Kim Walker-Smith is one of my favorite female worship leaders, and she has consistently received acclaim for her premier singing ability. She appears on one of my top worship albums of the year, Jesus Culture's Unstoppable Love, which is ranked in my top 20 worship albums of 2014. Kim consistently sings piercing, relevant and moving songs.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to Christmas music, and something I've come to truly cherish about Kim's music ministry is how she is unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She's also a new mom, with a 13 month old son and her second child expected right around Christmas. This year she released the album When Christmas Comes, a wonderful collection including a stunning rendition of the Christmas hymn "Away in a Manger." I had the great opportunity to speak with Kim about the song.

Please tell me about the story behind recording the song.

Especially if you grew up in the Church, you learned this song at a very young age. Little children will make up hand motions to this song, and you'll see lots of little kids singing the song in Christmas plays. For a lot of people it has become a lullaby. It is even included on Christmas lullaby albums, which I've noticed as a new mom. I love the simplicity of the lyrics in the song. I love that it is the story of Jesus being born, and also captures the tenderness and sweetness of the moment.

We say Jesus, and we picture the Man who died on the Cross and rose on the third day. I don't think it is very often that our minds go to a sweet little baby that was born to a mother and father. I had my baby last year, and having another baby this year, these tender moments are special for me right now as I've been in them all year and am about to be in them again. I couldn't pass on recording this song. It feels like a foundational song in telling the Christmas story.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV): This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."  

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us"). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

What's the takeaway message?

I love the tenderness and sweetness of the song. The Son of God did come to us as a human and was a little baby born of a virgin. Mary and Joseph were there, and it is just a sweet story and picture. The first thing I think about is that it is pretty powerful to think about and remember that the Son of God became flesh. That's obviously significant. Jesus became a Man just like us. We talk about that at Easter, but don't put a ton of emphasis on it at Christmas. We talk about the Baby, but we need to think about the power of Jesus coming as a Person. I think about that line, "no crying He makes." Part of me as a mother thinks wow, that is a miraculous baby!

At the same time, the message is that Jesus came to bring peace. He carries peace, and He is the Prince of Peace. This song talks so much about that peace, the birth of Jesus, His glory and the worship surrounding that. The moments you have as a mother after giving birth and holding your sweet little baby brings an incredible peace that falls on you. You are in awe of what you are looking at and holding. So many thoughts enter your mind about what it means for the future and your life. It is really powerful.

I hope that people reflect on the miracle of Jesus. I hope that their hearts are filled with thankfulness and that they don't lose sight of what Christmas is all about. In addition to dying for our sins and giving us eternal life, it is also about remembering that Jesus came to give us hope, peace and joy. He set us free and wants us to have an abundant life.

Lyrics:
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me, I pray
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care
And take us to Heaven to live with Thee there

This song celebrates God's peace that surpasses understanding with the lyrics "But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes." The Matthew 1:18-25 Bible account really sets the scene for the Christmas story. We are familiar with the story, but these words give some context about how God prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem in Micah 5:2, and told us through His prophet Isaiah that His Son would be named Jesus, sometimes called Immanuel, "because by coming to dwell with us, living and dying among us, He would be able to save us from our sin."

That's the Christmas story. Jesus came to live among us, not as royalty but in poverty, "with no place for the Son of Man to lay His head." Jesus lived the perfect life that we can't live and died the death that we all deserve so that we could live with Him forever. We know from Scripture "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" Romans 10:9 (NKJV).

That's the ultimate reason that Christmas is such a celebration, and is the reason that Christians throughout the world worship along with this song with all of our hearts, minds, souls and strength, finding such comfort in the lyrics. Pray along with all your heart to Jesus by singing "Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and take us to Heaven to live with Thee there." Merry Christmas!

(Watch a lyric video here.)