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An Even Better Christmas: Joy and Peace That Last All Year
Christmas is great—in fact, it's better than all the commercial hype!
In the midst of the gift-buying, make-everybody-happy, food-gorging craziness that is Christmas, Matt Chandler helps us stop… breathe… and refocus our hearts.
In his uniquely humorous, honest style, Matt shows us that God gets involved with us, gives us joy and is worth our trust. And this joy and peace is not just for Christmas, it lasts all year round and into eternity.
In the midst of the gift-buying, make-everybody-happy, food-gorging craziness that is Christmas, Matt Chandler helps us stop… breathe… and refocus our hearts.
In his uniquely humorous, honest style, Matt shows us that God gets involved with us, gives us joy and is worth our trust. And this joy and peace is not just for Christmas, it lasts all year round and into eternity.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2018
27 people are currently reading
190 people want to read
About the author
Matt Chandler
138 books760 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Matt Chandler is the lead pastor of The Village Church, a multi-campus church in the Dallas metroplex of over 10,000 people. His sermons are among the topselling (free) podcasts on itunes and he speaks at conferences worldwide. Prior to accepting the pastorate at The Village, Matt had a vibrant itinerant ministry for over ten years where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of people in America and abroad about the glory of God and beauty of Jesus. He lives in Texas with his wife, Lauren, and their three children: Audrey, Reid and Norah.
Matt Chandler is the lead pastor of The Village Church, a multi-campus church in the Dallas metroplex of over 10,000 people. His sermons are among the topselling (free) podcasts on itunes and he speaks at conferences worldwide. Prior to accepting the pastorate at The Village, Matt had a vibrant itinerant ministry for over ten years where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of people in America and abroad about the glory of God and beauty of Jesus. He lives in Texas with his wife, Lauren, and their three children: Audrey, Reid and Norah.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 29, 2021
I could hear Matt Chandler’s voice as I was reading this
December 24, 2018
A good little Christmas read featuring sermon snippets and thoughts from a very colloquial and accessible preacher. Orthodox and yet accessible it's a great and quick addition to your devotional life during Christmas.
December 27, 2023
Lovely little book that you could read in a hour about the hope Christmas brings.
November 4, 2018
Respected pastor and author Matt Chandler tells us that he loves Christmas because it’s the start of the story that means one day everything will really be perfect. In this short book, he offers to the reader something better than all of those Christmas ads do - not just for this season but for every day and month of your life. He shows that, whoever you are and whatever is going on in your life as you read the book, how the first Christmas can meet you where you are and provide you with hope where you are. He wants us to have an even better Christmas than those ads offer, by celebrating not only that Christ has come, but also that his power is at work in the present day, and that he will return on one future day—this time not as a baby but as a ruling, restoring King.
He starts the book by going back centuries before the famous events of the nativity story because this was a time when the world was clearly in a mess, and when God’s people were truly struggling. He tells us that even at Christmas, the truth is that our world is a mess, and that if we are honest, we will admit that we are as well. But he writes, God has got involved in the mess of this world so that he can share his joy with you now and bring you into his perfection one day. He encourages us to invite God in, keep walking through the valleys and the peaks of this life with him… and look forward. This season, you really can find all you want—not by looking to Christmas but beyond Christmas, to the return of the one who came at that first Christmas.
Among the subjects that the author covers include joy, fear, God’s glory, and being rescued by God. This is an easy to read book, and would be a good one to give to an unbeliever this Christmas season.
I highlighted a number of passages in this book, and here are 10 that I would like to share with you:
• Christmas is about acknowledging that sometimes things are not great and we do struggle and suffer, even at Christmas—and that God knows this, God hears us, and God has got involved for us.
• You are never too bad for God. And you are never good enough for God.
• We tend to have a very small concept of God. We think he’s a tame house-cat. But he isn’t. He’s a lion.
• The God of Christmas did not come to condemn me, or you. He came to rescue us.
• He’s not the God who gives you a second chance and then tells you to do better this time round. He’s the God who comes to give you a third chance and a fourth—to keep forgiving you. That’s grace, and you can never out-sin the grace of God.
• God did not send his Son at Christmas to condemn us—he sent his Son at Christmas so that at Easter he could save us.
• That’s the point of Christmas. If you accept Jesus’ offer of rescue and forgiveness, you need no longer fear being exposed by God when one day you stand before his glory. Instead, you can know “great joy,” because you are exposed but you’re also forgiven.
• When it comes to 90 per cent of my life, I trust I can give it to Jesus and it’ll be worth it. I trust him to work it out. But I have 10% I’m nervous about, which I want to hang on to. I cling to it instead of giving it up. What’s the 10% that you want to hang on to as you stand and look this Christmas at the King in the manger? Jesus is worth your trust. He is worth giving everything to, including that 10% we all find hard. He can handle it.
• The beauty of the first Christmas is that God has got involved and put an anchor down for our souls, regardless of our circumstances.
• That moment all of us are so hungry for—when everything is made right and perfect—is coming.
He starts the book by going back centuries before the famous events of the nativity story because this was a time when the world was clearly in a mess, and when God’s people were truly struggling. He tells us that even at Christmas, the truth is that our world is a mess, and that if we are honest, we will admit that we are as well. But he writes, God has got involved in the mess of this world so that he can share his joy with you now and bring you into his perfection one day. He encourages us to invite God in, keep walking through the valleys and the peaks of this life with him… and look forward. This season, you really can find all you want—not by looking to Christmas but beyond Christmas, to the return of the one who came at that first Christmas.
Among the subjects that the author covers include joy, fear, God’s glory, and being rescued by God. This is an easy to read book, and would be a good one to give to an unbeliever this Christmas season.
I highlighted a number of passages in this book, and here are 10 that I would like to share with you:
• Christmas is about acknowledging that sometimes things are not great and we do struggle and suffer, even at Christmas—and that God knows this, God hears us, and God has got involved for us.
• You are never too bad for God. And you are never good enough for God.
• We tend to have a very small concept of God. We think he’s a tame house-cat. But he isn’t. He’s a lion.
• The God of Christmas did not come to condemn me, or you. He came to rescue us.
• He’s not the God who gives you a second chance and then tells you to do better this time round. He’s the God who comes to give you a third chance and a fourth—to keep forgiving you. That’s grace, and you can never out-sin the grace of God.
• God did not send his Son at Christmas to condemn us—he sent his Son at Christmas so that at Easter he could save us.
• That’s the point of Christmas. If you accept Jesus’ offer of rescue and forgiveness, you need no longer fear being exposed by God when one day you stand before his glory. Instead, you can know “great joy,” because you are exposed but you’re also forgiven.
• When it comes to 90 per cent of my life, I trust I can give it to Jesus and it’ll be worth it. I trust him to work it out. But I have 10% I’m nervous about, which I want to hang on to. I cling to it instead of giving it up. What’s the 10% that you want to hang on to as you stand and look this Christmas at the King in the manger? Jesus is worth your trust. He is worth giving everything to, including that 10% we all find hard. He can handle it.
• The beauty of the first Christmas is that God has got involved and put an anchor down for our souls, regardless of our circumstances.
• That moment all of us are so hungry for—when everything is made right and perfect—is coming.
December 30, 2024
I hope we wouldn't get too caught up in this season of "massive shop-til-you-drop, make-sure-everybody-is-totally-happy, gift-buying, food-gorging panic attack", so that we can stop... and breathe... and refocus our hearts... and see: 1) who God is 2) what God is like 3) what God is up to.
The trinitarian God shows us that at the base of the universe is not arrogant power, or struggle, but gladness-filled, relational joy. We know this because at the end of the day... relationships are worth more than anything this world offers. May we remember that God knows, hears, and intervenes for His glory and our good! *When we recognize that God showed up, and that he is committed to our good... this changes how we walk through the hard times and how we celebrate Christmas.
When the glory (weight) of God shows up -> it changes everything. God does not guarantee wealth, health, or prosperity BUT He does guarantee joy - joy that is not based on circumstances but on God who is good, true, and sovereign.
May we go all-in with Jesus because at the end of the day - He either is true or not true, and We are either for Him or against Him. He is worth our trust... all of our trust. And when it gets hard, may we be like the father in Mark 9 (v. 24) who tells Jesus, "I believe; help my unbelief!" All things are possible for one who believes!
Remember - this life is not all there is! God has got involved in this broken world so that He can share His joy with us now and bring us into His perfection one day!
Christmas finishes every year... but hope and joy don't have to. May we look to the first Christmas when God came into this world as a baby to show that He is committed and works for us... because of who He is! Remember the foundation of the Christian faith - the gospel!
May we have an even better Christmas than the commercials offer by celebrating Christ's birth, His working, and His return one day as a ruling, restoring King.
The trinitarian God shows us that at the base of the universe is not arrogant power, or struggle, but gladness-filled, relational joy. We know this because at the end of the day... relationships are worth more than anything this world offers. May we remember that God knows, hears, and intervenes for His glory and our good! *When we recognize that God showed up, and that he is committed to our good... this changes how we walk through the hard times and how we celebrate Christmas.
When the glory (weight) of God shows up -> it changes everything. God does not guarantee wealth, health, or prosperity BUT He does guarantee joy - joy that is not based on circumstances but on God who is good, true, and sovereign.
May we go all-in with Jesus because at the end of the day - He either is true or not true, and We are either for Him or against Him. He is worth our trust... all of our trust. And when it gets hard, may we be like the father in Mark 9 (v. 24) who tells Jesus, "I believe; help my unbelief!" All things are possible for one who believes!
Remember - this life is not all there is! God has got involved in this broken world so that He can share His joy with us now and bring us into His perfection one day!
Christmas finishes every year... but hope and joy don't have to. May we look to the first Christmas when God came into this world as a baby to show that He is committed and works for us... because of who He is! Remember the foundation of the Christian faith - the gospel!
May we have an even better Christmas than the commercials offer by celebrating Christ's birth, His working, and His return one day as a ruling, restoring King.
November 18, 2018
Our Adult Sunday School Class plans to read this together in the month leading up to Christmas. A few months ago we did Matt’s video series on the Apostles Creed and enjoyed it. This book is such a quick and easy read that once I picked it up, I didn’t put it down until I was done. Look at Bill’s review for an in depth look at the contents. I will just say this is a great book for Christians and interested unbelievers as well. Matt explains how the backstory of Christmas has been building since the beginning of time. He also shares how it is about so much more than the fact a baby was born in a stable almost two thousand years ago, and what that birth means to us today.
December 5, 2020
This book shows me that Christ will give me an even better Christmas
So thankful for Matt and the encouragement he shares in this little book. In a year like no other, reading this in Christmas 2020 was such a wonderful moment. Christ's birth was a monumental moment in history that provides a lens to a time that every year will be wiped, and Jesus will be with us. I hope for that day, and I am certain it will be here.
Thank you Matt!
So thankful for Matt and the encouragement he shares in this little book. In a year like no other, reading this in Christmas 2020 was such a wonderful moment. Christ's birth was a monumental moment in history that provides a lens to a time that every year will be wiped, and Jesus will be with us. I hope for that day, and I am certain it will be here.
Thank you Matt!
December 3, 2025
Such a small book with such a powerful message! Christmas happened first so Easter could happen next.
This book was a great reminder that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ gives us a reason to celebrate daily! I also enjoyed the detailed context around the shepherds and wise men. I feel as though those dynamics in the story are not talked about enough. Although, of course, it’s not the main point, understanding God in the details is huge!
This book was a great reminder that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ gives us a reason to celebrate daily! I also enjoyed the detailed context around the shepherds and wise men. I feel as though those dynamics in the story are not talked about enough. Although, of course, it’s not the main point, understanding God in the details is huge!
November 22, 2022
A very easy, quick read. Honestly, this is a book to give someone for a gift. It’s a book you can literally read in one sitting, and it leaves you anticipating. I gave 4 stars because I wish he would have gone 40 pages longer and included personal stories (which he did), but I loved every page of this book.
December 18, 2018
A brief and concise vision for having "an even better Christmas." Chandler unpacks the Christmas story in helpful, encouraging, and fresh ways. Great resource for pastors or Christians wanting to explain the Christmas story to others.
November 19, 2019
I bought 5 copies of this with the hope of giving a clear and persuasive gospel message to my unbelieving friends over Christmas. I was not disappointed. It challenged me to marvel at the great hope we have in Jesus! Buy it for your friends!
December 19, 2020
Solid short little book. Chandler brings his way with words that is so evident in his preaching to the written page and it totally works. This is a great little book. One I will be giving away this Christmas! Highly recommended
December 20, 2020
This book is 63 pages and was a gift. Oh what a gift it truly was! I’d recommend everyone read this book, especially after this year. Matt Chandler doesn’t disappoint with his thorough, yet easy to digest explanations of scripture. What a great way to refocus right before Christmas!
December 28, 2020
Our Christmas read-aloud devotional for 2020. A concise and clear presentation of the gospel - would be a great one to pass along to new believers or those interested in better understanding what and who Christmas celebrates.
November 13, 2018
Quick read. Deep theology. Simple message. Engaging. Clear Gospel presentation. After reading we decided to order a little over 2,500 as giveaways for our church during the Christmas season.
November 26, 2018
A very simple read reminding of us of the true joy that is to be found in Christmas - in the person of Jesus Christ!
December 5, 2018
Great devotional reading before Christmas.
December 14, 2018
This is a very good book about what happened at Christmas and why it matters to us.
December 11, 2019
Very short and quick read. I want to read this every December to help me stay grounded in what Christmas is really about.
December 12, 2019
A good time of year to refocus on the One who is the reason for Christmas. It includes the author's battle discovered just after Thanksgiving several years ago.
December 29, 2019
It’s alright. Helpfully evangelistic; written to be read by a stranger.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
January 1, 2020
Very short, easy to read book. Loved it, and now reading it to my family.
January 8, 2020
This was a great quick read to help me prepare my heart for Christmas!
December 18, 2021
Short, sweet, honest, and thought-provoking. Really great little book.
December 5, 2024
Short but a thought provoking book.
January 7, 2026
Second time through this little book. Great reminders. I hope to read it every year.
December 1, 2018
Short, but good. I appreciated the Advent connection with the first two chapters of Exodus and the "Memento Mori" idea that anchored several chapters very well.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews