Love Came Down at Christmas

Enjoyed this book so much we ordered 10 books to keep on hand to give to others. Advent book but I read year round because it is applicable to daily Christian life. Asks some tough questions to make you take self inventory of your daily walk with God.

Love Came Down at Christmas: Daily Readings for Advent by Sinclair B Ferguson

I just finished this wonderful book that includes 24 devotions on 1 Corinthians 13, aka "the love chapter." The advent readings focus on the theology of the incarnation while challenging us to love like Christ. I appreciated how each verse of 1 Corinthians 13 was examined in the context of the perfect love that was displayed by Jesus, both in coming to earth as a baby, his ...ministry and his death and resurrection. As I read this, I felt challenged and encouraged to love like Christ and follow his example.

Each days reading was around 4 pages long and ended with a reflection question and a prayer. I appreciated the phrase by phrase look at this famous chapter of the Bible. I think sometimes it can be easy to become so familiar with parts of the Bible that we forget to look at it with fresh eyes, this devotional helped me do just that. I'd highly recommend this one! I'd also recommend Ferguson's other advent devotional, "The Dawn of Redeeming Grace" (I read that one the past two years and it's wonderful).

In ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’, Scottish Theologian Sinclair Ferguson walks readers through arguably some of the most well known and most beloved verses in all of Scripture, as he explores why love came down at Christmas in the person of Christ, and the difference this makes in our lives.

My expectations as I began reading the introduction were that the devotions would be based on traditional passages such as Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2, and maybe even Isaiah 9. However, ...I was pleasantly surprised to discover that 1 Corinthians 13 would be the focus of these Christmas meditations.

I thought Ferguson did an excellent job at taking such a famed passage, typically used at all kinds of celebratory events to evoke “warm and fuzzy” feelings, to instead use it to challenge the reader, utilising the passage to analysis of our spiritual lives.

Inside you’ll find twenty-four concise daily readings taken from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 that are full of pastoral warmth, wisdom and humour. Devotions conclude with a reflections from Ferguson & prayers from saints gone by.

Throughout, Ferguson provides momentary glimpses into his personal & family life with the occasional vignette, which provided levity in each reading.

I’ve had friends say to me that this is one of those devotionals you can read again and again, and come back to year after year, and I can understand why. Ferguson is gospel-centered, theological, communicates clearly as always, making this book a joy to read.

There’s not too much more I can say, but to grab a copy, get reading, and enjoy gazing upward to Heaven and meditating on why Jesus, the Saviour of the World came down at Christmas.

This book was sent to me by thegoodbookcompanyuk in exchange for an honest review.