Not a Silent Night: Mary Looks Back to Bethlehem (Not a Silent Night Advent series)

Enjoyed this so much - a look at Mary’s life going backwards in time. As a mother, it is so very heart-felt and beautiful, and brings out many things I hadn’t thought of before.

Adam Hamilton is so skillful at making the people of the Bible not just accessible but familiar. Every book of his that I've read has left me thinking -- and growing as a Christian. He is not one of those easy-answer, oversimplifying writers who make Christianity sterile and neat. He is not afraid of the messiness and deep humanness of Jesus' life and teachings. He combines personal insight, information from his extensive travel in the Holy Land, and Biblical scholarship into a creative but authentic way of encountering scripture. Not a Silent Night shines a new and revealing light on the birth of Jesus. I am reading a chapter every Sunday of Advent. The readings have deeply blessed this season and will continue to shape the way I understand the incarnation -- God With Us.In other words, read it.

We used this book for a Christmas study in our Sunday School class. It was well received and gave us a few new insights. I had several members copy some passages of the book - they felt they were words they could share with someone when talking about the Christian faith. Our class likes to discuss so I did not purchase the video. In retrospect, I wish I had so that I (the teacher) could have at least watched it. The study refers to it often.

My book got here quickly and in perfect shape.

Mary comes alive in this book. Adam always writes using illustrations from his experiences in life to emphasize his points. He also expands and creates a mental picture in this book, through his choice of words. The explanations for some meanings by reference to the Greek adds interest also. I was able to enhance a lesson I gave for residents of an assisted living facility with some of what was in this book. It is wonderful and I would encourage all Christians to read it.

I bought this to teach to older women. We enjoyed the study and this book was well written and gave us many things to think about as we put ourselves in Mary shoes and how she dealt with being the Mother of Jesus

This was a very, very good Bible study for a small class. Made sense for the attendees, raised good questions among them, and led them to answers. From the leader's standpoint it was easy to use, particularly in combination with the leader's guide and the DVD discussions by Hamilton. It would also serve as a good study for an individual.

A disappointment, and somewhat of a let down. Hamilton did a good job on Wesley but this was seemingly just a rehash of sermons. I guess he would have preached them prior to Christmas. He could have done a whole lot more exegesis and done a credible job. As with Wesley you miss half the experience and the learning potential by not having the study questions in front of you before class. Having to buy both the study guide and the DVD's is a little ridiculous. Approximately $2 per lesson for the students, someone made money.

I did not realize that it needed a DVD too...would have made more sense to sell with the book as an option.