Redeeming Jingle Bells

Christmas is about Jesus, and Christians should always remember to make Christ the center of all of our Christmas celebrations. So what do we do with those songs that don't necessarily make any reference to Christ? Should we exclusively sing only songs about Jesus in a manger? I think that should be the predominant practice within the worship of the church; Christmas songs we sing for worship should all be about Christ. However, let me ask a followup question. Is there any place for Christians to sing the other songs of the Christmas season? Can't we just have fun and enjoy the festivities? I think there's a place for that. Christians shouldn't be scrooges with our faces all sour, ready to pounce on others in a legalistic fashion when they don't meet our expectations. Rather, we should be gracious to one another. 

 

So, what about Jingle Bells? The truth is, this song wasn't even written as a Christmas song at all. It was originally written for Thanksgiving. It's really more about the winter season. How should we think of children singing Jingle Bells in a church Christmas program? To tell the truth, I have mixed feelings. At first glance, nothing about the song lends itself to the Christmas story, so I lean toward excluding it in favor of other more explicitly Christian Christmas songs. However, as I have pondered this question throughout the week I see that there is a connection between Christmas and bells. Not necessarily a biblical one, but at least a Christian one. This connection is more readily seen in the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." 

 
I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, and wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of 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!

And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

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."

 The bells that this song mentions are the church bells throughout the land. These bells were a reminder of the gospel herald ringing forth the message of the Gospel. Though the world is filled with wrong and hate, the expansion of territory marked with churches with their bells reminds us that as the Gospel rings forth, all the wrongs will one day be made right. The one who was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger will one day come back riding a white horse and with a sword coming out of his mouth and he will then bring eternal lasting peace on earth.

So, while it isn't the express purpose or intent of the song Jingle Bells, out of forbearance and patience I will hold my tongue when the children sing Jingle Bells. And as I listen, I'll remind myself that these jingling bells just may be on the feet that carry good news.

Micah 5: O Little Town of Bethlehem

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." (Micah 5:2 ESV)

Micah was roughly contemporary to Isaiah. Their ministries covered the same kings, though Micah may have come a little later than Isaiah. Micah's name meant, "Who is like Yahweh?" Even his name is significant to this messianic text. It is in this name that we see the rock of the prophet's confidence as he proclaims this Davidic figure who would come from Bethlehem. The book of Micah ends in the question that is his name. Micah 7:18-20 says, 

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old."

Of course the answer to the question is no one. No one is like Him. Yahweh stands alone among the gods as the one who has shown his covenant loyal love to his people. For the sake of his name he keeps his promises to Jacob and to Abraham. Though Israel and Judah had sinned, God would be faithful to his promise because he cares most adamantly about His own name. He will keep his covenant promises--not only to Abraham and Jacob, but to David as well. He promised David that their would be a son who would come from his body who would sit on his throne forever with an unending kingdom. This is where Bethlehem comes in.

The Assyrians were a threat to Israel and Judah. They destroyed Samaria and things got very bad for Judah--though there remained a king on David's throne. In 5:2, Micah says that though Bethlehem is small, it will be the birthplace of a coming ruler. Bethlehem was significant because it was the birthplace of David. It was called the City of David. When the little village of Bethlehem is brought up, it reminds the reader of David and all of the promises to him. Micah is telling God's people not to place their confidence in Jerusalem or their earthly king to save them. The earthly king will be stricken on the cheek, but a messianic King would one day come whose origins were just like David--the man after God's own heart.

Who is like Yahweh? He does not do things like you would expect. He didn't send His Son to be born in the palace in Jerusalem, He came to the lowly little obscure town. The messiah would come from humble beginnings.

Jesus held nothing back for us. He gave up the riches of heaven to become poor for us. He gave up the security and safety of siting by His Father's side to come and be threatened by a narcissistic murderous king. He left the comforts of glory to come down and be laid in a dirty feeding box. Who is like Yahweh? There is no God like the LORD of glory who sent his only Son to come and die for us.

 "And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. and they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace." (Micah 5:4-5a)

Isaiah 9: God Saves Sinners

This post is written by guest blogger, Jake Cannon. Jake is a recent digital media graduate from Greenville College. He is actively involved at August Gate in St. Louis where he is taking a preaching lab. Jake will be supply preaching at WBC this Sunday, December 6, 2015.

“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Gailiee of the nations.”

Isaiah 9:1

If there is anything that I have learned over my short time on earth it is this: your language matters. Your words and how you use them can either help or hinder others around you. One sentence can tell me a multitude about your worldview. For Christians, our language should be of the utmost importance. It is God Himself who spoke into existence the universe; it is Christ Himself who is “the Word”; it is the Spirit Himself who uses the preaching of the Bible to pierce into our hearts. Our words matter.

Never did words matter more than when the Israelites and Syrians made battle against the kingdom of Judah. It is recorded in Isaiah 7 that when King Ahaz heard that the armies of Israel and Syria were coming against him, “…his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind” (v. 2). Isaiah, the prophet to Judah, was sent to comfort King Ahaz with a word from the Lord. Isaiah’s words mattered. They mattered not only because of the historical context from which chapters 7-9 are written, they mattered because they were directly from the Lord.

We find recorded in Isaiah 7-9 a proclamation of hope, judgment, and peace. What the Lord gave Isaiah to speak mattered greatly to the people at that time. Though their wickedness brought contempt from God, He will make glorious their land. What is most powerful about verse one in chapter nine is that it is God who brings contempt and glory.

It is God, who in verse three, will multiply the nations and supply them with joy. Joy not in the harvests or in the spoils of battle, but in God Himself. Sinners cannot save themselves from the judgment of God. There is nothing good inside of Judah that can be considered worthy of escaping the contempt of God. What Isaiah ultimately tells us in just one sentence is that it is God Himself who brings judgment, and that it is God Himself who ultimately saves sinners.

Isaiah’s words mattered because Judah’s hope was gone. They knew their wickedness had brought contempt. But God’s glory is greater than Judah’s failures. Isaiah’s words mattered because he proclaims that it is God who will bring them out from their darkness and into the light. It is God who will turn their failure into a magnification of His glory. It is God who will turn their oppression into freedom, and their fear into hope. It is God who will bring a child to be born, a son that will be given, to forever seal His people.

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Isaiah 9:7