Christmas for many people is a difficult time. Whether it’s fighting, bad memories, the death of a loved one around this season, or some other reason, Christmas is hard for many people. The gospel story, the incarnation, sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, has transformed history and countless billions of lives. Around this time of year, Christians remember the life, finished work, and ministry of Jesus. When we add to the pain and suffering of people each day and expand upon that with the lack of true biblical understanding of the person and work of Jesus we can understand why one of the leading writers and pastor-theologians of our day Dr. Tim Keller wrote Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ.
Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Every Christmas displays of Baby Jesus resting in a manager decorate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air. Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story? In his latest book, Dr. Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the background of the nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a deeper and more meaningful way.
The Christmas season is a great time to reflect on the birth, life, ministry, and death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. With help from Keller by reading this book you will understand in his helpful style how the story of Jesus desires to invade your own story as well. Whether you are a new or seasoned Christ, or a skeptic of Jesus there is something for you in this book. First, it addresses the culture view a view to understanding the work of Jesus. Finally, it will help readers to gain biblical and thus an orthodox understanding of Jesus.
This Christmas season the gospel desires to invade your story. Jesus is either Lord of all of your life or Lord of none. The Christmas story reminds us that while there is only one Lord in Jesus, He is also the Savior who provides forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and new life with God. Not only does He provide new life but also a new message in the gospel to live by through the work of the Holy Spirit.
We are confronted in our culture with a thousand messages and yet there is only one message- the gospel that has the power to change and transform our lives. As Dr. Keller is famous for saying, the Gospel is the A to Z of Christianity. Whether you are a skeptic or a longtime follower of Jesus there is something for you in this book. I encourage you to pick up Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Jesus. There you will either learn for the first time the great and grand story of the gospel or be reminded of its own significance for yourself.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
