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Christmas Sermons
'The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, who look forward to something greater to come. For these, it is enough to wait in humble fear until the Holy One himself comes down to us, God in the child in the manger. God comes. The Lord Jesus comes. Christmas comes. Christians rejoice!'---Dietrich BonhoefferExecuted by the Nazis for his complicity in a plot to assassinate Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer remains with us today through his writings---far-reaching ripples of deep thought, passionate words, and unflinching character.Including biographical insights, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christmas Sermons spans Bonhoeffer's seventeen years as a preacher. This collection of vintage sermons and writings searches out the power and mystery of the Christmas season: its joyous riches and its implications for our lives.
Previously published in the UK as I Stand at the Door
Previously published in the UK as I Stand at the Door
192 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 23, 2012
not a light devotional
December 3, 2012
A collection of sermons spanning Bonhoeffer's all-too-short ministry, with helpful biographical introductions that place the sermons in the context of Bonhoeffer's life and world (and World War II) events. Some of the later pieces are especially gripping, making one wonder how Bonhoeffer's theology may have developed from there and what kind of challenges he might pose in our present time. Merry Christmas!
December 25, 2014
Note to self: make it a tradition to read these sermons during the advent season every year- so powerful and so filled with the passion of a man whose hopes and fears, as great as they were, were met in the child of Bethlehem
January 12, 2023
So good-the juxtaposition of the waiting and hope of advent against the coming apocalypse that was the Third Reich hit hard this year.
March 28, 2014
Many of the sermons included were excellent...a few did not intrigue me. The commentary preceding each sermon was informative. A good companion through the advent season.
December 31, 2014
A very nice treatment of selected writings and sermons by Bonhoeffer that have the themes of Advent and Christmas.
December 5, 2020
I’m fascinated by Bonhoeffer because he still has reasonable sway with the evangelical crowd. This collection of Advent sermons is published by Zondervan, an evangelical press that routinely publishes works by conservative evangelicals like D. A. Carson. Bonhoeffer was most successfully promoted among evangelicals by Eric Metaxas’ biography on him, one unfortunately riddled by many factual errors. Ironically, Bonhoeffer was the original ANTIFA (Trademark) pastor and theologian known for being involved with a subversive group in Germany that were working towards assassinating Hitler. He was executed in a Nazi concentration camp at the hands of fascists. With no great irony Metaxas has unflinchingly defended Trump at every turn, even writing children’s books praising a president who has openly embraced the support of fascists like the Proud Boys.
The editor of this collection of sermons does have certain conservative tendencies too, bemoaning Bonhoeffer’s association with so-called ‘death of God’ theology, but I think his selection of Advent sermons and introductions are actually quite good and I appreciated them.
Bonhoeffer spent some time in Harlem, while teaching at Union Theological Seminary, and became acquainted with the African American church there. He would come to deeply respect and admire the faith of congregants at Abyssinian Baptist Church and the theology of the Harlem Renaissance. He fell in love with Black spirituals and hymns of the community and brought back a crate of records to Germany, which he would play for working class children at their confirmation classes. Surprisingly Marx, was another German, who fostered a deep love for African American spirituals and hymns, signing them with his family on Sunday walks out in the parks of London.
There are moments in Bonhoeffer’s sermons that betray a certain spirit in which I can see evangelicals would greatly admire, but many other times I suspect they would find some things so contrary to their notion of conservative Christianity. Bonhoeffer on a number of occasions speaks of the revolutionary nature of Christianity. At that time ‘revolutionary’ had very particular connotations. Bonhoeffer was not a communist, if anything a little aristocratic. Yet he had sympathy for communists persecuted under the Nazi regime and helped many escape to other countries.
I wrote a little Advent reflection on the housing crisis and evictions in Canada, citing a few of my favourite excerpts from this book. I listened to these sermons in audiobook format, which happened to be freely available through my local library (via the hoopla app). It’s worth checking if your own local library has similar services. This book is after all a collection of sermons, so they are very well suited to being absorbed by ear. Good Advent listening.
The editor of this collection of sermons does have certain conservative tendencies too, bemoaning Bonhoeffer’s association with so-called ‘death of God’ theology, but I think his selection of Advent sermons and introductions are actually quite good and I appreciated them.
Bonhoeffer spent some time in Harlem, while teaching at Union Theological Seminary, and became acquainted with the African American church there. He would come to deeply respect and admire the faith of congregants at Abyssinian Baptist Church and the theology of the Harlem Renaissance. He fell in love with Black spirituals and hymns of the community and brought back a crate of records to Germany, which he would play for working class children at their confirmation classes. Surprisingly Marx, was another German, who fostered a deep love for African American spirituals and hymns, signing them with his family on Sunday walks out in the parks of London.
There are moments in Bonhoeffer’s sermons that betray a certain spirit in which I can see evangelicals would greatly admire, but many other times I suspect they would find some things so contrary to their notion of conservative Christianity. Bonhoeffer on a number of occasions speaks of the revolutionary nature of Christianity. At that time ‘revolutionary’ had very particular connotations. Bonhoeffer was not a communist, if anything a little aristocratic. Yet he had sympathy for communists persecuted under the Nazi regime and helped many escape to other countries.
I wrote a little Advent reflection on the housing crisis and evictions in Canada, citing a few of my favourite excerpts from this book. I listened to these sermons in audiobook format, which happened to be freely available through my local library (via the hoopla app). It’s worth checking if your own local library has similar services. This book is after all a collection of sermons, so they are very well suited to being absorbed by ear. Good Advent listening.
December 3, 2014
LOVE this book. So good. Read some of these sermons several times before moving to the next one.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews