by Dr. John DeLancey | Dec 23, 2016 | General
Silent Night is a carol that is used to conclude virtually every Christmas Eve service. The carol was written in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. Just few years earlier (1816), Mohr had already...
by Dr. John DeLancey | Dec 22, 2016 | General
One of my favorite carols is an old English hymn called Once In David’s Royal City. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys’ hymnbook Hymns for little Children. In 1919, the song was used as the processional hymn for the Christmas Eve...
by Dr. John DeLancey | Dec 19, 2016 | Everyday Israel, General
People ask me, “Do they celebrate Christmas in Israel?” To be honest, that’s almost like asking “Does it snow in the winter in Minnesota?” Well, I admit that perhaps this is a bit of an exaggerated way of answering the question, but for...
by Dr. John DeLancey | Dec 7, 2016 | Everyday Israel, General
Christmas is celebrated around the world. Of the world’s 195 countries or so (depending on how you count a few of them), citizens in the most of these countries celebrate Christmas. This includes Israel. Christmas is celebrated in Israel, a country where the...
by Dr. John DeLancey | Dec 6, 2016 | General, Modern Israel Issues
The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the two oldest churches in Israel. The church goes back to the 4th century AD, specifically around 325 AD. Along with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the Church of Nativity was commissioned and built by...
by Dr. John DeLancey | Nov 30, 2016 | General, Personal Perspectives from Israel
Jerusalem is a special place. Many consider Jerusalem the center of the earth and even the eye of the universe. Visiting this ancient city is actually indescribable. It is a place of not only history dating back 1,000s of years, but it is also a place of spiritual...
