If you’re struggling this Advent, Contemplating Christmas is the devotional for you. Full of hope, it makes space for all the disappointments, bereavements and difficult situations we may find ourselves in as the year draws to a close. Each day includes the Bible passage in full, a reflection from Abby, questions to ponder and a breath prayer. I’ve long enjoyed Abby’s beautiful and sensitive writing style: nuanced with all the experience of one who has lived through difficult times, but never cynical, always hopeful that one day Jesus will come to redeem us and our fallen world. A gorgeous yet manageable devotional to guide you through Advent. Creation to Crib (David Sims, 2021) The 24 Days of Bookish Gifts Advent Calendar Box is another option that will bring bookish Christmas cheer to you this year!

In a phrase: An imaginative “Dear Diary” style read to take you deeper into relationship with Jesus Discover 24 of our favourite kids picture books in this incredible bundle! It can also be used as an advent calendar to open every day in December this year!Climate change is the most important, urgent issue of our day – but while there are technical and political issues, the fundamental problem with the fight against climate change is spiritual.

To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth is integral to being a Christian today… Advent calls us to wake up, pay attention, stay sober and be alert to God and to what is happening in the world around us. The behaviour of human beings is the major current cause of climate change, and has the potential to become the 6th major event to result in the mass extinction of life on planet earth. We know this, yet we are still in danger of sleepwalking towards catastrophe… we are being called to live as citizens of God’s kingdom in the here and now… we are sensing an opportunity to do things differently, and an Advent-like urgency is needed in making our response… we can run headlong into disaster or we can sleepwalk into it, but we can no longer say that we do not know the impact of the way we are living. It is only in facing the reality that we can find the way forward.’ Nicholas Holtam, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields before becoming Bishop of Salisbury, offers daily meditations for the four “weeks” of Advent, the last week primarily focused on the lead up to Christmas. His accessible, personal style, which draws on his wide experiences of ministry, has produced a great resource to deepen personal spirituality and church life.This is exactly why I wrote my devotional Redeeming Advent a few years ago. It’s an easy read, starting from the reality of a hectic December day, and leading us into the presence of Jesus as we ponder what his birth 2000 years ago means for us.

Holtam knows the climate science, the economics, and the structures of governance. He points the reader to UN Reports, church work on responsible investment, the excellent A Rocha Eco Church awards, and the vastly different experiences of climate change in different part of the world. He comments on poverty and inequality. He looks at creation, love, justice, prayer, worship, our life in Christ, and more. We are made in God’s image to enjoy and serve God’s creation, our common home. There are many echoes of Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’. There is practical advice for church life and for individual lifestyles. There are biblical reflections, and prayers and poems (from Traherne to Rowan Williams). We are reminded of Bach’s music and are offered poignant reflections from a dozen illustrations: including Rembrandt, Constable, Monet, Gerhard Richter, and Earthrise.Here are 25 “conversations with Jesus” – enticingly written, drawing you into the story, drawing Jesus into our world today with all its ups and downs. I found this a fascinating and incredibly powerful way to explore Scripture – which, by the way, begins each day’s reading, and covers both Old and New Testaments. It’s not for you if you’re looking for exegesis – but if you’re at risk of going through the motions this Advent, after years of “same old same old”, then this is definitely one to try. Powerful, challenging, comforting and wildly welcoming. Lean Towards the Light this Advent and Christmas (Compiled by Christine Aroney-Sine and Lisa DeRosa, 2020) BRF’s Christmas devotional for 2022 takes you all the way through from Advent to Epiphany, with in-depth daily devotionals (which include the Bible reading presented in full – very handy), introductions to each week of readings, and questions/creative prayer to use in groups. You do need to set aside a bit more time to read this devotional, as the print is small and the daily readings are a little longer than those in other books, but the sacrifice of time will more than make up for itself in terms of the richness of thought, depth of theological understanding, and challenge of personal application contained here. Tales from the Jesse Tree (Amy Scott Robinson, 2014)

It’s nearly the happiest season of all—Christmas! Which means it’s time to start thinking about ways to make this holiday merry and bright…and one of the best ways to do that this year is with book advent calendars.

This is a book to use seriously, prayerfully, and determinedly during Advent. It is an urgent wake-up call to action. Sets of questions at the end of each “week” are ideal for church discussion and individual reflection. If you’re looking for a creative way in to your devotions this Advent, something which reads more like an exciting novel than a Bible commentary, this is your book. In 25 chapters (so you can read one per night – perfect!), Katy Morgan expertly uses what we know of the time and place to pad out the factual story with fictional elements which really bring it to life. (And don’t worry – there are notes at the end about what’s fact and what’s fiction!) There are no questions, no direct challenges – but reading the Nativity story like this is sure to make you see and apply it in new ways. I’m looking forward to reading it to my 10yo and 12yo this Advent! They S ang (Amy Scott Robinson, 2021) In a phrase: Imagined storytellings and Bible studies based on Sarah, Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary If you’re looking for a book to help you explore lament, pain, suffering and darkness in an accessible but theologically-rich way, this is the one. It’s not been written specifically as an Advent devotional, but the six chapters follow the liturgical year – starting with Advent then Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time – so to read it during Advent would be highly appropriate. I love Rachael Newham‘s warm style, dotted with anecdotes from her own experience, connecting with us in our hard times, and deeply persuading us that lament has an important role to play in life and faith. The questions at the end of each chapter would make a great Advent study for small groups – you could read a chapter each week of Advent and take the rest into January (or start the whole thing in November!). Brightest and Best (Philippa Ruth Wilson, 2022)