Luke 18:27

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
Luke 18:27

Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Amen

"I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."

Tony Blair avoided talking about his religious views while in office for fear of being labelled "a nutter", the former prime minister has revealed. In an interview for BBC One's The Blair Years, he said that his faith had been "hugely important" to his premiership. His ex-spokesman Alastair Campbell once told reporters: "We don't do God." Mr Campbell has now acknowledged to the programme that his former boss "does do God in quite a big way", but that both men feared the public would be wary.

During the interview, Mr Blair said having faith was a crucial component for him in having the character to take on the prime minister's job. "For me having faith was an important part of being able to do that," he said. But while it was commonplace in the US and elsewhere for politicians to talk about their religious convictions, he added, "you talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter". British voters imagined that leaders who were informed by religion would "commune with the man upstairs and then come back and say 'Right, I've been told the answer and that's it'". Mr Campbell's refusal to discuss his faith was not due to any opposition to his beliefs, but because "you always get into trouble talking about it", Mr Blair continued. Mr Campbell added that the former prime minister always asked his aides to find him a church to attend, wherever he happened to be, each Sunday. "Because he's pretty irreverent, he swears a fair bit, if he sees a very attractive woman his eye will wander and all that stuff, he doesn't look like your classic religious sort of guy," said Mr Campbell. But he added: "I think his close circle always understood that there was a part of him that was really, really important. "On that kind of spiritual level it did inform a lot of what he talked about, what he read... what he felt was important." Mr Campbell said the UK electorate were "a bit wary of politicians who go on about God". He had also been concerned that the Conservatives would accuse Labour of trying to claim faith as its own.

Peter Mandelson, a close confidant of Mr Blair, said: "He's not an exhibitionist when it comes to religion but deep inside him it is very, very important. "This is a man who takes a Bible with him wherever he goes and last thing at night he will read from the Bible." Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, suggested that Mr Blair may not have been so politically successful had the relationship between his beliefs and his actions in office been better known.
"The public might have been less willing to give him the triumph of three consecutive general election victories if they'd known the extent to which ethical values would overshadow pragmatism," Sir Menzies said.

Luke 6:41-42

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Luke 6:41-42

A Good Samaritan

You've broken down by the side of the road, and someone kind stops and helps fix your car. Or you're at the supermarket checkout and find you're just short of having the right money, and the person behind offers to make it up to the right amount. They're both good Samaritans, people who help out and maybe even rescue you, when you're having a hard time.The phrase goes back to a story Jesus told about a Jewish man who was robbed and beaten up, and then helped by a passing Samaritan. The story was shocking, because for Jewish people of the time, Samaritans were foreigners who were hated and distrusted. In Jesus' story, the people you think would be bound to help don't, and it's the despised foreigner who comes to the rescue...

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. "Look after him," he said, "and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have."
Luke 10:30-35

Do unto others

This saying is a definition of empathy: treat other people as you want them to treat you. Put yourself in someone else's shoes. How would you like it if you were treated like that?Jesus spoke these words as part of a very demanding piece of teaching, which called his followers to love their enemies and not seek revenge when they were mistreated. The teaching, known as The Sermon on the Mount, has had a profound influence on people such as Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King...

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:27-31