Title: Good News of Great Joy; 25 devotional readings for Advent.
Author: John Piper
Publisher: Crossway, 2021
Length: 145 pages.
In this book, John Piper takes us through Biblical texts and arguments on why Christ came, hence the choice of word
‘Advent’. Throughout the 25 devotional readings, every day, you get one more reason for Christmas.
Among them are my favorite readings on: Why Jesus Came – Hebrews 2:14-15, Replacing the Shadows – Hebrews
8:1-2, Christ’s Model for Missions – John 17:18, and That You May Believe – John 20:30-31.
On Day 24, he brings the book to a conclusion by talking about two purposes of Christmas, namely: to destroy the
work of the devil (1st John 3:8) and that we might not go on sinning (1st John 2:1-12).
I particularly loved how he concludes Day 25 by talking about 3 Christmas Presents. Don’t we all love Christmas
presents? Pastor John argues that these presents are:
- A clear purpose for living – 1st John 2:1, 1st John 3:8, 1st John 3:23.
- Hope that our failures will be forgiven: He says that Christ not only came to destroy the works of the devil, our
sinning; He also came to be an advocate for us because of experiences of failure in our fight. - Christ will help us – John 4:4: He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.
Throughout this book, Pastor John does not lose sight of the ultimate reason why Christ came. He even points out
that He (Christ) wasn’t just born; which brings out the point of His pre-existence and him being God incarnate and
his birth (and consequently his death) being a choice that He made.
While we’re talking about choices, I’d like you to ask yourself, what choice are you making this Christmas? Have you
chosen to believe in He who came to die for our sins? (Romans 5:6). And if you have, how are you preparing for His second coming? Think about it for a moment.
Meanwhile, Merry Christmas!!
PS: You can find the softcopy of the book on: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/good-news-of-great-joy
Kimeli Dorcas Jepkeitany
(Associate – Class of 2019)