A Very Different Christmas

by Rico Tice, Nate M. Locke

This Christmas, invite your non-Christian friends and family to spend some time in God's living room, opening presents with him. Rico and Nate's typically fresh, faithful, humorous and punchy style makes A Very Different Christmas the perfect gift to give away, and the perfect book to hand out after Christmas events. Short enough to read quickly… different enough to offer those who think they've heard it all before… straightforward enough to give to people of all ages and stages… and cheap enough to fit into Christmas budgets… if you want people to meet God this festive season, you'll want to give them this book.

Genres: Christmas

64 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

Rico Tice is Senior Minister (Evangelism) at All Souls Church, Langham Place in London. Born in Chile before being educated in England, Rico spent a year working at a church in inner city Liverpool and then studied history at Bristol University (where he was captain of the rugby team). He went on to graduate from theological college at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. As a passionate evangelist, he has spent the last few years developing the Christianity Explored courses. He is a regular speaker at missions and evangelistic events around the world, and is the author of Honest Evangelism: How to talk about Jesus even when it's tough.

Reviews

[Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another 'seasonal' book that provides a straightforward insight into the true meaning of the Christian celebration of Christmas!

Arranged around 8 short chapters (although only 6 are called chapters in the book!), the authors Rico Tice and Nate Morgan Locke, imagine a Christmas in heaven and what sort of presents there might be there. It is a simple, novel and yet powerful presentation of the essence of Christmas ... giving and receiving! The chapters are:

Chapter One: All about the presents
Chapter Two: The Father's gift
Chapter Three: The Son's gift
Chapter Four: Your gift
Chapter Five: The Spirit's gift
Chapter Six: One Question
What's Next?
The First Christmas: By Matthew.

Published by thegoodbook Company, this is an accessible 'gospel' for this time of the year. It can be read in about 30 minutes or less, so it's not tiresome or long! If you can get your hands on one, good, and if you can get some to 'gift' to others even better! Our local church, Moira Baptist Church, has made this available to all who attend this December! A solid 4-star read!

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15 - the Bible) ... who is Jesus!

Merry Christmas to you all!

[bex 🌱 · Rating 5 out of 5]

super christmassy!

[CE Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful way of looking at Christmas

[Don Curran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book that presents the gospel of Jesus Christ in the context of Christmas and the gifts given. The chapters on God the Father's gift to us and God the Son's gift to the Father are excellent. If I had only read those two chapters, I would have given this five stars. But the chapter on my gift to God is weak on the consequences of believing that my gift is good enough. No, it's very weak—hell is far more than being left out in the "cold." Hell is a real place, according to the Bible, but it's far, far worse that being left "outside the loving presence of the loving God. A place to be endured, not enjoyed: without joy, friendship or hope. It’s a place out in the cold, with only regret for company."

As I write this review I'm questioning why I even gave it a four. I read this book with the intent that I might give it to the people in my spheres of influence that I want to engage in spiritual conversations about what Jesus Christ did to save sinners, calling them to repent and believe. If I do, I would do so only if I thought I could have further discussions about the consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ.

That being said, if the goal is to move people along the spiritual spectrum of being far from God to being a child of God, then I think this book could be an asset. It's short and easy to read—two great characteristics in a society that doesn't much like to read.

[PrettyFlamingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got two free copies of this at Christmas 2015 and gave one away, and thought this year I'd read the other one myself. It's a short read, putting Christmas in context with enough explanation and detail to get the message across but not preachy. A non-Christian who read it found it very readable and liked the analogy of Christmas presents between us, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

[Lizzie Stoddart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, but beautiful read reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas.
I’ve had this book for a while and kept forgetting to read it. Now I know that it’s because I was meant to read it today. This is the message I needed to hear at this point in my life. If you want to know more about what Christmas is and should be, take a look at this book with an open heart.

[Timothy Durey · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the purpose of the book (evangelistic/pre-evangelistic), I'd say this is very good. The chapter on the Spirit was especially convicting and thought-provoking to me as a Christian and I also appreciate the practical steps given at the end of the book.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid outreach book. I will be giving this out this Christmas! Simple clean gospel presentation