The Gift of the Nutcracker

by Matt Rawle

"The Nutcracker" is a delightful and whimsical Christmas classic that children and adults look forward to every year. First performed in 1892, the music, dance, and story of this classic hold a special place in our cultural Christmas celebrations.


In The Gift of the Nutcracker , Matt Rawle, author of T he Redemption of Scrooge , explores the story to help us understand God’s greatest gift of the Christ child, and the kingdom Christ came to establish.


Additional components for a four-week study include a comprehensive Leader Guide, a DVD featuring Matt Rawle, a Worship Resources Flash Drive, and youth and children's resources.

128 pages, Paperback

Published September 4, 2018

About the author

Matt Rawle is Lead Pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, LA. Matt is an international speaker who loves to tell an old story in a new way, especially at the intersection of pop culture and the church.

Matt has a B.A. in music from LSU and an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. He and his wife Christie have three daughters. Matt loves meditating on Scripture, listening to the heart of God, and inspiring people to do the work of God—Love. He also loves thinking about new ways to tell an old story.

He is the author of a new series of books titled The Pop in Culture Series. The series includes The Faith of a Mockingbird, Hollywood Jesus, and The Salvation of Doctor Who.

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chosen for our Monday morning bible study, we explored the ballet story of The Nutcracker to understand God’s greatest gift of the Christ child, and the kingdom Christ came to establish. There are lots of parallels in pop culture and everyday life if you look.

[Shelley Shrader · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are unfamiliar with the story behind the classic Christmas ballet: The Nutcracker, you may find this devotional enlightening. Enter the mind and world of a 12 year old child, Clara, at Christmas time and discover the gift of the nutcracker. Clara represents humanity living in an in-between time of God’s kingdom now on earth and the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness when heaven and earth become one. Her Godfather (God) gives her a nutcracker (Jesus) who gets broken (wounded) by Clara’s little brother. Godfather heals the nutcracker while Clara is asleep. Soon after, Clara finds herself in the midst of a battle between The Mouse King (Satan) and the Nutcracker (Jesus). After the Mouse king is defeated, Clara’s warring nutcracker transforms into a prince who takes her another realm full of splendor, wonder and peace (the future kingdom of God). Clara awakens Christmas Day wondering if it was all a dream. The author makes these points, and takes you back to the story of Christ’s birth for reflection on the peace, hope, love and joy that Christ offers us. Unlike the story of the Nutcracker, the author points out that our story has not ended. It continues to unfold, and we have a role to play in bringing heaven to earth.

[Patty Corwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting. I read this for a class at church. I kind of felt that, since all of the other good Christmas stories were taken, Rawle chose this one. The last chapter was the best, but the rest of the book seemed a bit contrived. I did see elements of spirituality in the story of the nutcracker that I hadn't seen before. However, I kept reading the book until its end because I had to for my class.

[Marion Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this as a Bible Study during the Advent Season.

I loved how Rawle introduced so many ideas and perspectives with regard to how we celebrate Advent.

I learned a great deal - highly recommended!

[Robert Tessmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this offered at Cokesbury and used this as a four week Bible Study during the Advent Season.

Pastor Rawle introduced many ideas and perspectives with regard to how we celebrate Advent and I learned a little about "The Nutcracker".

[Hannah Potantus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet and simple way of looking at the Nutcracker through a Christian lens. I liked it a lot, it was just very repetitive, after the first couple chapters it wasn’t holding my attention.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Matt Rawle’s perspective on The Nutcracker and its parallels to the story of Jesus.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some of the author's refelections but I had a very hard time relating this book to the Christmas story.
We chose it as an Advent study for our ecumenical Bible Study group. Others felt as I did about the book. That said, we had some pretty interesting discussions during Advent.