So, my car stereo's been out for the last couple of weeks, and I've been unable to listen to Christmas music! So, I've found myself singing the few Christmas songs I know just to break the silence! (Be grateful none of you are riding with me!) And I've realized that there are several songs that I've been singing my whole life without ever realizing the words I was singing. These Christmas songs were all written about the Savior, and I've been singing them without really realizing their significance. So, this year, I've really been noticing the messages in our Christmas songs. I spoke in sacrament meeting last Sunday, and here's the outline of my talk:
O, Holy Night
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.
---"The soul felt its worth." Isn’t that an explanation of the Spirit confirming something to you? The world FELT the importance of the Savior’s coming. It’s a tangible feeling that we can still feel today. It’s the Spirit confirming to us the value of the Savior’s birth and His life. It SHOULD bring a “thrill of hope!” Our “weary world” has great reason to rejoice because Christ brings us a “new and glorious morn!”
Joy to the World
Let earth receive her King! Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
Prepare Him room. Let Him in. Let earth RECEIVE her King! Receive is an acceptance. It’s not just automatic. You have to hit the “receive” button to get your email. Receiving takes action. We must prepare room for Him in our hearts and receive Him.
Angels We Have Heard on High: Extra verse by Melissa Cook
Some may try to deny his name
Even dare to slay the King
But of Him we’ll testify
And with other Saints I'll sing
Gloria!
Theme of “some” doing one thing, BUT I’m not going to follow that. They DARED to slay the King. But of Him I’ll testify. We must bear testimony.
D&C 76:22-24
And now, after the many testimonies which have been given on him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.
Away in a Manger
And fit us for heaven to live with thee there
We need to be fitted. We need to be prepared and changed in order to live with Him.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Mild he lays his glory by,Born that man no more may die;Born to raise the sons of earth,Born to give them second birth.
He laid His glory by. He left His Kingdom, descended from an elevated position of prominence, power & privilege to perform an act of service for someone of a lower station which they cannot do for themselves. This was His purpose in coming to mortal. To save us. To raise the sons of earth. To give us second birth (resurrection)
President Gordon B. Hinckley
Born in a manger, He came to earth under the humblest of circumstances. The Son of the Almighty became the Savior of all mankind. He walked the roads of Palestine working miracles. He healed the sick, He brought sight to the blind. He raised the dead. He blessed the little children and condemned any who should offend them. He left His mark upon the world, which can never be erased or diminished. Concluding that brief life was the agony of Gethsemane and the terrible suffering of Golgotha, to be followed by the glory of the Resurrection. No other had ever before done what He did. He rose from the grave, and thought His great act of Atonement came salvation for all men. Our eternal lives are in His hands, and our eternal progress lies in obedience to His teachings.
Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains
Lord, with the angels we too would rejoice;Help us to sing with the heart and voice:Glory to God, Glory to God,Glory to God in the highest;Peace on earth, goodwill to men;Peace on earth, goodwill to men!
How do we feel about all this? What do we think of what Christ has done for us? Do we rejoice with the angels? We have every reason to! Glory to God in the highest. Praise Him.
The Wondrous and True Story of Christmas
—Gordon B. Hinckley
For each of you may this be a merry Christmas. But more importantly, I wish for each of you a time, perhaps only an hour, spend in silent meditation and quiet reflection on the wonder and the majesty of this, the Son of God. Our joy at this season is because He came into the world. The peace that comes from Him, His infinite love which each of us may feel, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for that which He freely gave us at so great a cost to Himself—these are of the true essence of Christmas.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day--
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,With peace on earth, good will to men.”
Till, ringing, singing, on its way,The world revolved from night to day,A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,Of peace on earth, good will to men!
What the message of Christmas means to us TODAY. God is not dead, nor doth he sleep. Knowledge and faith in this turns our perspectives from night to day. He brings peace and good will.
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
The gifts of heaven aren’t something we can see or touch. It’s a silent, but wondrous gift to our hearts. Blessings of heaven come as peace and assurance to our hearts. Good will isn’t necessarily a physical thing. It’s a silent blessing. No ear my hear His coming. But MEEK souls will RECEIVE (back to that verb) and Christ will enter into our hearts.
Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift on His divine Son.
–The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles
The Best Christmas Ever—Thomas S. Monson
Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.
The Gifts of Christmas—Thomas S. Monson
There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord our God with all our heart—and our neighbors as ourselves. It is well to remember that he who gives money gives much, he who gives time gives more, but he who gives of himself gives all. Let this be a description of our Christmas gifts.
A Pattern of Love—James E. Faust
At the heart of the message of the Savior of the world is a single, glorious, wonderful, still largely untried concept. In its simplest terms the message is that we should seek to overcome the selfishness we all seem to be born with, that we should overcome human nature and think of others before self. We should think of God and serve Him, and think of others and serve them.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
