Rediscovering Christmas: Surprising Insights into the Story You Thought You Knew

by AJ Sherrill, Rich Villodas (Foreword by)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

You may think you know the story of the birth of Christ, but nothing digs deeper and elevates it higher in modern relevance than this.

A profound exploration of the Bible’s Christmas story that delivers surprising insights to embrace the ancient wonder of the holiday season.
 
“If you want this Christmas to be the best ever, read this book. Rediscovering Christmas opened my eyes to a world of meaning I had never known.”—Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire and The War of Art

Are you tired of feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and empty during the holiday season? Instead of getting caught up in the hustle and bustle, are you ready to slow down, catch your breath, and rediscover the true beauty of Christmas?

This captivating collection of readings explores the intersection where the ancient context meets the present moment. Pastor AJ Sherrill invites you into an experience designed to renew your mind, reawaken your heart, rekindle your awe, and restore your body. Rediscovering Christmas is divided into two sections: Advent, which teaches the purpose of waiting, and Christmas, which reveals the joy of receiving. Through meaningful reflections, practices, and illustrations, you’ll see the diverse characters of the first Christmas in a new light—and comprehend just how their stories intertwine with your own.

Return to its pages year after year, and let it refresh your heart and mind about the wonder of Christmas. Rediscovering Christmas is a timeless companion that will become a cherished tradition in your holiday season.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593445532
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/15/2024
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	125,409
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 5.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

AJ Sherrill has led churches across the country from Southern California to New York City. He now pastors Saint Peter’s Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Sherrill has taught doctoral courses on preaching and the enneagram at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Read an Excerpt

The Gift of Waiting

Advent is not Christmas. It is a time of preparation for Christmas. Little Advent, little Christmas. Great Advent, great Christmas. I’ll explain.

Each of the seven characters in part 1 is meant to shape our Advent journey—a journey of patient hope and joyful expectation. Just as those long ago awaited the arrival of the Messiah in the form of a child, we now wait for the arrival of the Messiah in the form of a king. They awaited the Savior’s first coming. Now we await the second.

Coming from the Latin word adventus, Advent means “arrival.” And because the full arrival of God’s kingdom is still to come, we find ourselves in a similar place as the ancients: a people in waiting. But Advent isn’t that kind of waiting, where apathy, boredom, and despair set in (such as at a doctor’s office waiting room). Rather, it’s a kind of waiting that knows something significant about where the future is heading and how we may best position our lives for that future while living in the present. So we wait, but we wait with hope.

In the great tradition of the Christian faith, Advent—not January 1—is the beginning of a new year. It (usually) begins on the first Sunday in December and leads us to Christmas Eve.

Properly understood, Advent pushes against singing “Joy to the World” before Christmas Day. Mary had to wait nine months to birth Jesus; therefore, we should be willing to wait one month. In fact, Advent stands in opposition to much of what we experience on the radio and at contemporary evangelical church services. The season of four weeks wants to help us cultivate waiting, hope, and longing. And longing isn’t short. Longing literally takes a looooong time or it’s not really a longing, is it?

It Starts in the Dark

As the church proclaims the beginning of a new year, one of the gifts of this season is given to people who are sitting in darkness. This darkness may take the form of an unwelcome health diagnosis, financial strain, an end to a relationship, or a crisis of faith. The list goes on. The gift of the season lies in its capacity to make space for people who do not have life all together, wrapped in a bow of joy. The church authentically proclaims that the gospel is for the broken, the outsider, and the wandering soul in search of light. We often want to get to Christmas morning a little too quickly. We yearn to sing “Joy to the World” next to the shepherds and offer gifts of praise to God alongside the Magi. But first we are called to sit with John the Baptist in the dark of the desert. It is there that we get in touch with our great need. It is there that we might learn what our souls really hunger for. And instead of feeding on fillers, we make space for God’s presence.

Author Tish Harrison Warren suggested that “Advent is practice in waiting.” No wonder Advent is omitted in the church for many people today, as we live in a society that orchestrates life to wait as little as possible. For some, the idea of Advent is trendy. After all, people generally like lighting candles. But the true lived experience of Advent for a month is the opposite of what the digital age affords us. Instead of practicing waiting, we are deeply (mal)formed in habits of immediacy, impatience, and efficiency in today’s culture.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, modeled Advent for us. Her Advent—that is, waiting for arrival—was not merely four Sundays but rather nine months. She demonstrated for us what happens inside a person when they create space for something better. In the Advent season, the church, following the liturgical calendar, will often light a candle for the four Sundays before Christmas. These candles follow themes such as hope, peace, joy, and love. As we wait, our hearts yearn to be formed into these themes.

Advent waiting allows God time to do deep work in us. But we must not confuse waiting with an invitation to fall into apathy, laziness, or despair. We wait in hope, expectantly vigilant for God to complete what he has begun. Active waiting is the call of the church.

Firepit Spirituality

Author and pastor Brian Zahnd wrote, “Ours is a secular age. The sacred is pushed to the periphery. To keep the sacred at the center of our lives is a heroic act of defiance.” Zahnd was right. To faithfully live into the sacred calendar of the church requires effort. Society discourages waiting and offers devices of all kinds that habituate us into immediacy. Once the Thanksgiving decor is put away, the Christmas tree comes out. The celebration begins! Advent is omitted. We are ready for December 25 before December starts. Resist this urge. There is something waiting for you in the waiting. Guard the sacred as the center. Later, I will make some recommendations as to how you might do that.

Just the other day, I was writing at my friend’s farmhouse in the deep forests of South Carolina. As I was attempting to start a fire, the whirling winds frustrated the task, but shielding the embers from the winds allowed the flame to grow. It occurred to me that this is similar to what we face this season. Advent shields us from the hurried and demanding winds of life trying to blow out the flame of God within us. But we must guard that flame of hope, because waiting is difficult. We must shield and protect it, lest it be snuffed out by the demands of immediacy. We are waiting for the Light of the World (see John 1:9), and that light has called us to be a city on a hill (see Matthew 5:14, esv). The winds of life come in the form of busyness, ennui, consumerism, stress, food preparation, and numerous activities that slowly add up until exhaustion sets in. If you allow them, these winds will smother the flame that burns on Christmas morning.

Maybe the invitation of Advent is to slow down—to say no and be still, lingering in the night without the false light of screens. Maybe it’s to turn our hearts upward in worship and to light candles of hope in the comfort of our living rooms.

We wait again with the ancients for the child to be placed in the manger, but we also wait with the church for the return of the King. We wait, therefore, in both directions: past and future. And we do this in the present moment. Just as the arrival eventually came all those years ago, so the arrival will come again when Jesus forever sets up his reign on earth. Isaiah comforts us in our waiting. It is not in vain:

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6)

Editorial Reviews

If you want this Christmas to be the best ever, read this book—and read it slowly, chapter by chapter, in the weeks leading up to December 25. Rediscovering Christmas opened my eyes to a world of meaning I had never known.”—Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of Gates of Fire and The War of Art

“This little (but powerful) text packs a punch—with insightful historical knowledge, keen biblical sensitivity, biting cultural critique, and compassionate pastoral love. It gives the Advent season a whole new level of excitement for the follower of Jesus.”—A. J. Swoboda, PhD, professor, author, and pastor

“Rediscovering Christmas draws us into the mystery and messiness of the birth of Jesus Christ in our broken world. . . . AJ invites us to place one foot in the ancient Christmas story and our other foot in our own everyday lives.”—Trevor Hudson, minister in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and author of In Search of God’s Will

“AJ Sherill, by merging biblical insights with pastoral wisdom, nourishes readers through the authentic spirituality of Christmas. The gift of Rediscovering Christmas is not just that you will learn; it’s that you will be changed.”—Bishop Todd Hunter, author of What Jesus Intended

“I am often asked, ‘What are your favorite Advent resources?,’ only to realize that I don’t have any ready to recommend. Well, now I do. Sherrill has created a meaningful guide to a contemplative Advent. It’s the perfect balance of historical context, thoughtful provocation, and invitation to wonder and joy.”—Marty Solomon, creator of the BEMA Podcast and author of Asking Better Questions of the Bible

“AJ’s ability to weave together fresh insights from the original context of the Christmas story with contemplative practices for everyday living makes Rediscovering Christmas a compelling invitation to the more-ness of life Jesus offers.”—Brad Gray, founder of Walking the Text and author of Make Your Mark

“If you want a thoughtful, informed, challenging, world-shifting, life-shaping interruption that might reintroduce the presence of God in this earthly journey, where the secret of the ordinary is that it was meant to be the vessel of the divine, this is your book and AJ is your guide.”—John Ortberg, founder of BecomeNew

“Rediscovering Christmas reveals how a story set in Bethlehem two thousand years ago is still brimming with fresh meaning and purpose. The writing is thoughtful, inspiring, accessible, and it will help prepare your heart and soul for all the Christmas season has to offer.”—Steve Carter, pastor and author of Grieve, Breathe, Receive

“Having experienced this book, I anticipate Christmas with a fresh outlook on its potential for spiritual rejuvenation and healing in my personal journey.”—Libby VanSolkema, president of Ancient Paths Study Tours and creative resource director at Crossroads Bible Church

From the Publisher