Advent Journeys

Book excerpt: This book is a unique advent guide with short daily scripture, reading and questions designed to help the reader bring the original Christmas to life today. The book follows Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, the Magi, and Zachariah through their journals. The readers will walk and see the sights of the Middle East as they journey to Bethlehem and beyond. This book contains journals for each of the four weeks of Advent plus an additional week's journal by Joseph and Mary to carry the reader into the New Year. The book contains a sixth journal telling the Hanukkah story from the pen of the Maccabees. This final chapter reaches out to interfaith families and to those who desire to learn more about this Jewish celebration. Through an in depth understanding of the Bible, Jewish tradition, details of the Mishnah, this book will take the reader behind the scenes and help them understand life as experienced in the first century. Week one contains the journal of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, as he performs his Temple duties and sees the angel. Week two contains the journal of Joseph as he and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Week three shares details of the shepherd's life in the fields outside Bethlehem. Week four journals the travels of the Magi from their Persian mountain top observatory through Jerusalem to Bethlehem. A fifth week journals the exodus of the holy family from Bethlehem to Egypt and back to Nazareth. An extra eight day journal is designed as an evening reading to be shared as Hanukkah candles are lit. Each day's reading starts with five to twenty verses of scripture, then a 400 word reading in journal style detailing activities of the writer during that day, and concludes with a devotional idea and three thought questions. The book will be helpful in individual reading and through discussion of the concluding questions the book can also be used as a five week group Bible study.