Rebel to Redeemed…Sharing HIS Kind of Love
A great and mighty wonder is a little-known Christmas Carol. The hymn is German in origin. The hymn was written by St. Germanus I. He was born in Constantinople of a patrician family in 634 Greece. He was ordained in Constantinople and subsequently became bishop of Cyzicus. He was present at the Synod of Constantinople in 712, which restored the […]
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As with Gladness Men of Old is considered an Epiphany hymn more than a Christmas hymn. William Chatterton Dix wrote the hymn on January 6, 1859 while recovering from an extended illness. He was bed bound at his home in Glasgow, Scotland and unable to attend that morning’s Epiphany service at church. While reading the account of the Epiphany or […]
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There’s A Star in the East is a Christmas Carol. Reginald Heber is credited with writing the song. He was in 1783 England and named after his father. He professed his admiration of the hymns of John Newton and William Cower and one of the first High Church Anglicans to write his own hymns. In 1811, he was appointed Bishop […]
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Bethlehem Morning was written by Morris Chapman. The song was made popular by Sandi Patty. Chapman was born in Mississippi in 1940. He served as pastor to several churches in Texas before becoming CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1992-2010. The song takes one to the morning of Jesus birth. Merry Christmas!
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The song is a traditional spiritual of African American origin. The origin of the song is unknown. One source claims sister Margaret Allison of the Angelic Gospel Singers, a 1950s performing group, wrote the song. However, this has not been proven. She did write the song “Glory to the Newborn King,” which many believe may have morphed into Jesus, Oh […]
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The Gift Goes On was written by Claire Cloninger and Ron Harris. Brenton-Benson Music and Lillenas Publishing published the song in 1974. The song was made popular by Sandi Patty. We are reminded through the lyrics that the gift of Christmas is Jesus and continues to give and go on even after Christmas time.
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Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming is a Christmas carol of German origin. The carol was originally known as “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” which means a rose has sprung up. The rose in the text is symbolic of the Virgin Mary. The original hymn had two verses, expressing the prophecy of Isaiah in the first verse and the symbolism […]
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While by My Sheep was a traditional German carol by Nach Friedrich von Spee. The hymn was written in 1623 and known as Als ich bei meinen Schafen wacht. Hugo Jüngst arranged the text to a traditional German melody. Theodore Baker translated the carol into English.
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A Christmas Carol was written and composed by Charles Ives in 1897. The song appeared in his collection 114 songs which was published in 1922. He self-published these never before seen songs. By the early 1920s, he decided to publish more than 150 abandoned compositions. Charles Ives was born in 1874 in Danbury, Connecticut. His love of music was inherited […]
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It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was a Christmas poem written by Edmund Sears. This is a Christmas Carol that doesn’t focus on the holy family, but the song of the angels. Luke 2:14 says the angels said “Peace on the Earth, good will to men.” Edmund Hamilton Sears was born in 1810. He earned a degree from Harvard Divinity […]
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