One of the things that makes Christmas such a memorable time of year is the music. The same songs, year after year, get stuck in our heads and we can often recite the words without even thinking about it. Recently, I attended an incredible performance by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, which was dedicated to the music of Christmas.

As the program came to a close, the conductor asked the audience to join the musicians and sing a few lines of some of the most well-known Christmas carols, including several verses of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!”

As we in the audience belted out the nostalgic tune, I read the words on the back of the program, trying to make sure I was singing it all correctly. The further we got into the song, the more I began to get distracted from my singing (which I am sure was a relief to those sitting around me!) as the message of the song began to resonate in my soul.

I watched as everyone proclaimed in perfectly crafted theology the message of the Gospel! As I looked around the concert hall, I wondered if those who were singing had ever given pause to what they were saying.

Some have noted that Methodism was born in song and Charles was the chief songwriter.

The History Behind: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

Many of the carols we sing have a rich theological tradition, and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” is no exception. It was written by Charles Wesley, who was an English Methodist leader and hymn writer. Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns, more than any other male writer (Fanny Crosby wrote 8,000).

His goal in writing hymns was to teach the poor and illiterate sound doctrine. His brother, John Wesley, a famous theologian and founder of Methodism, said that Charles’ hymnal was the best theological book in existence. Some have noted that Methodism was born in song and Charles was the chief songwriter.

Wesley, inspired by the sounds of London church bells while walking to church on Christmas Day, wrote the “Hark” poem about a year after his conversion to be read on Christmas Day. The poem first appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739 with the opening line of “Hark, how the welkin (heaven) rings.”

In 1753, George Whitefield, a student and eventual colleague of Wesley’s, adapted the poem into the song we now know today. It was Whitefield who penned the phrase “newborn King.”

God has sent the One who will reconcile the sinner back to Himself.

The Theology Behind: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

The first stanza describes the good news of the savior’s birth. God has sent the One who will reconcile the sinner back to Himself. Therefore, all the nations should rise and sing and proclaim the good news, which is Christ the King! The next stanza speaks to the mysticism of Christ’s coming and the good news in it. The final stanza tells of the accomplishment of Christ and the power that it brings.

For well over two hundred years, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” has been a Gospel-saturated anthem pointing people to the Savior. This famed carol is loaded with rich theology.

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled:
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With the angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem:
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb!
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel:
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings;
Mild, he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth:
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.

Put The Lyrics Into Practice

This time of the year, our entire culture stops what it is doing and is compelled to turn its gaze toward a baby in a manger, a newborn King. The songs that many Americans, Christian or not, have on their lips and in their heads during this season are ripe with the message of the Gospel.

Take the time to think about the message of the songs and what they mean.

As you sing carols this Christmas, take the time to think about the message of the songs and what they mean. Consider the words you are singing and the truths they proclaim about the Savior you are worshiping.

As we do so, we can all join Wesley in saying, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Can you believe that Christmas falls on a Sunday this year? It hasn’t happened since 2011, and won’t occur again until 2022. According to the Pew Research Center, 9 in 10 Americans celebrate Christmas. What’s perhaps most encouraging, is the number of Americans, both saved and unsaved, that believe in the historical accuracy of the Christmas story.

During Christmas time, people’s interest is piqued in all things Christmas, including the true reason for the season. With all the talk of joy, faith, goodwill, and peace, there may not be a better time to invite someone who has yet to experience life transformation power of the Gospel message. Here are seven reasons why I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday…

1. It’s Jesus’ Birthday!

Well, not really, historians aren’t are exactly sure what day is Jesus’ actual birthday. December 25th is the day that the world celebrates the Christ child’s birth, so it’s especially fitting that the church would gather when that day falls on a Sunday.

2. It’s Family Time

One of the reasons that the Christmas season is the most wonderful time of the year is that it is filled with family time. Cousins, grandparents, brothers, sisters, your crazy uncle Larry, and everyone else gets together to enjoy time around the tree. As meaningful and memorable as family time is, when Christmas falls on a Sunday, our individual families have the unique opportunity to gather with our bigger family, the family of God, to celebrate the sending of our Savior.

3. It’s Fun

If you are having trouble finding your joy this season, one of the best decisions you can make is to be in church on Christmas day!

Christmas is a celebration! In 2 Chronicles 30:21-23, all of the Israelites come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, which was the celebration commanded by God in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt. We are told the Israelites, “celebrated exuberantly.” It was fun. God had commanded that Passover be a seven-day celebration, but when the seven days of worship and praise to God were over, they were so overjoyed by being in the presence of God, that they decided to celebrate for another seven days!

Being in God’s presence is fun; it’s a celebration. It is where we find our joy; and how much more so on Christmas? If you are having trouble finding your joy this season, one of the best decisions you can make is to be in church on Christmas day!

4. It’s Soul Stirring

Christmas is about God’s Son coming to us. God so loved you that He sent Jesus. God very God came as a helpless baby to accomplish the plan of salvation. Scripture proclaims that Christ came so “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,” (Hebrews 2:14 ESV). This is how the power that sin holds over our lives and our relationship with God is defeated.

Christmas is about God’s Son coming to us.

This is the reason Christmas is merry. Being in church on Christmas morning provides an opportunity for us to marvel, once again, at the mystery of redemption.

5. It’s a Prophetic Witness to a Watching World

When Christmas falls on a Sunday, and the doors of the church open, it’s one more reminder to a watching world that it’s all about Jesus. It’s about worshiping Jesus, celebrating Jesus, thinking about Jesus, and singing about Jesus. It’s about the gift of Jesus. And, when your neighbor sees your garage door go up and your family load up on Christmas Sunday morning, your actions serve as a poignant reminder of the real reason for the season.

6. It’s an Opportunity to put Priorities into Practice

Christians are good at talking about the true meaning of Christmas, but when Christmas falls on a Sunday, we get the opportunity to live it. It’s great to have holiday traditions; it’s fun to tear open gifts on Christmas morning; it’s great to spend most of the day in your pajamas.

The best thing about Christmas falling on Sunday is that it provides an open door to invite people to hear the good news.

All of those things are great, but when Christmas falls on a Sunday, we get to do something even better.

7. People Meet Jesus

Perhaps the best thing about Christmas falling on Sunday is that it provides an open door to invite people to hear the good news.

You don’t know who is waiting for an invitation from you to be in church on Christmas morning.

It would be a day they would never forget, and the opportunity to invite someone to church on Christmas won’t happen again until 2022. Don’t miss what God could do through you!

So, if you are in Springfield on Christmas morning, make sure your family joins the James River Church family for our Carols and Communion Christmas services at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM at one of our three campuses or online! Merry Christmas!

On the fourth Thursday in November, each year, Americans gather for a day enthralled with family, food, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and last but certainly not least—Football! The last two items on the list may be a bit different from the original 1621 harvest meal; however, the reason for gathering remains the same: to give thanks.

The First Thanksgiving

Believe it or not, the first Thanksgiving is much older than the 1621 harvest meal. Passover was the oldest of the Jewish festivals. In fact, it was older than the covenant with Moses at Sinai. Passover came before the priesthood, the Tabernacle, and the law. God ordained it while Israel was still enslaved in Egypt, and by the time of Christ, it had been celebrated by the Israelites for 1,500 years.

Thanksgiving helps us to remember that no matter the situation or circumstance, we all have God to be thankful for.

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He met with His disciples in a large upper room where He shared the Passover meal with them. It was during this Passover meal that the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving—was instituted. God’s people would no longer look back on the blood of a sacrificial lamb, but on the Lamb of God. They would celebrate deliverance from sin rather than deliverance from Egypt. The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 writes,

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (ESV).

This marked the first Thanksgiving. It was a meal; a meal that signified a great truth and reminded all of those who partook of the sacrifice and victory of Christ, and our victory through Him.

How Did The Thanksgiving Holiday Start?

On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln gave a proclamation, which declared Thanksgiving to be a national holiday. Although Christians had given thanks long before 1863, it was never nationalized, nor was this announcement the first of its kind.

In 1789, when George Washington was in his first term as the first president of the United States, he called for an official, “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of it, but it wasn’t recognized until 1863. Lincoln, however, in the midst of the Civil War, understood the need for such a holiday:

Thanksgiving is about the recognition of God’s favor and grace on our lives.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict….No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who…hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

How Will You Spend Your Thanksgiving?

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family this week, take the time to remember not only what God has done for you, but that it was God who did it. Thanksgiving is about the recognition of God’s favor and grace on our lives. It is a day for saying much of God and declaring His goodness and power. It’s a day to remember that without Him, we have nothing to be thankful for. Thanksgiving helps us maintain perspective. It helps us see what God is doing. It propels us into His presence and strengthens our faith.

Happy Thanksgiving!

According to one survey, almost four in five motorists admit to driving over the speed limit regularly. In fact, if you are between the ages of 18-39, you are over 70% more likely to speed. Another study shows that speeding doesn’t save much time. For instance, if you’re traveling a distance of 15 miles and drive 10 miles over the speed limit, you might arrive only 3-4 minutes faster based on traffic signals. With these numbers, a speeding ticket isn’t worth the time saved!

Why do we feel the need for speed, and can rushing from one thing to the next result in missing opportunities? Luke 8 introduces us to a busy time in Jesus’ ministry. He had taught parables to multitudes, calmed a raging storm, healed a demoniac, and to cap it all off, we see Jesus faced with a decision to heal a dying girl or minister to a woman who desperately needed Him.

 “Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him.  His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying.” (Luke 8:41-42 ESV)

Jarius was desperate. He needed Jesus’ help, and he needed it fast. Surely Jesus would come quickly and heal his daughter. What could be more important than that?

Jesus’ mission must be your mission.

While headed to Jarius’ house, Jesus hits the brakes, turns around, and asks a seemingly silly question – “Who touched me”? A woman who had been sick for twelve years was desperate for healing and knew that touching Jesus would completely heal her, and it did!

But the task at hand, the pressing, urgent matter was to heal Jairus’ sick daughter.  What was Jesus doing stopping for this lady? Jesus modeled what he knew of God’s heart, which was that people always outweigh the task.

It is the heart of God that people always outweigh the task.

Our aim should be to make much of Jesus and continue His work here on earth, which Luke 19:10 says was to seek and save the lost. Meaning your career, your neighbors and your friends who don’t know Christ are all opportunities. You are an extension of God’s love and grace in those environments. When you embrace this truth, your personal mission will take a back seat to Jesus’ mission, and you will be used by God to meet the needs of people He brings across your path.

Create margin in your life for God moments.

Jesus knew he would heal Jarius’ daughter, but that didn’t result in him neglecting opportunity along the way. His business did not overshadow His mission. And instead of performing one healing miracle, he performed two!

There’s no question that life is busy and there are a million things we could be doing at any given time – appointments, tasks, kids, family, etc. If sleep weren’t essential to our being, there are plenty of other things to occupy our attention.

God did not intend for us to say “yes” to so many things that it causes us to say “no” to Him.

But as followers of Christ, it is critical that amidst the busyness of life we take the time to slow down because God wants to do miracles through us!

If you are always running from one appointment to the next with only seconds to spare between each, it’s safe to say your life could use some margin. God did not intend for us to say “yes” to so many things that it causes us to say “no” to Him.

When your life lacks margin, then it will also lack divine moments. However, if you are intentional about leaving room in your schedule for “God moments,” then you’ll make the most of every opportunity, and God will be glorified. So the next time you think about speeding to the next thing, slow down, look around and ask God for a divine opportunity!