Songs of Hope (Luke 2)
by Dave Ross
I have always loved everything about Christmas! The slow appearance of festive decorations throughout the world around me helps to build the excitement. The choosing and trimming of a tree the weekend after Thanksgiving solidifies the start of the season for our family. Our family movie nights of special holiday features that fill the month of December bring warmth to my heart. The songs that we sing every December rekindle the hopeful reality of the day that is approaching. There is nothing quite like Christmas!
The biggest thrill of Christmas as a child was the eager anticipation of what I would receive as gifts on Christmas morning. I never knew for sure what I would receive, but my hope was in the giver that it would be special. I was keenly aware of this thrilling tension even as a child. The joy of anticipation with the culmination of all I had hoped for coming with each package opened.
Many of the well known Christmas songs speak of a hoped for Messiah. A Savior for which the world has longed—the One who would die for all of humanity's sins and make us right with God! One of my favorite Christmas songs, “O Holy Night,” has a phrase that exemplifies the fulfillment of this hopeful yearning:
“A thrill of Hope, the weary world rejoices.
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”
We celebrate the thrilling hope that is fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas morning! He is our true gift because He provides salvation through His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.
Listen to “O Holy Night” as a family and enjoy the thrilling anticipation of the coming King, Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem as a fragile child. Fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ is the hope of the world and the fulfillment of a promise made by God, the best Giver of all!
Additional Resources
Read Carols: A Christmas Devotional
Listen to O Holy Night by Hillsong Worship
Play A Christmas Carol game
