Today’s
Christmas worship reaches back through the ages to bring to us the
message of our Savior’s birth and God’s plan of salvation. The
oldest portion of our service is the Old Testament Lesson from the
Prophet Isaiah which was written about 700 B.C. (Psalm 98 is possibly
older).
Our
celebration of the Lord’s Supper began about A.D. 33 and The New
Testament lessons were written in the first century. Various parts
of the liturgy developed through the following years with the Nicene
Creed coming from the year 325.
The
most recent parts of today’s worship are the hymns and carols.
They range from the 1600’s to 1986. Here is the list:
O
Come, All Ye Faithful – mid 1800’s
Angels
from the Realms of Glory – early 1800’s
Angels
We Have Heard on High – 1862
Let
All Together Praise Our God – early 1900’s
Where
Shepherds Lately Knelt – 1986
Gentle
Mary Laid Her Child – early 1900’s
Away
in a Manger – 1885
Let
Us All with Gladsome Voice – 1600’s
Joy
to the World – early 1700’s
O
Little Town of Bethlehem – 1800’s
We
thank God that the Christmas message still brings comfort today as it
has for countless Christians throughout the ages. The message of
Christmas is more than love, joy and peace. It is the message of
forgiveness of sins, life and salvation through our Savior Jesus who
came into the world to be born, live, die, and rise again for each of
us. May our hymns of praise to hymn have no end.
Pastor
Quardokus
No comments:
Post a Comment