One of my favorite Christmas songs is, O Come O Come Emmanuel. It's believed a monk or possibly a priest wrote the original seven verses as early as 800 A.D. and was translated into Latin around the 12th Century. It was published in the 1800's in England. This simple, yet solemn Christmas song is a reverent tribute to the birth of our Savior and God's promise to deliver mankind from their sin. It's based on the Messianic prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel - God with us." (NKJV)

Immanuel would not be the name the Christ Child would be called, but rather Immanuel would describe who Jesus was and what Jesus would accomplish as the Messiah. He would reveal He was God with us, but a man like us; fully God, yet fully man. As the Christ incarnated in human flesh, He would speak to the deepest need of the human heart; the need to know God and be known by God.

This Advent season, Dori and I want to express our heartfelt love for each of you. It's our prayer that as you communicate the fulfillment of the Messianic promise of Immanuel - God with us, that many will experience the life changing reality of a Savior who is the Christ of Christmas. Merry Christmas!