Cultivating a Christ-Centered Christmas: Resources and Link-Up

Nov 19, 2011 by desiringvirtue

In this series we have looked at our MOTIVATION for practicing a Christ-Centered Christmas, practical ADVENT traditions, simple ways to MEDITATE on our Savior, practical ways to WORSHIP our Messiah King, and wonderful ways to IMITATE our Savior this Christmas season. I pray that you will be able to implement some of these ideas in your own celebrations and that the Lord will be glorified through our desire to honor him and praise him for the miraculous gift of the incarnation!

As we bring this series to a close I would love to hear what it is your family does to keep Christ the central focus of your Christmas. Do you practice any of the traditions I have shared with you? Do you have any traditions that haven’t been mentioned that may be beneficial to DV’s readers? What are your favorite, specific ways to spread the love of Christ to your neighbors, coworkers, church family, etc…? Do you do any special projects with your children or grandchildren? Please feel free to leave a comment with your favorite traditions below or link up a blog post that is related to cultivating a Christ-centered Christmas!

Today Becky, a most beloved DV contributor, is going to share some helpful resources that will help you to focus deeply on the incarnation of our Lord. I know you will find this list very beneficial; I can’t wait to order a few of these things myself!!!

Christmas Resources

by DV contributor Becky Pliego

Jessalyn has shared many practical traditions that we can put into practice to cultivate a Christ-centered Christmas.

Advent is around the corner (it starts the last Sunday of November) which is why today, as time approaches, I want to suggest to you several resources that have been a blessing in our home as we wait, as we sit around the family table, and read about His glorious coming.

Noël Piper says about Advent,

“For four weeks, it’s as if we’re re-enacting, remembering the thousands of years God’s people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God’s salvation, for Jesus. That’s what advent means—coming. Even God’s men who foretold the grace that was to come didn’t know “what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating.” They were waiting, but they didn’t know what God’s salvation would look like.” (source)

Our Favorite Books:

Treasuring God in Our Traditions

The Innkeeper, by John Piper

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.

The Incarnation in the Gospels (one of my favorites)

Songs of the Nativity: Selected Sermons on Luke 1 and 2; by John Calvin (Excellent)

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent

The Christ of Christmas

Through the Year With Martin Luther: A Selections of Sermons Celebrating the Feasts and Seasons of the Christian Year.

Our Favorite Christmas Music:

Christmas Carols for a Kid’s Heart

The Word Became Flesh

Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man

Veni Emmanuel

Joy: An Irish Christmas

Handel’s Messiah: The Complete Work

More Christmas music can be found here.

Do you have any other books, sermons, or music you would like to suggest us for this season?

We would love to hear about them!

What a beautiful privilege we have, as children of God, to celebrate the Incarnation of our Lord and to announce the excellencies of His Name throughout the nations.

Let our hearts rejoice and our mouths be filled with His praises.

Halleluja!

Becky

Becky is a Mexican living in one of the most crowded cities in the world, Mexico City. She has been happily married to an incredible man for almost 20 years. They have four children and  have homeschooled them following the Classical Christian Education model. Their oldest son is a sophmore in College and their youngest is a 7 years old girl. Becky grew in a typical Evangelical church, but after much prayer from her Dad and reading A.W Pink’s book entitled God’s Sovereignity she came to love the Reformed faith. Becky enjoys the big books and the small books, she loves to study God’s word and read mostly, from dead authors, like the Puritans. She says that her real education began when she started homeschooling her children. She currently teaches Spanish at Veritas Press Scholars; loves to take out her watercolors on a sunny Saturday and paint, and you will always see her with her camera ready to capture the simple everyday moments that make up her days. She loves to bake muffins for her family on Saturdays while they are still asleep, so they wake up to the sweet smell of home. You can find Becky on her main blog Daily On My Way to Heaven; on her photography blog, My Daily Journey-through my lens- and on her Spanish blog, Delicias A Tu Diestra Para Siempre.

And now it is your turn ladies! Share your Christ-centered Christmas recommendations (from books to music to traditions to charities to projects) in the comments or by linking up your own blog post. I look forward to reading your suggestions and personal stories. 

To see all of Desiring Virtue’s Christmas resources click here!

Make sure to link back here so that others can benefit from the ideas shared!

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