Advent Carols #5: Luke 2:1-20 – O Holy Night [Gift and Flower]

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas!

It’s Christmas morning! In our family we have a tradition: before we do gifts or breakfast or anything, we read Luke 2:1-20 – the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus. We do that to remind ourselves of the true focus and meaning of Christmas. One of my favorite verses is verse 19:

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  Luke 2:19

O Holy Night

Mary had many amazing things to ponder that night. I think that our carol for the final week in this series is a pondering kind of carol. Each verse meditates on a different benefit of Jesus coming to earth.

Salvation from sin

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;

 

Chorus

Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!

O night divine! O night when Christ was born.

O night, O holy night, O night divine.

The hope of salvation is beautifully expressed in this first verse. We are given worsth and purpose through belief on the Savior. His appearance in our lives drives us to fall on our knees and beg forgiveness for our sin. We are spurred on to worship Him.

The Friendship of God

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming;

With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand:

So, led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land,

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger,

In all our trials born to be our friend;

 

Chorus

He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger!

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King! your King! before him bend!

Emmanuel, God with us – Jesus was born to experience human trials and temptations and yet to triumph over sin. He is not a stranger to our weakness and pain. He is the King who can relate to us. His light draws us to Him and we bow in worship Him.

Deliverance and an End to Division

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is Love and His gospel is Peace;

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,

And in his name all oppression shall cease,

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;

Let all within us praise his Holy name!

 

Chorus

Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we!

His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!

His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!

Anyone can see the divisive attitudes in the world today. Everyone can feel the chains of stress, grief, prejudice, and greed wrapping around our society. Jesus brought a way for us to all enter into the family of God, driving away division and breaking the chains that have held us in bondage. 

How powerful is the Savior of the World! We are called to proclaim His power and glory forever!

Advent Carols #5 ACTION STEP:

This week let’s be intentional about remembering that Christmas is not the end – it is the beginning! The beginning of salvation, friendship, deliverance, unity… We are kicking off a whole new year of sharing with others the marvelous gifts of Christ. Start it off right away – find one person this week and share something you learned or appreciated about the birth of Jesus this year!

Join the Facebook group @DevoInAction (https://www.facebook.com/devoinaction) and introduce yourself to us! Or if you prefer instagram, follow @devoinaction! Share your thoughts about today’s devotional or post a pic of your journaling!

PRAYER:

Dear God, help us to ponder all you have done for us this Christmas. Remind us to treasure the gifts of Christmas in our hearts and share them with others in our lives.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Advent Carols Series Free Printables:

Head on over to the Devotion in Action Free Resource Library for your free printables for this series! If you don’t have access yet to the Resource Library, find out how to get free access HERE!

Advent Carols Series Overview Page:

For more posts in this series, click here.