This is from my Christmas devotional book The Great Invasion: 31 Days of Christmas.
The book's thesis is: The more we know about Jesus, the greater our worship of Him will be.
This book offers a deep dive into the story of Jesus.
Thirty-one days that will enrich the Christmas season!
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INTRODUCTION
This is a book about Christmas. Which means, a book about Christ.
I have thirty-one thoughts about Christ that I want to share with you.
As I was completing the book, I had some “Oh no!” moments. “Oh no! I left this out of the book!” “Oh no, I should have also added this!” So many important things about Jesus are not in my book.
I want you to know that I recognize this. Which is, I think, a good thing. The life of Jesus the Christ is deep, wide, long, high, and vast, as is His love.
I have ideas about this. I have spent over fifty years studying Jesus. This includes doctoral research. I wrote one of my doctoral qualifying exams on the Christological controversies of the first four centuries of the Church. These controversies led to development of the great Christological creeds of the Christian faith. (‘Christology’ is the study of Christ.)
I did another doctoral comprehensive exam on hermeneutics. Which is: theories of interpretation. How to interpret texts. Beyond that, how to interpret anything at all. I have studied this in depth, and applied my studies to the interpretation of the biblical texts.
My doctoral dissertation (Northwestern University, 1986) was on metaphor theory, and how it refers. I looked how words are used, literally and figuratively, to speak of events and concepts in the Bible.
Since my seminary and doctoral studies, I have amassed a significant library of books about Jesus. I have not stopped reading, praying, and following after the life of the Living Christ.
This includes seven years of preaching, in my church, through the four Gospels, chronologically.
All this has led me to the conclusion that Christ is the Immanent One and the Transcendent One who cannot be fully captured by my tiny cognitive capacities. He is the familiar stranger. He is the mighty invader. He is the incarnate Word. He is the irresistible force. He is…
The thesis of this little book is: To study and learn more about Jesus shapes and deepens our understanding of and experience of Christmas.
I offer this to you as an opportunity to join me on a deep dive into the glory and majesty of this universe’s rightful King.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
