The Wonder of It All: A Daily Advent Reader

by Mark Sorensen

Growing up as a little boy, I can still remember the first piece of Christmas decor that would take its place on top of our family piano in the house. Before the Christmas tree, before the lights in the yard, it all started the family nativity set. I can close my eyes and still see it. Every piece of that nativity set had a place. The manger sat at the center with Jesus perfectly placed in the middle with Mary and Joseph on either side. There were the shepherds, the wise men, and a couple of camels with some barnyard animals grazing. And above it all, a star that would light up the room at night.


My earliest memories of the nativity story were found in that little display my mother would put out each and every Christmas. It was calm, beautiful, peaceful, and incredibly serene. Yet, as I have grown with this story, I have found that the biblical narrative of that first Christmas morning was anything but calm, peaceful, and serene.


In this Advent daily devotional, we’ll dig into the Christmas story found in Matthew and Luke’s gospels and look at those in the nativity story. Where did this story meet them and where does it meet us today?


Let’s recapture some wonder this holiday season.

Genres: Devotional

125 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2024

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Advent devotional. Exploring the "wonder' of the season, the 25 chapters explored the various characters of the nativity story using short narratives and ending with a short prayer and points to ponder/follow-up.

Every day was light which doesn't take away from the power of these observations and reflections. I looked forward to reading it every day.

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read one chapter with my church from the beginning of December to Christmas. I read this out loud to my daughter (and husband sometimes). I liked a lot of the chapters/entires. It was very relatable in topics and flowed very nicely making it easy to read. Read one entry a day.

[Kevin Casto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to awaken the wonder of the season and depart from the materialism of Christmas. Looking forward to using this material during Advent this year.