Truth For The Heart
Bells have been used for centuries to mark events of significance. Carol of the Bells was composed by the Ukrainian composer, Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, and is frequently performed by handbell choirs. These handbell ringers in Taipei are unique, however; their entrance and processional as they ring out the notes enhances and expresses the joyous melody. […]
Read More“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and […]
Read MoreThere are some songs with words and music so personally significant, I still remember the first time I heard them. Mary, Did You Know? is one of those songs. I first heard it sung by a small vocal ensemble at the water’s edge of a town harbor during an outdoor Christmas celebration ten years ago. […]
Read MoreThe wonder and glory of the birth of Jesus resound in this chorus from Handel’s Messiah, and the passage from Isaiah spans time from His First Advent to His Second Coming. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name […]
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 MoreIn The Bleak Midwinter is a lovely Christmas carol written by English poet Christina Rossetti. I wanted to share it with you on a December Sunday morning. “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 […]
Read MoreI 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 MoreMusic 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. This is […]
Read MoreSeveral years ago when my daughter came home from college, her local voice teacher wanted her to sing with other students at a recital. A voice lesson was squeezed in at the last minute, and because most of her music was still packed up, she grabbed the score of Les Misérables as we ran out […]
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Kindling for Candles 