Finding Hope under Bethlehem Skies

by Robin Ham

Were all familiar with the Christmas story, but do you know the story behind the story?

Tucked away in the Bible, hundreds of years before Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus, is the story of a girl called Ruth. It's a story that rings true to our world a story of sadness and tears, even of death, but also a story of where hope can be found in the darkest places. A story that points us forward to the promise of a king.

Finding Hope Under Bethlehem Skies takes us on an Advent journey through 25 daily reflections. Each day has a short devotion, a suggested prayer and links to a response song. Come along to Bethlehem and discover the hope that shines brightly even on the darkest of nights.

Genres: Christian, Christmas, Devotional

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2021

Reviews

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does the Book of Ruth have to do with Christmas? Quite a lot, it turns out. Robin Ham is a trustworthy and encouraging guide to the festive riches of this book, particularly highlighting the incredible kindness of God towards us. There is also an accompanying Spotify playlist for those who are thus inclined - being over 30, we just searched for each day's song on YouTube, but it was still (on most days) a good way of pausing to reflect a bit more.

[Matthew Prydden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This advent devotional could be described as "Ruth, viewed under the light of Christmas", or as easily, "Ruth, viewed under the light of Christ". The teaching is simple yet rich in Christology, and though full of allusions to Christmas this actually serves as a very helpful short commentary on the book of Ruth, especially in how it uses it to constantly be looking Christ-ward.

[Phil Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short Advent devotional through the book of Ruth. We read this together as a church this year. So good to be reminded of God's lavish generosity and grace. An added bonus was the accompanying spotify playlist.

[John Hayward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Resists the usual temptation of Advent devotion authors to jump to Easter too soon. However, all too brief; too much culture; not enough scripture; and Boaz et al do not "enflesh" the Godhead: this in fact misses the wonder of the incarnation!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gospel centered, theologically rich, and worshipful. Probably the best advent devo we have done in a while

[Ji Pattison-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent as a Christ-centred devotional on Ruth, but didn't find it particularly Christmassy overall

[Monica Lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book reminding us of tenderness of Jesus. A lot of history that I didn't know on Ruth and Boaz. I loved the songs that correlated with each day.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely bit of prep for my Christmas preaching series. Getting a few to hand out to accompany it. Clear, warm and encouraging.