“Matt Rawle has done it again. Through his eyes, secular parables from our culture become backstage entrances into the marvel of the gospel. In this wise, engaging, accessible little book, the Grinch doesn’t steal Christmas but reveals to us surprising and delightful truths about ourselves, God, and redemption down here in Whoville.”
—Dr. James Howell, Senior Pastor, Myers Park UMC, Charlotte, NC
The Heart That Grew Three Sizes:
Finding Faith in the Story of the Grinch
By Matt Rawle
We don’t know why the Grinch hated Christmas. We just know he did. In this new Advent study, Matt Rawle explores the faith themes in the Christmas classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! including:
How did the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes come Christmas morning?
How did Christmas save the Grinch?
Could it be that the very thing we think we hate is the one thing that changes our lives?
This Advent and Christmas season, look at a familiar classic through the lens of faith and see how Christ speaks to us through our culture.
Components for this four-week study include the Book, DVD/Video Sessions, comprehensive Leader Guide, Youth Study Book, Children's Leader Guide, and Worship Resources Flash Drive.
More Praise for The Heart That Grew Three Sizes
You can be sure your heart will grow three sizes as you follow Matt Rawle’s adept treatment of Doctor Suess’ timeless story in the light of the gospel of Christ.
– Samuel Wells, Vicar, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, UK
I continue to be inspired by the way in which Matt Rawle takes a familiar story most of us consider secular and applies the lens of faith. Matt helps us to see ourselves and our lives in The Heart That Grew Three Sizes: Finding Faith in the Story of the Grinch. I have especially noted a portion of the introduction: “Through Jesus, God put on flesh and walked among us, in our world, in order to re-narrate what it means to be a child of God. God assumed culture and transformed it. That is the very mystery of the Incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas and await during the Advent season.”
This should be a call to us of incarnation and transformation; to re-narrate the story of God in the midst of a culture that is broken. May we heed this call to transform the world around us as we experience the mystery of incarnation in the Advent and Christmas season and every day of our lives! Emmanuel, God with us.
– Cynthia Fiero Harvey, President, UMC Council of Bishops
The original Christmas story has always held the magical miraculous for children of all ages, but making it accessible is the gift Matt Rawle offers in his latest work, The Heart That Grew Three Sizes: Finding Faith in the Story of the Grinch. Each year we’re re-tempted to make the holiday into a no-holds-barred, shop-til-you-drop season, but halfway through Advent we realize our calendars are full and our hearts are shrinking. Rawle’s is an invitation for humans—and entire faith communities—to grow our hearts with empathy, compassion, and love.
– Rachel Billups, Senior Pastor, Ginghamsburg Church
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