Serah and the First Christmas
A Story of Being Seen and Loved
No one pays attention to Serah. She wants nothing more than to help her father tend their family’s sheep and be a shepherdess like Rachel and Rebekah in the stories of her Israelite ancestors, but her brothers tease her for being too little and her mother keeps her busy with errands and chores in the kitchen. When her father finally gives her one lamb to tend to, Serah sneaks out to the fields at night to care for it. There, she witnesses the sky illuminated with heavenly light and hears the message about a newborn baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
In Serah and the First Christmas, award-winning author Tama Fortner places a young child in the center of the Christmas story and allows your children to come along as Serah walks to the manger to experience the baby Jesus. The lesson is one of profound love, with a call to spread that love to others.
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Devotions on YouVersion Bible App
Click the button to discover these five free devotions based on Serah and the First Christmas.
Feeling Invisible?
Endlessly Adored
Just One Little Lamb?
If Only
The Least We Can Do
Each includes thoughts for grownups, a special mini-devotional for kids, and conversation starters to discuss together.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
Young Serah, often underestimated because of her small stature, finds purpose through an encounter with the infant Jesus in Fortner and Provantini’s quietly empowering take on the nativity story.
Though Serah’s abba believes that caring for sheep is too big of a job for her, he entrusts her with the care of a motherless lamb from their family’s flock. When the lamb rejoins its brethren, Serah secretly heads out into the fields at night to check on it, and a bright light, a powerful voice, and singing angels accompany the announcement of the Messiah’s birth, prompting Serah to scoop up her lamb and follow the other shepherds to a small stable in Bethlehem. Still unnoticed, she and her lamb “tiptoed up to the manger and peeked inside.” As the baby reaches out to wrap his fingers around hers, Serah sees herself in his eyes and understands that “she was important simply because she was Serah.”
Rave Review
“The Christian themes are evident throughout this earnest, heartfelt tale of a youngster learning that even the smallest of us have something to contribute. A tender take on the Nativity.”