Songs of the Season: Matthew 1:22-23

“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God is with us.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The day is finally here! I’ve been waiting for this year’s round of Music of the Season Fridays for months. Each Friday of this Advent season we will pause and give some attention to some great music that gets the spirit of the season right. Some of these will be songs that are intimately familiar, some will be totally new and original. All of them are ones that caught my attention for the way they capture the message of the season in a way simple words just can’t do. And, to make it even easier for you to enjoy, I’m not going to put any of it behind a click through. It’ll all be right here in your inbox. That, of course, means I’m not going to write as much because I want the songs to be the star here, not me.

This first song of the season is one that I didn’t even realize was a Christmas song the first few times I heard it. It was just playing in the background. But one day when I was listening through my AirPods – which always allows me to give the actual lyrics of a song greater attention than I usually would – it dawned on me what they were singing about. Not only is this a great song, but it is actually a perfect accompaniment to my sermon series this season. In fact, it just almost has the same title: For God Is with Us. As you begin your day, take a few minutes and listen to the way Joel and Luke Smallbone of For King and Country capture the wonder of the idea that in Jesus God Himself came to be with us. I hope this will stir your heart with the significance of this idea as much as it did mine. Blessings to you as you begin the second weekend of Advent.

Morning Musing: Matthew 1:22-23

“Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God is with us.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

All this week we have been talking about hope; what it is and how we can have it in a way that makes a difference in our lives. At the end of the day…or week…though, there is one thing that matters and stands out above all the rest: Our hope is in Jesus. When Jesus was born, He was the fulfillment of the hopes of the people of Israel. He was all they had been waiting on for centuries. They didn’t understand it at first, but gradually word began to spread and the hope He came bearing with it. And I could take great pains to explain this to you and exhort you to take great stock in it this morning, but sometimes there’s a better way.

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