“There’s Still My Joy”

I don’t know that either the person who wrote the lyrics or the one who composed the music of this song is a Christian, but the words still grasp and express truths about Christmas Day. While birds don’t give us peace, God is able to do so in the midst of our sorrows. Though we […]

Read More

“Somewhere In Your Silent Night”

Christmas and the holiday season are not always times that are cheery and bright. Loneliness and loss have a sharper edge then in contrast with our longings for warmth and love and joy. Suffering and grief can also inflict a terrible sense of alienation on our hearts. We can feel as if we don’t matter. […]

Read More

“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay, Remember Christ our Saviour Was born on Christmas day, To save us all from Satan’s power When we were gone astray: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy! The angel to the shepherds: In the same region there […]

Read More

“Joy to the World!”

“Joy to the World” is one of my favorite Christmas carols. The words are based on Psalm 98, and it is one of the more than 600 hymns written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748).1 Watts wrote the hymn not about the First Advent of Christ, however, but about His Second. “Joy to the World” was in […]

Read More

“For Unto Us A Child Is Born…”

The wonder and glory and hope of the birth of Jesus resound. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 – __________ […]

Read More

“Mary, Did You Know?”

I first heard Mary, Did You Know? sung by a small ensemble at the water’s edge of St. Augustine during an outdoor Christmas celebration over ten years ago. The lyrics and music throughout the song call you to meet and to know the Lord Jesus. The song’s bridge contains the words that caught me then and […]

Read More

“Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming”

Music is one of the most wonderful aspects of the Christmas season. The songs of hope, joy and love span centuries and countries, and when we sing these words or listen to these carols, we join with other believers who in other times and in other places worshiped God with the same music. “Lo, How […]

Read More

“I Wonder As I Wander”

“I Wonder As I Wander” is an American Christmas carol with words and melody by John Jacob Niles. He based it on a few snatches of song he heard on July 16, 1933, in the small Appalachian town of Murphy, North Carolina: “A girl had stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached […]

Read More

“In The Bleak Midwinter”

“In The Bleak Midwinter” is a lovely Christmas carol written by Christina Rossetti. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, Nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away When he comes to reign; In the bleak midwinter A stable place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. In these two videos the words are sung […]

Read More