Reviewing the Christmas story can warm our hearts with the familiar, but examining the characters in new ways can enrich the story you may never have considered. Sidewalk Prophet’s song, “What a Glorious Night,” puts the shepherds (and their experience in the Christmas story) front and center. It allows us to consider this repeated story in a fresh and exciting way.
I pray my response to God’s message will always be the same as the shepherds that glorious night.
In this episode, I discuss the following:
- Several of my favorite Bible Interaction Tools that make covering familiar passages exciting
- Remembering the characters are real
- Slowing down to ponder and meditate on the details
- Reading the same section of Scripture in a variety of translations
- Reading in context
- Reading/studying with others
- Considering the shepherd’s five senses and what they may have experienced – Luke 2:8-12
- How to define the “radiance of the Lord’s glory”
- What we can learn from the shepherd’s response to confirm what the angel said – Luke 2:15-16
- Thinking of the shepherds as the first evangelists – Luke 2:17-18
Enjoy the official acoustic version below.
Additional Resources
- Lyrics and Story Behind the Song – New Release Today
- Behind the Song with Sidewalk Prophets on YouTube
- Seven Characteristics of Highly Evangelistic Christians – by Thom Rainer – The Christian Post
This Week’s Challenge
Read Luke 2:8-20 this week. Don’t forget that the shepherds were real people, living in a real place during a real epic event that would impact you and me for eternity. Consider what they may have experienced as you ponder the five senses. Slow down. Meditate on what you are reading. Read in a variety of translations. Read the story in the context of all that came before. But most of all, this week…if you use no other Bible interaction tool…read it and discuss it with a friend.
