Pastor's Note - December 24 
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the singing of Christmas hymns and carols. We even had some CBC Christmas-carolers stop by our home a couple evenings ago, which was delightful! Growing up, these songs were just catchy, familiar tunes that carried sentiment of Christmas-time. As I grew older, I started to realize the theological and biblical depth of so many (though not all!) of these songs. Consider “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” which says; “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.” What rich truth of the incarnation, rejoicing in God who miraculously appeared in human form. Just awesome. Or consider “Joy to the World” which exalts; “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found…” What a wonderful truth, that Jesus comes to reverse the curse of the fall, and as far as the fall goes, so does Jesus’ healing ministry. Or, consider “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” which sings; “Come to earth to taste our sadness, He whose glories knew no end; By His life He brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend.” Here we are reminded of the Son’s eternal heavenly glory, from which He came to experience our pain and sorrow, and be our Redeemer. It is a reminder of the Son’s humility in the incarnation, which we may never fully comprehend. But we can sing about it! And this Christmas season and on Christmas day, I encourage you not only to sing the traditional songs, but to take the incredible truths to heart. We serve an amazing Savior, worthy of the best songs.