THE LATEST NEWS
November 30: St. Andrew’s Day
The First Sunday in Advent is that Sunday closest to St. Andrew’s day (November 30). But who was St. Andrew? Even though he was one of the twelve apostles, he doesn’t seem very well known to us.
Pr. David Petersen writes in his sermon for this day in God With Us: “He was a fisherman, which is why they like him in Malta, and the brother of St. Peter, 
which is why they like him in Scotland. He was also something of a missionary, bringing Peter to Christ and bringing the Greeks to Christ.” Regarding the disciples, Petersen continues:
“Hearing John, they followed Jesus. By grace, they stayed with the Lamb. They stayed even unto their own martyrdoms, even if Andrew never gets much honor of his own. But such is the way of the Advent disciples of John. Such is the way of the kingdom: its honor belongs to Christ, even as does its righteousness, but both—the kingdom of Christ and His righteousness—are declared to belong to the saints.
“What Andrew gets, you get as well.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, the coming one, who has come into the world.”
_______
A blessed St. Andrew’s Day to you.
*God With Us is comprised of fifty-nine sermons, beginning with Thanksgiving and St. Andrew’s Day, then continuing on through Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany (including daily readings for all of Advent).
Reviews for He Restores My Soul
You’ve likely seen our own advertising for He Restores My Soul, but what are our readers saying? Here are some excerpts from the reviews coming in on Amazon and Goodreads. Visit these sites yourself for many more reviews.
“Essay after essay places us in the midst of lives interrupted by the cross or by mortal recognition. Each author has lived or is living something common to life but often airbrushed out of our glowing Facebook profiles. But what really makes these essays special is not just the emotional appeal, but the ends to which that emotion is directed and the character developed and revealed. They are witness stories not to magical relief from the thorns and crosses of life, but to how the Good Shepherd guides us through the valley.” -Mark P. Brown
“He Restores My Soul is not for everyone. It is only for those who, like the contributors to the book, have ever gone through or will experience any life difficulty in which hope, comfort, encouragement, and strength were needed…As other reviewers have indicated, this is not a sappy, feel-good look at the Christian life. The accounts are courageous, raw, and real and, because of that, the book will have a deep impact on the reader’s heart and mind.” -Kathie Winterstein
“Though I wasn’t able to personally relate to the unique struggles of each author, I found each chapter comforting for the struggles I face as each chapter was rich with the promises God offers to His people in Word and Sacrament. In addition to this, it also helped me to develop empathy for the suffering of others. It got me outside the echo chamber of my own mind and gave me a glimpse into the experiences of others.” -Hannah Fleming
Rev. Brian Kachelmeier endorses The Great Works of God: Exodus
“To see the great works of the LORD is to see Jesus (Exodus 14:13). Throughout the book of Exodus, Valerius Herberger helps the reader to see Jesus, the salvation of the LORD. This devotional commentary is a must-have for anyone who is interested in finding Christ in the Old Testament.”
-Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier, Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, NM
The Great Works of God: The Mysteries of Christ in the Book of Exodus is 20% off TODAY during our Thanksgiving weekend sale.
Two new Christmas card designs for 2018
This year we are pleased to feature an acrylic painting by artist and graphic designer
Meghan Schultz for our card entitled Virgin and Child. A deep blue border highlights the beautiful and serene colors in the original art, where Mary gazes at this precious son that God has given her. The words of Isaiah 9:6 on the cover and inside remind us that this newborn child in the manger is, in fact, our “Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Visit our Christmas cards page to have a look at the inside.
Our second new card for 2018, King of Kings, features artwork from the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer, Germany. This Nazarene-style fresco was painted in the cathedral’s interior walls in the mid-1800s by Johann von Schraudolph at the behest of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. The city of Speyer is significant in Reformation history; adherents of the Reformation were first called Protestants when they protested the Holy Roman Empire’s ban against Martin Luther and his teachings at an Imperial Diet in Speyer in 1529.
The inside greeting (see it here) is a stanza from the beloved hymn, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten“:
This is He whom seers of old time chanted of with one accord,
Whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word.
Now He shines, the long-expected; let creation praise its Lord.
Evermore and evermore.
A skeptical reader gives her take on He Restores My Soul
I ordered 2 copies of He Restores My Soul, which arrived while I was away at a funeral. Last night, after returning home, I thought, “I’ll just read one story before bed.” I tend to be skeptical when it comes to reading religious books written for women by women. In fact, I usually avoid them and their “Christianity Light” emotive fluff.
I did not read one story. I read the entire book. I laughed, I cried, I sighed, I prayed…I was worn out by the time I reached the last page! So, yeah, it reached me emotionally, but it was not fluff.
Even though I have not had the same life experiences as all of these women, their honest and heart- wrenching essays elicited deep empathy within me. Why? Because their stories ARE my story. While the specifics of my life are different, we all ultimately have the same story: Jesus Christ, the Incarnate, Crucified, Resurrected, and Glorified Man-God is our Savior and it is He who unites us. Not the fact that we are women or that we have been hurt in this life, but that we are sinners and there is only one solution for this problem of sin, which is the root of all pain and suffering. Each of these women expressed this clearly and focused my eyes on Jesus.
Thank you so much for publishing this book. I will be ordering more!
_______
–from Cheryl Ann, a new Emmanuel Press customer
Let’s stay in touch! To receive the most current information on our products and new releases, join our email list today!