The Soul Felt Its Worth

By Preston Norman and Cameron Frank

A 25 day Advent devotional for rest, worship, and reflection.

 

Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year and sometimes we just need permission to rest and remember what the season is all about. With this fresh perspective of classic hymns, familiar Bible passages, and the story of Christmas, you'll have an opportunity to do exactly that.

 

Each day will begin with a reflection on a familiar Christmas carol or hymn as we discover the untold story and study the Scriptural inspiration for each beloved song.

 

Remember why we celebrate Christmas with a devotional message and practical application based on the same Bible passages that inspired many of your favorite Christmas songs.

 

Every day ends with questions perfect for small group discussion or an intimate advent experience with your family.

 

The elements of this soothing and hope-giving Christmas devotional are designed to take only 10-15 minutes of each day—a perfect time to rest and keep Jesus foremost in our thoughts. Grow closer to Jesus this holiday season individually, with your family, or with a small group.

 

Begin a new tradition—start your Christmas season with The Soul Felt Its Worth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fox Press
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781732458444

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Cameron Frank and Preston Norman.

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All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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Published by Cameron Frank in the United States of America.

Published with A Frank Voice

www.afrankvoice.com

Cover Design: Cameron Frank

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Also used: Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

ISBN:

Paperback: 978-1-7324584-8-2

EPUB: 978-1-7324584-4-4

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Contents

Foreword by Nathan Drake

Introduction

Come Thou Fount

Come O Come Emmanuel

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Little Town of Bethlehem

Once In Royal David’s City

Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen

We Three Kings

The First Noel

Angels We Have Heard on High

Come All Ye Faithful

Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee

The Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Glory Be to God on High

What Child is This?

Away in a Manger

Good Christian Men Rejoice

Holy Night

Silent Night

Joy to the World

Where to Find More

Scripture Index

Acknowledgements

About

Foreword

It happens at least once a month. I will be minding my own business, thinking not about pine trees or mangers or whatever a sugarplum actually is, and then it happens. Something small—a smell, a feeling, a melody, a large man in a red shirt—will bring about a sudden onrush of joy as Christmas hijacks my every sense, followed almost immediately by an equally sudden, though entirely predictable disappointment that it is not, in fact, Christmas.

It happened again when I picked up this book. Although the reason here is no mystery. More than candles, pine trees, presents, or sugarplums (still no idea), it’s the music that connects christmas to the soul.

As I write this, it is the middle of August in St. Louis. The high today is 95 and the humidity could kill a small hippopotamus. But as I sit in my basement, Christmas lights haphazardly strung around my recording studio, It might as well be snowing outside. 

I’ve been in the studio everyday recording all 25 Christmas carols for The Soul Felt Its Worth audiobook. Cameron and Preston contacted me a few months prior with the idea for a musical audiobook version of the devotional you are holding right now. They may have asked me because I’ve spent the last 5 years creating simple, modern versions of hymns through the worship resource I created, Reawaken Hymns. Though the more likely reason is that no one else in the continental United States was unwell enough to try to record 25 christmas carols in a month.

At this point I’ve listened to the songs hundreds of times. I’ve said the words peace and goodwill more than hello or yes, I know it’s only August. Yet, everytime I hit the play button on one of these carols, that feeling is still there. You know the one. That strange mix of nostalgia, warmth, joy, and mild panic.

That’s what Christmas music does. It connects us to the story, the emotions, the truths. And it does so in a way that only music can. Bringing the intangible to life through music. And it does something else amazing, too. It leaves the church.

For an entire month, the secular and Christian worlds join together to set their minds on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable.

And that’s what this book is about.

The classic Christmas carols aren’t just the nativity set to music, they are a means to dwell on all things good in our world.

Peace on earth. 

Goodwill to men.

The wrong shall fail.

The right prevail

Joy to the world.

Right now you are holding a means to dwell on all things good. The reason we celebrate the arrival of our Christ in a manger is because that arrival ushered in the beginning of the Kingdom of all things good. 

In this book, Cameron and Preston have given you 25 days of what is true, what is honorable, what is just, what is pure, what is lovely, what is commendable, what is Christmas. All you have to do is dwell.

Nathan Drake

Reawaken Hymns

Introduction

I love Christmas. My closest friends and family know that I start listening to Christmas music well before the weather changes. There is such a joy and jubilee in Christmas music. I admit that there’s also a healthy dose of nostalgia that lends to my love of the season and the whole atmosphere of the holiday.

It’s the entire experience: Christmas movies, music, decorations, the chill in the air, the memories, wrapping paper—it’s hard to isolate just one part of the season that really makes it. But one of the most important aspects of Christmas to me is that we celebrate one of the two most pivotal events in human history.

The second event is Easter, where we celebrate and rejoice at the resurrection of Jesus, when He conquered sin and death once and for all. But for Jesus to live a perfect life and die on the cross for us and be resurrected in victory, He first must have been born. To quote Linus Van Pelt, That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

We’ll look at Christmas carols that instantly take us back to our childhood. They have a special way of drawing on nostalgia and filling us with the childhood joy of Christmas. Sometimes we’ll be transported back to children’s choirs, dressing in a bedsheet to play a shepherd with the cartoon camels.

We’ll look at some more obscure selections that are no less powerful—no less impactful and theologically rich. We’ll dive into verses that have since faded from popular usage, but paint incredible pictures of the human condition and Christ’s redeeming love for us.

It can be easy to forget why we celebrate, why we rejoice, and what the season is really all about in the midst of festivities, traditions, shopping, parties, family, and everything else that goes on during this time of year. Sure,