The good news of the Christmas story stretches far before and long after the stable. The full Worship Arts team brings this rich musical to life as a Christmas offering to the MPBC family and community. Join us as we prepare together to worship Messiah!

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29

Interested in joining the Worship Arts team? Contact Lyana Smith or Brian Howerton.

About Behold the Lamb of God

“…I wrote these songs because as a young man I was captivated by the vast and wondrous story the Bible tells us of Christ’s centrality to the universe itself.

Colossians 1 tells us, “…by him all things were created, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

That’s it. That’s what I want you to know if you didn’t already know, and what I want you to remember if you forgot.

It’s what I hope we’re all celebrating as the last notes of this album fade away.

He’s our king, and he loves us. … What I want to want is for Christ to be glorified, to use whatever time is left to herald the coming of his Kingdom, world without end. Because of the Gospel, an awareness of sin leads to gratitude, and gratitude is the doorway to joy. He made peace, by the blood of his cross. …

So it is with great joy that I sit here marveling at the Lord’s great kindness … for speaking the world into being, for spinning it like a vinyl on a turntable, for setting down the needle that amplifies the symphony he’s conducting, and inviting us to join in the song of Christ’s courage, selflessness, compassion, and kingship.

It is the theme of my song, and by his grace, will be for all eternity” – Andrew Peterson

*if you don’t already own this work consider purchasing it here: https://store.rabbitroom.com

The Songs of Behold the Lamb of God

Gather ‘Round, Ye Children, Come

Philippians 2:6-11

Gather ‘round, ye children come,
Listen to the old, old story
Of the pow’r of Death undone
By an infant born of glory
Son of God, Son of Man

Gather ‘round, remember now
How creation held its breath
How it let out a sigh
And it fi lled up the sky
With the angels
Son of God, Son of Man

So sing out with joy
For the brave little boy
Who was God, but He made
Himself nothing
He gave up His pride
And He came here to die
Like a man

Therefore God exalted Him
To the place of highest praises
And He gave Him a name
above every name
That at the very name of Jesus,
Son of God

So sing out with joy
For the brave little boy
Who was God, but He made
Himself nothing
He gave up His pride
And He came here to die
Like a man

So in heav’n and earth and below
Every knee would bow in worship
And ev’ry tongue would proclaim
That Jesus, He reigns with the angels

This song invites you to come, listen, and revisit in full the old, old story: That God sent forth His Son, clothed in the humility of man (as the NIV translates it “made himself nothing), obedient unto death, even death on a cross. And that the hero of this story traded in his crown of glory for a crown of thorns. “So gather ‘round, and remember now,” what is truly more than just the greatest story ever told.

Passover Us

Exodus 7:12, 12:21-22, 16:2-3, Leviticus 14:13

Well, we all remember Moses on the banks of the river
He said “Pharaoh, you’ve got to let my people go.
You don’t want me to have to tell you this ten times over–
Denial ain’t just a river, you know”

And we all remember Pharaoh, he just wouldn’t do it
So the plagues they came upon Egypt one by one
His heart was hard and the other nine just couldn’t move it
So the last was the worst: the death of the firstborn son

But the Lord, he gave to Moses a word for the people
He said their firstborn sons would live to see another day
“Put the blood of a lamb on the doorway and death will pass right over”
That night all of the children of Israel prayed,

“Lord, let your judgment Passover us
Lord, let your love hover near
Don’t let your sweet mercy Passover us
Let this blood cover over us here”

So the years went by and the people they whined and they wandered
And only sacrifice atoned for the sins of the land
So you see the priest he placed upon the holy altar
The body of a spotless lamb

And he prayed,
“Lord, let your judgment Passover us
Lord, let your love hover near
Don’t let your sweet mercy Passover us
Let this blood cover over us here”

History truly is the story of God’s redemptive work. That in spite of the grumblings of an ungrateful people, God still graciously provided a way. After more than 400 years in captivity, The Israelites cried out for deliverance. So in His sovereign provision God raised up a leader to deliver His people. But Pharaoh wouldn’t heed the words of God! Even now, you can hear Moses warning Pharaoh, “Denial ain’t just a river, you know.” So the Lord judged Pharaoh’s land with ten horrible plagues, the last of which took the life of every first-born male. But God again provided for His people. And so it was that each household took an innocent lamb and covered their doorposts with its blood, so that each would be covered by the mercy of God as He passed over the land in judgment. In this way, God was providing a perfect picture of the ultimate sacrifice yet to come; the sacrifice of the only truly spotless Lamb, who was slain for the sins of all mankind.

So Long, Moses

Deuteronomy 32:48-52, Joshua 1:1-3, Judges 17:6, 1 Samuel 8:1-5, 8:19-22, 10:1, 16:1, 18:7, 2 Samuel 2:10, 5:4, 5:9-10, 1 Kings 8:17, 12:21, Isaiah 11:12, 53:2-5, Micah 5:2

So long, Moses
Hello, Promised Land
It was a long, long road
But your people are home
So long, Moses

Hello, Joshua
Goodbye, Canaanites
We’re coming to town
Twelve tribes and no crown
No crown, Oh Lord

We want a king on a throne
Full of power, with a sword in his fist
Will there ever be, ever be a king like this?

Hello, Saul
First king of Israel
You were foolish and strong
So you didn’t last long
Goodbye, Saul

Hail, King David
Shepherd from Bethlehem
Set the temple of God
In mighty Jerusalem

He was a king on a throne
Full of power, with a sword in his fist
Has there ever been, ever been a king like this?
Full of wisdom, full of strength, the hearts of the people are his
Hear, O Israel, was ever there a king like this?

Hello, prophets
The kingdom is broken now
The people of God
Have been scattered abroad
How long, O Lord?

So speak, Isaiah
Prophet of Judah
Can you tell of the One
This king who’s going to come

Will he be a king on a throne
Full of power with a sword in his fist?
Prophet, tell us will there be another king like this?
Full of wisdom, full of strength,
The hearts of the people are his
Prophet, tell us will there be
Another king like this?

“He’ll bear no beauty or glory
Rejected, despised
A man of such sorrow
We’ll cover our eyes

He’ll take up our sickness
Carry our tears
For his people
He will be pierced

He’ll be crushed for our evils
Our punishment feel
By his wounds
We will be healed.”

“From you, O Bethlehem
Small among Judah
A ruler will come
Ancient and strong.”

It’s amazing how quickly God’s provision was forgotten. Where gratitude should have abounded, grumbling persisted all the more. Because of the Israelites disobedience, they spent forty long years wandering in the desert. However once more God extended grace and led His people back into the land which He had promised them so long ago. At last, His people were home. But great unrest grew up among the tribes of Israel, and they all desired a king like the other nations around them. They wanted a powerful king, one with a sword. So God gave them what they asked for: Saul, the first king of Israel, a stubborn and foolish man . . . “but he didn’t last long.” So enter, King David, a shepherd from Bethlehem and a man after God’s own heart. Surely David was that king full of power, wisdom, and strength . . . “was ever there a king like this?” But it was not long before God’s people again turned their hearts away from Him, and judgment came swiftly. The kingdom was conquered, and the people of God had been scattered to the ends of the earth. They wondered,“Would there ever be a king like this again?” But Isaiah, the prophet of Judah, spoke of One who would come. Yet, He would not be the kind of king that the Jews had been looking for . . . He was so much more.

Deliver Us

Matthew 23:37

Our enemy, our captor is no pharaoh on the Nile
Our toil is neither mud nor brick nor sand
Our ankles bear no calluses from chains, yet Lord, we’re bound
Imprisoned here, we dwell in our own land

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath your wings tonight

Our sins they are more numerous than all the lambs we slay
Our shackles they were made with our own hands
Our toil is our atonement and our freedom yours to give
So Yahweh, break this silence if you can

Deliver us, deliver us
Oh Yahweh, hear our cry
And gather us beneath your wings tonight

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem
How often I have longed
To gather you beneath my gentle wings’

Although God’s chosen people were no longer the captives of some pharaoh in a foreign land, they were still bound within the great prison of their own sin. Begging for their freedom from this spiritual bondage, the Jews cried out for God to break the silence and speak to them through the prophets once more. After nearly 400 years without hearing any new word from God He was about to speak once again. For the prophecies of old were on the very eve of fulfillment, but sadly, the same ones who were so desperately crying out for their deliverance were those who would not let God “gather them beneath His gentle wings.”

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

This familiar song, played here with no words, bears in message and in symbol the very same silence experienced by the Jews between the conclusion of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. Listen now as even the “silence” points to the coming of the One who was promised: Emmanuel, the Savior of us all.

Matthew’s Begats

Matthew 1:1-16

Abraham had Isaac
Isaac, he had Jacob
Jacob, he had Judah and his kin
Then Perez and Zerah
Came from Judah’s woman, Tamar
Perez, he brought Hezron up
And then came

Aram, then Amminadab
Then Nahshon, who was then the dad of Salmon
Who with Rahab fathered Boaz
Ruth, she married Boaz who had Obed
Who had Jesse
Jesse, he had David who we know as king

David, he had Solomon by dead Uriah’s wife
Solomon, well you all know him
He had good old Rehoboam
Followed by Abijah who had Asa
Asa had Jehoshaphat had Joram had Uzziah
Who had Jotham then Ahaz then Hezekiah

Followed by Manasseh who had Amon
Who was a man
Who was father of a good boy named Josiah
Who grandfathered Jehoiachin
Who caused the Babylonian captivity
Because he was a liar

Then he had Shealtiel, who begat Zerubbabel
Who had Abiud who had Eliakim
Eliakim had Azor who had Zadok who had Akim
Akim was the father of Eliud then
He had Eleazar who had Matthan who had Jacob

Now, listen very closely
I don’t want to sing this twice
Jacob was the father of Joseph
The husband of Mary
The mother of Christ

Did you ever wonder why God chose to continue Christ’s story by starting the New Testament with that seemingly insignificant, all-too-often skipped, not-so-little list of names and genealogies? That long list of names is actually a beautiful reminder of God’s grace, recounting the history of the Lord’s interaction with His chosen people. Look closely, and you’ll see the names of some surprising people: Tamar, who gave birth through the infidelity of Judah, her father-in-law; Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute saved by the mercy of God; Ruth, the Moabite who married into God’s covenant; Bathsheba, who bore a son through the adultery of King David and the murder of her husband; and finally, Mary the mother of Christ, who was nearly put away by Joseph her betrothed. How amazing it is that God chooses to use less than perfect people in completing His perfect plan.

It Came To Pass

Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-5, Isaiah 7:14

It came to pass back in those days that Caesar, he decreed
A census would be taken of the Roman world, you see
So everyone packed up and headed back to their home towns
And this couple up from Galilee to Bethlehem was bound

So it came to pass this man named Joe was with his fiance
Back when her pregnancy began to show he planned to go away
But it came to pass that in a dream an angel of the Lord
Said, “Joseph, don’t you be afraid to marry Mary for
The little baby in her womb it is the Holy Spirit’s work
You may have read the prophet said a virgin would give birth

So it came to pass that Joseph was the noblest of men
With a woman on a donkey on their way to Bethlehem
And I wonder whether either was aware enough that day
To know the child would bring a Kingdom
And the old would come to pass away

Yes, it came to pass that Joseph was the noblest of men
With a woman on a donkey on their way to Bethlehem

God’s masterful symphony was finally coming together. For hundreds of years they had waited, longing to see God’s promise fulfilled. Indeed, what God had promised did come to pass. As Isaiah had foretold, “the virgin would give birth.” Not fully knowing what was in store, Joseph and Mary trusted in God completely. And yet . . .“I wonder whether either was aware enough that day, to know the child would bring a Kingdom, and the old would come to pass away”.

Labor Of Love

Luke 2:7, Hebrews 12:2, Matthew 21:21

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David’s town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother’s hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph by her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
On the streets of David’s town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.”

How sad it is that these words, from such a treasured Christmas song, entirely miss the point. “Labor of Love” unashamedly reminds us that the evening on which our Savior was born was “not a silent night.” All was not calm and clean and bright. The stable was dirty, and the ground was hard and cold. All of the pains of Mary’s labor were real. But with loyal Joseph by her side, and the faith of the promise beating within her heart, Mary did give birth to the One who would save us all. This baby was Jesus, the Son of God, Son of Man. This is the great mystery of the manager, that God himself was no less a human than you or I and yet fully divine.

“For the Baby in her womb, was the Maker of the moon; He was the Author of the faith, that could make the mountains move.”

The Holly And The Ivy

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Luke 2:8-15

While shepherds watched their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around

“Fear not!” said he; for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled minds
“Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind

To you in David’s house this day
Is born of David’s line
The Savior who is Christ the Lord
And this shall be the sign:

The heavenly babe you there shall find
To human view displayed
All meanly wrapped in swaddling bands
And in a manger laid”

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Christ is born
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Christ is born

“All glory be to God on high
And to the earth be peace
Good will henceforth from God to man
Begin and never cease”

Never before had such an important message been first delivered to such a seemingly insignificant people. But that’s exactly how God works: He often uses the simple things of this world to confound the wise. How perfect it was then, that these lowly shepherds were the first to come and worship the King. The arrival of God’s long-awaited one radically transformed these men in such a way that they couldn’t help but spread the good news. That message first announced by the very lips of angels, was borne by the most unlikely of carriers, and is still proclaimed today. That God in all of His glory became one of us, that we might have peace with Him. Just as the angels proclaimed,

“All glory be to God on high and to the earth be peace; good will henceforth from God to man begin and never cease. Hallelujah, Christ is born!”.

Behold The Lamb Of God

John 1:29, John 1:4, 1 Peter 1:18-19

We who walk in darkness deep now
See the light of morning

The mighty God, the Prince of Peace
A child to us is born

Behold the lamb of God, who takes away our sin

Behold the lamb of God, the life and light of men

Behold the Lamb of God, who died and rose again

Behold the lamb of God
Who comes to take away our sin

Wand’rers in the wilderness
Now hear a voice is crying

Prepare the way, make straight the paths
Your king has come to die

Behold the lamb of God, who takes away our sin

Behold the lamb of God, the life and light of men

Behold the Lamb of God, who died and rose again

Behold the lamb of God
Who comes to take away our sin

Son of God (Emmanuel)
Son of man (we praise You)

Behold (behold) the Lamb
The hope (the hope) of man

Behold the lamb

Behold the lamb of God, who takes away our sin

Behold the lamb of God, the life and light of men

Behold the Lamb of God, who died and rose again

Behold the lamb of God
Who comes to take away our sin

More than two thousand years after God made His covenant with Abraham, the Son of the Promise is born. It is through Christ that all the nations of the earth will be blessed, for Jesus did not stay in the manger. He did not stay wrapped in swaddling clothes. No, He was born to be dressed with a crown of thorns, He was born for His precious blood to be shed. For thousands of years, the Jews had lain waiting, daily offering the same sacrifices which could never take away sins. But when Jesus came, He offered for all time, one Sacrifice for all sins. In this way, God has presented Jesus as a Sacrifice for atonement, through faith in His blood. For it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, making His life a guilt offering for our sins. Therefore, we know that the birth of Christ means nothing without His death. The Eternally Existent was now made flesh. The Prince of Peace had come so that we might have peace with God. Jesus became the High Priest and the Sacrifice, the only Lamb worthy to be slain. So, Behold the Lamb of God, the very Life and Light of men.

The Theme Of My Song

 

The MPBC Worship Arts Team

Soloist

Gather Round Ye Children Come	Brian Howerton
Passover Us	Maddie Joiner
So Long, Moses	Brian Howerton
Deliver Us	Brian Howerton
Matthew’s Begats	Brian Howerton
It Came to Pass	Ryan Kidd
Labor of Love	Eunice Cheatham
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks	Andrew Smith
Behold the Lamb of God	Brian Lastovica

Choir

Soprano	Alto
Alison Mayes	Betty Burton
Angie Anthony	Bonnie Wesner
Carole Dobbins	Candi Bowles
Eunice Cheatham	Carol Green
Lisa Montgomery	Caroline Fry
Mandy Hiott	Jennifer Kidd
Kathryn Kidd	Kourey Dohl
Nikki Lastovica	Lori Wallace
Pamela Peters	Maddie Joiner
Pamela Socks	Pat Hawkins
Patricia Rowe	Sally Corbett
Sue Williams	Teresa Adams
Vicki Hargrave

Tenor	Bass
Andrew Smith	Ben Kidd
Brian Howerton	Bill Toth
Brian Lastovica	Bill Wesner
Earle Burton	Brian Bowles
Jeff Lail	Doug Smith
Katherine Dohl	Jacob Riddle
Mike Adams	Ryan Kidd

Band

Piano:	Brian Howerton
Cello:	Caroline Fry
Guitars:	Cody La Rue
	Jeff Griffin
	Kevin Tipton
Drums:	A.J. Pomaville
	Stephen Fontaine

Production

Audio:	Nathaniel Selden
Lyrics:	Bonnie Howerton
Camera:	Jonathan Smith
	Samantha Moody
Video Switcher:	Cassie Ballard
Sound (Streaming):	Blair Ballard