Carols of Christmas...What Child is This?

What Child Is This? from Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø.

Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

A Word for Preachers...Boice on the Need for Personal Holiness

"If you keep close to God, you will keep from sin. But if you sin persistently, you will fall away from God. Then you will rename your sin. You will not talk about pride, the great sin; you will call it 'self-esteem,' 'self-worth,' or what is 'due to me.' You will not talk about gluttony and materialism; you will talk about 'the good life.' You will not talk about disobedience; you will talk about 'shortcomings.' You will not talk about the Ten Commandments and your violation of them; you will talk about your 'mistakes.' It is only when you draw close to God that these things will become increasingly sinful in your sight. Only then will they work together to make you a preacher committed to calling men and women to repentance and faith in Christ before the judgment comes."

James Montgomery Boice
Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching

Carols of Christmas...Mary, Did You Know?

Kathy Mattea sings Mary, Did You Know?
 

Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Carols of Christmas...Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Here's a little different take on the traditional Advent hymn, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus from Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb.



Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Carols of Christmas...Of the Father's Love Begotten

In December of 2008 the Baylor Combined Choirs sang Of the Father's Love Begotten.


Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Friday Fun/Carols of Christmas...Straight No Chaser

I've shared this one before and it's a little different than the rest of the Christmas songs I'm posting this year, but I enjoy it and figured it could do double duty as a Friday Fun entry too!





Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Carols of Christmas...It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

You don't get much smoother than Ella Fitzgerald. Here she is singing It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.


Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Carols of Christmas...In the Bleak Midwinter

A few years ago, a poll was conducted of some of the top choirmasters and choral experts in the world. Respondents were asked to name the best Christmas carol ever. Before I saw the results of the poll, I had never heard of its winner. Perhaps you have not either. Do yourself a favor and listen to the Gloucester Cathedral Choir lead in singing In the Bleak Midwinter.


Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom...Iain Campbell on Faith

"Faith is the work of the Spirit of Christ, illuminating our minds as he unites us to our Lord. Such work is deep: it is of the heart in order that it might be in the mind, worked in the subconscious before it can become a genuine matter of the intellect. Such faith may often be assailed by doubt, but believers cannot finally be shaken out of their confidence in Christ."

Iain Campbell
Zeal for Godliness: Devotional Meditations on Calvin's Institutes

The Inkeeper by John Piper

John Piper reads his poem, The Inkeeper. (HT: Desiring God)

Carols of Christmas...O Little Town of Bethlehem

This is a different tune than many are used to, but I found this version sung by Aled Jones to be captivating.



Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Sunday's Sermon: Discerning the Body

This Sunday I preached from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 on "Discerning the Body." The following is a brief excerpt from my sermon:

On the night when Jesus was betrayed--literally, on the night “he was being betrayed”--even in the midst of being betrayed, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. And it calls our attention to what the Gospels say about that night. What else did Jesus do on that night...in that room...with his disciples? He took a towel and put it around his waist and then he got down on his knees with a basin of water and he washed his disciples' feet, each and every one of them. 

• He washed the feet of Thomas, who would doubt his resurrection. 
• He washed the feet of Peter, who would three times would deny him. 
• He even washed the feet of Judas, who would betray him. 

That is the example of our Lord; that is the kind of love he showed us. And it is the kind of love we are required to show one another. And after washing their feet he issued to them a command…“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) This should always be the case; we should always have love for one another, but especially when we come to the Lord's table, it is necessary that we have love for one another.

 Click here to listen to this week's entire sermon as well as past sermons I've preached.

Carols of Christmas...Labor of Love

Jill Phillips singing Labor of Love from Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God.



Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

A Word for Preachers...Boice on the Indispensability of Preachers

"Preaching is also the primary means of growth for the local church. There is a great deal of debate about this in our day, but it is the preaching of the Word that God most uses to build up a church, not only  numerically but above all (and far more importantly) in the spiritual depth and understanding of the people who make up the congregation.

"When we talk about the importance of preaching, preachers are inclined (modestly) to say, 'Well, after all, no one is indispensable.' And, of course, that is true, if we understand it in the right way. But it is false if we understand it in the wrong way. It is true that God does not need us. God does not need us to glorify Him. God does not need us to worship Him. God does not need us to proclaim the gospel. If the people at the time of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem had failed to cry out, the stones would have done so, Jesus said. God is well able to raise up preachers from stones. But at the same time it is true that if God has called a man to be a preacher in a particular situation, that man is, by the calling and disposition of God, indispensable for that situation. If he gives good leadership and provides good teaching from the Word, that church will go forward. If he fails to do it, that church will not go forward."

James Montgomery Boice
Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching

Carols of Christmas...Gesu Bambino

Heidi Joy with an English version of Gesu Bambino...



Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.

Carols of Christmas...Once in Royal David's City

This December I plan on posting a different Christmas song each day. Hope you enjoy! Today's entry is from the Choir of King's College in the U.K. I love the way this song starts quietly and then builds throughout.
Click here to see other posts in the Carols of Christmas series.