Just a shepherd… laughing.
Pastor Kent Landhuis
THEME – The angel promised good news of great joy for all people.
TEXT – Luke 2:10
- Unexpected interruption.
- Luke 2:8-9
- What is joy?
- Unexpected invitation.
- Luke 2:10-11
- Who needs joy?
- Unexpected sign.
- Luke 2:12-14
- Where do we find joy?
- Unexpected glory.
- Luke 2:15-20
- What happens when we find joy?
NEXT STEPS
- Celebrate joy beyond circumstances.
- Translate joy to praise.
- Share joy with the joyless.
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow suffered greatly. His wife, Fannie, died when her dress caught fire. Henry tried to smother the flame with his own body, but it was too late. Two years later his 18-year-old son Charley left home and signed up to serve in Lincoln’s Union Army where he was severely wounded in battle.
On Christmas day, 1863, Longfellow – a 57-year-old widowed father of six children – sought to capture in writing both his despair and his hope. He heard church bells that day and the singing of “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14), but he saw a world of injustice and violence that mocked the truthfulness of this hopeful outlook.
He ultimately found joy in spite of circumstances and wrote the poem that would later become I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth good will to men
And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men
Then rang the bells, more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men
Find more details of the story HERE.
