The Dawning Of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings For Advent (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
These were really good meditations on the Christ-centeredness of Advent, one for every day of Advent. The daily meditations are short enough to get through in a few minutes of reading out loud and they foster good discussion afterwards. With some younger children, parents will need to boil some things down to simpler terms on occasion but that is not hard to do as each meditation focusses in on a particular passage of Scripture and Advent related implication. The book also includes an introductory chapter to set the direction, a meditation for Christmas itself, and a longer concluding chapter which sums everything up nicely and reminds us that Advent and Christmas are all about glory to God and peace to us and they are inseparable in God's redemptive plan. Our family read through this book over the Advent season and really appreciated it. Along with Piper's other Advent book which we read last year, Good News of Great Joy, this is a very reverent and gospel-focused Advent meditation. Emmanuel, God with us.I love Christmas. I love the advent season. But the beauty and wonder of Christmas is that God came and now God is with us. All the time.Therefore reading an advent devotional in September makes perfect sense. It's not just in the busyness and rushing of the 'holiday season' that we I need to make room for God in my heart. It's every.single.day.John Piper's new advent devotional, 'The Dawning of Indestructible Joy' is simple and profound in ways that only Piper can be. Each day's reading will take only minutes to complete, but the reflection and study it prompts will be thoughts to linger over throughout the day. Several times I found myself rereading sections as I allowed the Truth to sink in.Rooted in the truth and hope of the Gospel that begins and ends with Jesus, Piper explores the purpose of Christmas, which Jesus himself told Pilate at the end of his life,For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into this world- to bear witness to the truth.|John 18:37|Piper sums it up well in the last lines of the December 25th reading,So throughout the Gospel of John the meaning of Christmas becomes clear. The Word became flesh. He revealed the glory of God as never before. He died according to his own plan. Because of his death in our place, he is bread for us. He is the source of forgiveness and righteousness and life. This is the great meaning of Christmas in the Gospel of John. Indeed in the world. Today.The purpose of Jesus birth from the beginning was for Good Friday. May we never forget that the whole of christianity is wrapped up in those two days- Christmas and Good Friday. But equally, may we never forget that because of those 2 days we have grace upon grace every single moment of every single day.If anything, these short readings made me hungry for more- which I'm sure was Piper's explicit purpose. Devotions that drive us to the Word, to pray, and to study are good devotionals.Read it during the advent season, read it in September when life is normal and busy, read it when you need a reminder that Christmas is good news for great joy because God is with us.I received this book for free from Crossway’s Beyond the Page program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.For more information about this book, go here.
What do You think about The Dawning Of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings For Advent (2014)?
I actually listened to the audio version of this book, and I really enjoyed it! A great advent book.
—Krazykaseyyy
A great month of short advent Bible lessons! Full of the gospel.
—beamr04
This was a great for our family worship during this Advent time.
—susanflores1
I'll be reading this next year. What a great advent reader.
—mijalv
