John Partis
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Verse 4: O Come thou Key of David, Come
For me keys have two ideas associated with them. First they are a symbol of authority and power. And second, they unlock doors! More than twenty years ago now Jill and I set out on a project that even now I have to pinch myself to believe we actually carried out. Redundancy from my well
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Verse 3: O come, Thou Day-Spring
The description of Jesus Christ as “Day-Spring” in this third verse is taken from the prophetic word given by God to Zechariah in Luke’s Gospel (Luke1:78,79). The verses before give some context: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His
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Verse 2: O come, Thou Rod of Jesse
A couple of years ago I returned to visit my childhood home, a farmhouse on the North Downs in Kent. From the outside it looked just as it did when I was a boy. It still had the half timbering that it had when it was built 600 years ago. In my youth I remember
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Verse 1: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
In the first verse of this Advent carol Jesus is called Emmanuel. Emmanuel is a Hebrew word meaning “God is with us”. It was some long years (too many!) after I became a Christian that I finally understood that Christianity was about relationship rather than religious observance. Accepting this truth at once sets us free
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The Young Shepherd Boy
A short story loosely based on Luke 2:8-15. Hi, I’m Jesse. I’m 12 years old. I live with my family in Bethlehem and I’m training to be a shepherd, just like King David was all those years ago. My parents live in a large house at the edge of the town. It’s surrounded by a
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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Introduction
If I were to be asked for my first thought on hearing the word “Advent” it would be to think of one of my favourite carols, ”O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”. So, with the season of Advent upon us I decided to dig deeper into the origins of this carol and to give some thought
