Go Tell It On The Mountain // Christmas Hymns

I set out to lift up an old song that was born in the crucible of suffering: Go Tell It on the Mountain. It emerged from the African American spiritual tradition—songs of worship sung under oppression—where faith, hope, and survival took on a melody. In 1907, John Wesley Work Jr. wrote it down so the world would not forget that in darkness you can still sing of the goodness of God. The chorus gives a pattern: what to do, where to do it, and what to say. Go tell it—publicly and boldly. Over the hills and everywhere—the gospel is for all people. That Jesus Christ is born—the incarnation is the radical center.

I contrasted the endless religious to‑do lists with the shocking distinction of Christianity: God came down. Not observing from a distance, but entering history, taking on flesh, walking with us, and offering the perfect sacrifice. Emmanuel—God with us—means he knows our frailty, our temptations, our limits. This isn’t sentiment; it is history, the turning point that even our calendars acknowledge.

Because Christ is born, despair, anxiety, sickness, and sorrow do not get the last word. Scripture shows a chorus of unlikely witnesses who encountered him and could not keep quiet. Joseph told it by obeying without full clarity. Elizabeth told it by Spirit‑filled discernment and prophetic blessing. Shepherds told it by dropping everything and seeking him. Simeon and Anna told it by faithful perseverance and immediate testimony. The Magi told it by sacrificial worship. Different people, different stories—same response: go and tell.

Our telling rarely begins from strength. It starts in the places we’d rather hide—the weakness, the wounds, the failures—because those are the very places grace does its deepest work. We don’t need to become more than we are; we bring who we are, and God meets us. If we stood and shared what God has done—healing, deliverance, restoration—faith in the room would rise. So let’s take this song off the page and into our neighborhoods: go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Lift good news to high places What God has done isn’t meant to be whispered. The gospel deserves both our highest platforms and our loudest voices because it is news for the whole world, not a niche preference. Silence in the face of grace subtly agrees with darkness; proclamation agrees with light. Elevate the story, not yourself, and let the message do its own work. [04:34]
• 2. The incarnation changes everything God did not wait for us to climb up; he came down to us. In Jesus, God knows—from the inside—our pain, temptation, and limits, and offers not advice but himself. This is why no other path compares: only here does God shoulder what we could never carry. If God is with us, we never walk unaccompanied again. [09:52]
• 3. Hope thrives because Christ is born If God has entered our history, then darkness is on a clock. The birth of Jesus announces a future where sorrow, sickness, fear, and despair cannot endure. Hope isn’t wishful thinking; it’s tethered to an event and a Person. Plant your feet where heaven has already touched earth. [14:22]
• 4. Obedience often precedes understanding Joseph models a faith that moves before it maps. He chose mercy and obedience without seeing how it all would resolve, trusting the God who spoke more than the clarity he wished he had. Often God forms us through the step we take in the dark. Light tends to meet us in motion. [20:03]
• 5. Tell from your honest brokenness The places we’d rather hide become altars when surrendered to God. He draws near to contrite hearts, turning wounds into living testimonies that comfort and call others home. You don’t need polish to be persuasive—just truth and grace. Let your scars sing. [30:39]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:49] - Playful fake-out: “Christmas Shoes”
• [01:09] - Introducing Go Tell It on the Mountain
• [01:40] - Spirituals born from oppression
• [03:07] - John Wesley Work Jr. preserves the song
• [04:04] - What to do: go tell it
• [04:34] - Highest place and loudest voice
• [05:16] - Over the hills and everywhere
• [06:18] - What we proclaim: Christ is born
• [06:52] - Religion’s to‑do vs. incarnation’s done
• [09:52] - The Word became flesh among us
• [11:48] - Waffle House debates and history’s hinge
• [14:22] - Because Christ is born: durable hope
• [16:15] - None who met him stayed silent
• [17:19] - Joseph: mercy and costly obedience
• [20:35] - Elizabeth: Spirit-filled recognition
• [22:20] - Shepherds: marginalized, startled, sent
• [25:40] - Hearts stirred to seek more
• [27:35] - Simeon and Anna: faithful witnesses
• [28:34] - Magi: worship through costly gifts
• [30:39] - Tell it from your weaknesses
• [31:28] - Bring who you are; grace works
• [32:01] - Testimony multiplies faith
• [32:35] - Let’s go tell it on the mountain

1. In Isaiah 40:9, who is being addressed and what are they told to do with the good news? What tone or volume is implied by the command?
2. According to John 1:14, what did “the Word” do, and where did he choose to dwell?
3. In Luke 2:15–20, trace the shepherds’ sequence after the angelic announcement. What do they do first, next, and finally? Which verbs stand out most to you and why?
4. The chorus of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” lays out a pattern: what to do, where to do it, and what to say. What are those three parts? ([04:04])

1. Isaiah 40:9 calls messengers to climb high and lift up their voice. What does that suggest about the gospel’s nature—private preference or public news? Where are believers most tempted to keep it quiet, and why? ([04:34])
2. If “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), how should God’s nearness shape a person’s view of pain, temptation, and human limits? How does this connect with the claim that he knows our frailty and was “tempted in all like manner”? ([10:23])
3. The shepherds were socially marginalized, yet they became bold witnesses (Luke 2:17–20). Why do unlikely people often become the loudest tellers? How does honest weakness amplify, rather than diminish, the message? ([30:39])
4. Joseph obeyed before he had full clarity (Matthew 1:24–25). What does this reveal about the relationship between obedience and understanding? When, if ever, does light meet us “in motion”? ([20:03])

1. Lift good news to high places: Where is one “mountain” in your week (work meeting, family thread, social media, campus, neighborhood) where you could lift up good news with humility and courage? What would “highest placement and loudest voice” look like without making it about self-promotion? ([04:34])
2. The incarnation changes everything: Jesus knows your frailty from the inside. What specific burden—anxiety, temptation, limit—do you need to invite him into this week, and what concrete action will reflect that trust? ([10:23])
3. Hope thrives because Christ is born: Which area of life feels like darkness wants the last word (fear, despair, sickness, anger)? What promise tied to Jesus’ birth can you stand on, and how will you remind yourself daily? ([14:22])
4. Obedience often precedes understanding: Where do you sense a nudge to obey before you can map the outcome (a conversation, a confession, a step of service, generosity, reconciliation)? What is your next faithful step, and who will you tell for accountability? ([20:03])
5. Over the hills and everywhere: Who are your “everywhere” people right now (neighbor, coworker, classmate, family far away)? What is one practical way you will “go” to them this month—with presence, prayer, or an invitation? ([05:37])
6. Seek first like the shepherds: What would it look like to interrupt your normal schedule this week to seek Jesus—time, place, and plan? Name one thing you will drop or delay to make room. ([27:05])
7. Tell from honest brokenness: What scar or story could become a two-minute testimony of grace? Write it, practice it, and share it with one person. How might your group create a simple rhythm of sharing stories that lifts faith in the room? ([32:01])