Scripture: Luke 2:1-7Hymn: Away in a Manger Although initially a Quaker colony, because of Pennsylvania's constitutionally protected freedom of religious conscience, many Christian Germans fleeing per...  Read More

Since 1843, "O Holy Night" has resonated all around the world in music halls and churches, on radios, and in people's hearts. It is undoubtedly one of the most cherished and thrilling Christmas hymns ...  Read More

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25Hymn: The First Noel In late medieval England, the songs you'd likely hear people singing on the streets or in homes were called "carols." These songs were somewhat similar t...  Read More

Scripture: Psalm 98; Matthew 1:1-17Hymn: Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is one of our most popular Christmas hymns, written by one of our most popular hymn-writers, Isaac Watts. Actually, "Joy to...  Read More

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9Hymn: Thou Who Wast Rich John Fox wrote in 1563, "Christ will have a Church in this world," and "that same Church should mightily be impugned, not only by the world but als...  Read More

Scripture: Micah 5:2-5aHymn: The Birthday of a King Our hymns are full of rich and meaningful theology, and some are even more meaningful when we understand the context in which they were written. In ...  Read More

Scripture: Psalm 2:6-12Hymn: Once in Royal David's City "Once in Royal David's City" is another hymn that was originally intended to teach children the nativity story, first published in 1848 by Cecil...  Read More

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-2aHymn: What Child is This? William Chatterton Dix was a successful businessman and manager of the Maritime Insurance Company in Glasgow, but in 1865, Dix nearly died from a sev...  Read More

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9Hymn: I Wonder as I Wander On a July day in 1933, the American folk composer, John Jacob Niles found himself in a little town in North Carolina while traveling through the Appa...  Read More

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-11Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing When America declared its Declaration of Independence in 1776 from the tyrannical governance of King George III, the nation's founders sough...  Read More

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10Hymn: Es ist ein Ros entsprugen (Lo, How a Rose E'ere Blooming) "Lo, How a Rose E'ere Blooming" is a 16th-century hymn that was extremely popular in the days of Martin Luther,...  Read More

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7Hymn: Messiah An oratorio is a large-scale musical composition, usually on a sacred theme, that often comes directly from a passage of Scripture. Today's Christmas hymn, Handel'...  Read More