Rebel to Redeemed…Sharing HIS Kind of Love
Time has passed and Jesus is probably a young toddler by this point. The Wise Men come to visit Mary, Joseph and Jesus, but with them arrives a threat from King Herod. Herod is afraid that this “king” will take his place and more importantly his throne and kingdom. When they left, an angel appeared to Joseph. Once again, the […]
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Last week, we spent with the shepherds who had first one angel and then a host of angels appear to them. The shepherds then made their way to Bethlehem to see the child they were told about. The child was now a little over a week old and the time had come to circumcise him. The Law, since the time […]
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Last week, we joined the shepherds who were frightened when an angel appeared to them. But, the angel brought good news that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem and he could be found wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. So, let’s join the shepherds again. Last week, an angel appeared. Meaning one angel. But, that angel is […]
Read more Last week, we were with Joseph, as an angel came upon him in a dream and told him to take Mary as his wife. We are fast-forwarding a few months and Mary and Joseph has travelled to Bethlehem, where they found a stable and Mary gave birth to a tiny infant named Jesus. One can only imagine how the angels […]
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The angel has appeared twice already to Zacharias and Mary, but He is about to appear a third time. This time to Joseph, who is engaged to Mary. Imagine Joseph’s shock and hurt when Mary told him she was expecting. Scripture tells us that he was trying to decide what to do with her and to put her away quietly. […]
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We are digging into Christmas from the viewpoint of the angels. Last week, we joined Zacharias as the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Today, we are join Mary, as we pick her story up in Luke 1:26-38. We do not know what Mary was doing or where she was, but she was going about her day when an angel appeared […]
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We have been taking a look at the Eyewitnesses to Christmas, as we’ve covered Mary, Joseph and Elisabeth and Zacharias. What better view of heaven than those witnesses that had the full view from both heaven and earth. That of the angels. An angel is a spiritual being acting as an agent, attendant or messenger of God. Often they are […]
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Throughout nature we hear the music of the heavens. There is the singing of the birds, the music in the rustling of the trees, the rhythms of the animals in the ocean and numerous other sounds of the universe. Sounds that as humans we can try to synthetically replicate, but not with the beauty of the real entity. In the […]
Read more Ten Thousand Angels Cried is a popular song we hear around Easter. LeAnn Rimes released the song on her You Light Up My Life album. The inspirational album was released by Curb Records when Rimes was fifteen years old and her second album. Dave Patillo is accredited as the writer on her album. Patillo’s website states “The David Patillo song […]
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When we hear a hymn, it is usually with the belief that the hymn writer was a believer. However, the author of He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels, was led to Christ by his own song. Ray Overholt was born in 1924 in Gaines, Michigan. He was introduced to music by his mother, Clara, at a young age. “My […]
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Angels from the Realms of Glory was written by Scottish poet James Montgomery. James Montgomery was born on November 4, 1771 in Scotland to Irish parents. His father, John Montgomery, was the only Moravian pastor serving in Scotland at the time. When James was five, his parents left him with a Moravian group in County Atrium, Ireland while they went […]
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Angels We Have Heard on High commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke. The song focuses on the shepherds encounter with the angels foretelling of the birth of the newborn child. Reports say that in 129 A.D. Pope Telesphorus ordained that the “Gloria” be sung at the Christmas Eve midnight mass. The phrase became known […]
Read more The hymn we sing today as Hark! The Herald Angels Sing has had many alterations since it originated. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing first appeared in the 1739 Hymns and Sacred Poems. This is one of the few Christmas hymns written in the 17th and early 18th Centuries, after the English Puritan’s abolished Christmas Carols for being part of a […]
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Karen Kingsbury just released her second novel in the Angels Walking series. I am looking forward to reading Chasing Sunsets after reading the premiere book in the series. I love Karen Kingsbury’s older books, but had grown disillusioned with some of her more recent novels. With Angels Walking, she is back at the top of her game. Angels Walking is […]
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Mary, mother of Jesus. My heart can barely grasp what an extraordinary woman she must have been to be chosen the mother of the world’s Savior. I imagine her perfect, without sin. Though this is unlikely, God blessed her above all women. Yet His path for Mary wasn’t easy. To avoid disgrace as an unwed mother, God instructed her fiancée […]
Read more I have found two different stories for this hymn. The first states it is believed “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” was written Jamaican singer-songwriter Oswald Dunbar sometime in the early 1960s. Legend states he adapted the lyrics from an earlier Jamaican folk song “Livvy’s Song” to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The text follows the story as […]
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Mary is a young woman when the angel Gabriel appears to her to tell her that she had been chosen to give birth to the Messiah—” for you have found favor with God. “ {Luke 1:30} She replied “Behold, I am the servant[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” {Luke 1:38} and later went to visit her […]
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Go to dark Gethsemane was written by James Montgomery. He was born in 1771 Ayrshire, Scotland. His parents died on the mission field while he was at boarding school. He is said to have a passion for missions, be independent minded and express radical ideas and causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall […]
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We’ve had an eyewitness to Christmas the last few years as we look at the Christmas story from the perspectives of Mary, Joseph, the angels, the shepherds and the Wise Men. This year we wrap up the series with a look from a completely different view point, that of the king. Herod the Great was king of Judea, part of […]
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When asked about his return, Jesus said “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” {Matthew 24:36} We’re not told when he will return, but we are given signs to look for. Some of these signs are: Wars— “And you will hear of wars and rumors […]
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