Getty Family
Hymn of the month
A Monthly Hymn for Your Family to Sing and Grow in the Lord Together!
Getty Family
A Monthly Hymn for Your Family to Sing and Grow in the Lord Together!
Lyrics
Sing we the song of Emmanuel
This the Christ who was long foretold
Lo in the shadows of Bethlehem
Promise of dawn now our eyes behold.
God Most High in a manger laid
Lift your voices and now proclaim
Great and glorious, Love has come to us
Join now with the hosts of heaven
Come we to welcome Emmanuel
King who came with no crown or throne
Helpless He lay, the Invincible
Maker of Mary, now Mary’s son
O what wisdom to save us all
Shepherds, sages, before Him fall
Grace and majesty, what humility
Come on bended knee, adore Him
Go spread the news of Emmanuel
Joy and peace for the weary heart
Lift up your heads, for your King has come
Sing for the Light overwhelms the dark
Glory shining for all to see
Hope alive, let the gospel ring
God has made a way, He will have the praise
Tell the world His name is Jesus
(Matt Boswell, Matt Papa and Stuart Townend)
Luke 2:10-11, ESV
“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.”
I asked Matt Papa and Matt Boswell to tell us how and why they wrote this hymn! Here’s what they said…
Matt Papa
“This hymn was written in 2014. We were inspired by verses in Colossians 1. It’s a passage in the Bible that tells us the wonderful truth of who Christ is. “Image of the invisible” was the first line we started with. I scribbled down a melody and the more we sang it the more we thought it sounded like a Christmas carol. So we started all over again!
We built all the words together for verse 1 and 2 with thoughts from Colossians 1. But then another hymn writer, Stuart Townend, helped us take verse three to a beautiful place where we remember that christmas is not just something to KNOW but is something we must TELL to the world!”
Matt Boswell
“Just as the big story of the Bible is told the hymn follows the same pattern - the ‘good news’ being first promised then finally arriving with the Lord Jesus and then being something we share with others. Many of the best carols written over many years tell both the message of the gospel but also send us as messengers who continue to “let the gospel ring.””
Do you like to sing? I love to sing! But I know for some it is not their favorite thing? Some don’t think they can sing very well and so don’t want to. But did you know that God calls us to sing anyway even if it’s not our favorite or we may not feel we do a good job. Why? Here is one reason (and there are many!!): it is something we can all do together to show that we belong to God and to each other.
The first line of the hymn is ‘sing WE the song of Emmanuel’. We are not alone. We gather all of our voices together to make a great sound. And it is not a sound of nonsense! We have something very important to sing about.
Isaiah 12:2 says
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” (ESV)
Our reason to sing is more than how much we like it or how good we are at it (although we do become better and enjoy it the more we do it!) Our reason to sing is our amazing God, He who has come to save us, to be with us - Emmanuel! When we think on that our fears become smaller and our song of praise becomes bigger. It gives us courage to sing and as we do we are telling others about Him!
Father in heaven,
Thank you that each Christmas time we remember that You sent Jesus to us, the Savior of the world! And when You did Your angel messengers filled the sky with singing to tell the Shepherds about the good news of great joy.
Please use our voices to do the same - to sing out the good news that more and more people would hear! Help us not to be afraid but be filled with courage as we sing to you,
In Jesus name
Amen
Voice of the Martyrs provides wonderful resources for us as we pray for God’s Family around the world.
We rejoice that though we face sufferings of many kinds the good gifts we receive in Christ can never be taken away.
On this month of thankfulness let’s give thanks for the work VOM do around the world.
Thank you, Lord…
For the millions of Christians around the world who stand courageously for You in dark and difficult places
For the Bibles that are being distributed in difficult to reach places which many receive for the first time.
For the help and encouragement, Voice of the Martyrs bring to families who are suffering because of following Christ
Follow the Links Below to Get Caught Up!
February 2021
For The Beauty Of The EarthMarch 2021
Christ the Lord has Risen TodayApril 2021
Amazing GraceMay 2021
It is WellJune 2021
Jesus Shall ReignAugust 2021
Revive Us AgainSeptember 2021
A Mighty Fortress Is Our GodOctober 2021
And Can It BeNovember 2021
My Heart is Filled With Thankfulness