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timhoiland's review against another edition
5.0
“Advent begins in the dark and moves toward the light – but the season should not move too quickly or too glibly, lest we fail to acknowledge the depth of the darkness.”
rdmcclenagan's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of sermons from Fleming Rutledge so it reads different than a traditional book and in that way is a little uneven, but several of the sermons are exceptional in their insight and power.
thestefehr's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
Fleming Rutledge is fast becoming one of my favourite resources for sermon prep and service planning, and this book has been extraordinarily helpful for this Advent season in particular. I cannot say enough good things about it.
notwithoutwitness's review against another edition
4.0
Fleming Rutledge's sermons on Advent are a helpful source of pointing the church back to Christ's first coming and forward to his second coming. She argues that advent isn't so much about the birth of Jesus, but the longing and hope for his return. I'd say it's both/and.
There is a lot of repetition in these sermons. She warns about the it in the introduction. I'd say about 25% could have been cut with no significant loss. Nonetheless, there are some really solid pieces in here.
As a complementarian, I must admit that her "sermons" are helpful. I read them more in the vein of meditations. Maybe that's me justifying my reading of Rutledge. While I have a variety of disagreements, I appreciate the way she turns a phrase. Reading those who differ from you helps you think more clearly about what you believe.
I especially appreciated her focus on the absence of God and the church's call to issues of justice. Advent is a season of longing for God in the midst of his apparent absence, but hoping at the same time for his soon return.
My favorite passage is from her sermon "The Voice of the Son of Man." It gives me hope:
"Yes, there will be suffering. Yes, there will be horrible, inexplicable violence, and much of it will seem utterly without any redemptive meaning. But there is nothing that can happen that is not subject to the sovereignty of God... No suffering can be properly understood until the Lord comes - but he will come. God is accomplishing his purposes in spite of all appearances to the contrary. Nothing can lie beyond the power of God to redeem and transform." 111.
I will most likely return to this again come next Advent season.
There is a lot of repetition in these sermons. She warns about the it in the introduction. I'd say about 25% could have been cut with no significant loss. Nonetheless, there are some really solid pieces in here.
As a complementarian, I must admit that her "sermons" are helpful. I read them more in the vein of meditations. Maybe that's me justifying my reading of Rutledge. While I have a variety of disagreements, I appreciate the way she turns a phrase. Reading those who differ from you helps you think more clearly about what you believe.
I especially appreciated her focus on the absence of God and the church's call to issues of justice. Advent is a season of longing for God in the midst of his apparent absence, but hoping at the same time for his soon return.
My favorite passage is from her sermon "The Voice of the Son of Man." It gives me hope:
"Yes, there will be suffering. Yes, there will be horrible, inexplicable violence, and much of it will seem utterly without any redemptive meaning. But there is nothing that can happen that is not subject to the sovereignty of God... No suffering can be properly understood until the Lord comes - but he will come. God is accomplishing his purposes in spite of all appearances to the contrary. Nothing can lie beyond the power of God to redeem and transform." 111.
I will most likely return to this again come next Advent season.
jennawatson's review against another edition
Highly recommend this as pre-Advent/Advent devotional reading! I will never think of Advent or Christmas in the same way again
kmartinix's review against another edition
4.0
"Advent is not for the faint of heart" Rutledge's collection of sermons on the Advent season really re-shaped how I view the weeks leading up to Jesus' birth.
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