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Unique Selling Points
978-0-8254-5403-5
$12.99
Paperback • 5.5 x 8.5 • 112 pages
RELIGION / Holidays / Christmas & Advent
Kregel Publications • Rights: WW
August 25, 2026
•	 Now back-in-print, refreshed with a new cover design
•	 Appealing to both the longtime hymn lover and the new 
generation
•	 Christmas option for fans of 101 Hymn Stories
Joy to the World
The Stories Behind Your Favorite Christmas 
Carols
Kenneth W. Osbeck
Hymn stories behind Christmas classics from the 
best-selling author of 101 Hymn Stories
W
hile many of the hymns in Joy to the World have been 
around for centuries, they continue to fill people with 
awe and praise during the Christmas season. During an over-
commercialized holiday, these songs gently re-center readers 
on the joy that comes with knowing that God sent his Son for 
them.
Inside this new edition of Joy to the World, readers will find 
hymns such as:
	y
“The First Noel”
	y
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
	y
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
	y
“Silent Night”
	y
“Away in a Manger”
	y
“Joy to the World”
	y
“Go, Tell It on the Mountain”
Each chapter includes the hymn text and a short reflection 
that provides an inside look at the history of the hymn’s cre-
ation. Longtime hymn lovers, Christmas carolers, and Osbeck 
fans will enjoy discovering the stories behind the songs they 
sing each year.
Kenneth W. Osbeck (MA, University of Michigan) spent thirty- 
five years teaching at Grand Rapids School of the Bible and 
Music and, later, Grand Rapids Baptist College and Seminary. 
He served as music director for Children’s Bible Hour, Radio 
Bible Class, and multiple churches. He is the author of several 
books, including the best-selling Amazing Grace, 101 Hymn 
Stories, and 25 Most Treasured Gospel Hymn Stories.
101 Hymn Stories—40th 
Anniversary Edition
978-0-8254-4837-9
$19.99
Hallelujah, What a Savior : 
25 Hymn Stories Celebrating 
Christ Our Redeemer
978-0-8254-5216-1
$13.99

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