Friday 25th December – While Shepherds Watched their Flocks By Night This carol is a paraphrase of the Gospel account of the angels and the shepherds made by Irish man Nathum Tate. Many tunes have been used for this – we normally use Winchester New which has an appropriately churchy feel to it. However, Cranbrook […]
URC Daily Devotion Thursday 24th December 2020
Thursday 24th December – Hark the Herald Angels Sing This hymn has been edited since Wesley’s, long forgotten, original. George Whitfield changed some of the words and cut some of the verses (which were originally of four lines each) whilst Charles Burnley changed the hymn to its current form of three 8 line verses. We […]
URC Daily Devotion Wednesday 23rd December 2020
Wednesday 23rd December – The Cherry Tree Carol Other than he was an honourable man who encountered the Divine in his dreams, we know little of Joseph. This lack of knowledge inspired people over the years to wonder how he really felt when learning that Mary was with child. The Cherry Tree Carol is one […]
URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 22nd December 2020
Tuesday 22nd December – Masters in This Hall This appears to be an ancient carol but only dates from the Victorian era when William Morris – famous for art, design, poetry and socialism, and much more – wrote it. It tells of the poor shepherds who came to see Jesus. St Luke 1: 46-55 And […]
URC Daily Devotion Sunday Worship – 20th December 2020
URC Daily Devotions Service for Sunday 20th December 2020Advent 4 – Come thou long expected Jesus Opening Music I believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake They said there’ll be snow at ChristmasThey said there’ll be peace on earthBut instead it just kept on rainingA veil of tears for the virgin birth.I remember one Christmas morningA winter’s […]
URC Daily Devotion Saturday 19th December 2020
Saturday 19th December – Once in Royal David’s City St Luke 2: 1 – 7 Many contemporary Christians find the lines in today’s carol about Christ leading his children on to heaven rather difficult, yet when this carol was written infant mortality was extremely high and the bereaved would find comfort in the notion that […]
URC Daily Devotion Friday 18th December 2020
Friday 18th December Veni, Veni Emmanuel St Luke 21: 20-28 ‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; for these are […]
URC Daily Devotion Thursday 17th December 2020
Thursday 17th December – O Come O Come Emmanuel In looking forward to Jesus’ coming again we also look back to the ancient prophecies of His coming. Monastic communities would sing different prophecies of Jesus’ coming each day between now and Christmas eve. These have been made popular in today’s haunting Advent carol. Isaiah 7:4; […]
URC Daily Devotion Wednesday 16th December 2020
Wednesday 16th December – Adam Lay Y Bounden This carol, again more often sung by choirs than congregations, dates, we think, to the 15th Century and tells the story of the Fall. Genesis 3: 1-8 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the […]
URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 15th December 2020
Tuesday 15th December – This is the Truth Sent From Above The origins of this carol are unknown but it tells the history of salvation in verse form. It’s more often sung by choirs than congregations. Genesis 2:7, 15-18, 21-25 Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils […]