We enjoyed a wonderful double Christmas carol service yesterday at Redeemer Church London, welcoming hundreds of you through the doors to celebrate the birth of Jesus together.
The services began with a new poem from church member STEVE PAGE who took one of the lines from ‘Joy to the World’, the events in Bethlehem and then a reflection of the Oasis band reunion. You can read his words in full below.
We hope to see you at one of our two Christmas family services this Sunday (December 21) at 9.30am and 11.30am at the University of West London.
Merry Christmas from everyone at Redeemer!
‘WHEN HEAVEN AND NATURE SANG’
The reunion had been planned for ages. They hadn’t sung together for… Well, it was difficult to remember the last time.
They had once been a successful duo, if not the most successful. So many hits.
The brothers had sung together from their earliest days. Always in harmony. Their songs would bring tears to your eyes.
They did their own compositions, which were A-MA-ZING, and they did covers, which is where you might have come across them – old angelic classics, like ‘Hosanna In The Highest!’. Or maybe you’ll remember their version of: ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty Reigns!’ Gives me chills just thinking about it.
Well, after their big falling out, things hadn’t been quite the same. You might still see them together occasionally but never singing. Those days seemed to have gone.
They had slowly drifted apart, and we weren’t 100% sure this reunion concert was going to go well. The younger brother was a little temperamental you see. I think he felt upstaged by his big brother. You might remember reports of his more rebellious days.
But when the King of Angels, the first born of Creation - when Jesus asked them to sing… When he said how much it would mean to him, how could they refuse?
And so, on the night the opening act was of course the Angels – not just one choir – but the biggest gathering of the citizens of Heaven since creation – all the choirs of Angels singing in exaltation, filling the sky.
And they were loud I tell you – “Glory to God in the highest! Peace on Earth!” Their voices filled the heavens. You could feel it right down to your bones.
How could anyone top that?
And as their last note faded, that’s when we saw them - Heaven and Nature walked on stage – they embraced as we were cheering. I couldn’t believe they were together once again.
I thought I was ready but man, that sound? When Heaven and Nature sang, I mean! When Heaven and Nature sang, it resonated through all creation – the fields, the hills couldn’t help but repeat the resounding joy.
It was everything we could have hoped for – the glory of God’s righteousness, the wonders of His love! They sang their hearts out and we sang along, knowing every word. Everyone coming together to let Jesus know just how much He is adored.
You know, it was like Heaven and Earth had never been apart.
And by the end of their set the applause was deafening. They of course did an encore – it had to be: ‘Joy to the World’. Brilliant!
All the way home we kept the song going – glorifying and praising God for all we had seen and heard. The Messiah – bridging the gap, heralding peace between God and humankind.
“The wonders of His love! The wonders of His love!”
I can’t wait for when Heaven and Nature worship Jesus together again for a permanent reunion.
I recommend reserving your seats early.
Meanwhile – we have the set list. And we can sing.
