Hearing the Gospel Through Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol"

Most people donâ (TM)t realize Charles Dickens has a biblical foundation. Each of the spirits that appear in A Christmas Carol directly correlates with an Advent lesson that is found in the Church of Englandâ (TM)s Book of Common Prayer. Perhaps that is what attracts Christians to the story of A Christmas Carol. Every Advent Christians revisit this old Victorian moral story with its images of snow covered English cobblestone streets, the sentimentally portrayed ragged poor, and its familiar story line doesnâ (TM)t seem to grow tiresome through the years. We revisit this story because it echoes with the ancient lessons of Advent. Hearing the Gospel Through Charles Dickensâ (TM)s â oeA Christmas Carolâ is a Christian devotional that uses A Christmas Carol as a tool to teach the ancient Advent lessons of Hope, Faith, Peace, Love and Joy. Each weekâ (TM)s devotion begins with a section from A Christmas Carol which dramatizes the Advent Lesson and is followed with a scriptural Advent lesson from the Church of Englandâ (TM)s Book of Prayer. The word Ebenezer is defined in scripture as â oeThe Lord is my helpâ (1 Samuel 7:1â "2). As we travel through Ebenezerâ (TM)s redemptive healing journey, the devotional invites the participants to examine how Christ is born in their past, present and future. As a Christian pastor, I am grieved that the modern evangelical church has diminished the Advent season to a single Christmas Eve service or Christmas Sunday service. As a community, we no longer spend time preparing our hearts for the season of â oeChrist coming.â This devotional is for Christians to use as private and family devotions to prepare themselves for the Advent season.