Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader - Hardcover

Lenzo, Frances; Payne, Donna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802455743 ISBN 13: 9780802455741

Publisher: Moody Publishers, 1999

Synopsis

For families who yearn for Christmas to be a true celebration of Christ's birth on earth, the Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader provides daily readings that are biblically-based and culturally rich. With intriguing stories explaining well-known Christmas customs, each reading features a different portion of the libretto from Handel's Messiah and offers a spiritual insight that links the story to an important principle. The book also includes a CD with portions of Handel's Messiah to enhance the experience.

About this title

About the Author

DONNA W. PAYNE, a biomedical researcher formerly on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, is a writer whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the Chicago Tribune. The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she is a graduate of Wheaton College (B.S.) and the University of North Carolina (Ph.D.). Donna lives in Columbia, MD, with her husband and two children.

FRAN LENZO, the researcher for this advent reader, works in a large Christian bookstore and co-owns Real Life Designs. A former leader in Community Bible Studies and other ministry groups, she attended Lake Forest (IL) College, L'Universita per Stranieri (Perugia, Italy), and business school in Boston. Fran lives in Comubia, MD, with her husband and three children.

From the Back Cover

This is Christmas Eve. This is the night of all nights to thank Messiah. The baby of Bethlehem is our mighty God. He offers the gift of salvation to any who will accept it. Let us bow our heads, bend our knees and rejoice!

ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTMAS?

That's the question on everyone's lips during this season of celebration. Usually, it evokes a flurry of images: shopping lists, crowded malls, tinsel decorations, trays of decorated cookies, and strings of sparkling lights.

But there's another aspect to that question. A deeper meaning. One we too often forget to address. Maybe the more appropriate question would be:

IS YOUR HEART READY FOR CHRISTMAS?

What better way to prepare your heart for Christmas than to spend a moment each day of the Advent season in quiet reflection about the incarnation of the Savior whose birth we celebrate? Authors Donna W. Payne and Fran Lenzo offer this fresh and friendly collection of Advent devotional reading featuring the Scripture texts used to create Handel's Messiah. And each reading begins with an entertaining story that tells the amazing facts behind the symbols of Christmas. Find out about angels, swaddling clothes, gold, frankincense, myrrh, carols, magi, and more!

In just moments each day, you and every member of your family (from the youngest to the oldest) will come to a new appreciation of the rich meanings behind the lyrics of this God-directed classic.

The culmination of this volume of 28 readings is the Christmas Eve entry, a thought-provoking treatment of the Hallelujah Chorus titled "Why the King Stood Up."

There is no better way to prepare your family to stand in awe before His manager and kneel in worship before His cross than to join with the choir on the companion CD and sing wholeheartedly:

"I can't think of a better way to approach the joy of Christmas than that which is offered to us in 'The Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader.' It carves a path that cuts through all the consumerism of the Christmas season and prepares a family to experience the true meaning of the birth of Jesus."

DR. ROBERT E. WEBBER
Professor of Theology, Wheaton College
Author, Founder of the Institute for Worship Studies

From the Inside Flap

A mother is holding her baby. She feeds it, cuddles it, and rocks it. She watches and wonders and tries to imagine what will happen to her darling child as it grows up. What could be more ordinary than that?

Mother Mary and baby Jesus. So common. So ordinary. She feeds and cuddles and rocks Him. But when she wonders about her darling child, she remembers what angels, shepherds, and kings have said about Him.

What did she think about, she who was the first to ponder the puzzle of all puzzles? What was going through her mind as she held God in her arms?

This holiday season, take an extraordinary opportunity to imagine holding God in your arms.

Spend moments each day of Advent meditating on the rich, lavish devotions found in these pages. You and every member of your family will celebrate together as you appreciate the great texts and unparalleled orchestrations of Handel's Messiah. And you'll all wonder anew at that puzzle of all puzzles: WHY WOULD GOD BECOME ONE FOR US?

Catch a fresh glimpse of the wondrous love God displayed two millennia ago, in a hay-filled stable -- in the shadow of a rugged cross.

Edition details

• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802455743
• ISBN 13: 9780802455741
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128