Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas

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If you’re looking for an Advent guide which will widen your experience beyond the gospel retellings, here it is. Like a grown-up version of the Jesse Tree, The Whole Christmas Story does just that: it ponders the whole Christmas story, starting with creation in Genesis and ending with the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation. The format is traditional: Bible passage (helpfully included in full), followed by articulate and warm commentary. Jo Swinney expounds Scripture deeply and wisely, with nuance which stems from a recent tragedy. A worthy companion to your Advent. The Promise and the Light (Katy Morgan, 2021) Interwoven with these is the author’s personal story. By way of being introduced to St Francis Xavier, we start by learning how Arora came to faith, growing up in a non-Christian Indian family in “that divine city” of Birmingham, and he completes his testimony in a chapter featuring Billy Graham. As senior student at Cranmer Hall, he writes President to President to the ruler of Eritrea. You can get these calendars in your choice of 12 days or 24 days of gifts, and they come in varying genres and themes and for varying age groups. You can also choose between getting advent calendars with gently-used books inside, or getting ones with all new books! Here are 25 “conversations with Jesus” – enticingly written, drawing you into the story, drawing Jesus into our world today with all its ups and downs. I found this a fascinating and incredibly powerful way to explore Scripture – which, by the way, begins each day’s reading, and covers both Old and New Testaments. It’s not for you if you’re looking for exegesis – but if you’re at risk of going through the motions this Advent, after years of “same old same old”, then this is definitely one to try. Powerful, challenging, comforting and wildly welcoming. Lean Towards the Light this Advent and Christmas (Compiled by Christine Aroney-Sine and Lisa DeRosa, 2020)

The 24 Days of Bookish Gifts Advent Calendar Box is another option that will bring bookish Christmas cheer to you this year! As Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, writes in his foreword to the book, Advent is not only a time for anticipating the moment Jesus Christ came into the world but also reflecting on the ‘last things’ foretold in the Book of Revelation where people of every tribe, tongue and nation rejoice before the throne of God. This is exactly why I wrote my devotional Redeeming Advent a few years ago. It’s an easy read, starting from the reality of a hectic December day, and leading us into the presence of Jesus as we ponder what his birth 2000 years ago means for us. If you want a book advent calendar that specifically features books you can read (instead of just book-themed gifts), then this 25 Days Book Christmas Advent Calendar is a great option! A fan of the papacy in general and of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis in particular, he engages with the movie by proposing that readers watch a section of it, read his text, and then pray and follow a further reflection. This makes the book unusual and a potential resource for both individuals and groups.Buy the 12 Day Bookish Advent Calendar now! (or buy it on Etsy here!) 2. 25 Days Book Christmas Advent Calendar Looking for a book advent calendar that is made up exclusively of books? If so, then these Wrapped Book Advent Calendars are a great choice! It’s nearly the happiest season of all—Christmas! Which means it’s time to start thinking about ways to make this holiday merry and bright…and one of the best ways to do that this year is with book advent calendars. And there’s even some fun candy canes thrown in as a treat for while you read! So this book advent box is perfect if you’re looking to open a surprise book each day throughout the Christmas season.

St Paul famously wrote that these three things remain faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.

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I was amazed, in my research, to find such a huge variety of different styles: some imaginative, some traditional, some for families, some for groups, some long, some brief, some with illustrations, some with activities. There really is something for everyone in this list. May you find a resource which will draw you into God’s heart this Advent! In this short and easy-to-read devotional, Sarah Tummey focuses purely on Old Testament passages. Rather than looking at the gospel story, she skilfully explains how particular prophecies, Psalms and other OT writings came to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. This would make an excellent devotional for a newer Christian, a Christian who hasn’t used an Advent devotional before, or anyone who is interested to develop their understanding of the narrative of Scripture. The Coming of the King (J C Ryle/Mary Davis , 2022) If you’re looking for great family devotionals through the year, don’t forget to take a look at my recommendations here: 10 Best Family Devotions.) Advent study for small groups The books divide themselves several ways: for individual use or for group use; having daily or weekly readings; according to faith tradition or consciously ecumenical; and then, of course, by relevance; for there are those that choose not to offer understanding and consolation “in a time of plague”, and those that consciously attempt to shine a beacon of hope onto our troubled times. Put another way, there are books that could have worked in any Advent up to this year, and those that — casting publishing deadlines to the winds — deliberately target 2020.

If you’re looking for a fun but more inexpensive book advent calendar option, then this Bookish Advent Calendar is the way to go! Here is a resource which, whilst not technically an Advent devotional, does a good job of pretending. After all, what could be more appropriate in a season which is all about waiting than studying the lives of four Bible characters who ‘waited’? For those of us currently in limbo – perhaps waiting for a job, some news from the doctor, or a forthcoming marriage – this book would be especially helpful. I love the expert way Tanya Marlow combines imaginative storytelling with incisive Biblical commentary – sometimes it can feel like resources have to choose one or the other, but this does both. If you want to go deeper in your journey with God this Advent, but do it creatively, this is for you. Tracing Glory: The Christmas Story through the Bible (Sarah Rice, 2021) – devotional and ornament activity book The author believes in the “bounty of Christmas” and is happy to find this bounty in the everyday. Here is a timely reminder that, while some of the celebrations may be different this year, it is impossible to “cancel” Christmas. THE spiritual gifts of the season are summed up in the “O” antiphons recited on the last seven days of Advent. In these invocations, the Church has Christians pray for wisdom, deliverance, redemption, divine intervention, freedom, enlightenment, and salvation, because Emmanuel — God with us — “is the hope of the nations and their Saviour”. This list makes a good starting point from which to evaluate the special demands of Advent 2020 and to assess the extent to which they are met in this year’s selection of preparatory material. Never has hope been in such short supply, and yet Advent, when Christians open their eyes and hearts to their core beliefs, surely offers it in spades. This is an incredibly easy-to-read and fun devotional, with each day’s entry featuring a fictional excerpt from Mary’s diary (based on Scripture), a Bible passage, a challenging devotional and prayer ideas. I love how each day ends with a memo from Mary – a simple, short truth to remember during the day. This book definitely hits my sleep-deprived-mum criteria of being both accessible and challenging – great stuff! The Advent Creative Retreat Activity Book (Mary and Mark Fleeson, 2013)

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The Advent season is one of the most special times of the year, when candles twinkle, the Christmas tree is decorated, and the smells of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove fill the kitchen. If you’re looking for a book to help you explore lament, pain, suffering and darkness in an accessible but theologically-rich way, this is the one. It’s not been written specifically as an Advent devotional, but the six chapters follow the liturgical year – starting with Advent then Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time – so to read it during Advent would be highly appropriate. I love Rachael Newham‘s warm style, dotted with anecdotes from her own experience, connecting with us in our hard times, and deeply persuading us that lament has an important role to play in life and faith. The questions at the end of each chapter would make a great Advent study for small groups – you could read a chapter each week of Advent and take the rest into January (or start the whole thing in November!). Brightest and Best (Philippa Ruth Wilson, 2022) Each day, it gives us “stories of individuals from across the world, whose lives speak of a divine love and the triumph of hope”, with questions for reflection. The author gathers inspiring figures from the calendar, the news, and especially around the globe, in a heady mix of the familiar, the overlooked, and the surprising, including, among others, St Nicholas and Stormzy, Eglantyne Jebb and George Floyd, C. F. Andrews and Asia Bibi.