Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (2 of 5)
Series: Christmas Carols
Tony Thomas
Luke 2:8-20
In 2008 an uproar broke out at the state capital in Springfield, IL. The Freedom from Religion Foundation posted a display next to the nativity in the Rotunda, and one member of the Nativity Scene Committee responded by stealing their display without the committee’s permission. Bedlam followed which prompted the Illinois legislature to call on the Governor to intervene. Even though the Governor was a devout believer, he upheld the Illinois law and said to the perpetrator, ‘‘Please return the sign and honor the eighth commandment.’’ The eighth commandment states, ‘‘Thou shalt not steal.’’
When it comes to our best-known Christmas Carols we do the same thing. Some of us can recite them by heart, but we sing them without the first thought about their meaning, failing to connect what we sing with how we live out our faith.
When Jesus chastised the Pharisees in Matthew 18, he quoted from Isaiah 29: ‘‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’’
We’re in a series called, ‘‘Christmas Carols,’’ and we’re exploring songs we’ve sung for decades. These carols contain wonderful, Biblical truths, but they’re so familiar that we sing them on autopilot.
For the most part, we don’t even know the meaning behind the lyrics, so let’s discover what is really being communicated. Last week we sung the antithesis of, ‘‘O Come All Ye Faithful,’’ by considering a ficticious version: ‘‘O Come All Ye Stressful.’’ This week our carol is, ‘‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’’
Charles Wesley wrote the lyrics way back in 1737 (the song is nearly four-hundred years old). Wesley was the youngest child in a family of eighteen children. His mother, Susanna Wesley, instilled in her children a love for the Bible and Christian music.
One of Charles’ older brothers was John Wesley, the pastor who founded the Methodist Church. Charles was also a preacher, but he’s bes ...
Series: Christmas Carols
Tony Thomas
Luke 2:8-20
In 2008 an uproar broke out at the state capital in Springfield, IL. The Freedom from Religion Foundation posted a display next to the nativity in the Rotunda, and one member of the Nativity Scene Committee responded by stealing their display without the committee’s permission. Bedlam followed which prompted the Illinois legislature to call on the Governor to intervene. Even though the Governor was a devout believer, he upheld the Illinois law and said to the perpetrator, ‘‘Please return the sign and honor the eighth commandment.’’ The eighth commandment states, ‘‘Thou shalt not steal.’’
When it comes to our best-known Christmas Carols we do the same thing. Some of us can recite them by heart, but we sing them without the first thought about their meaning, failing to connect what we sing with how we live out our faith.
When Jesus chastised the Pharisees in Matthew 18, he quoted from Isaiah 29: ‘‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’’
We’re in a series called, ‘‘Christmas Carols,’’ and we’re exploring songs we’ve sung for decades. These carols contain wonderful, Biblical truths, but they’re so familiar that we sing them on autopilot.
For the most part, we don’t even know the meaning behind the lyrics, so let’s discover what is really being communicated. Last week we sung the antithesis of, ‘‘O Come All Ye Faithful,’’ by considering a ficticious version: ‘‘O Come All Ye Stressful.’’ This week our carol is, ‘‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.’’
Charles Wesley wrote the lyrics way back in 1737 (the song is nearly four-hundred years old). Wesley was the youngest child in a family of eighteen children. His mother, Susanna Wesley, instilled in her children a love for the Bible and Christian music.
One of Charles’ older brothers was John Wesley, the pastor who founded the Methodist Church. Charles was also a preacher, but he’s bes ...
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