Child in the Manger

The True Meaning of Christmas

Weight 0.31 kg
Dimensions 19.5 × 12.5 × 2.1 cm
ISBN 9781848716551
Binding

Cloth-bound, eBook (ePub & Kindle), Cloth-bound & eBook (ePub & Kindle)

format

Book

page-count

216

Original Pub Date

2015

Book Description

What is Christmas? For many it is a time for holidays, parties, family gatherings, gifts, meals together, music, and special events. For others it can mean unwanted pressure, an increased sense of loneliness, family squabbles, and crowded shops. For those living in the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas takes place at the onset of winter with its cold weather and short days. There are more incidents of depression at Christmas time than at any other time of the year. It is the best of times for some, but the worst of times for others to borrow a phrase from Charles Dickens.

But Christmas is a very elusive thing, isn’t it? We may look forward to it. But what exactly is ‘it’? ‘A time for children’; ‘It’s about peace’; ‘It’s about family’; ‘It’s about gifts, but it’s a pity it has become so commercialised’ – these are a few of the popular answers to the question, ‘What does Christmas mean to you?’

But what is Christmas really all about? Does it actually have any ‘meaning’? Child in the Manger – The True Meaning of Christmas sets out to explore that question. When we find the answer we realise that it isn’t only for Christmas time. So these pages are an invitation to explore what that meaning is. And if this book has come into your hands around Christmas time, may it help you to enjoy it in a new way!

The birth of Jesus divided history into two major epochs. Until the dawn of our hyper-sensitive age, even the way we dated events underscored this. From time immemorial every day, every week, every month, every year has been described as either ‘B.C.’ (‘Before Christ’) or ‘A.D.’ (Anno Domini, ‘in the year of our Lord’). Even the modern, pluralistic style abbreviations, B.C.E. (‘Before the Common Era’) and C.E. (‘Common Era’), cannot obliterate the indelible impress of Jesus’ birth. For what makes the ‘Common Era’ so ‘common’? And what explains the dividing line date? The answer is the same: the birth of Jesus. At the very centre of history stands the person of Jesus Christ. And he does so because he is at the centre of God’s story.

Alistair Begg on Child in the Manger

Reviews

Table of Contents Expand ↓

Introduction ix
1 A Question, a Parable, and a Family Tree 1
2 Word Made Flesh 23
3 The inside Story 43
4 Immanuel 67
5 Bad News – Good News (Immanuel Part Two) 83
6 The Burden 105
7 Naming the Baby 131
8 The First Nowell 141
9 The Long Journey 165
10 Post-Christmas Stress Syndrome 183

1 testimonial for Child in the Manger

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  1. Bill Pence

    A wonderful look at the true meaning of Christmas (Jesus, who came to save us from our sins), by one of today’s most respected Reformed theologians. I couldn’t wait to get back to this book as I read it just a few weeks before we celebrate the birth our Savior. Highly recommended!

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