In 1847, a French parish priest asked a local poet to write a Christmas carol, which quickly spread throughout France. The hauntingly beautiful “Cantique De Noel” was an instant hit.
Fast forward several decades to America when John Sullivan Dwight discovered the carol. A fiery abolitionist, Dwight fell in love with the song, especially the message of freedom. Dwight published a rewritten version of the carol in his own magazine, and it was embraced by a nation shattered by the Civil War.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
On Christmas Eve of 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier ran out of his trench unarmed and began to sing this carol. Silence fell and when he was finished, a German soldier came out and sang a favorite German carol. A Christmas ceasefire followed.
“O Holy Night” is one of many beautiful carols we sing at Christmas time, but their words are true no matter what time of year it is. The first official “Christmas Carol” was written around AD 129, but the Bible is full of songs, hymns, and even fragments of hymns. God knew what he was doing when He gave us the gift of music!
For the next four weeks we’ll be studying a beautiful hymn in 1 Timothy 3:16. I encourage you to read it, memorize it, and apply it. This Sunday we’ll see why God gave it to us… nothing less than to transform our lives to be more like Jesus!
We will have our children and youth choirs joining us to sing some of our favorite carols so come early and sit up front!
In Christ,
Kurt