Author: Simply Persuaded

For centuries Israel had expected the Messiah to come, but what did they expect the Messiah to do? At the time of Jesus’ birth, Israel was looking for a military leader to set them free from the oppression of Rome. They were looking for a physical kingdom, but Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom [...]

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.Isaiah 11:1 (NASB1995) One of the rich themes I have noticed in many hymns of Advent is the mention of the prophecies of Messiah’s birth. The Isaiah passage above is just one of several Scriptures that refer [...]

This Christmas hymn is new to me! My husband grew up singing it, but honestly I had never heard of it until I was researching for this Advent series. The words are nothing short of powerful! We hit on Jesus being "begotten" of the Father in yesterday's post. Dictionary.com defines "begotten" as a participle of [...]

One of the most meaningful things about Advent hymns is the worshipful nature of both the music and the lyrics. Somehow the combination of the two evokes a soul stirring response of praise and worship in our hearts. This hymn has that effect on me. See amid the winter's snow, born for us on earth [...]

“In 1865, the year the Civil War ended and President Lincoln was assassinated, themes of peace and quiet would probably have been welcome to Americans. In that year, the Rev. Phillips Brooks took a trip to Israel and saw Bethlehem and its surrounding fields on Christmas Eve, which eventually inspired him to write this Christmas [...]

This Advent hymn was written in 1848 by an Irish pastor's wife named Cecil Frances Alexander. The words to this hymn encompass the full scope of redemption in such a powerful way! Once in royal David's city stood a lowly cattle shed, where a mother laid her baby in a manger for His bed: Mary [...]

On Christmas Eve in the year 1818, St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria was preparing for the Christmas Eve service. Much to everyone's dismay, the organ wouldn't work! The young priest, Joseph Mohr was scrambling to think of what to do. The hour was getting late, and he remembered a poem he had written two [...]

This child like Christmas hymn is a favorite of many. Like several others from our Advent series, it was written in the 1800’s. Martin Luther was the attributed author for years, but His authorship has come into question and cannot be proven. All we know is that it was part of a Lutheran children's book [...]

This Polish carol originated in the early 1900’s and carries on the Advent theme from yesterday’s Away in a Manger. If you have a chance to listen to one of the links below, you will be blessed with how quiet and worshipful this song is. It truly is awesome to imagine the birth of the [...]

Written in 1849 by Edmund Sears, this Advent hymn spans from the night of Christ's birth to the New Heaven and New Earth. The angels’ song (message of the gospel) is still sounding forth today, but the noise of this world drowns it out. The world's noise can be terribly distracting, and if we are [...]