I can’t help it. I love the Christmas season! (I know that by saying such before Thanksgiving I might be making frenemies. Please be charitable!) I love that carols began playing on the radio immediately after Trick-or-Treat. I love that Christmas trees are decorated in all the local stores. I love that coffee shops are brewing peppermint mocha. But more than all of these things I love celebrating Christ, including the glory of His birth. Contemplating the Incarnation, “the act of God the Son whereby he took to himself a human nature,” moves me to deeper affection for the Lord Jesus Christ.1 The first 9 words of John 1:14 make me tremble in adoration: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.2 Of these words, one author wrote:
Jesus didn’t just become man because he could. This was no circus stunt, just for show. He became man, in the world of the ancient creed, “for us and for our salvation.” The eternal Word became frail human flesh and blood to save us from our sin and to free us to marvel at and enjoy the unique union of divinity and humanity in his one spectacular person.3
What a glorious Savior we must treasure, not just culturally during the Christmas season but always. To this end, I’m thankful for the men and women God has used to pen lyrics and melodies that aid in our reflection of the Lord’s birth. This is why I am sending you an early present: a playlist of 50 Christmas tunes to warm your affections for the Lord’s Incarnation. I pray that the musical diversity and gospel-centrality of the lyrics will aid in you and your family understanding more deeply the reality and wonder of the Incarnation. Click HERE to start listening today!
Not much of a music person? Check out these great books:
God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ by Stephen J. Wellum
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas edited by Nancy Guthrie
Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional by Paul David Tripp
May God be glorified as we rightly celebrate the Savior’s birth!
Pastor Jay
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1. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 543.
2. English Standard Version (ESV).
3. David Matthis, “What Is the Incarnation?” December 7, 2007, accessed November 13, 2019, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-incarnation.
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