Truth For The Heart
In many churches I’ve attended it is a tradition to close the Christmas Eve service by singing Silent Night. This carol was written and first sung in Oberndorf, Austria. “Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy infant so tender and mild, sleep in Heavenly peace! […]
Read MoreThe wonder and glory of the birth of Jesus resound as the words of Isaiah 9:6 are sung in this chorus from Handel’s Messiah. “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 […]
Read MoreBut when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son…. Galatians 4:4a God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son… Hebrews 1:1-2 God spoke through the prophet Malachi of a […]
Read MoreFor 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 The lyrics of Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendour were written in China by Frank Houghton, an Englishman. The words, […]
Read MoreThere are some songs with words and music so personally significant, I still remember the first time I heard them. I first heard Mary, Did You Know? at it was sung at the water’s edge of a town harbor by a small vocal ensemble during an outdoor Christmas celebration over ten years ago. The lyrics and […]
Read MoreRead the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 50: Friday Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before […]
Read More“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) The roots of the music of Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel! go back to the 15th century.1 The Messianic titles in the lyrics, called the O Antiphons, are […]
Read More“Joy to the World” with its exuberant music and words of celebration 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 He wrote the hymn, however, not of the First Advent of Christ, but of […]
Read MoreIn 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 […]
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Kindling for Candles 