For many people, Christmas can be a difficult season instead of a joyful one. It can make us feel alone in a crowd as we carry our secret heartbreak and grief. Gatherings only seem to highlight the empty chairs and the broken dreams–the absence of the people we love or the things we desire that we’ve lost or never had. While everyone else is having a great time in the presence of family and friends, we can feel isolated. Alone. Numb. Empty.
At Christmastime the air is full of songs of hope that say things like “the weary world rejoices”. How can our weary hearts, exhausted by a long season of waiting, sorrow, and pain, find the strength to endure?
This song is for everyone who is experiencing the weight of that loss and grief. Jesus meets you there. The incarnation shows us a God who is not distant, but willing to take on human flesh and experience every moment of our grief and sadness. Even knowing he was about to resurrect his friend Lazarus, Jesus wept at the ugliness of death and the pain he saw in Mary and Martha’s eyes.
He is Emmanuel: God with us. Jesus meets all of us in the darkness and weeps with us too.
~Anna Dufek & Luke Lengl
Stream "Jesus Prince of Peace" wherever you find music:
https://l.lxtr.nl/jpop
This is a reminder of why we come together to worship, bringing all of ourselves and offering whatever we can, but remembering that we're also sustained and supported when we're scattered within our communities. It has worked well to bring congregations to a more receptive place of encounter, particularly after a spell of high praise.
A song for when we need to look at Jesus, lifting our eyes off what might distract and discourage and focus on our rock. Written as part of the 2025 Resound Worship 12 Song Challenge.
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” Hebrews 6:19
This song was written as a part of Resound Worship's 12 Song Challenge on the theme of hope. Based on the passage from Hebrews, this song has the feel of an old sea shanty. It also evokes other nautical hymns such as "Will Your Anchor Hold in the Storms of Life?" Many thanks to Chris Fischer for supplying the wonderful vocals. This song is free to use for your congregation, but please report use to One License or CCLI.