Good News of Great Joy
Good News of Great Joy: 25 Devotional Readings for Advent
By: John Piper
“I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep and yet who can yawn through the Apostle’s Creed— among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.”
Advent is the anticipation of the birth of Christ. His “coming.”
I struggle year-to-year to know how to spend that time in a meaningful way.
The consumerism culture has attempted to fill that void by providing a myriad of advent calendars with all our kids’ favorite characters or sweets.
We’re lucky if we achieve a daily advent reading with our kids, can we really add something else to our growing Christmas bucket list?
I found this advent devotional by Piper and didn’t have many expectations for it. I just figured it would be 25 run-of-the-mill advent musings.
But I was pleasantly surprised! I found it to be incredibly thoughtful, informative, and reflective. It’s definitely one I could see myself coming back to each year to re-center myself on the amazing story of Christ’s birth and the purpose for why he came!
My kids are probably too young for this, but it would also be a good read aloud family devotional for older kids.
Each day Piper has selected a verse to go with his reflection. Many are from the Gospels but some are from other books of the New Testament. Then there is a page or two of commentary that bids us come and adore Jesus.
It’s short and is not hard to squeeze in each day. (Although I did have several times I had to play a little catch up.)
Advent season might be over now, but it would still be worth a read on the off-season. Otherwise, grab yourself a copy and pack it away with your Christmas stuff so when you pull everything out next year, you know you’ll have your advent plan ready!
**Received an ARC via Amazon**
[One reviewer said Piper published an advent devotional a handful of years ago with the same name and seemed to think this may be a reprint of some kind. My copy doesn’t indicate it’s a reprint and I haven’t found information to confirm either way. I don’t think it’s significant, but just a sidenote if this book seems familiar to you for some reason.]
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