In the fourth and final week of our “Songs of Salvation” series, Pastor Smith reflects upon one of the greatest Christmas songs (and his own personal favorite), “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Pastor leads us to reflect upon this question– “What would make even the angels sing the praises of God?” We learn that the angels are also amazed and overjoyed to see God fulfilling His plan for the salvation of the world, as in the incarnation God becomes man to set us free from our sins…and this makes the angels sing “Glory to God in the highest!”
Angels have seen a lot of amazing things. What would it take to make them sing?
Angels exist to:
Serve God
Deliver messages from God
Protect and help humans
Angels see that humans are lost, sinful creatures. So when the angels see God’s “incarnation intervention,” they sing in praise of His grace and love!
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”:
Verse 1: The angels sing because God is bringing peace by reconciling sinners to Himself.
Verse 2: The angels sing because of God’s willingness to personally enter His broken creation to save it.
Verse 3: The angels sing because Jesus has been born to bring healing and new, everlasting life.
Luke 15:10 and 1 Peter 1:10-12
Discussion Guide
How do you figure out if you should be impressed by something?
What is your favorite part of the song “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”?
Theoretically, God could have saved the world a different way. However, we know that He chose to save the world through the incarnation: entering this world as a human, and suffering, dying, and rising again to set us free from the bondage of sin. What do you learn about God when you consider the wonder of the incarnation?
How does it impact you to know how the angels react to God’s work for you, especially based on such passages as Luke 15:10 and 1 Peter 1:10-12?