Christmas and the holiday season are not always times that are cheery and bright. Loneliness and loss have a sharper edge then because they contrast with our longings to have Christmas be a time of warmth and love and joy. Suffering and grief can also inflict a terrible sense of alienation on our hearts. We […]
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 – __________ […]
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! In the same region there were some shepherds staying out […]
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. Luke 2:15 KJV – How Great Our Joy is a […]
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10–11 Angels, from the Realms of Glory, by […]
The first Nowell the angel did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay; In fields where they lay keeping their sheep, On a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Born is the King of Israel. They lookèd up and saw a Star Shining in the East, […]
The word angel is not an English word, but a Greek word, ἄγγελος (angelos). It means messenger. Throughout the story of Christ’s birth in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, you’ll find God sending His angels with His messages to explain to people exactly what He is doing. Luke records the appearances of angels to […]
All of the words Charles Jennens chose for the libretto of Handel’s Messiah are from the Bible. Tassilo Erhardt wrote, “its principal aim is not to tell the story of Jesus’ life, but to point out that the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah are fulfilled in the person of Jesus.”1 However, those […]
– “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 – There are songs in which the music, the lyrics, and the story behind its writing sing with one voice […]
One of my pastors once said that all of America has heard the Gospel in Christmas carols. There’s hardly anyone who hasn’t heard “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” because it’s sung in two Christmas classics shown annually on television in the United States. In each classic the main character goes through a hard time with […]
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 […]