Eagle Point Church: Jacksonville, AL

 “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

 

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2: 1-14)

 

In 2005 an elementary school in Wisconsin wrote new lyrics for "Silent Night" for its winter program, stripping away all references to Christ and replacing them with winter weather themes. Ridgeway Elementary School -- located approximately 30 miles west of Madison – asked students to memorize "Cold in the Night," sung to the tune of the popular Christmas carol "Silent Night." The school decorated its classrooms with Santa Clauses, Kwanza items, and Menorahs – but no Christmas decorations.

 

Listen to the lyrics of the new "Silent Night":

Cold in the night, no one in sight
Winter winds, whirl and bite
How I wish I were happy and warm
Safe with my family out of the storm

 

It is clearly about a cold winter night sung to the tune of Silent Night. The lyrics of "Silent Night" were written by Austrian Joseph Mohr (1792-1848). Franz Gruber set the lyrics to music. The song was translated into English by John Freeman Young in 1863. Now, with that little bit of history, compare that with the original first verse of Silent Night:

 

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild 
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

The simple fact remains: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” All the secular revisionists in the world can write all the songs they want about their new “mas” holiday. They will never be able to remove the imprint of Christ on our hearts and in our lives. God, out of love for us, became one of us, so that we could be made like Him!

 

So, in a few days my family will gather around our tree. We will read this precious text from the Gospel of Luke. We will praise God for intervening in human history that we might possess eternal life. And we will shout with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" 

 

Merry Christmas,

 

 

Dr. Derek