Christmas Book Recommendations

We have prepared a short advent reading list for you, specially chosen by Peter Williams.

Dive into a book this Advent.

1. Is Christmas Unbelievable? By Rebecca McLaughlin

Many people assume that the story of the baby in the manger at Bethlehem is just another made-up fantasy for kids.

In this concise book, respected apologist Rebecca McLaughlin outlines the evidence that Jesus was a real person, explaining the reliability of the Bible’s accounts of his life and why believing in a virgin birth is not as ridiculous as it might sound.

This book shows that there is a rational basis for the belief that the world’s most famous story is fact, not fantasy—and how those events in history can infuse our lives today with meaning and joy.

(Description from The GoodBook Company)

2. Repeat the Sounding Joy by Christopher Ash

In this Advent journey through Luke 1 – 2, Christopher Ash brings these familiar passages to life with fresh insight, colour and depth.

As you soak up the Scriptures, you'll experience the joy of Christmas through the eyes of those who witnessed it first hand, from Mary and Elizabeth to the Shepherds and Simeon. This devotional will help you to celebrate afresh the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah in history, and learn what it means to wait for him with joyful expectation today.

Each day's reading includes a short reflection, a prayer, a carol, and space to journal, helping you to treasure the Lord Jesus in your heart in the hectic run-up to Christmas.

(Description from The GoodBook Company)

3. Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller

Even people who are not professing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the Nativity. Every Christmas displays of Jesus resting in a manger populate 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 this book Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the Nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’s birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a meaningful and deeper way.

(Description from The GoodBook Company)

4. Can We Trust the Gospels? by Peter J. Williams

The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John—are four accounts of Jesus’s life and teachings while on earth. But should we accept them as historically accurate? What evidence is there that the recorded events actually happened?

Presenting a case for the historical reliability of the Gospels, New Testament scholar Peter Williams examines evidence from non-Christian sources, assesses how accurately the four biblical accounts reflect the cultural context of their day, compares different accounts of the same events, and looks at how these texts were handed down throughout the centuries. Everyone from the skeptic to the scholar will find powerful arguments in favour of trusting the Gospels as trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s earthly life.

(Description from Crossway)

5. Rediscovering the Magic of Christmas by John Hayward

Each Christmas, we tend to hear the same readings and, let's be honest, the same sermons.

This Advent, join John Hayward on a daily journey to rediscover some of the magic of Christmas. Originally written as letters from a father to his adult children, this book warmly invites you to feast richly on some of the passages of scripture less commonly associated with our celebrations of the birth of Jesus.

Released from the burden of tradition and over-familiarity, glimpse afresh the authentic Christmas gift that is for every person, for every nation and for every day.

(Description from IVP)