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At Christmas, references to the nativity are everywhere, but how well do most of us know the meaning and depth of the familiar story?
Even people who are not professing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the Nativity. Every Christmas displays of Jesus resting in a manger populate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air. Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story?
In this book Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the Nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’s birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a meaningful and deeper way.
Introduction
1. A light has dawned
2. The mothers of Jesus
3. The fathers of Jesus
4. Where is the King?
5. Mary's faith
6. The shepherds' faith
7. A sword in the soul
8. The doctrine of Christmas
Acknowledgments
Notes
| Contributors | Timothy Keller |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781473642591 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | November 2018 |
| Dimensions | 126mm x 197mm x 19mm |
| Weight | 0.14 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 160 |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
What I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that not only does it delve deep into the bible to help us better understand the background to the Nativity but it also highlights the fact that such an event must necessitate a response from us. For me this challenge came in a number of varied ways depending on how the author applied each chapter. I was then able to bring some of that into my own Christmas preaching which I found refreshing and which seemed to illicit a similar response in my congregation. In summary, an enjoyable, refreshing, uplifting and challenging read!
Really enjoyed reading this during advent.
Tim Keller's latest book, 'Hidden Christmas', is written for all audiences: Christian/non-Christian, young/old, mature/new to faith. The reason this is important is addressed plain and simply on the front cover: 'THE SURPRISING TRUTH BEHIND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST'. For anyone to describe the truth that God left the glories of heaven for our world as ‘surprising’ is an understatement.
Christmas, as a holiday in our current Western culture, focusses a lot on family, friendship, giving and other such positivities – great things that none of us do enough of. But that's not 'Christmas'. That wasn’t the Lord’s purpose.
Christmas is all about Jesus Christ humbling Himself, humbling Himself in the form of a precious baby. And whilst churches all around the world celebrate that humility, do we really understand - and appreciate - what God actually did in coming to Earth?
Helpfully, Keller writes in a constant sense of awe; a sense that is nothing short of contagious and will assist you in understanding both the importance and insanity of that first Christmas.
The book isn't that long (141 pages excl. acknowledgements and footnotes), and will only take a few hours to read. However, irrespective of its size, the gospel truths that we so often hear - of which we celebrate every year - are truths that we need to meditate on more frequently than we actually do.
A great book to read on the run up to the festive season.
