2023 New Years Eve Service – Carol Singalong Service & Messengers of Light

When I heard that we would have one service at 11am this Sunday and that it would include a Christmas carol sing-a-long, I immediately thought of a carol written by Charles Wesley, one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. Charles Wesley was a creative genius who wrote over 6,000 hymns, including “And Can It Be?”, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” and “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing!”

It has been said that the Methodist movement was born in song and Charles Wesley was the chief songwriter. His hymns are filled with Scripture, Good News, and rich Wesleyan theology.

In my opinion, there is one Charles Wesley hymn that eclipses all the rest. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” It has appeared in more than 1,200 hymn books, has been recorded by hundreds of artists and has even been included in a couple of movies.

In just three verses, Wesley tells us the entire Gospel story, describing Christ’s nature, his birth and incarnation, his ministry, and his redeeming purpose.

In 1 John 1, the writer expresses the Gospel story in his own creative way.

“1 Here is what we announce to everyone about the Word of life. The

Word was already here from the beginning. We have heard him. We

have seen him with our eyes. We have looked at him. Our hands have

touched him.”

“5 Here is the message we have heard from him and announce to you.

God is light. There is no darkness in him at all.”

Just last Sunday in our Candlelight Services, we lit candles and by the soft glow of candlelight we remembered the Gospel message. God came to us in Jesus Christ to dispel the darkness with his light and still today we find messengers of this light.