Needing hope this Christmas? look no further ...

This book gives a timely reminded of what Christmas is all about. I love this devotional book and will return to it again and again during advent.

Thank you for offering a focus and spiritual direction for this busy season as we approach Christmas.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to write this review, which reflects my honest opinion.

Advent: The Season of Hope is very helpful in understanding the history and symbolism of Advent. It is explained clearly and simply, nothing too heady or jargon-y so that you don't have to be a theological scholar to understand it. This is for people in church or people outside of church who are interested in what Advent is, how it came to be, why it is observed, and what each week represents. I highly recommend it for anyone curious about Advent, to learn about this part of the church year.

Thanks to NetGalley and IVP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Tish Harrison Warren speaks my language. This book is a beautiful journey into the advent season. I had no idea there was so much richness to the history of observing the advent season. The thing I was most challenged by was how similar advent is to lent – a season of waiting as opposed to celebration. I have always celebrated advent with a calendar and lots of fun time with family; however, to realize the truer essence of the season is about the waiting and longing for the arrival of the King was really eye-opening. This is one I will probably revisit next advent season.

I really enjoyed this book! Like many, I have long understood the basic "outline" of the Advent season, but Tish Harrison Warren beautifully and vividly colored in the mental picture.. Her descriptions of Advent's history, purpose, traditions, symbols, and practices inspired me in so many ways. I think I highlighted nearly half the book! I found it very Christ-centered and helpful. Highly recommended, along with other books in this series.

I am so grateful for this book by Tish Harrison Warren! I am part of a growing group of modern, western evangelicals who have developed an interest in church history and traditions of the early church. Like an adopted child who has recently discovered their family or origin, I want to know all I can about my extended family of faith. I have discovered that the church year's seasons and festivals are rich with meaning and purpose.

This is not a devotional book, rather it is a theological and spiritual reflection on the meaning and themes of Advent that helps the reader to "orient" themselves for the season. Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and begins the church calendar. The author explains how Advent is a season of waiting and an invitation to remember and participate in the great drama of Scripture.

Advent is a season that our modern world so desperately needs to rediscover and Tish Harrison Warren helps the reader understand its meaning and relevance to our world at war. I have learned so much from this book and thoroughly recommend it to pastors, leaders, and spiritual seekers who are hungry to know the ancient wisdom and the beauty of the Christian faith. It is like discovering well-aged, fine wine when one has been accustomed to drinking fruit-flavoured juice! I will be reading the rest of the books from this series.

#Advent #NetGalley

Advent: The Season of Hope by Tish Harrison Warren is a true delight to read. Like the other contributions to the Fullness of Time series from IVP academic, Advent is not an Advent devotional, but is rather a brief, but encompassing theological exploration on the advent season. Warren draws from common church practice, church history, biblical studies, and the broader voices of Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox theology as a means of providing her audience an accessible, readable, and thorough understanding of the Advent season. In this short book Warren broadly discusses the key concepts of yearning, longing, prophetic crying out, stirring, and the process the Christian should assume as they prepare themselves for the coming of Christ.
The true joy of Harrison’s book is the gracious tone she assumes as she both writes to Christians more familiar with the liturgical calendar and those who are not. As a Pentecostal who is familiar with the liturgical calendar in concept, but not in practice, this was a refreshing and eye-opening experience. Warren’s work in my experience helped to educate me not only on the need for Advent, but also the need for a greater awareness of the liturgical calendar in the life of the Christian community. This is certainly a resource I will be returning to often as I continue to consider, write about, and discuss the season of Advent.
I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley, but the opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are my own.

Another good book in this series. Since I did not grow up in a liturgical church, Warren's explanation of Advent not only being waiting for the birth of Christ, but also His coming in glory in the future as well as His coming in the present moment was enlightening to me. Multiple passages from Warren herself as well as from others she quoted were encouraging to me, but "Above all, trust in the slow work of God" by Teilhard De Chardin was a word that I needed right now. The only thing that I was disappointed by was that since the book on Pentecost included prayers from multiple Christian traditions, I was expecting that in this book as well. But Warren does do an excellent job of expounding upon the prayers from her own tradition. I will continue to read this series!

This book has been a balm for my soul in an advent where I deeply felt the longing and need for a Savior in a broken world.

This book is for anyone who is fed up with the "compulsory jollification" and mass consumerism of Christmas. It is for anyone who finds the Christmas season difficult. It is for anyone who wonders how we can be joyful when the world can be so evil and is literally falling apart.

"We rush too quickly to carols and bells and a sweet little “eight-pound, six-ounce, newborn infant Jesus” and lose sight of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah —the one who is wisdom, Adonai, root, key, light, king, and Immanuel. By rehearsing and entering into the larger story of re demptive history , we begin to feel our need of a deliverer again. We wipe away the fake snow and tinsel, the felt-board shepherds and friendly beasts, and lean into the ache of the cosmos, the sorrow and struggle of all creation."

I love how Tish Harrison Warren spotlights Advent as a season of waiting, longing, repentance, and focused on freeing the oppressed.

"This is the truest object of our hope. We celebrate that Jesus came in his incarnation and find comfort in how he comes to us in our daily lives, but all of our longings meet their end in Christ coming again, bringing healing, peace, joy, and an unimaginable wholeness in his wake. The final return of Christ is the undoing of cancer. It is the utter dismantling of white supremacy and racism. It is the delivery of justice for the victimized, for the weakest and the most vulnerable whom the powerful have brutalized with seeming impunity. It is the regeneration of dead coral reefs. It is the end of global pandemics. It is the vindication of those falsely imprisoned. It is the weeping of children giving way to their eternal laughter. It is the death of death."

I particularly loved how fasting and giving were connected, almost inseparable.

"Fasting is a way to experience solidarity with those who are hungry, but it’s incomplete without also seeking to relieve their hunger. “What can be more efficacious than fasting? By its observance we draw near to God,” preached St. Leo the Great in the fifth century, “fasting has always been food for virtue.” He continues, “But since our souls do not attain to salvation by fasting alone, let us supplement our fasting with acts of mercy toward the poor. Let us spend on virtue what we withhold from pleasure. Let abstinence on the part of someone fasting become nourishment for the poor. Let us put our efforts to the defense of widows, the advantage of orphans, the consolation of mourners, the reconciliation of rivals. Take in the stranger, relieve the oppressed, clothe the naked, care for the sick.”

I really loved this book and plan to read it again next year. Highly recommend.

When I downloaded this short book I knew it was part of a series (The Fullness of Time Series) but that was about all.

I soon realised that it is a reference manual on all things Advent. The what, the when, how and why of Advent. And it's very good because in so doing, Harrison Warren invites us to experience Advent. I've been doing such for a number of years now but this book helps fill in the gaps and encourages me to continue to do so.

I especially appreciate these words that Harrison Warren writes near the end:

"Advent is not merely a collection of themes, Scriptures, practices, and prayers but a daily immersion in mystery, a lesson in grace learned through how we rub against time."

The book is split into 2 sections:

1. The first section has 4 chapters which is the what and the why. I enjoyed how Harrison Warren broke these chapters into the following headings:

- Yearning: There Advents of Christ
- Longing: Four themes of Advent
- Crying Out: Two Prophets of Advent, and
- Stirring: Four prayers of Advent

2. The second section covers eight practices of Advent, most of which were familiar, however, I particularly appreciated the wisdom on fasting which I perhaps haven't given sufficient consideration in experiencing Advent over the years.

I read this during Advent but I would recommend it be read prior to the season so one can step into the experience expectant of the grace and mystery of it.

I was fortunate to receive an early ebook copy from IVP via Net Galley but this had no bearing on my review.

Part of the Fullness of Time series of books that educate and walk readers through the impact of observing the church's liturgical seasons. Harrison Warren begins by explaining the history and purpose of the advent season. Focusing on the now-and-not-yet that comes with this season of waiting, there's an emphasis on Christ's birth, and his ultimate return.

I’ve enjoyed all of Tish Harrison Warren’s books, and I loved this one too. I realized that in recent years I’ve been pulled away from Advent by the frenzy and stress of cultural Christmas. And while I will always love Christmas lights and cookies, this short and accessible book helped to re-engage me in Advent. One of my favorite quotes: “Advent is not merely a collection of themes, Scriptures, practices, and prayers but a daily immersion in mystery, a lesson in grace learned through how we run against time.” This is part of a series of books about the liturgical year and I look forward to reading all of them.

Advent is part of an excellent series of books about the church calendar year. Have already purchased the book for my library and recommended it to others.

The holiday season with its crowds and festivities moves at warp speed. I have to rush just to keep up. But Advent asks us to decelerate, be still, and rest."


Christmas and the month leading up are characterized by ceaseless activities, shopping and planning. Yes, our goal is to celebrate our Savior, to remember his birth and the hope of the gospel, but it's not easy in the tempest of events.


In Advent: The Season of Hope we're reminded of the value of observing advent for our spiritual formation and discipleship. An invitation to pause, to quiet our minds and bodies, to slow down and reflect on gospel hope.


book cover advent season of hope by tish harrison warren

Advent: The Season of Hope | Book Review
Content

Purpose of the Book

Table of Contents

Summary

My Take

My Recommendation

Introducing the “Fullness of Time” series

Quick Stats

More Like This

Scriptures About Hope

Follow Along


quote from advent the season of hope by tish harrison warren

Content
Purpose of the Book
This book is part of the “Fullness of Time” project which aims to provide reflections on seasons and key events of the church year, in this case, the season of Advent, and to help believers understand how the church calendar helps form their Christ-likeness.


Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 Yearning: Three Advents of Christ

CHAPTER 2 Longing: Four Themes of Advent

CHAPTER 3 Crying Out: Two Prophets of Advent

CHAPTER 4 Stirring: Four Prayers of Advent

CHAPTER 5 Approaching: Eight Practices of Advent


CONCLUSION


Summary
You’ll notice from the contents, this book isn’t long. The author shares insights from church history, reflections on biblical themes of the gospel, and spiritual practices of this season, to equip the church in recollecting the beauty and purpose of celebrating advent.


quote from advent the season of hope by tish harrison warren

My Take
The Comings of Christ
The word advent is from the latin, adventus, which means “coming.” As we gaze on the season of Christmas, we immediately connect it with the birth of Chris— his coming to earth. We celebrate, rightly, that Christ appeared here in human flesh. However, it’s not only his incarnation we remember, but his coming in the present and in the future.


From the days of the garden sin pervades creation, yet in his grace and mercy God proclaims in Genesis 3:15 a rescuer would come to crush the head of evil. The entire Old Testament looks to and longs for this day.


As we review the grand narrative we call the Christmas story and remember the beauty and humility of his birth we glimpse with awe and curiosity the master plan of God to deliver our Savior in this way.


A sinful world, desperately in need of rescue, rejoices.


Now, we also consider how Christ comes to us in our present moments. Although we’re prone to forget him in the grind of our day to day, he’s ever present and continues to intercede for us. The Spirit teaches us, corrects us and reminds us of his words and his ways. He extends more grace toward us as he shapes and molds us like a patient potter, prunes us as a diligent gardener, and trains us to run the race with the steadfastness of a champion.


This too we celebrate in advent, for he has come and while we live in the already-not-yet time before he returns, he is continuing the good work he began, as we walk with him.


Finally, we wait for his coming again.


During the period of waiting for Israel until the Messiah’s birth, we observe throughout their history both anticipation and apathy. We bear in mind the comings of Christ this season so that the thrill of the gospel renews in our hearts and souls, to guard against indifference and the lukewarm heart of Laodicea.


While I was driving with my youngest, she randomly pipes up with a question, “Mom, will there really be no more crying in heaven?” The innocence of her question, laced with quiet hope made my soul burst with joy. This is why God’s return is exciting, because when he makes all things new again there will be a perfect beauty we can’t imagine and the removal of all the effects of sin, and what a glorious day that will be. When every tribe, nation and tongue will gather around the throne of grace to worship the One who is alpha and omega.


As we celebrate Christ and his advent, past, present and future, may our hearts be strengthened with confidence in who he is and what he’s doing in and around us.


quote from advent the season of hope by tish harrison warren

My Recommendation
I found it a really good primer in preparing for the advent season and think it’s worth adding to your shelf, particularly if you’re interested in a liturgical perspective. Church history and liturgy has breadth of perspective we don’t often consider.


So, if you’re interested to learn more about how the season of advent points us the gospel and gives us hope, this is a great resource to use.


quote from advent season of hope by tish harrison warren

Introducing the "Fullness of Time" Series


Quick Stats
# of Pages: 128 pages

Level of Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

My Rating: 5 stars


*A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review!

As always Tish's writing is poetic, rich, and beautiful (while also being incredibly approachable). I have loved Tish's books and was delighted to receive an ARC through NetGalley. This book is a part of the Fullness of Time series. I love that people can practically use the concepts in this book to guide practices in the Advent season in a thoughtful and intentional way. I personally needed the reminder that, "Advent is the season when we practice watching for grace." May this book help you reflect on watching for grace, and practicing it for yourself in this season.

A nice devotional book that is part of a series that follows the liturgical calendar. This book is about the season of advent. As someone who didn't grow up with the liturgical calendar, I really appreciate this series and taking time to focus on the current liturgical season.

Not your typical advent devotional, this title by Tish Harrison Warren, part of the Fullness of Time series, helps provide background to those new at observing Advent, as well as providing insights that will lead many of us to reconsider and deepen our personal and church practices for this season. I can see rereading this book often over the years to help me observe Advent well.

I really enjoyed this book on Advent. The book brought out the deeper meaning of Advent for me and it revealed just how much I have been missing during the season of Advent. It taught me that during Advent we aren't just preparing our hearts and minds for the celebration of the of the birth of Christ, we are also preparing for the second Advent when Christ returns.

The books shares the liturgical aspects of Advent, including traditions, prayers and Scriptures for the Season of Advent which are very helpful and which I intend to review and reflect during the Advent Season. There were times I felt as if the information was incomplete or I was left hanging. I wanted to know to more or how to proceed in my worship and observance of Advent. Overall I truly enjoyed the book and value the concepts/lessons it shared on "the Season of Hope."

Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange my review.

#Advent #NetGalley

I'm loving this Fullness of Time series. I am learning so much about the church calendar and the various seasons. This book opened my eyes to new to me thoughts on Advent. I have recently discovered that in the season of Advent we aren't only preparing our hearts and minds for the celebration of the coming of the Christ child, but we are also preparing for the second Advent when Christ comes again. I'm looking forward to reading this book again during Advent and slowly meditating on it.

"Advent is the season when we practice watching for grace. It is a time when we pay extra attention to how Christ continues to come, how he enters into the darkest corners of humanity and of our own lives."

"Advent reminds us that awaiting the final coming of Jesus is - and has always been - the essential posture of every Christian."

"God is working, sometimes almost imperceptibly, deep beneath the surface of time. Waiting is part of his redemption. It is part of his gift to us. It is part of his grace."

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The writing is beautiful, and poetic. I have grown up with advent being celebrated at the churches I have attended, usually through a reading while lighting the candles and sermons that follow the themes of Hope, Love (0r faith) Joy, and Peace. I didn't however know much about the history or the practices behind it. I hope this year I can use some of the concepts in this book to guide my practice in a more thoughtful and intentional way. I have not read the previous books in the series, but hope to add them to my collection, and hope to read the rest that are yet to be published as well. I will also be encouraging my friends to read it to see if we can use it this year in our church to engage more richly in this season.

I was provided this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Intervarsity Press. All opinions expressed are my own.

Very very excellent overview of the liturgical season of Advent. This whole series has been such a gift to read, even though much of the information I’ve known. Some of it was new to me. All in all, if you’re new or curious about Anglican liturgy, this is a great place to start learning. Each book is theologically rich and explains everything very well.