Cecilia Sakatira – Opening Prayer
1. Let us pray. Father, we give you thanks this morning. We give you praise; we give you glory and honor today because you are here. We thank you for your Holy Spirit who is in this place, Lord, giving us the joy that we feel for the God and the ability to be able to look at what you have done and say thank you. Father, we welcome your presence to minister to us today through the worship, Lord. Let them not be just words that we sing, Lord, but may this be prayers from our hearts to you, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Father, we pray for your word this morning. We want to hear from you, Father God, so may our hearts be open to your word, Lord. May minister, Father God, because you know every need that will be in this room today, Father God. At the end of the day, may your name be glorified, Father. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pastor Gail Stathis
2. Amen, amen, amen, amen. It’s a privilege to worship the Lord today. Good morning, everybody. This is the first week of Advent when we’re celebrating the coming of our Lord Jesus.
Sarah Wheway – First day of Advent Devotional
3. Good morning, everybody. This is the first week of Advent, when we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus. And today’s reading is from Matthew 12:18-21. “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.”
4. 1 Corinthians 13:7, 13. “Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed. No, it is far greater than that. It is an unpredictable dependence on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction. Love hopes in all things, but now abide faith. Hope and love, but the greatest of these is love”.
5. Ever wonder why faith, hope and love are the greatest virtues and apparently in that order? Maybe hope isn’t actually something we do, but something we receive, like grace. If it is true that without faith it is impossible for us to please him, Hebrews 11:6, perhaps it is conversely true that without hope it would be impossible for him to please us.
6. The same verse says that God is a rewarder of those who seek him. Is hope that reward? I mean, if faith is what we give to God and hope is what he gives to us, then we have the dynamic of a relationship. With that in place we can love. So, love is built on hope, which is built on faith.
7. For hope to exist, unfortunately it looks like there has to be hopelessness first. A perfect world wouldn’t have any need of hope. Deliverance arrives undeservedly and perhaps unexpectedly, just as in the unlikely way God came to the earth to provide a once and for all substitute for all our sins for the first Christmas. That’s why things can look bleak, but that’s when hope lives.
8. This is the thought to take with us this week. There are many in need of encouragement this time of the year. They don’t need a Christmas present; they need His Christmas presence. They need to be reminded what this Christmas season is all about. It’s not about things; it’s not about presents.
9. These things have their place, but we need to remember the essential message of Christmas, which is, Emmanuel, God with us. And for the hurting person, the lonely person, the sorrowing person, this is the time of year to bring the gift of encouragement to them. And to say, the message of Christmas is, God will be with you. God will help you. God will strengthen you.
10. So, look for opportunities to share this love of God during this season. Because it is at this time of the year when people seem to be more open and engaging in conversation. Now is the great opportunity for you to bring encouragement to somebody who is struggling. Who needs your encouragement today? So, look for opportunities.
11. Now let us pray this prayer of hope. O Lord, you are our hope. We are so thankful that you came to live among us people, that you were fully God and fully man in order to bring us your salvation. Prepare our hearts for celebrating you this Christmas. May our worship be a sweet gift to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pastor Gail Stathis – Tithes
12. Praise the Lord. We have hope, Amen. Praise God. It’s such a beautiful time of the year. We get to celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever known.
13. I just want to say really quickly before we get ready to receive tithes and offerings from the Lord. If you’re here this morning and you need healing, would you just lift your hand? I want to just pray a very quick prayer that I believe.
14. I was in Egypt the last two days. And there was a woman there. I didn’t even remember praying for her. And she came up to me and her leg had been broken and it wouldn’t heal. And I think a lot of you might have been with me and prayed for her. And she came and said, when you touched me, I was healed. It has nothing to do with me.
15. And Henneke has a testimony that I think it was a week or so ago, last week. We prayed for healing. And was it your leg? Yeah, it was her leg too. And she said that she was healed during the service. We believe in healing here. We believe one of the names of Jesus is I am the God who heals you. So, will you just raise your hand if you need healing? And we’re going to pray just a prayer of faith.
16. Father, in the name of Jesus, you are the Lord God who can do all things. Lord, what you do is excellent. Lord, we tell you today, we have faith that you are more than able to heal everyone in this room with their hands raised up today. So even before we see it, we say thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. You are my healer in the name of Jesus. Amen and Amen.
17. Praise God. Well, we have the privilege today of giving our tithe and offering to the Lord. And I believe, Henneke, you’re going to come and pray for this today. Praise God. We’re celebrating Thanksgiving today, although every day is Thanksgiving, yes? And so, it’s wonderful to be able to thank the Lord with our offerings and our tithes. And yes, you could give online.
18. We have a special guest speaker today, and we also want to bless her with an offering. So, if you have a little extra, if you’ll put it in the offering, that will be wonderful.

Henneke – Prayer for the offerings
19. Heavenly Father, creator and sustainer of this beautiful, broken and sometimes very bewildering world we live in. Thank you that you have given us everything, life and hope and all the good things that we see in our lives, they all come from you. And we give you thanks. And today, as we give back to you, what is yours, we pray that you would bless this offering. We pray that you would make us generous and joyful givers. We pray that what is given will be used for the growth of your Kingdom here on Earth, here in Greece and beyond. But Lord, we also pray that you would take us and use us in your service. We give our lives to you as an offering for all that you have given us, for all that you continue to give us. And for that, we are so very grateful from the bottom of our hearts. And we pray all of this in the name of our beautiful Savior given to us as well. Jesus, amen.

Pastor Gail Stathis – Announcements
20. Well, we’re going to have Thanksgiving lunch together, all together. And we hope you’re planning to stay. It’s always so wonderful to sit together and share things that we’re thankful for. I want to share some announcements with you.
21. Of course, every Sunday we will be celebrating the advent of Jesus. And each week we’ll have a theme, of course. But next Saturday, I believe all of the young people, Stavros is going to be taking them. Our youth group is going to be fellowshipping with Pastor Leka’s church. So, see Stavros and he’ll give you a ride. He’s going to take you.
22. And this Thursday evening, Vassilis, if 20 maybe to 40, if you’re 20 and above, he invited you just to come and be together and have some time to fellowship with one another. All right.
23. And ladies, get ready on December 13th, and this will be on the WhatsApp group and Facebook page. Bring a friend. We’re going to have a lady’s Christmas tree. Well, I don’t know if we’re going to have a lady’s tree or not. My brain is fuzzy today.
24. Men’s Christmas breakfast this time is actually going to be, Brother Anton is going to host it. That will be quite lovely. And of course, we’re going to have carol morning and candlelight service. It’s going to be a wonderful year this year, a wonderful time of celebrating.
25. Did I see Ole in Heydi? Heydi, I see you. Heydi, Ole, Ole, Ole, come out. Come out, come out. We’re going to dismiss the children. I want to bless them. We want to bless our children before they come.
26. Many of you may not know, but Michael and Katha have moved. I think sometimes it’s almost two hours for them to get to church. But they’re still coming every Sunday. We thank the Lord for that. Oh, Daniel, come here, sweetie pie. We’re going to pray for you. Some of our children are here today. Ole, Ole. Ole, come here with me, come with me, you know that. Heydi, come to your house. Come, honey, come with me.
27. How are you? Are you good? Yes, you’re good. Heydi, how are you? Hello, Daniel. Why do I call you Daniel? Hello, Philip. I always call you Daniel. Yes, maybe you’re going to have the courage of Daniel. Father, we thank you this morning for Philip and for Ole and for Heydi. We thank you as they go to children’s ministry, children’s church that they’ll learn more about you. Bless their minister today in Jesus’ name. They are a gift to this church and we love them because you love them in Jesus’ name, Amen. Bye. All right. Praise God.
28. We’re so glad our children are here this morning. We’re getting ready to worship the Lord this morning and worship with the Word. You feel free to be seated.
29. We’re going to sing a song that you know very well.

Cathy Hine – Main Message
1. Well, good morning. I have the wonderful privilege of coming to one of my many homes around the world. I am Australian as my accent might tell you. Even though I’ve lived out of Australia now for much more than 40 years. But one of my great privileges is to have home in many places. I’m not sure, but Pastor Gail, I think the last time I was here was just before COVID. So, it is a pleasure to come back and be at home with you again this week.
2. How many of you play hide and seek with children in your family or around the church or anywhere? Play hide and seek. You know that when you play hide and seek with children, particularly young ones, they really want to be found. There’s always a little bit of laughter and whispering. Because children want to be seen.
3. Now, of course, there are those of us who like to be seen and those of us who prefer not to be seen. We learn that when the camera comes out, don’t we? I have two nieces. One of them is, ‘Oh, no, Dad, not again’. And the younger one, particularly when she was young, ‘Take me, Dad, take me’.
4. We know, too, that there are times in our lives when we don’t want to be seen. For many different reasons, we would just prefer to be away when nobody can see us. Maybe we’re afraid of what has been happening in our lives and we feel some shame; some desire not to be seen. Maybe our fears are just what are people thinking about us.
5. But for all sorts of reasons, we cannot want to be seen. But there are other times in our lives when we feel unseen and we wish we were seen. Often when life is tough, when things are difficult, we feel like our vulnerability and our need is unseen by anyone around us. We can feel very isolated and alone. We’re perhaps afraid to be seen, and yet the isolation of being unseen can be even more difficult.
6. There’s a story in the Bible that we’re going to look at this morning. It’s not a new story. I know that I’ve spoken on it in this church before. I’m not going to ask you if you remember. But I’ve been sitting in this story for perhaps five or six months this year.
7. You might want to open your Bibles to Genesis 16. Now this of course is the story of Hagar. There are some things that we know about Hagar from what we read in Scripture. We know that Hagar was an Egyptian. Right there, early in that chapter it talks about her being there, Abraham and Sarah’s Egyptian servant.
8. So, Hagar was a long way from home. She was an outsider. She had no family or community. So, she was Egyptian. But she was also a slave. Now we prefer to use the word servant, don’t we? Servant sounds a lot nicer than slave. We can make this nice image of a well-dressed servant handing things around. But throughout this chapter Hagar is called a slave.
9. This means that she had no rights of her own. She was open to be exploited. And she lived with the potential of abuse in all of its forms. We know too that Hagar was sexually abused.
10. You remember when Sarah decided that God obviously needed some help to give the promised son? She didn’t come up to Hagar and say, look, we’ve got a bit of a problem, would you sort it out for us? She said to Hagar, you are going to go and sleep with my husband and you’re going to have our baby.
11. What happened next is a little bit confusing. We like to think that Hagar became nasty towards Sarah and that’s why Sarah treated her badly and she had to run away. She was forced to become pregnant. That may be true. But it may also be that Hagar was in incredible turmoil. She’d been forced to become pregnant, and carry a baby that would never be her child according to Sarah and Abraham.
12. Whatever happened, Hagar made a choice to run away. Now we can assume she was pretty desperate to run away. She was in a land that she didn’t come from. She had nowhere to go and she was going into the desert. So, she ran away.
13. And then in that place of desperation, we hear that an angel of the Lord comes to her. That must have been quite a meeting. Because the angel of the Lord says to Hagar, ‘Slave of Sarah, you ought to go back’. And she does. Unimaginable.
14. But you see, one of the things we know is that Hagar in this instance becomes the first person in Scripture to give a name to God. She calls him, “The God who sees”. And she says, “I have seen, (let’s put in brackets), “And I didn’t die. I have seen the God who sees”.
15. So, here’s my question for us this morning. Only one. I didn’t look at what time I started Pastor Gail, but I’m sure you’ll wave at me when I get too long. What happens when God sees us? What happens when we are seen by the God who sees? You know, if you look early in Genesis 16:8, one of the things we notice that the angel of the Lord does, he calls Hagar by her name. Before that, when you look at the beginning verses, she’s just my slave.
16. But the angel of the Lord comes to her and gives her back her humanity. She’s no longer just somebody else’s possession. She’s no longer just an object to be used. You see, what happens when she sees, ‘The God who sees’, is she becomes known. She becomes known. Can you imagine what it is to be known? When you’ve been no one, just the object used by a community, by a family, and the angel of the Lord comes and recognizes that she is a person made in the image of God, who has a name.
17. This is the amazing thing about what it means to be seen by God. You are known. But just imagine this. You’re not just known. You’re known by God, the Almighty, the Creator, the life giver, the sustainer.
18. You know, we’ve known this from the beginning that he knows us. Because that’s what it means to be made in his image and likeness. To be made in God’s image and likeness means we are people who are known by the one in whose image we are made.
19. It’s so hard to comprehend that, isn’t it, that we are made in the image and likeness of God. You see, it’s in the very DNA of who we are. It’s the very fiber of our being. We are known by God, for we are made in his image and likeness.
20. The writer of Psalm 139:14-16a describes it very beautifully. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know them full well. My frame is not hidden from you. When I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw me or saw my unformed body”. The prophet Jeremiah 1:5 also writes about it. He says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”.
21. And you remember the creation story there at the beginning in Genesis. Adam and Eve lived with this wonderful openness of being known and seen by God. But remember what happened when they did what God told them not to do. They began trying to hide. They didn’t want to be seen. They didn’t want to be known.
22. And the good news for us today, is God sees you. And in his seeing you, he knows you. He’s known you. Since you’re formed in your mother’s womb, he sees you and he knows you by name. We don’t need to hide. God’s invitation to us today, whatever our circumstances, is to meet him and to listen and to hear him speak our name. To allow ourselves to be known, to lean into the fact that God knows us.
23. But what does this ‘being known’ mean for us? You see, I believe that to be seen by God, to see the God who sees us, is to know that we are loved. You see, this is what Hagar understood, when she saw ‘the God who sees.’ As someone who was unknown, as someone who was unseen, as someone who was just a slave, she didn’t recognize that she was loved.
24. This is the real transformation that happens when we are known and seen by God. Being loved is what it is to be known. It’s this intimate, belonging relationship in the arms of Almighty God. Hagar understood this through her encounter with God. When she knew that she was seen and that she’d seen the God who sees, she knew she belonged. That she was more than just a slave.
25. She knew that she was loved. This is a love that cares for. It’s a love that nurtures and provides for. It’s a love that protects. God’s love became her safe place. It was her safe place to face a world that was so hard and so painful.
26. Jeremiah 31:3 says this, “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love, I’ve drawn you to myself.” 1 John 3:1. It says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us. That we should be called children of God.”
27. Now I know parents sometimes get the names of their children mixed up, even with their pets. I’m one of five children. And I know that sometimes, Mum went through the whole five before she got back to the middle child, who was me. But not with God. He’s lavished his love on us. That we shall be called children of God.
28. And Romans 8:39 puts it beautifully, doesn’t it? “Nothing”, it says, “Nothing can separate us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” This year’s been a very special year for me in many ways. Because God has very graciously given me a fresh experience of His love. I’ve never doubted God’s love. Sometimes I’ve wished he’d show it in a different way.
29. I’ve been confident of what the Scriptures tell me about God’s love for me. But for some time, I’ve wanted to feel it afresh. And do you know what’s happened? I felt it afresh. Sometimes it’s like music in my body. Music that sings out songs of praise and is just wonderful tunes of worship before God. Sometimes it’s laughter. And sometimes it’s quietness and rest. So, it’s indescribable actually, even those words are not enough.
30. But here’s God’s invitation to all of us this morning. ‘I see you. And in my seeing you… you experience my amazing, wonderful, unending, joyous love.’ When we see the God who sees us, we are known. And in being known, we experience the amazing, unending riches of God’s love.
31. But let’s come back to that question that has troubled me often in this story. How did Hagar do what the angel asked her and return to Sarah and Abraham? It actually doesn’t make any sense. And I just want to say something as a little aside here.
32. The angel of the Lord sending Hagar back is not a rule for somebody living in an abusive situation. In sharing what this Scripture says, I am not saying something to you if you’re living in a violent situation. This was a specific invitation to Hagar by the angel of the Lord.
33. So, I’ve asked Hagar often through this story. How did you do it? Why did you do it? Remember, she’s a runaway slave. Generally, we can understand that Abraham and Sarah weren’t going to open their arms and say, Hallelujah, praise the Lord, you’re back. Have a rest because it must have been hard.
34. And in fact, we know that eventually Sarah threw Hagar out again. And if you look at those verses in Genesis 16, the angel of the Lord doesn’t say to her, go back and I’m going to deal with Sarah and Abraham. They’re going to treat you much better. You’ll work fewer hours. Sarah will be more accepting of you. The angel simply says to her, Hagar, you’re to go back to Sarah.
35. So, the situation didn’t change. So, what did change between her running away and her going back? What changed? She saw the God who sees. She was still a slave. Her work was still to serve Sarah and Abraham. Hagar was desperately aware of her own weakness now.
36. And what happened? She knew she had a different strength. Her strength didn’t rely on her ability to navigate this very difficult life. Her strength was in the God who saw her. Her strength was in the God who knew her. Her strength was in his love for her.
37. You see, it wasn’t about her circumstances changing. Her confidence was now in who she was as one who was known and loved by God. Her strength was in the fact that she was now seen, known and loved. And here’s what happened. She saw the God who sees her and she knew his presence with her in pain. This is love. God with us.
38. We celebrate this Christmas, Immanuel. His love is our place of protection, of refuge, of shelter. His strength becomes our strength. He is present with us. We are invited into strength in weakness. We are invited into presence in pain. God who sees us, calls us into relationship with him.
39. And this morning he says to you, I see you. He assures us that he knows us, that he loves us. I can’t promise you changed circumstances. I’ve been living with a very challenging circumstance since April. In my thinking that circumstance should be over. I mean Christmas is coming, surely everything is right by Christmas.
40. It’s been very stressful. And I know that my body has carried some of that stress. But here’s what I also know. I’m seen, I’m known, I’m loved, I can lean into God’s strength and into his presence.
41. So, as we conclude, I want to read some verses from the book of Isaiah. You see, we often complain that God does not see us. You might want to look at these verses in Isaiah 40:27-31. “Why do you complain, Jacob? (Why do you complain, Kathy?) Why do you say Israel? (Why do you say Kathy? Put your own name there.) My way is hidden from the Lord. My cause is disregarded by God. Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is the Everlasting God. The Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary. Even youths grow tired and weary. And young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”
42. God is an invitation for us this morning. He comes to us. He speaks to us by name. And He is revealing Himself to us to say, ‘I see you.’ So, as we conclude this morning, I want us to take a moment of quiet. Just where we’re sitting, take a moment to listen and hear the Lord speak your name. Let yourself be seen by the God who sees. As you listen to Him speak your name, let Him reveal that He knows you. He says to you, ‘You are known.’ Let yourself hear that you are loved.
43. And if and where there is pain, He is present. Where you feel so weak, He is your strength. Just take a moment and listen.
44. You know, the marvelous thing we learn from Hagar is that God pursues us. Let me say that again, God pursues us. Hagar didn’t go out to look for God; she was simply running away. But God came to her.
45. So, in those places where we feel far away, know that God’s looking for you. He will come to you. And His desire is that we see Him who sees us. That we know that we are known. That we live in His love. That’s our transformation.