Category: Story Behind
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Christmas: The Story Behind “Mary, Did You Know?”
Hi, friends. Today’s post is the last installment of my annual Christmas series. So far, we have analyzed the expectation of a messiah in Israel and tied the hymns “O Come O Come Emmanuel” and “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus” to that concept. As we celebrate Christmas Eve, we will glimpse at one more hymn. The…
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Christmas: The Story Behind “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
Hi, friends. This is the second installment in this year’s Christmas hymn series, and as with “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” I’ll detail some of the song’s history and connect it to the theme “the expectation of a messiah in Israel.” History of the hymn Charles Wesley was the brother of John Wesley, and the…
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Christmas: The Story Behind “O Come O Come Emmanuel”
Hi, friends. This is the first hymn of three that we will analyze as Christmas swiftly approaches. The theme we are working with this year is “the expectation of a messiah in Israel.” [Please read the linked post if you are unfamiliar with this topic in order to understand my interpretations.] History of the hymn…
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Christmas 2019 Theme: the Expectation of a Messiah in Israel
Hi, friends. Every Christmas and Easter, I publish a series of posts that glimpse at the stories behind old, beloved hymns, connecting them to a theme. As usual, this is the introductory post, and the “Story Behind” posts will come in the days leading up to Christmas. (12/17, 12/20, 12/24) The theme for 2018 was…
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Easter: The Story Behind “Whiter Than Snow”
Hi, friends. This is the third and final installment of this Easter’s “Story Behind” posts, in which we’ve discovered the stories behind old hymns and related the lyrics to our focus theme–sacrifice and redemption. The Story Behind the Hymn The story behind this hymn is not as coincidental as “Jesus Paid It All” or as…
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Easter: The Story Behind “Victory in Jesus”
Hi, friends. This is the second installment of my Easter 2019 series. Once again, we will see the story behind a beloved hymn and also look at its relation to the blended theme of sacrifice and redemption. The Story Behind the Hymn In the early twentieth century, Eugene Monroe Bartlett Sr., a young man fresh…
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Easter: The Story Behind “Jesus Paid It All”
Hi, friends. This is the first installment of my Easter 2019 series, where we will focus on three hymns that align with the blended theme of sacrifice and redemption. The Story Behind the Hymn In 1865, choir member Elvina Hall listened to her pastor deliver his sermon like any other Sunday at Monument Street Methodist…
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Exploring Redemption & Sacrifice in Easter Hymns
Hi, friends. Every Easter and Christmas, I introduce a theme related to the holiday and post the stories behind three hymns that reflect that theme. This Easter, our theme is a blend of redemption and sacrifice. Last Easter, I used blood as the theme for exploration. The first post introduced the topic, explaining animal sacrifices…
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Christmas: The Story Behind “The First Noel”
Hi, friends. While this carol is one of the most popular ones I’ve covered, its backstory is more mysterious than one might expect. The song really centers on the magi, but the first (and best-known) verse focuses on angels, so I threw it into the “angel-themed” line-up. 🙂 The original author of these lyrics remains…
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Christmas: The Story Behind “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
Hi, friends. I never thought of this carol as a song that focused on angels, but actually, Christ’s birth is only alluded to, whereas angels are referenced in every verse! Edmund Sears, who served as the pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, MA, penned these lyrics in 1849. The carol is usually sung to…
Retrospective Lily 