Cameron Frank - The Soul Felt Its Worth: A 25-Day Devotional Journey Through the Music of Christmas

Copyright 2019 Cameron Frank and Preston Norman.

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.

Published by Cameron Frank in the United States of America.

Published with A Frank Voice

www.afrankvoice.com

Cover Design: Cameron Frank

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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1. Foreword by Nathan Drake
2. Introduction
3. Come Thou Fount
4. Come O Come Emmanuel
5. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
6. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
7. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
8. Little Town of Bethlehem
9. Once In Royal Davids City
10. Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
11. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
12. God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen
13. We Three Kings
14. The First Noel
15. Angels We Have Heard on High
16. Come All Ye Faithful
17. Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee
18. The Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus
19. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
20. Go Tell It on the Mountain
21. Glory Be to God on High
22. What Child is This?
23. Away in a Manger
24. Good Christian Men Rejoice
25. Holy Night
26. Silent Night
27. Joy to the World
28. Where to Find More
29. Scripture Index
30. Acknowledgements
31. About

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 smalla smell, a feeling, a melody, a large man in a red shirtwill 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), its 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.

Ive 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 Ive 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 Ive listened to the songs hundreds of times. Ive said the words peace and goodwill more than hello or yes, I know its 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.

Thats 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 thats what this book is about.

The classic Christmas carols arent 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

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 theres also a healthy dose of nostalgia that lends to my love of the season and the whole atmosphere of the holiday.

Its the entire experience: Christmas movies, music, decorations, the chill in the air, the memories, wrapping paperits 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, Thats what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Well 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 well be transported back to childrens choirs, dressing in a bedsheet to play a shepherd with the cartoon camels.

Well look at some more obscure selections that are no less powerfulno less impactful and theologically rich. Well dive into verses that have since faded from popular usage, but paint incredible pictures of the human condition and Christs 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, we all know that Christmas is about Jesus. Its right there in the name, after all. But do we really feel it? In the busyness of the season, do we take the time to truly soak in the powerful truth of how God stepped into the world to save us from sin and death?

Our prayer for this book is that it will help you do just thattake time to soak in that truth.

Over the next 25 days, well look at prayers of longing, hymns of remembrance, and songs of hope. Well dive into the Scriptures and study what the coming of the Christ means for us each and every day, not only for the Christmas season.