Penned as a poem by James Montgomery, the Christmas hymn “Angels, From the Realms of Glory” first appeared in a London newspaper the Sheffield Register on December 24, 1816. Later this poem was published as “Good Tidings of Great Joy to All People” in a hymnal entitled Montgomery’s Original Hymns. Considered one of the finest Christmas hymns, each verse issues a challenge to worship the Christ of Christmas with the four verses focusing on the angels, the shepherds, the magi, and all believers respectively. The familiar words of the first verse address the divine messengers.

 Angels, from the realms of glory, Wing your flight o’er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation’s story, Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King!

     As we come to the conclusion of a year that has been incredibly unique and far short of anything normal or expected, my prayer is that the message of Christmas will be proclaimed boldly and projected broadly in our worship and through our witness. “Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King.”

                                                                                                Daniel

     Last week, “From Daniel’s Den” introduced the Nominalizers as those “Christians” who (1) seek a simple or easy path to focusing on Christ, (2) savor the cultural practice of favoring Christ, and (3) shine amid a legal pattern of following Christ. In other words, nominalizers are those “Christians” who believe that joining a church or participating in church ministries, accepting the local customs and culture of the church, and checking all of the expected boxes properly in somewhat pharisaical fashion, qualifies them as Christian.

     As you pray this week, ask God to help you to be the kind of citizen that exemplifies Christ in attitude, action, word, and deed. Pray that you would submit completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as you help others to remain “under God.”

                                                                                                                                Daniel

     Two weeks ago, the focus of “Daniel’s Den” was honoring parents by making them a Priority while treating them with Courtesy, Dignity, and Integrity. Last week, the focus of this article was reversed to encourage aging parents not only to offer Affirmation, Communication, and Cooperation to their adult children who desire to honor them, but also to encourage elderly parents to make Preparation through a Last Will and Testament, an Advance Health Care Directive, and a Durable Power of Attorney.

     From what I understand, folks in my age category often are referred to as the “sandwich generation.” This classification applies to those who not only have young children they are raising (or maybe young adult kids they are helping to launch), but who also have parents that find a measure of assistance at their particular age and stage of life to be helpful.

     Penned as a poem by James Montgomery, the Christmas hymn “Angels, From the Realms of Glory” first appeared in a London newspaper the Sheffield Register on December 24, 1816. Later this poem was published as “Good Tidings of Great Joy to All People” in a hymnal entitled Montgomery’s Original Hymns. Considered one of the finest Christmas hymns, each verse issues a challenge to worship the Christ of Christmas with the four verses focusing on the angels, the shepherds, the magi, and all believers respectively. The familiar words of the first verse address the divine messengers.

 Angels, from the realms of glory, Wing your flight o’er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation’s story, Now proclaim Messiah’s birth:

Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King!

     As we come to the conclusion of a year that has been incredibly unique and far short of anything normal or expected, my prayer is that the message of Christmas will be proclaimed boldly and projected broadly in our worship and through our witness. “Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King.”

                                                                                                Daniel

     Last week, “From Daniel’s Den” introduced the Nominalizers as those “Christians” who (1) seek a simple or easy path to focusing on Christ, (2) savor the cultural practice of favoring Christ, and (3) shine amid a legal pattern of following Christ. In other words, nominalizers are those “Christians” who believe that joining a church or participating in church ministries, accepting the local customs and culture of the church, and checking all of the expected boxes properly in somewhat pharisaical fashion, qualifies them as Christian.

     As you pray this week, ask God to help you to be the kind of citizen that exemplifies Christ in attitude, action, word, and deed. Pray that you would submit completely to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as you help others to remain “under God.”

                                                                                                                                Daniel

     Two weeks ago, the focus of “Daniel’s Den” was honoring parents by making them a Priority while treating them with Courtesy, Dignity, and Integrity. Last week, the focus of this article was reversed to encourage aging parents not only to offer Affirmation, Communication, and Cooperation to their adult children who desire to honor them, but also to encourage elderly parents to make Preparation through a Last Will and Testament, an Advance Health Care Directive, and a Durable Power of Attorney.

     From what I understand, folks in my age category often are referred to as the “sandwich generation.” This classification applies to those who not only have young children they are raising (or maybe young adult kids they are helping to launch), but who also have parents that find a measure of assistance at their particular age and stage of life to be helpful.