'Twas God's own choice

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# To place them both in Paradise

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# There to remain from evil free

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# Except they ate of such a tree

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# And at this season of the year

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# Our blest Redeemer did appear

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# And He did live and here did preach

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# And many thousands He did teach

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# God grant to all within this place

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# True saving faith, that special grace

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# Which to His people doth belong

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# And thus I close my Christmas song. #

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Well, that's almost it from our Advent journey.

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Next week, we'll be exploring Winchester's Christmas Market.

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And Sean Fletcher will be introducing a feast

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of Christmas carols, including the favourites

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of our very own Songs Of Praise presenters.

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And in case you need any more encouragement

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to get into the Christmas mood,

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we end this week with a beautiful carol

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which goes right to the heart of the Christian faith.

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