Today we’ll finish our thematic sermon series on knowing the love of God. For our finale, we’ll be considering the last several verses in the Book of Zechariah, which describe God so moved by His love for His people, He breaks out into a song of joy over them!
It’s a fitting transition to our next study, a 4-week Advent series called “Christmas Songs.”
Perhaps the activity that’s been associated with Christmas the longest is singing, especially Christmas carols—songs that describe what makes Christmas so meaningful. It’s a tradition that goes back over 2000 years to the actual birth of Jesus. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, we see four individuals who respond to the coming of Christ, and all four respond with a song.
We might say that these four songs are the last of the Hebrew psalms and the first of the Christian hymns, falling as they do on the line between the Old Testament promises and New Testament fulfillment. We might conclude that these songs show Christianity is inherently musical, and we’d be right. What God does must be celebrated in song! And we might be inspired to learn how the individuals who were there responded to the first Christmas. Why was Christmas meaningful to them? What affected them most deeply? What did they sing about?
In this year’s Advent celebration, we’ll ponder the first four Christmas songs ever sung:
- On December 3, we’ll ponder Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), celebrating dramatic reversal.
- On December 10, we’ll consider Zechariah’s Benedictus (Luke 1:67-79), reveling in prophetic fulfillment.
- On December 17, we’ll rejoice in the angels’ Gloria (Luke 2:8-14), proclaiming glory to God for bringing peace to the world.
- On December 24, we’ll reflect on Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:22-35), declaring that this aged saint found his life’s culminating moment when he met the infant Messiah.
I hope you’ll read ahead and meditate on these texts. I hope you’ll consider whether your hearts resonates with the reasons these early Christians found joy at Christmas. And I hope you’ll pray about inviting a friend or loved one who may not even know Jesus at all.