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Years ago if there was an important message to be made in a city or town, the Town Crier would often make it. Town criers would dress in bold fancy clothes and would ring a bell to draw peoples attention. They would then shout out the special message.
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In recent years there have been other ways of getting people’s attention. This is an old picture but people still stand on a box and shout through a megaphone today.
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If you really want to to be heard you could get a microphone and amplifier with powerful speakers.
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2000 years ago God had a special message He wanted to bring the world. So God sent a man named John to bring it. John was a bit like God’s town crier. There were no megaphones or amplifiers to attract people’s attention. John simply went out into the desert with his special message and just started shouting it out.
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John was a rough and ready guy and he certainly attracted people’s attention. Spending most of his time out in the desert he ate locusts and wild honey.
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John’s special message for the people was:
”Get ready, be prepared, Jesus is coming!” John was evidence that Jesus was about to turn up.
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Before long, word started to get around about God’s messenger John.
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People in towns and villages heard the news of this guy out in the desert, shouting out this message from God that Jesus was coming.
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Further and further the word spread.
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What was this guy John about. Where was he from, what’d he got to say.
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And so the people went out into the desert to hear John for themselves.
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Lots of people went to hear John from all of the surrounding areas.
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John told the people the message God had given him, that they should be kind and generous, they should care for one another, help their neighbour and not cheat others. He told them that if they would simply ask, God would forgive them for the wrong things they had done.
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The people listened intently to all John had to say. He told them that God wanted them to change. God wanted them to love one another and stop doing wrong. And John told them that JESUS WAS COMING! God’s very own Son was coming soon and they should get ready.
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And many of the people wanted to change. So John baptised them in water.
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Dipping right under the water was a sign to everyone that they wanted to change.
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Baptism symbolised a new start, washing the old bad habits and wrong things away.
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Lots of people wanted this new start.
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So God’s messenger, God’s town crier John, got the nickname John the Baptist. And then one day Jesus turned up, just as John had said He would, we’ll talk about that another day.