1) You Will Hear God\u2019s Word<\/strong><\/p>\nLessons and Carols is not a musical concert or play, but rather the story of God\u2019s plan for the salvation of mankind as revealed in His Word. That story begins with the Genesis account of the fall of Adam and Eve and concludes with the Word made flesh in the first chapter of John. Each reading is followed by one or more carols, allowing for further meditation on the text. You will leave a Lessons and Carols service veritably drenched in Biblical language.<\/p>\n
2) You Will Sing, and Singing Is Good<\/strong><\/p>\nPeople don\u2019t sing enough anymore. (Instead, they listen to mass-produced music and possibly sing along.) Not only do people not sing anymore, they don\u2019t sing together anymore. Why do we get chills those rare times when we are at a sporting event and everyone joins in the national anthem? It\u2019s not just the song, but the corporate nature of the singing. There are very few places these days where that sort of group singing happens. People sing at birthday parties, maybe on New Year\u2019s Eve if they can remember the words to \u201cAuld Lang Syne,\u201d and they sing in church. A Lessons and Carols service is a unique opportunity to hear and sing songs that the larger culture mostly ignores.<\/p>\n
3) You Will Unite with Christians Across Time and Space<\/strong><\/p>\nYou will be united across time and space, not just with those standing at your left and right, but with Christians around the world both today and in the past who have listened to the same readings and sung the same texts. I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns, not a Christmas hymn but an evening hymn, by nineteenth-century hymnist John Ellerton: \u201cThe sun, that bids us rest, is waking Thy saints beneath the western skies, And hour by hour, as day is breaking, Fresh hymns of thankful praise arise\u201d (\u201cThe Day Thou Gavest\u201d). There was a time the sun never set on the British Empire. That time may be past, but the sun assuredly never sets on Christ\u2019s Church, since at any given moment someone, somewhere, is praying and singing to His name.<\/p>\n
4) You Will Be Transported to Another World<\/strong><\/p>\nYou will be transported to a world removed from the one with which you contend on a daily basis. At this time of year, instead of allowing Christians more time for religious observance, the culture ramps up a couple of notches, mercilessly piling on the activities and special events. Even in the church, sometimes there is less interest in creating an occasion for reverence and reflection than there is in throwing a party.<\/p>\n
There is nothing wrong with parties. But the Incarnation is the most mind-blowing, awe-inspiring event in the history of the universe, and we Christians can sometimes be strangely casual about it. We\u2019ve heard it all before, donchyaknow. The other-worldliness of Lessons and Carols is a great antidote to such casualness. It will plop you down in the middle of that long-ago field with the shepherds and remind you of what it means to be sore afraid before trumpeting the amazing news that you need fear not because the message is one that brings good tidings of great joy for all people.<\/p>\n
5) You Will Remember What Christmas Is All About<\/strong><\/p>\nYou will be reminded, as Linus reminded Charlie Brown, of \u201cwhat Christmas is all about.\u201d At this time of year there is no shortage of \u201cChristmas.\u201d It\u2019s everywhere, but the world\u2019s Christmas is not the Church\u2019s Christmas. Most of the \u201cChristmas\u201d songs you hear on the radio aren\u2019t Christmas songs at all, but celebrations of winter, family, love, giving, and peace on earth. All of those are certainly good things, but they aren\u2019t Christmas. Christmas is \u201cWord of the Father, now in flesh appearing,\u201d and Lessons and Carols makes that abundantly clear.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
She adds:<\/p>\n
\u201cA Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols\u201d from King\u2019s College will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 on December 24, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. EST. Listen live here.<\/a> The service is also broadcast by American Public Media<\/a> on a number of public radio stations in the United States (check local listings) and is rebroadcast by the BBC several times during the week after Christmas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHT:\u00a0 Mary Moerbe<\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cLessons and Carols\u201d is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It\u2019s a simple service that goes back to 1918 featuring the choir of King\u2019s College in Cambridge, which has been performing it every year except 1930 ever since.\u00a0\u00a0 BBC began broadcasting it in 1928, and listening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10,11,21,32],"tags":[464,2909,3507,3506],"class_list":["post-20412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-christ","category-church","category-holidays","category-music","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-carols","tag-christmas-worship-services","tag-lessons-and-carols"],"yoast_head":"\n
Lessons And Carols<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Lessons and Carols" is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It's a simple service that\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lessons And Carols\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Lessons and Carols" is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It's a simple service that\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-23T10:56:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-20T02:12:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/\",\"name\":\"Lessons And Carols\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-23T10:56:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-20T02:12:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Lessons and Carols\\\" is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It's a simple service that\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lessons And Carols\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lessons And Carols","description":"\"Lessons and Carols\" is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It's a simple service that","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lessons And Carols","og_description":"\"Lessons and Carols\" is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It's a simple service that","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2014-12-23T10:56:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-12-20T02:12:17+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/","name":"Lessons And Carols","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-12-23T10:56:41+00:00","dateModified":"2014-12-20T02:12:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"\"Lessons and Carols\" is a Christmas service consisting of nine Bible readings punctuated by the singing of Christmas carols.\u00a0 It's a simple service that","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2014\/12\/lessons-and-carols\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lessons And Carols"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}