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    On This Holy Night: The Heart of Christmas
    On This Holy Night: The Heart of Christmas
    On This Holy Night: The Heart of Christmas
    Ebook112 pages7 hours

    On This Holy Night: The Heart of Christmas

    By Thomas Nelson

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    About this ebook

    Rekindle the true meaning of Christmas with the help of six gifted Christian communicators. 

    Every year, the story of Christmas is told and retold, but sometimes the very familiarity of holiday traditions causes us to overlook the vital expressions of this meaningful season. On This Holy Night breathes new life into several aspects of the Christmas story through the voices of six beloved Christian communicators. Each author explores the meaning of Christmas in different facets of the holiday:

    • Max Lucado—a look into Joseph’s story, a man caught between what God says and what makes sense
    • Rick Warren—the real gift of Christmas is that God sent His own Son to connect with the human race
    • David Jeremiah—why the name of Jesus is so important and perfect
    • John Maxwell—how to journey like the wise men to unexpected places
    • Jack Hayford—a look into Mary’s story, a woman who embraced the seemingly impossible with God at her side
    • Bill Hybels—rediscovering meaning in the nativity scene

    Sure to connect readers back to the heart of the holiday, this beautiful four-color gift book will be treasured for years to come.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateOct 15, 2013
    ISBN9781400323760
    On This Holy Night: The Heart of Christmas

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    • 3/5
      Six fairly well known authors discuss aspects of the Christmas story that might be overlooked.
    • 5/5
      Very interesting, and wonderfully said or written. I regret been late to discover this Novel and distinguished preacher !

    Book preview

    On This Holy Night - Thomas Nelson

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    CONTENTS

    Introduction

    1. When You Follow a Star and Find a Stable

    JOHN MAXWELL

    2. Seeing the Christmas Scenery

    BILL HYBELS

    3. Joseph’s Prayer

    MAX LUCADO

    4. Thou Shalt Call His Name Jesus

    DAVID JEREMIAH

    5. What Will You Find at Christmas?

    RICK WARREN

    6. I Wish You a Mary Christmas

    JACK HAYFORD

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    INTRODUCTION

    Christmas, for most of us, is a time of festive celebration. It is an occasion for renewing precious friendships. It is an opportunity to reminisce about days gone by. It’s a great excuse to eat too much, sing too loudly, and spend more money than we should. Christmas can stir up intense and complex feelings—both pleasurable and painful—that sometimes take us by surprise. And for Christians, Christmas is a time of awe and reverence and wonder, when the timeless story of Christ’s birth is once again read from the Gospels for all the world to hear.

    Some of the most cherished Christmas joys are found in family traditions that link one year to another with the harmony of favorite carols, the sparkle of familiar ornaments, and the time-honored rites of gift giving. Year after year, decade after decade, we delight in seeing the same front-yard holiday decorations on the same neighborhood streets. We are thrilled at the reappearance of well-worn downtown Christmas lights and garlands. We are cheered when the church sets up its venerable nativity scene, angels, shepherds, wise men, and all.

    But the very familiarity of Christmas sometimes causes us to overlook the most vital expressions of what should be a meaningful season. We have listened to the words of the great Christmas hymns so many times since childhood that we sometimes fail to appreciate their eloquent poetry. We have heard a hundred times about Mary and Joseph’s long, weary trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem, but we haven’t always stopped to remember just exactly how and why it happened. We’ve almost memorized the Bible story, we’ve sung the carols, we’ve hung the holly, and we’ve roasted the turkey. When it comes to Christmas, we’ve done it all.

    And yet, somewhere along the way, we may have lost touch with what happened on that holy night, the heart of Christmas itself.

    With that in mind, this unique and priceless collection has been titled On This Holy Night: The Heart of Christmas in hopes that, through its message, we can once again feel the pulse and experience the energy of a miraculous story that transfuses new life into all who will truly listen. In the pages that follow, six of America’s most beloved communicators share their favorite Christmas messages. Their words gently remind us of the beautiful, the inspirational, and the profoundly spiritual facets of Christmas we may have begun to overlook. They offer life lessons we may have forgotten. They provide us with priceless faith perspectives that are sometimes eclipsed by the gleam and glitter of earthbound gifts.

    Each of these authors offers a wealth of insight, a penetrating understanding of God’s Word, and an extra measure of storytelling skill.

    John Maxwell asks a question that carries us far beyond the manger and the distant hills of Palestine and leads us all the way back to our own little corner of the world: What do you do when you follow a star and find a stable? Yes, it happens to everybody once in a while. And as we ponder, we find inspiration, for there are some very wise and wonderful ways to deal with the stables in our lives. This is a message for those of us whose dreams—perhaps even Christmas dreams—have not been fulfilled, at least not in the ways we’d hoped.

    Bill Hybels takes us on a tour of our local nativity scene and encourages us to look with new vision upon the familiar elements there. He suggests that we lift our eyes heavenward to the star, that we take an extra moment to gaze at the stable, and that we allow God to speak to us as we peer into the manger. In the all too familiar surroundings of the Christmas scene, we come to a renewed understanding of God’s grace, and our hearts are touched with gratitude.

    Max Lucado helps us to reflect upon the life of Jesus’ adoptive father, and he invites us to walk alongside Joseph through the fields near Bethlehem. As we join the expectant father pacing beneath the stars as he awaits the imminent birth in the nearby stable, we share the thoughts and questions Joseph must have had as he found himself an eyewitness to the Messiah’s miraculous arrival. Yes, Joseph wanted to be a father, but he certainly never imagined his baby being born quite like this!

    David Jeremiah explores the significance of names in general and of the Christmas baby’s name in particular. He discusses the Hebrew and prophetic meanings of salvation and considers why God chose to call His only begotten Son Jesus. As we read, we recall the many reasons we treasure the name of Jesus above all other names.

    Rick Warren tells us about the three greatest gifts Christmas can offer, no matter where we celebrate, whom we share the season with, or how we choose to remember the coming of God’s Son into the world. You’ve celebrated every Christmas for as many years as you are old, he points out. You know the songs and the stories, and you know what it’s all about, but you’ve never unwrapped the gift.

    Finally, in his expressive, warmhearted style, Jack Hayford reconsiders Mary, Jesus’ mother, and the remarkable role she played in God’s plan of redemption. We are led along with her through her astonishing encounter with the angel, through her months of preparation for childbirth, and through her growing awareness of God’s unprecedented blessing on her young life. As we read, we consider anew the tremendous faith and obedience she demonstrated as she became the first to receive God’s gift to the world as her own.

    Here is the good news about the Christmas gift of a lifetime—Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord! Here is the gospel message of His loving presence. Here is the Bethlehem child’s blessing, wrapped in unique and colorful words, promising hours of rereading, reflection, and returning once again to that holy night.

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    WHEN YOU FOLLOW A STAR AND FIND A STABLE

    9781400323456_I_0014_002.jpg

    JOHN MAXWELL

    The actress Helen Hayes once told a story about cooking her first Thanksgiving turkey. She explained that she wasn’t a very good cook, but after several years of marriage, she decided

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