The big recording for Christmas 2004 is Band Aid 20 "Do they know it's Christmas?" Also one of the big DVD releases for the season is a box set of Live Aid. So the classic Christmas hit has been remade by a new generation of pop stars a full twenty years after the original. Bono from U2 has appeared in both to sing the famous line "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you". I will admit to being soft enough to cry whenever I hear Band Aid. A group of fast living rock stars many of whom lived the life associated with their profession had their own problems. Some of these stars had fights with alcohol and other drugs, some had problems with their sexuality, many were crazy & mixed up. The irony was in the original that George Michael was the one who sang "But say a prayer, pray for the other ones". I guess what I am saying here is that a bunch of heathen rock stars put a lot of the church to shame by actually doing something that made a difference. Today I sat down with my daughters and we watched some of the Live Aid concert, including the original Michael Buerk report from Ethiopia. We all sobbed away together, and concluded that if George Michael was telling us to pray we had better pray and that if Bono was telling us to thank God, we had better get on with it. As a family we have had our difficult moments including seeing our boy Rocky being as thin as one of those Ethiopians when he was first on chemotherapy and again later when he relapsed and died. As I saw photos of little emaciated corpses in Ethiopia I remembered my little boy too. I also had to think of the kids I see in the children's cancer unit each week – many of whom look as ill. I am determined to keep my heart soft towards these issues. I would rather have to fight through tears than find myself so hard I was of no use to God. This year the big famine is in Sudan, but the truth is that "in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy" by actually sending money to relieve famine. Wherever we find need, as a church we must act. As an individual you may not feel you can do anything that matters - it is a good job that Bob Geldof didn't think that in 1984.

When you are moaning how poor Band Aid 20 is compared to the original, take a moment to slap yourself around the face and remember the purpose of it all – it doesn't matter if it sounds like my grandmother with her foot trapped in a door – buy a copy to help someone live. Maybe this year you could send a few people a card for Christmas who would normally get a present with a note in saying "I gave the money I would have spent on your present to the poor of Africa". (But make sure you send the money to a reputable charity!) Above anything else remember that Jesus came into the world to save the lost. There is no future for anyone on our planet without Jesus, and no immediate future for earth's starving unless someone feeds them.