Advent for Exiles - by Caroline Cobb (Hardcover)

About the Book

In this beautiful and honest twenty-five-day Christmas devotional exploring the biblical theme of exile, songwriter and storyteller Caroline Cobb weaves together Scripture readings, song lyrics, poetic prose, biblical imagery, and responsive exercises to help you joyfully celebrate Christ's first arrival while deeply longing for His second.

Book Synopsis

Do you long for a more honest, imaginative, and Scripture-rich companion for the Advent season? A devotional willing to acknowledge the darkness of exile and the brokenness you see around and within, so you might rejoice more fully in the arrival of Jesus, the Light of the World?

In Advent for Exiles songwriter and storyteller Caroline Cobb weaves together Scripture readings, song lyrics, poetic prose, biblical imagery, and responsive exercises to help you:

• break away from the hurried holiday pace, and daily stoke your anticipation for Jesus's coming
• engage both your mind and your imagination in the truth of God's Word
• walk in the shoes of the Old Testament exiles, linking arms with them as they ache for the Messiah
• travel the Advent road from darkness to daybreak, exile to homecoming, and wilderness to a flourishing garden
• explore how the full story of Scripture--from creation to Christ's return--informs and expands your delight at Christmas

As the darkness of a long night sharpens our longing for the sunrise, this book of daily readings for the month of December will whet your appetite for the promised Messiah and amplify your joy at His arrival.

Come slow your pace, engage your imagination, and feast on the rich and relevant biblical theme of exile: His light shining in our darkness, His seed sprouting green in our wilderness. Allow yourself to experience the ache of Advent, so you might rejoice all the more at the beauty of Christ's coming!

Review Quotes

"In Advent for Exiles, songwriter Caroline Cobb offers a devotional that truly stirs devotion, inviting us to drink deeply and savor slowly the goodness of the Lord over the Advent season. As she drew out each biblical metaphor, Caroline's words captured my imagination, placed me within God's story, and reoriented the meditations of my heart to its true north. In many ways, Advent for Exiles is a call to worship, and within its pages, Caroline is doing what she always does: telling God's story so that we can worship Him more fully."
--Caroline Saunders, author of Come Home: Tracing God's Promise of Home Through Scripture (Lifeway Women)

"Advent for Exiles stands out from any devotional I've come across. This book not only compels readers to love the story of Scripture more but also encourages weary exiles to find hope in Christ - engaging our senses and imagination with biblical truth. It is a deeply encouraging read that will move you to rejoice in Christ's first coming and yearn for his return--a perfect choice for the Advent season."
--Hunter Beless, Founder of Journeywomen Ministries and author of Read it, See it, Say it, Sing it!

"Advent for Exiles weaves a glorious tapestry of good news that will help you experience Advent in a meaningful new way."
--Ruth Chou Simons, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, artist, and founder of gracelaced.com

"I love a good Advent devotional, and this is a great one. Infused with a beautifully coherent, biblically rich exilic theme throughout, Caroline Cobb's Advent for Exiles takes the reader deeper into a full-Bible understanding of Advent. Including Scripture passages, poetic song lyrics, and responses in prayer and practice, Advent for Exiles is an engaging resource to enhance you and your family's Advent season."
--Brett McCracken, senior editor, The Gospel Coalition, author of The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World

"Advent for Exilestruly raises the bar for what an Advent resource can be. It is so much more than another random string of devotional thoughts related to Christmas. As only Caroline Cobb can do, she takes us on a legitimate spiritual journey through God's biggest story. It is beautiful, creative, and packs a spiritual punch. Anyone who accepts Caroline's invitation to engage with God this Advent will be blessed by how she weaves the threads of the old, old story into a fresh tapestry of God's grace for sinners."
--Adam Griffin (DEdMin, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor of Eastside Community Church in Dallas, Texas. He is the host of the Family Discipleship Podcast and the author of several books and resources for families.

"Want to experience the crescendo of Advent through the ears of a musician? To see its images in technicolor through the eyes of an artist? In Advent for Exiles, theology meets poetry. Feel the dark hopelessness of exile, and rejoice in the bright hope of Christ's coming. You'll find yourself shaking your head at the loss of Eden and the promised land, then smiling at Cobb's vivid descriptions of the coming Zion. Advent for Exiles will employ your mind, spirit, and body as you work your way through the 'gospel' of Isaiah."
--Christine Gordon, Co-Founder of At His Feet Studies, www.athisfeetstudies.com

"The season of Advent is more like chocolate and snow skiing than like math and philosophy. You don't really know it if you only think about it. You only know it if you try it and do it. And that's what Caroline's beautiful devotional invites us to do with Advent: to try it, taste it, feel it, see it, sing it, pray it, and go throughits Isaianic contours one patient--and perhaps painful--day at a time. In doing so, she gives us a fighting chance to know what it is truly to wait faithfully for the coming of Christ within our often-very broken lives."
--W. David O. Taylor, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and author of Prayers for the Pilgrimage

"Caroline writes in beautiful and authentic prose and poetry, taking you on a journey of exile--one with which, whether you realize it or not, we are all familiar. Immersing us in some of the themes of Scripture's grand story, Caroline delves into the nature of hope throughout Isaiah's message and beyond. This book is for those who mourn, those who ache for a better world. And don't be mistaken: this book can and should be read beyond just the Christmas season. The story of God making His home with us is always relevant, and I hope every individual and family takes advantage of this sincere labor of love."
--Quina Aragon, author of Love Has a Story: 100 Meditations on the Enduring Love of God

"Advent for Exiles by Caroline Cobb offers a gospel lens that directs our gaze backward and forward at the same time. Cobb writes her book with patience. She sits with her reader in the darkness of Old Testament exiles and takes her time to recall the beauty and brokenness of our own already-and-not-yet reality in Christ. Readers of Advent for Exiles will anticipate the first and final advent of Christ like a watchman waiting for a brilliant sunrise after a long night. Cobb weaves together biblical theology, song lyrics, prayers, and thoughtful exercises to trumpet a glorious truth: the coming of Christ redefines our past, sustains us in our present exile, and feeds our hope for an eternal home. Advent for Exiles by Caroline Cobb is a book worth savoring and singing along with this Advent season."
--Nana Dolce, author of The Seed of the Woman: 30 Narratives that Point to Jesus

About the Author

Before her thirtieth birthday, Caroline Cobb set a goal to write a song for every book of the Bible in one year. That year set a new calling into motion: to tell God's Story through music and other creative work, helping you rehearse it and respond to it as you go about your everyday life. Her most recent album, Psalms: The Poetry of Prayer (May 2023) gives voice to a rich range of prayers from the psalms and builds on Caroline's previous storytelling projects A King & His Kindness (2021), A Seed, A Sunrise (2020), a Home & a Hunger (2017), and the Blood + the Breath (2013). Caroline has been featured by Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, The Rabbit Room, Risen Motherhood and many more, with a Home & a Hunger named among "The Best Albums of the Decade (2010's)" by The Gospel Coalition. She and her husband Nick live in Dallas, Texas, with their three children Ellie, Harrison, and Libby.