{"product_id":"peace-on-earth","title":"Peace On Earth","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"border border-gray-200 rounded-lg overflow-hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"px-4 py-3 text-gray-700 leading-relaxed talking-points-content\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"border border-gray-200 rounded-lg overflow-hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"px-4 py-3 text-gray-700 leading-relaxed talking-points-content\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/poets.org\/poem\/christmas-bells\" class=\"text-purple-600 underline\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eChristmas Bells\u003c\/a\u003e,” the original poem that inspired the carol “\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/k--OB_FQcIs?si=7OInqQB6pjWCp8o0\" class=\"text-purple-600 underline\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eI Heard the Bells on Christmas Day\u003c\/a\u003e,” is a more poignant representation of the idea of walking with hope, even though our heart is broken. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem amidst his own great sorrows. Longfellow’s wife, Fanny, tragically died after injuries from a fire. “The first Christmas after Fanny’s death, Longfellow wrote, ‘How inexpressibly sad are all holidays.’ A year after the incident, he wrote, ‘I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace.’ Longfellow’s journal entry for December 25th, 1862, reads: ‘A merry Christmas,’ say the children, but that is no more for me.’ Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded with a bullet passing under his shoulder blades and taking off one of the spinal processes. The Christmas of 1863 was silent in Longfellow’s journal. Finally, on Christmas Day of 1864, he wrote the words of the poem, ‘Christmas Bells’” (Tom Stewart, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” \u003cem\u003eBenson Street, \u003c\/em\u003eaccessed July 12, 2026, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.thebensonstreet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/I-Heard-the-Bells-on-Christmas-Day.pdf\" class=\"text-purple-600 underline\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps:\/\/www.thebensonstreet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/I-Heard-the-Bells-on-Christmas-Day.pdf\u003c\/a\u003e). If time allows, read the full poem to your group. Hope is summed up in his final stanza: \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; \/ The Wrong shall fail, \/ The Right prevail, \/\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith peace on earth, good-will to men.” Can we proclaim, as Longfellow did, and as the angels did (Luke 2:14), peace on earth and goodwill to all people?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Ministry Pass","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67657248375100,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0852\/9874\/1564\/files\/erin-mckenna-lN8G7MppXGU-unsplash.jpg?v=1791841635","url":"https:\/\/app.ministrypass.com\/products\/peace-on-earth","provider":"Ministry Pass","version":"1.0","type":"link"}