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    Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes: An Advent Study
    Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes: An Advent Study
    Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes: An Advent Study
    Ebook89 pages54 minutes

    Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes: An Advent Study

    By Cynthia M. Campbell

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    How might a house look for Christmas based on what each Gospel says about it? In Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes, beautiful illustrations from architect Kevin Burns reimagine each of the four Gospels as a house, which the church visits at Christmas. In each section, Cynthia M. Campbell reflects on the distinctive perspective of the birth of Jesus or the incarnation offered by each Gospel. Suitable for individual or group study, Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes creatively reimagines the season and inspires new and exciting reflection for Advent.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestminster John Knox Press
    Release dateAug 27, 2019
    ISBN9781611649680
    Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes: An Advent Study
    Author

    Cynthia M. Campbell

    Cynthia Campbell is former president of McCormick Seminary and retired pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

    Read more from Cynthia M. Campbell

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      Book preview

      Christmas in the Four Gospel Homes - Cynthia M. Campbell

      CHRISTMAS IN THE

      FOUR GOSPEL HOMES

      CHRISTMAS IN THE

      FOUR GOSPEL HOMES

      An Advent Study

      CYNTHIA M. CAMPBELL

      WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY KEVIN BURNS

      © 2019 Westminster John Knox Press

      Illustrations © 2017 Kevin Burns

      Portions of this book were previously published as a downloadable study titled Christmas Accounts in the Gospels: An Adult Advent Study, The Thoughtful Christian, 2017, www.TheThoughtfulChristian.com.

      First edition

      Published by Westminster John Knox Press

      Louisville, Kentucky

      22 23 24 25 26 27 28—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com.

      Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible are copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used by permission.

      Book design by Erika Lundbom-Krift

      Cover design by Mary Ann Smith

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Campbell, Cynthia McCall, author.

      Title: Christmas in the four Gospel homes : an Advent study / Cynthia M. Campbell.

      Description: Louisville, KY : Westminster John Knox Press, [2019] | Identifiers: LCCN 2019018113 (print) | LCCN 2019021848 (ebook) | ISBN 9781611649680 (ebk.) | ISBN 9780664264994 (pbk. : alk. paper)

      Subjects: LCSH: Jesus Christ—Nativity.—Biblical teaching. | Christmas—Biblical teaching. | Infancy narratives (Gospels)

      Classification: LCC BT315.3 (ebook) | LCC BT315.3 .C36 2019 (print) | DDC 242/.33—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019018113

      Most Westminster John Knox Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special-interest groups. For more information, please e-mail SpecialSales@wjkbooks.com.

      To the congregation of Highland Presbyterian Church

      for their love, support, and partnership in ministry

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      Week 1 Christmas at Mark’s House

      Week 2 Christmas at Matthew’s House

      Week 3 Christmas at Luke’s House

      Week 4 Christmas at John’s House

      One Last Stop

      Artist’s Reflections by Kevin Burns

      Mark’s House

      Matthew’s House

      Luke’s House

      John’s House

      Prayers and Questions for Reflection

      Week 1

      Week 2

      Week 3

      Week 4

      Ideas for Study Groups

      Excerpt from Names for the Messiah: An Advent Study, by Walter Brueggemann

      INTRODUCTION

      ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE PUTTING UP THE DECORATIONS; we are singing carols and buying gifts. Once again, it is Advent. In these days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, many of us visit other people’s homes. We may drop in for coffee or be invited to an open house. Some spend several days with relatives who live out of town. When we do this, it is always so interesting to see other people’s homes—how they decorate, what kinds of things they cherish, how their styles mesh with their personalities. Tom Long, distinguished professor of preaching, has compared the church’s lectionary (the three-year cycle of Sunday readings) to homes that the church goes to visit. The first year, the Gospel readings take us to Matthew’s house; then we move on to Mark; finally, we visit Luke. Every year, on special occasions (notably in the season of Easter and some other special days) we go to visit John. Just like our own homes, each gospel house is quite different—decor and ambience reflect the family that lives there and their individual traditions. Some are cluttered; others are spare. Some are decorated within an inch of their lives; others are haphazard. We each like some more than others, but moving around allows us to savor the same things from different perspectives.

      Some years ago, Jon Walton, then pastor of The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, used this idea as the basis for a sermon series during Advent. Building on his idea, I invite you on a journey to visit our four Gospel homes. The purpose of our journey is to experience what Christmas means from that perspective and how Christmas is celebrated there. Each chapter of this book is accompanied by a drawing of a house, the design of which is suggested by the shape and character of the Gospel. These drawings originally appeared on the cover of the Sunday bulletin when these chapters were preached as sermons. They are the creation of Kevin Burns, who has written his own interpretations of the Gospel home that welcomes us. Burns is an architect by profession and a deeply knowledgeable Bible teacher. I am deeply grateful to Kevin for making these theological reflections find visual expression. We hope that pondering each of the illustrations will draw you more deeply into this journey as we reflect on the mystery of Jesus, Son of God, born of Mary.

      This book is for individual or group study. It includes prayers and questions for reflection for each chapter near the end of the book. Readers can respond in writing in the

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