Top Worship Songs for Christmas

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and that means it’s the season for carols and Christmas hymns.

We compiled this list by identifying the most-used songs in Proclaim last December, plus a few more that thematically fit well (covering themes of the Incarnation, hope, and salvation).

Angels We Have Heard on High

This eighteenth-century French carol is based on the first phrase in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest” (Latin: Gloria in excelsis Deo).

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

The central theme of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” is peace and reconciliation. “This message of reconciliation involves us on three different levels: peace with God, peace with our fellowmen, and peace within ourselves. It is this blessed concept that Edmund Sears (1810–1876) wanted to emphasize in his unusual carol.”¹

Born Is the King (It’s Christmas)

This newer Christmas song from Matt Crocker and Scott Ligertwood is celebratory, inviting the congregation to sing with joy for salvation.

A Christmas Alleluia

Similar to “Born Is the King,” this modern Christmas song from Chris Tomlin is lyrically simple and celebratory, lifting praise to God for sending Christ as the Savior of the world.

Away in a Manger

From Amazing Grace—366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions: “No Christmas song is more loved than this tender children’s carol. With its simply worded expression of love for the Lord Jesus and trust in his faithful care, the hymn appeals to young and old alike. It is usually one of the first Christmas songs learned in early childhood, yet its pleasing melody and gentle message preserve it in our affections all through life.”

***

Start a free trial of Faithlife Music to use it to build your setlist, then sync it with Faithlife Proclaim—also available through a free trial—to build beautiful lyric slides for your church presentation.

1. From Amazing Grace—366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions.