On Christmas Eve, Uncle Billy misplaces an $8,000 deposit just as a bank examiner arrives at the Bailey Building and Loan.

For years George Bailey has helped families like the Martinis buy homes of their own. Now the institution his father founded could close, and George himself could go to prison.

By nightfall he has begun to believe that Mary and the children would be better off without him.

In Biblical Lessons From “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Rev. Scott A. Haynes reads George’s Christmas Eve in the light of Scripture. Where does a man find the words to pray when he can scarcely bring himself to tell his wife what has happened?

As Clarence shows George what Bedford Falls would have been without him, Mary turns to the neighbors George has helped for years. When they come through his door, it is George’s turn to receive the generosity he has so often shown to others.

Each of the fifteen chapters includes Scripture passages, reflection questions, and a closing prayer for personal devotion, family reading, or group discussion.