Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1433252
1 "What's your favorite par t of the Christmas season?" Presents? Food? Stockings, trees, and Christmas lights might also be at the top of the list. All those things are great, but I bet a lot of us would say we enjoy the music of Christmas most of all. From the gloriously majestic choruses of Handel's Messiah to the seriously silly songs like Frosty, the Snowman, we love Christmas music. And even more than listening to Christmas music, we love singing Christmas music, especially the carols. We're not quite sure of the origin of the word "carol." Some speculate that its roots lie in Latin and Greek words that describe flute playing and festive dancing. We find the word carole in Medieval French describing joyful songs and dancing. Carol is first used in English around 1500 for "Christmas hymns of joy." God's people have been singing for centuries, even millennia. Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts" (Colossians 3:16). Singing together is good for us. It binds our hear ts to one another, encourages our souls, and lifts our spirits. That's why congregational singing was one of the things we missed the most when we couldn't gather for worship because of Covid. My grandma used to say, "You can tell a lot about a man by the songs he sings." If grandma was right (and who would ever disagree with grandma?), what do you think people can tell about us by the songs we sing at Christmas? I think it may just be this, "We are people who love to remind ourselves and say to anyone who will listen that God has stepped into our world in a most unlikely way in order to bring about our salvation in an even more unlikely way." Knowing how much singing Christmas carols means to us, we're inviting you this year in our Christmas devotional to sing and reflect on some of our most beloved carols. Each day we'll look together at the meaning and significance of a verse from one of our favorites. Sing the verse out loud, unless of course you're up too early and someone in your home may not appreciate your effor ts at that time of the morning. And after you sing it, read the reflection that accompanies the verse. Then sing it again with the insights gained from the devotional. What a great way to enrich our anticipation and celebration of the coming of our Lord. Making a joyful noise with you, Mark Young