The Christmas Letters

Celebrating Advent with Those Who Told the Story First
BY MAGREY R. DEVEGA

Hear from “those who told the story first.”

You may or may not know the story of your birth. If you do, there is something special about hearing your origin story again and remembering how it all began for you. That’s why we observe Advent: to celebrate how it all began for us. In The Christmas Letters, Magrey deVega invites you to hear about the miracle of Christ’s birth from those who first told the story. The letters in the New Testament, known as the Epistles, contain the first attempts by the church to understand and celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation. They point us to the origins of what we believe about Jesus, fully human and fully divine. By spending time with these holy, ancient words this Advent, you’ll come to know the meaning of Christ’s coming like never before.

Read the New Testament letters, Romans, 1 John, Philippians, and Colossians as your first Christmas letters of the season and find within them an invitation from God to deepen your understanding of the Incarnation and embrace a fuller commitment to Jesus Christ.

Components available to use this book in a small group study include a leader guide and video available on DVD.

Watch this promo video and learn more about this study from Magrey. Additional components include: 

  • Book
  • Comprehensive Leader Guide 
  • A DVD featuring Magrey
Participant Guide Sample
Leader Guide Sample

Endorsements

This Advent study will surprise you! Rather than retell familiar Christmas stories, Magrey invites us to see the impact of the coming of Christ from the perspective of the first letter writers who shared the story and the first Christians who received them. The result is a more expansive understanding of the incarnation that will deepen your faith and enable you to participate in God's transformation of the world.  He challenges us not to miss the difference the Christmas story can make long after the decorations have been taken down and our personal Christmas letters have been filed away. Don’t miss the surprises along the way!  


James A. Harnish, retired United Methodist pastor, author of Surprised By Mary: How the Christ Who Was Born through Mary Can Be Born Again Through You.

It is easy for Christmas to become familiar and routine. We get busy, are overwhelmed with all we have to do, and lose sight of God. Many of us want the journey to Christmas to be more spiritual and centered, but don't know how to get there. Magrey deVega offers all of us a great resource to get there. If you want to have a fresh experience of Jesus this holiday, then this book is for you. 


Matt Miofsky, The Gathering, author/editor of Let Go and The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer 

Meet Magrey.

Magrey R. deVega is the Senior Pastor at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida. He is the author of several books, including The Bible Year, Savior, Almost Christmas, Embracing the Uncertain, One Faithful Promise, and Songs for the Waiting. Magrey is a graduate of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the father of two daughters, Grace and Madelyn.