When you think of advent, you probably think of something that just focuses on the weeks leading up to the birth of Jesus, and that's it. Or the advent has something for you to do and reflect on in the process. The Advent of the Lamb of God is not like every other advent out there. Instead, you start with the book of Genesis all the way through the final book of the Old Testament, and then you move through the first four books of the New Testament. And instead of just ending the book on Jesus' birth, Russ Ramsey ends The Advent on Jesus' death and resurrection. It's a well put together book, and probably one that I would use on a yearly basis.

I was hoping for an Advent devotional. This is more of an Advent storybook and based on the way several biblical stories are sanitized, clearly one that's meant to be PG. Not my cup of tea., but fine for what it is.

This is one of the best books I've read this year.  The book is written in narrative form, focusing on the coming savior (most of the narratives are from the time period of the Old Testament).  The author writes in a simple, poetic style that keeps the reader focused on the point of the Bible- Jesus.  I can't recommend this book enough, and I'm looking forward to reading other books by this author, specifically more books in this series.

In his book “The Advent of the Lamb of God,” Russ Ramsey tells us the story of redemptive history in Scripture, to inspire us and remind us of God’s plan for His creation.

This story is written in 25 chapters, perfect as an advent devotional. It can also be read in a few sittings for those who want to read through the whole story and be filled with the wonder and awe, as it unfolds.

He takes us back to the garden, where God’s creativity first burst forth; where the question was first asked, ‘Is God really being as good as he can be?’ He takes us through to the covenant cut with Abraham, a promise he would not see fulfilled. He tells us about a nation enslaved, but rescued miraculously, as they became established as a people, Israel, with tablets of stone to instruct them in right worship.

We read about the weakness and failures of that nation, who received the promised land, only to squander it in sin, resulting in exile to a foreign country. Then, as captives in a strange land, they wait on the fulfilment of the prophets’ foretelling, the Messiah who would come to their rescue.

He sets the scene for the Savior’s arrival, and tells of Mary & Joseph, Elizabeth & Zechariah, the shepherds, and the magi. He crafts the story with historical insight to help us hear and understand the story that is central to our faith.

In isolation, the Christmas story tells of Jesus’ virgin birth. But as he tells this story, we are reminded that God’s plan was from the beginning, to usher in a Redeemer to rescue us. Through the history of Israel and the prophets, we see in Jesus’ birth, God’s faithfulness to His promises and His sovereignty in establishing His will.

I really enjoyed this retelling, and recommend it, especially if you are looking for a family devotional or reading for the Christmas season.

What are the stories you remember? What was it that captivated you about them?

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

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I loved this book. I added the next two in the Retelling the Story to my to read list. Ramsey takes the story of advent, from both an Old and New Testament perspective, and covers the coming of Christ in short devotions. The language draws the reader in and at some points my heart overflowed with excitement at the beautiful prose. Probably my favorite Advent devotional yet!

I wish I had discovered this book sooner. It would have been the perfect book for the Advent season - which is one of my favorite times of the year - but I still enjoyed reading in January.

So many of us don't even know anymore what we are celebrating on Christmas and those who do often forget what Christmas is actually about. Ramsey takes the reader on journey, starting at creation and leading all the way up the birth of Christ. He goes through the most “important” (if you can say that) events in the Bible, retelling the story in his own words to make the stories come alive. Since I grew up reading the Bible, this didn’t always work for me. This conversational style is probably great for people who are not very familiar with the Bible or for people who simply prefer this style. Ramsey also explains in the preface that even the passages in quotation marks are not actual quotations from the Bible but his own words. Because I wrote lots of university papers (in accordance with MLA), this also didn’t sit well with me. I just don’t see the use for quotation marks when you are not actually quoting. But he did explain it in the preface so I shouldn’t deduct points for that, I guess.

I really, really, really love celebrating Christmas looking at the big picture, the whole story. I think it is important to know what happened before the advent of Jesus to understand why He came and to see the greatness of this miracle.

Because I grew up with the Bible I know it fairly well and didn’t expect to learn a lot of new things but I was surprised at some of the connections that Ramsey made between stories that I had not seen before. Sometimes he gave extra historical background information that I did not know about. And some stories were deeply moving. I particularly loved the stories surrounding the birth of Christ, the stories you hear and read every year around Christmas … I learned more about the wise men and the shepherds and I also realized: Somehow I never saw that when Jesus was born in a stable it was already foreshadowing Him becoming the Lamb of God.

All in all, this is a really great book and would make a perfect Advent season gift! I am looking forward to reading it again.

Thank you NetGalley and InterVarsity Pres for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this Advent reader. It takes the reader from Adam to Jesus visiting many of the well known Old Testament characters along the way..
Highly recommended.
I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary and impartial review.

Have you ever stopped to think about the glorious story of the coming of Jesus Christ? Many of us are astonished with just reason about Jesus in the New Testament, but we often forget that behind the NT is in the Old Testament, in which Jesus was announced.

Russ Ramsey, does a fantastic job of describing and taking us to the Scriptures so that we know the characters, the situations and the promises that are after the coming of the Lamb of God. The book is divided into two parts, the first related to the Old Testament and the second part to the New Testament.

It is a book written in a pleasant way that invites us to reflect. Let's take a look at the story of the Lamb of God!

This book is a wonderful retelling of the story of the Bible, going through the events of the Old Testament, setting the scene for the coming of Jesus, and then recounting the Christmas Story. It is faithful to Scripture while also sparking the imagination and bringing the story to life in new ways. It is well-written with some beautifully poetic phrases. (e.g. "The serpent spoke a sentence, subtle and slow, creating a slippery slope of uncertainty and suspicion.")
As there are 25 short chapters it would be perfect for a study during Advent, but equally helpful at any time of the year as it provides an overview of the Bible and how it connects as one big story.

The Advent Of the LAMB Of GOD is an advent book or not an advent book - this author takes a lot of liberties with the Scriptures. At the beginning of each day he gives you Scripture then he - instead of using the actual Scripture for the words that come out of their mouths - he makes them up - his own words and puts them into JESUS's mouth and everyone else's. The Bible says that we are not to add or take away from the words of this Book - Bible - and that is what he is doing. - I worry that new or non Christians will take these stories and words as actual words of CHRIST's and others. This is just my opinion - take it as you will.

I wouldn't replace reading through the Bible with this book. However, as a book to add to your Bible reading it is very well done. The narrative of the Bible is clear and the added history of what was going on in the world at different times was interesting.
I received this book free from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

I love the writing of Russ Ramsey. I highly recommend his books to many people. I bought this book in it's first version, Behold the Lamb of God, but I love this new repackaging.