Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel: Ancient Sermons and Hymns for Contemporary Christian Inspiration

You're supposed to read this book at Christmas, but I can't put it down no matter what season it is. This is a treasure trove of centuries-old wisdom in words that are old but not the least bit out-of-date. One reason I like this book is that I tend to think of the superstars of church history--Jerome, Augstine, Gregory, Luther, Calvin, and others--as names or figureheads but not as preachers, in a pulpit, in a church, preaching to a congregation. To hear them "speak" in their own words is riveting ("Now," says Jerome, "as an honor to Christ, we have taken away the manger of clay and replaced it with crib of silver, but more precious to me is the one that has been removed"). There are 13 preachers (one sermon each) in this volume, which originated as an independent study for Witvliet by Vroege (who, like Witvliet, is a delightful person and who, like Witvliet, is a thoughtful preacher and writer). A meaningful touch was to place a classic hymn alongside each sermon to reiterate its theme with even more timeless words. (And incidentally, this is one of the best designed and laid out of the many publications of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship: see ). My biggest beef with the book is that it has only 13 sermons instead of 18 or 25. But I guess Vroege had to finish his course sometime, and as it turns out, the book's compact size makes it, however unintentionally, an ideal devotional.