Merry Christmas from your friends at SOLA Network!
Starting next week, we’ll be sharing pieces from our Young Writer’s Cohort. We’re happy to introduce you to some new writers! Be on the lookout for our Asian American 2025 Book Awards and SOLA’s Top Ten in 2025 coming soon!
Keep in touch on X and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. This weekly newsletter is one of the many ways you can get connected with SOLA Network. Find us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Aaron Lee, Editorial Curator
Enter our giveaway! This Christmas season we’re giving away one of my favorite books from the year! Thanks to Crossway for providing, in partnership with @diveindigdeep, SOLA Network, and FCBC Walnut. 1 winner will receive this wonderful book!
The Sing! Hymnal by Getty Music is a legacy hymnal that will define our generation and will bless generations to come. As a worship leader, I’ve been singing Getty songs ever since they wrote In Christ Alone with Stuart Townend — so I had been waiting for this hymnal for a long time. Now that it’s finally here, it has exceeded my expectations on every level. Read my full review.
ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WEB
1. David Mathis: Jesus Showed Up: The In-Person Visit of the Incarnation
“He rescued us as only God-with-us could do.”
2. Katie Faris: Encouragement for Moms Who Don’t Always Feel Gentle
“God doesn’t get frustrated, throw up his hands in disgust, or give up on you. He gently leads you.”
3. Benjamin Vrbicek: Jesus Is Unashamed to Take Awkward Family Christmas Photos
“Jesus is Immanuel, the real God with the real us—a story so unlikely and awkward that it becomes beautiful again.”
Our Books and Reviews page is your one-stop resource for all of your reading needs. It features Asian American authors and issues, recommendations, and interviews.
BOOKS, PODCASTS, MUSIC, MOVIES, AND MORE
1. Todd R. Hains: ‘Sing, Dear Children’: Luther and the Joyful Noise of Christmas
“‘Sing, dear children!’ Luther told his household. ‘Sing of the dear newborn little baby!’ This is the fitting response to the incarnation.”
2. Ask Rooted: How Has the Lord Comforted You in Sorrow as a Parent at Christmastime?
Mike Ruamthong: “Walking through the holidays as a newly divorced single parent was painfully disorienting… But it was in that ache that the grace of the gospel became more tangible to me than it ever had, even in seasons when life felt put-together.”
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book Reviews: How to Lead Your Family by Joel Beeke, Meet the Puritans by Beeke, Pederson, and Jones. Find me on Substack. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Edited by Tom Sugimura, Here We Stand: Reformation Truths for the Church Today celebrates the legacy of the Reformation and its impact in shaping our faith even to this day. In addition to Tom, the book features chapters written by Nam Park, Tranwei Yu, Geoff Chang, and Johnson Pang. Read more about the book from Tom, and be on the lookout for an author interview coming soon.
FEATURED THIS WEEK ON SOLA NETWORK
1. Keith Fong: Christ, Everlasting Father
“This promised child, this given son, is destined to reign as the Son of David, to reign over Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
2. Faith Chang: The Eucatastrophe Of Human History: An Advent Reflection
“This is what captures my heart at Christmas—that the story of Christ’s birth, like the whole of the Christian claim, is not one of denial. Our faith is one that is meant to be tested in the face of real life in the real world. The “thrill of hope” we feel of the incarnation comes in the context of deep darkness.”
3. Yung Kim, Christy Hyun: Parents in Desperate Need of the Gospel
“In those early years, my wife and I had unknowingly fallen into a trap, but God was merciful to us. Our greatest legacy isn’t raising kids who think their parents are perfect; it’s raising kids who know exactly where to go when they realize they aren’t. When our kids witnessed their parents in tears, falling at the feet of Jesus, we stopped being their “moral examples” and we became fellow brother and sister running to be with Jesus; together.”
4. TGIF: Roundup for December 19, 2025
When Christmas Finds You Far from Home / Rejoicing in the Light Amid the Night / You Are in the Circumstances in Which You Can Best Serve / Transformed Together / Answering Your Questions on Guilt and Shame
5. SOLA Network: TGIF Subscription
Get our TGIF installments delivered straight to your inbox for free every Friday. Join today so you never miss out.
General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors. Header image by Daniel Gomez on Unsplash.
Aaron Lee is our Editorial Curator. Aaron also serves as the Social Media Officer of First Chinese Baptist Church of Walnut in California’s San Gabriel Valley, home to the largest concentration of Asian American communities in the United States. Visit him online at DiveInDigDeep.com.