Martin Luther's conception of the Nativity found expression in sermon, song, and art. This beautiful gift edition of a classic collection combines all three.

A superb new translation brings the words of Augustine the preacher stirringly to life! When the great Saint Augustine was called from his country home to become Bishop of Hippo in the fourth century, his new responsibilities took him away from the solitude of his writing and into the glare of the public eye. The author of two of the greatest works of religious literature, Confessions and City of God, Augustine became a shepherd to the people, inspiring and enlightening them with his sermons. His skills as a speaker were as great–if not greater–than his skills as a writer. According to his friend Possidius, “Those who read what Augustine wrote on the divine topics do get something out of them. But those who saw and heard him in person–they were the ones who got heaven and Earth.” Sermons to the People collects the homilies on the liturgical seasons of the Church Saint Augustine delivered over the course of his lifetime. This Image edition includes the first sermons in that vast collection: from Advent, Christmas, New Year’s, and the Epiphany. Newly translated by William Griffin, they address timeless concerns, including the problems of materialism and the intellectual difficulties of faith. Griffin renders the sermons with such immediacy, it is as though he had been present when Augustine spoke to his flock.

Advent is for adoring Jesus. The Christmas season is one of the busiest times of year. But it's also a season of reflection and preparation for that special day when we mark Immanuel's coming—the arrival of our eternal God in our own frail humanity. This is the greatest of history's many wonders, something too stupendous to celebrate just on one day. Advent is a way of lengthening and intensifying the joy of Christmas. These 25 brief devotional readings from John Piper begin on December 1 and carry us to Christmas Day. Our hope is that God would use these meditations to deepen and sweeten your adoration of Jesus and help you keep him at the center of your Christmas season.

“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice!” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer Executed by the Nazis for his complicity in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer remains with us today through his writings—far-reaching ripples of deep thought, passionate words, and unflinching character. Including biographical insights, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christmas Sermons spans Bonhoeffer’s seventeen years as a preacher. This collection of vintage sermons and writings searches out the power and mystery of the Christmas season: its joyous riches and its implications for our lives. Also available Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Prison Poems Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Meditations on Psalms

Advent, says Fleming Rutledge, is not for the faint of heart. As the midnight of the Christian year, the season of Advent is rife with dark, gritty realities. In this book, with her trademark wit and wisdom, Rutledge explores Advent as a time of rich paradoxes, a season celebrating at once Christ’s incarnation and his second coming, and she masterfully unfolds the ethical and future-oriented significance of Advent for the church.

Quit playing it safe and start running toward the roar! Now available for the first time in a convenient paperback edition and featuring a brand new group discussion guide. When the image of a man-eating beast travels through the optic nerve and into the visual cortex, the brain sends the body a simple but urgent message: run away! That’s what normal people do, but not lion chasers. Rather than seeing a five-hundred-pound problem, they see an opportunity for God to show up and show His power. Chase the Lion is more than a catch phrase; it’s a radically different approach to life. It’s only when we stop fearing failure that we can fully seize opportunity by the mane. With grit and gusto, New York Times best-selling author Mark Batterson delivers a bold message to everyone with a big dream. This is a wake-up call to stop living as if the purpose of life was to simply arrive safely at death. Our dreams should scare us. They should be so big that without God they would be impossible to achieve. Quit running away from what you’re afraid of. Chase the lion! Change the world! What is your five-hundred-pound dream? In this highly anticipated sequel to his best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson invites lion chasers everywhere to chase dreams so impossible that victory demands we face our fears, defy the odds, and hold tight to God. These are the kind of dreams that will make you a bigger person and the world a better place. Based upon 2 Samuel 23, Chase the Lion tells the true story of an ancient warrior named Benaiah who chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day—and then killed it. For most people, that situation wouldn’t just be a problem…it would be the last problem they ever faced. For Benaiah, it was an opportunity to step into his destiny. After defeating the lion, he landed his dream job as King David’s bodyguard and eventually became commander-in-chief of Israel’s army under King Solomon. Written in a way that both challenges and encourages, this revolutionary book will help unleash the faith and courage you need to identify, chase, and catch the five-hundred-pound dreams in your life.

Advent devotional on 1 Corinthians 13, reflecting on the source of authentic, divine, transforming love. Advent devotional on 1 Corinthians 13, reflecting on the source of authentic, divine, transforming love. Everyone seems to say that Christmas is about love. It’s in the songs we hear as we shop for presents and in the adverts we see on TV. It’s in the cards we send and on the gift tags we write. And Christians can agree. Christmas really is about love, because love came down at Christmas in the person of Jesus Christ. This Advent devotional contains 24 daily readings from 1 Corinthians 13. Sinclair B Ferguson brings the rich theology of the incarnation to life with his trademark warmth and clarity. We'll see what “love” looked like in the life of Christ and be challenged to love like him. Each day's reading finishes with a question for reflection and a prayer. However you're feeling, your heart will be refreshed as you wonder again at the truth that love came down at Christmas.

Steeped as he was in Sacred Scripture, St. Francis de Sales gives totally fresh and surprising insights into the truths of our religion including: the Sacred Name of Jesus, Our Lady's wisdom at Cana, St. John the Baptist's temptation, etc. Nine insightful sermons. Published here for the first time in English. Great wisdom from a great saint and Doctor of the Church; excellent spiritual reading for Advent or any other time of the year! Catholics living in the world today can benefit much by reading these substantial, riveting sermons.

In his powerful yet compassionate voice, Pastor Rick Warren tells the most wonderful story of all - the story of God come to earth in the form of a human infant. Warren goes back to that day long ago when the baby Jesus was born in the manger. In this clarion call to 'remember the reason for the season', readers are taken back in time to the simple origins of a baby who changed history forever. Warren gives readers an intimate look into his family heritage as he shares the fifty-year-old Warren Christmas tradition of having a birthday party for Jesus. Through stirring imagery and compelling insights, this book celebrates the significance and promise of this cherished holiday.

In this book, originally published in 1959, Charles and Eleanor Raven provide the Jewish historical and religious background to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, as well as evidence for Christ's historical existence. The book also includes overviews of the ministry and teaching of Jesus, as well as a breakdown of the stories and events specific to each gospel. This book will be of use to anyone seeking a simple overview of Gospel history and of the background to the events described in the first books of the New Testament.