A Christmas Message and Video
For two thousand years, Christians have gathered around fires, in churches and in their homes to retell the story of the Incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ. They have passed on the good news to each other — and especially to their children — that God decided He needed to be with us, needed to become one of us.
We believe the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem to be true history. But it’s also a powerful message for us still today. It challenges us to live differently because of Christ who now lives in and with us. We still need this Incarnated Jesus, just as God knew we would. We need a walking, breathing, working-with-us Jesus. Otherwise, he remains a word on a page of old parchment, an unfulfilled promise, an old story that’s nice to listen to but never quite seems real.
This Christmas, when the family gathers around the tree or the fire, make sure the story of Jesus doesn’t get lost in the piles of wrapping paper. Begin your celebration with the story that changed us forever.
Over the past several weeks, my musical collaborators (John Caravelli and Phil Cooper) and I gathered in my studio to write, arrange and record a new song that tells the story of Christmas and the Incarnation through the lens of John the Evangelist and the poetic and epic words of the first chapter of his gospel — “In the beginning was the Word…”
TO VIEW THE VIDEO, scroll down a little…or click here to go directly to YouTube.
Here are the lyrics:
From ancient days a story’s told
A message hopeful from the cold.
Around the fire, we huddle close
The Word of God — a child, chose.
Through this Word all things were made
Without this child, no light arrays.
In him was life and light for all
A light so bright that darkness falls.
The Word became flesh and moved into our lives
And the flesh became grace and saw through our disguise
The grace was a spark that lifted us higher
That dances and burns within us around the fire.
Still today, the Word remains
Alive each day, the kingdom reigns.
In all creation, all time and place
For every heart, a gift of grace.
Again we gather ‘round the fire
A family joined by God’s desire.
We celebrate that holy night
And live our way into the light.
The Word became flesh and moved into our lives
And the flesh became grace and saw through our disguise
The grace was a spark that lifted us higher
That dances and burns within us around the fire.
Around the Fire
Words and music by John Caravelli, Phil Cooper and Steve Givens
© 2022 Potter’s Mark Music
