Experiencing the Manifold Grace of God
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is one of the oldest Advent hymns. Dating back to the 15th or 16th century, the author is unknown. It was written in England and sung for 400 years before it was officially published in 1815. Knowing the Old English meaning of this old song, along with the hardships people [...]
The famous American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, penned these words out of great personal tragedy. Life was good in 1831 when at the age of 24, Henry married his childhood sweetheart Mary Storer Potter. He was offered a job as a professor at Harvard but had to study abroad for a year before he got [...]
What Child is this who lay to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?WHAT CHILD IS THIS? verse 1 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be [...]
O Come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels! O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him! O Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL verse 1 Originally written in [...]
Angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight o’er all the earth; ye who sang creation’s story now proclaim Messiah’s birth. ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY verse 1 “Look Daddy! Every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings!” As adorable as this is from my favorite Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful [...]
A few years ago, Prince William and Kate had their first baby Prince George. You may have heard the Town Crier on the news shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hear ye! Hear ye!" He was announcing the royal birth. "The birth of the royal baby had been followed around the world. In America, [...]
We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE verse 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who [...]
Whence is that goodly fragrance flowing, stealing our senses all away! I love how this Christmas hymn written in 1728 associates Jesus with a "goodly fragrance." Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering [...]
Noel is "a term signifying the holiday season. Noel comes to us form the Latin verb "nasci," meaning to be born. A variation of (the word natalis), "nael," made its way into Old French as a reference to the Christmas season and later into Middle English as "nowel” (Etymology of Noel). Yesterday we talked about [...]
This Advent hymn centers around the shepherds who were the first to hear the glorious, angelic proclamation of Christ's birth. As mentioned in a previous Advent post, these shepherds were not ordinary shepherds. The more I’ve studied this, the more I’m in awe of how God orchestrated the Christmas story. Rabbi Jason Sobel says of [...]
Simply Persuaded 