Experiencing Christmas
Experiencing Christmas

Author: Matt Rawle

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2023-09-19

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 1791029280

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Discover how everything changed when God was born. Everything seems different at the end of the year. We put lights on our houses to dispel the growing darkness, Christmas music floods local radio stations, apple cider and cranberry sauce are again on the menu, and wrapping paper and tape are always ready. Things just look, smell, and taste differently during the Advent and Christmas season, and these differences are a sign to us that God is about to do something radical and different. Christmas is when God surrounded the divine with senses of his own. That first noel was when God had eyes to see suffering, ears to hear our cries, and hands to hold those in need, and all of these senses were bundled in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. “This will be a sign to you,” the angel told the shepherds, and they traveled to Bethlehem and found a child. What signs do you see during the Advent and Christmas season that point you to the divine? Additional components to use the book as a four-week small group study include a leader guide and DVD/Video Sessions featuring Matt Rawle. This book also includes a link to free downloadable teaching resources for children and youth.

Experiencing Christmas Leader Guide
Experiencing Christmas Leader Guide

Author: Matt Rawle

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2023-09-19

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13: 1791029302

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Discover how everything changed when God was born. Everything seems different at the end of the year. We put lights on our houses to dispel the growing darkness, Christmas music floods local radio stations, apple cider and cranberry sauce are again on the menu, and wrapping paper and tape are always ready. Things just look, smell, and taste differently during the Advent and Christmas season, and these differences are a sign to us that God is about to do something radical and different. Christmas is when God surrounded the divine with senses of his own. That first noel was when God had eyes to see suffering, ears to hear our cries, and hands to hold those in need, and all of these senses were bundled in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. “This will be a sign to you,” the angel told the shepherds, and they traveled to Bethlehem and found a child. What signs do you see during the Advent and Christmas season that point you to the divine? The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the four-week study, including session plans, activities, discussion questions, and multiple format options. Additional components for the four-week small group study include the book and DVD/Video Sessions featuring Matt Rawle. The Leader Guide also includes a link to free downloadable teaching resources for children and youth.

Almost Christmas
Almost Christmas

Author: Magrey deVega

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2019-09-17

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 1501890581

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In 1741, John Wesley preached his famous sermon titled “The Almost Christian” in which he encouraged people to follow Christ wholeheartedly. We should not be satisfied with being almost Christian but rather strive towards being altogether a Christian. In Almost Christmas: A Wesleyan Advent Experience, author and pastor Magrey deVega leads a group of authors to explore how we can make the same commitment to Christ during Advent, connecting our Wesleyan heritage with the traditional Advent themes of Love, Hope, Joy, and Peace. In this book, perfect for Advent, deVega and the other authors break down the barriers that prevent us from experiencing an “altogether” love, hope, joy, and peace in Christ in our lives and in the world around us. They demonstrate the promises God offers to us that makes those longings a reality, inviting us to claim those promises for ourselves this Advent and celebrate an altogether Christmas. Chapters include: Altogether Love Altogether Hope Altogether Joy Altogether Peace Additional components for a four-week study include a DVD featuring Magrey deVega and the other writers and a comprehensive Leader Guide, as well as nativity hymns by Charles Wesley, litanies for lighting the Advent wreath, and prayers that can be incorporated into both worship and small group settings. A daily devotional and a youth study book are also available.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Author: Joseph Skip Ryan

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1433501805

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An Anthology of Advent readings, collected from the works of 22 classic and contemporary theologians with a high view of Scripture, it will help in preparing your heart to honor the sacredness of each Christmas season.

Christmas Is Not Your Birthday
Christmas Is Not Your Birthday

Author: Rev. Dr. Mike Slaughter

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 1426748647

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Every year, we say we’re going to cut back, simplify, and have a family Christmas that focuses on the real reason for the season—Jesus. But every year, advertisements beckon, the children plead, and it seems easier just to indulge our wants and whims. Overspending, overeating, materialism, and busyness rob us of our peace and joy and rob Jesus of his rightful role as the center of our celebration. This Christmas, cut through the hype that leaves you exhausted and broke at the end of the year. Instead, experience the peace of knowing that God is truly with us, the joy of giving sacrificially, and the love of a Savior who gave everything he had for us. In five short, engaging chapters, Pastor Mike Slaughter inspires readers to approach Christmas differently, and be transformed in the process.

The Spirit of Christmas
The Spirit of Christmas

Author: Ken Regan

Publisher: WestBow Press

Published: 2017-10-13

Total Pages: 119

ISBN-13: 1973604248

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Its the week before Christmas, and Bertram, the angel in charge of spreading Christmas spirit, is back on earth in the guise of Santa Claus. His mission is to help Richard Garrison through his crisis of turning fifty by getting him to mentor Bobby, a young boy whose father is away, serving in the military. Will his plan come together by Christmas morning? Not if Richard keeps forgetting to deliver the present he needs to give to Bobby. From the author of A Christmas Miracle Comes to Holy Nativity comes another uplifting tale filled with laughter, warmth, and all the magical elements of the Christmas season.

Experience Christmas
Experience Christmas

Author: Christine Trevino

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-08-08

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 9781514299197

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There is so much to do and share with our loved ones at Christmastime, it's possible to reduce the season to a holiday checklist we methodically work our way through. If we aren't intentional with the moments we have in the month of December, we can find ourselves on the 25th filled to the full of the good things this season brings, but missing the very best thing of all. That's what the Experience Christmas devotional is about-making space during a beautiful, but hectic time of year to wonder at the miracle of Christmas. Each devotional is formatted to engage the heart through Scripture, song, reflection, and prayer. Sprinkled throughout the book are fictionalized vignettes capturing what the characters of the Biblical story might have been thinking or feeling as they experienced the Nativity in real time. Formatted for both individual or group study, Experience Christmas is an incredible tool for both believer and seeker to engage the Biblical narrative in a new way. It clearly outlines the plan of Salvation and challenges the reader to prepare their heart for the manger during the first twenty-five days of December to experience this Christmas season, like no Christmas season they've experienced before.

Experiencing Grief
Experiencing Grief

Author: H. Norman Wright

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 080543092X

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Designed and priced to be bought in bulk and used for ministry purposes or sent in lieu of a bereavement card, this book has five distinct sections that correspond to the five stage of grief: shock, rage, despair, release, and peace.

Finding Father Christmas & Engaging Father Christmas
Finding Father Christmas & Engaging Father Christmas

Author: Robin Jones Gunn

Publisher: Hachette+ORM

Published: 2016-10-04

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 1455565954

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By beloved author Robin Jones Gunn, two timeless, heartwarming Christmas novellas bound together for the first time in an omnibus edition. In Finding Christmas, Miranda Carson's search for her father leads her unexpectedly to London with only a few feeble clues as to who he might be. Immediately welcomed into a family that doesn't recognize her, and whom she's quickly coming to love, she faces a terrible decision. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her father? Or should she carry the truth home with her to San Francisco and remain alone in this world? Whatever choice she makes during this London Christmas will forever change the future for both herself and the family she can't bear to leave. In Engaging Father Christmas Miranda Carson can't wait to return to England for Christmas and to be with her boyfriend, Ian. She has spent a lifetime yearning for a place to call home, and she's sure Carlton Heath will be it, especially when a hinted-at engagement ring slips into the conversation. But Miranda's high hopes for a jolly Christmas with the small circle of people she has come to love are toppled when Ian's father is hospitalized and the matriarch of the Whitcombe family withholds her blessing from Miranda. Questions run rampant in Miranda's mind about whether she really belongs in this cheery corner of the world. Then, when her true identity threatens all her relationships in unanticipated ways, Miranda is certain all is lost. And yet . . . maybe Father Christmas has special gifts in store for her after all.

Her Holiday Family and The Sheriff's Christmas Twins
Her Holiday Family and The Sheriff's Christmas Twins

Author: Winnie Griggs

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2021-11-30

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 0369705912

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Surprise Christmas blessings Her Holiday Family by Winnie Griggs Reserved widow Eileen Pierce never considered herself cut out to be a mother. But when handyman Simon Tucker is stranded in town with ten young orphans at Christmastime, she can't just turn them away. Though Simon’s easygoing demeanor clashes with Eileen’s buttoned-up propriety, his kindness melts her stern facade. Soon Simon and the children upend Eileen's quiet, orderly life. Will they do the same to her guarded heart? The Sheriff's Christmas Twins by Karen Kirst Convinced that Allison Ashworth deserves better, Sheriff Shane Timmons has always tried to remain aloof. But with Allison in Gatlinburg for the holidays and caring for two motherless babies, Shane wants to help her. Allison has always been drawn to Shane, but he never seemed to look her way. Now, spending time with him and the twins gives her hope that her dreams of motherhood—and a life with Shane—may come true.