Experiencing the Manifold Grace of God
We absolutely LOVE Christmas music around here and listen to it pretty much year round. As I was listening to our customized Pandora station the other day, the thought came to me of writing an Advent devotional series incorporating some of the amazing hymns and carols of Christmas. The series is set to start on November 29 and go through Christmas Eve.
As I sit here in the Atlanta airport, I can’t believe that one week from today is Thanksgiving, 2021! It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the holidays amidst a tumultuous 2020, anxiously awaiting a new year. 2021 hasn’t been much different, although we have returned to a semblance of normality. What will 2022 [...]
The Holiday Countdown is on! As of the date of this post, there are 37 days until Thanksgiving, 66 days until Christmas, and 73 days until 2021. I have to admit that 2021 can't get here soon enough! Even though most of us are ready to say goodbye to 2020, we don't want to lose [...]
O Come, O Come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appears. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” written in the 8th century, is one of the oldest hymns of Christmas. This hymn beautifully expresses a longing in Israel’s heart for the coming of Messiah. 400 years [...]
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 [...]
Simply Persuaded 