Scan barcode
lynnuwatson's review against another edition
4.0
Filled with many well-presented thought-provoking facts and ideas. Ideal for seekers, and still has much for a seasoned believer to contemplate about the Christmas story.
rachelmellema's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute gem! This book brilliantly goes into the true essence of Christmas, offering profound insights that are both enlightening and encouraging. Keller's ability to articulate complex theological concepts in an accessible manner is so classically him, making the reading experience not just enriching but also enjoyable. To me it's a book definitely worth revisiting, especially during the holiday season, to rediscover the deeper significance of Christmas.
day_fisher's review against another edition
5.0
This is an amazing book to read over the advent season - I highly recommend! Keller shares impactful line after line, in fact there are so many I felt I should include at the end of this review. He calls out that your beliefs are your doctrine, so although you might not think about it, what you believe holds weight. His approach to advent is accessible, for example he explains the season as if it is the perfect fairytale (not that it is a form of escapism), but instead are hoping for Christ to come is truth (spoiler, it is!).
Now here are some of those encouraging lines:
1) "The gospel, because it is a true story, means all the best stories will be proved, in the ultimate sense, true."
2) "The incarnation is the universe thundering, history altering, life transforming, paradigm shattering event of history.
3) "The Bible says the most fundamental and important peace is peace with God. The natural human heart wants to be king, and so it is hostile to God's claims of lordship over us. Until we see our indistinctive hostility to god's authority, we can't understand one of the great, deep main springs of all human behavior.
4) If you take time to comprehend (behold) what is in the gospel message, it will remove the fear that is dominated and darkened your life.
5) "Christians are flawed human beings, and we often bring censure upon ourselves through hypocrisy and bigotry. We must not try to justify our own flaws and missteps by complaining that we are persecueted. Sometimes people are simply offended by us, and they have a right to be... Anyone who identifies with [Jesus] will be seen as offensive too."
Now here are some of those encouraging lines:
1) "The gospel, because it is a true story, means all the best stories will be proved, in the ultimate sense, true."
2) "The incarnation is the universe thundering, history altering, life transforming, paradigm shattering event of history.
3) "The Bible says the most fundamental and important peace is peace with God. The natural human heart wants to be king, and so it is hostile to God's claims of lordship over us. Until we see our indistinctive hostility to god's authority, we can't understand one of the great, deep main springs of all human behavior.
4) If you take time to comprehend (behold) what is in the gospel message, it will remove the fear that is dominated and darkened your life.
5) "Christians are flawed human beings, and we often bring censure upon ourselves through hypocrisy and bigotry. We must not try to justify our own flaws and missteps by complaining that we are persecueted. Sometimes people are simply offended by us, and they have a right to be... Anyone who identifies with [Jesus] will be seen as offensive too."
jbrundage's review against another edition
“You cannot judge God by your calendar. God may appear to be slow, but he never forgets his promises. He may seem to be working very slowly or even to be forgetting his promises, but when his promises come true (and they will come true), they always burst the banks of what you imagined. . . . God’s grace virtually never operates on our time frame, on a schedule we consider reasonable.”
kyleechris's review against another edition
4.0
I love Keller’s ability to talk about theology in a way that is easy to understand, yet still in depth.
emvanb's review against another edition
5.0
I joined a women's small group and this was the study we covered and initially I thought, I've been a Christian for ages and in church before I could even walk, what else could there be that's "hidden" about Christmas that I don't already know? But this book is fantastic and opened my eyes to so many other things that went on and were meant for us to discover about the birth and life of Christ. Definitely one I would recommend for anyone wanting to dig deeper than just the few verses on the nativity and to truly find those hidden gems!
jesssalexander's review against another edition
4.0
Keller expounds upon different biblical passages related to Christmas and the joy of the gospel that these passages bring.
I love this line near the beginning of the book when Keller is talking about the miracle of the incarnation: "it's almost too limiting to say that we 'celebrate' this at Christmas. We stare dumbstruck, lost in wonder, love and praise."
And that about sums up the whole read. It is a great short read that helped me slow down and ponder Christ this advent. It's nice to read someone wiser and more learned than me totally gushing about the miracle of Jesus for a hundred or so pages.
I love this line near the beginning of the book when Keller is talking about the miracle of the incarnation: "it's almost too limiting to say that we 'celebrate' this at Christmas. We stare dumbstruck, lost in wonder, love and praise."
And that about sums up the whole read. It is a great short read that helped me slow down and ponder Christ this advent. It's nice to read someone wiser and more learned than me totally gushing about the miracle of Jesus for a hundred or so pages.