Books for Advent
Here are just a few suggestions that may help you prepare for Christmas…
Do Nothing… Christmas is Coming: An Advent Calendar with a Difference
For every day of Advent, Stephen Cottrell provides short, practical steps to help us slow down, take time out – and enjoy Christmas without piling on the pressure. This eye–catching book is perfect if you need to slow down over Advent – or as a gift for someone who needs an injection of calm.
About the Author
Stephen Cottrell is the Bishop of Reading. As well as the bestselling ‘Do Nothing to Change Your Life’, he has also written or contributed other titles for Church House Publishing.
The Incredible Journey: Christmas from Genesis to Jesus
This is the Bible Reading Fellowship Advent book for 2011 and includes Bible readings and reflections for every day from 1 December – 6 January. It focuses on the drama of God’s salvation story, as it unfolds through the Bible and takes an expository, rather than anecdotal, approach to Scripture.
About the Author
The Revd Dr Steve Brady is Principal of Moorlands College, Dorset, where he also teaches Theology and New Testament Greek. He is a trustee of Keswick Ministries and has also written King of Heaven, Lord of Earth (Authentic, 2003), All You Need Is Christ (Authentic, 2007) and Affirming Your Faith (NCT, 2009), a ten–part study of the Apostles’ Creed available on DVD.
The Meaning Is in the Waiting: The Spirit of Advent
This is the first in a series of books commissioned in consultation with Archbishop John Sentamu. Paula Gooder provides a profoundly biblical guide to the season of Advent and we explore its central theme of waiting (something we are not good at in our modern culture) in the company of the biblical characters who feature prominently in the lectionary readings for the season: Abraham and Sarah who waited for a child, Isaiah and the prophets who waited for judgement and redemption, John the Baptist whose role was to wait in the wilderness until the prophecies he foretold were realised, Mary whose waiting began in pregnancy and continued as she stood at the foot of the cross.
Arranged for daily reading, this offers an exquisite meditation on the spirituality of waiting – the active doing of nothing – as a way of enhancing our lives and bringing us closer to God.
About the Author
Dr Paula Gooder is an honorary lecturer at the University of Birmingham, Canon Theologian at Birmingham Cathedral, a Reader in the Church of England and a member of General Synod.
You might also consider the new St John’s College Advent Book for 2011 entitiled, ‘These Words of Mine…Readings & Prayers through Advent.’ Read more here.