Christmas songs are familiar to the people in your church. They probably grew up singing them. So, they know the classics. And that's a good thing because it means it's easy to pick songs that people are familiar with this Christmas season.
However, that over-familiarity also makes it easy to turn our brains on auto-pilot and just start spewing the lyrics without realizing what we're actually singing about it. And it's your job as a worship leader to remind your church that the songs we sing during the Christmas season aren't just "feel good, nostalgic" moments - they're meant to be worship.
That's why, over on the Leading Worship Well YouTube channel, I just released a video called "5 Christmas Song Speaking Transitions For Worship Leaders."
In the video, you'll get 5 worship speaking transitions that you can use this Christmas season to teach your church that #christmassongsareworshipsongs.
In the video, I share speaking transitions for:
1 | Joy To The World
2 | O Come All Ye Faithful
3 | Hark The Herald Angels Sing
4 | Silent Night
5 | Oh Holy Night
Christmas Song Worship Speaking Transitions:
1 | Joy To The World
Good morning church!
We're going to sing Joy To The World in just a moment. But, I know how easy it is to slip into the comfortability of familiar Christmas songs. And I don't want that to happen to us this morning.
My prayer for us this morning is that we would recognize these Christmas songs as WORSHIP songs.
These were written for us to sing as a church.
And Joy To The World is a great song of praise. We get to declare together that we believe the KING has come.
And I want to remind us that this song is based on scripture - specifically Psalm 98 - listen to what it says:
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
(What clearer picture of salvation and righteousness do we have than Jesus coming to us? - And what's our response to this great news?)
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music!
So, as we sing these words "Joy To The World," let's join in with all the earth - the SEA and everything in it - the RIVERS - the MOUNTAINS - the ROCKS - the FIELDS - all of creation points to the Glory of God. And in this moment, we have an opportunity to do the same as we sing this together.
2 | O Come All Ye Faithful
Welcome to church!
We want to start our gathering by affirming WHY we gather together in the first place. And this song "O Come All Ye Faithful" is a great reminder of that.
It points us to the reason that we're here today.
After each verse that we sing, we get to remind ourselves that we are here to "ADORE" Jesus.
And that word "ADORE" means to love and respect someone deeply and ultimately it means to worship.
So, when we sing these words - O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord. We are reminding ourselves of the invitation that we have in this moment to come before Jesus and simply worship him.
So, as we sing this song, let's remember the invitation that we have and also invite the people around us right now to join in worship - because ultimately this time of singing isn't just about us connecting with God on a personal one-on-one basis but we have a responsibility to EACH OTHER in these moments.
Ephesians says that we are to speak to ONE ANOTHER with psalms, and hymns, and songs.
So, let's do that as we sing these words, inviting and encouraging each other to worship God.
3 | Hark The Herald Angels Sing
In this next song, we're going to sing the phrase "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."
And maybe this song is familiar to you - it's a popular Christmas carol.
But, so often, when a song is familiar to us, we sort of glance over the words.
We focus on the melody of the song and how it makes us feel and these words just start spewing out our of mouths.
And if we're honest with ourselves, do we really know what the word "Hark" means or what the "Herald angels" are? Like it's not an angel named Harold. It's an h-e-r-a-l-d angel.
So, what are we singing about when we sing this song we're about to sing?
Well, the word "Hark!" literally means listen. It's like "there is something going on right now that we need to pay attention to."
And what is it that we need to listen to? It's the Herald angels.
And a "herald" is someone who brings a message.
So, when we sing this song as a church, we are reminding ourselves and each other that there is a message worth listening to this Christmas season. And that message is "Glory to the new-born king." That the Savior of the world has come to us and is WORTHY of all Glory and Honor and Praise.
So, let's remind ourselves of that message as we sing this song together.
4 | Oh Holy Night
We're going to sing Oh Holy Night in a moment. And I know this song is familiar to a lot of you. But what you might not know is that the words we sing today are not the original words to the song.
Oh Holy Night was written in 1847 and the original lyrics were taken from a French poem called "Midnight, Christians."
And it's that poem that inspired the words we sing today.
So, I just want to read you the final stanza from "Midnight, Christians" because I think the original words are just as beautiful and powerful in reminding us of why we celebrate Christmas as the words we sing today.
The poem ends like this:
The Redeemer has broken every bond: The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave.
Love unites those whom iron had chained.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude, for all of us He is born, He suffers, and dies.
PEOPLE, stand up! Sing of your deliverance.
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer.
And I want us to answer that same question that that poet asked 200 years ago: "Who will tell Him of our gratitude?"
It's us. People, stand up. Sing of your deliverance. Sing of the Reedemer. That's why we're gathered here today. To tell God of our gratitude for Him because sending His Son in human flesh to earth to ultimately, suffer and die. So that we may be free and heaven may be open.
Let's thank God for that story that He has brought us into.
5 | Silent Night
Luke 2 says this:
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
So, that's how Jesus came to earth on that first Christmas night.
It wasn't some grand spectacle.
He didn't come with trumpets blasting and a great parade.
He wasn't born in a palace as a king - he was born in a manger.
He wasn't wrapped in royal robes - he was wrapped in simple cloths.
And really, there was nothing special about that night.
For 99.9% of the world, it was just another night. And yet, the savior of the world had been born.
But, it wasn't just Mary and Joseph who got to celebrate that night. There were a few more people.
Luke continues in verse 8:
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
That's what happened the first Christmas night.
And this Christmas we get to join in with the shepherds. We get to join in the celebration of the GOOD NEWS.
After the shepherds heard the good news and went to see Jesus - they glorified and praised God.
And that's why we're here to sing about that first Christmas night.
So, as we sing silent night we are joining in the celebration that the Savior of the world has come.
Want some more help preparing for Christmas? Get the FREE 7 Day Devotional - 7 Days To Leading Christmas Worship Well!
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