Book Review and Giveaway: Get Your Story Straight

When my oldest was first born, I began searching for good books to expose him to God's story of redemption. During those little years, many of those books were simple Bible stories. Since then, as my children have grown, I've discovered many wonderful books that teach solid Biblical truth to children. And I have shared many of those books with you on my blog. 

My children are getting older. I have one preteen and I recently began the process of researching and collecting books written with youth in mind. When I was a teen, much that was written was moralistic and works focused. Such books described what a good Christian teen looks like but failed to show our need for the gospel where Christ's perfect life was given to us. The good news is that there are many Christ-centered books for teens these days that point them to their need for Christ. There are writers intent on making sure that our youth understand the gospel and how it applies to all areas of their life.

Today, I want to tell you about one of those books:

Kristen Hatton is the author of a new book for teens and young adults called, Get Your Story Straight. The life of a teenager is confusing. A teen is caught in a confusing place between childhood and adulthood. They long to understand who they are and their purpose in this world. Not only that but they are growing up in a "selfie" culture that teaches them that they are the center of the story. 

Get Your Story Straight is a devotional that takes teens through the story of redemption, showing them that the story is about Christ. He is the center of the story and of every story. The devotional is divided into three parts. Part 1 focuses on who the story is about. It begins with creation, goes through the fall, the promise of a Savior, and the promise fulfilled in Christ. Part 2 helps the reader see how their story is part of God's story. It shows them their identity in Christ and the work of the Spirit in their life. Part 3 focuses on how the story of Christ plays out in their life with others including the church, friendship, and service in the Kingdom. 

In going through this devotional, teens will learn about the problem of sin and their need for Christ, what he has done for them through the gospel, and what it means to be justified by faith. They will learn how the gospel transforms all of life, even the daily challenges of adolescence.

One such example comes from a study on Hebrews 12:

"Life is hard. We are weighed down by our sin, idols, circumstances, relationships, and trials and left here on earth to endure. Yet God, who providentially directs our paths, does not leave us alone. In fact, he sent his Son to endure life in this fallen world for us--to endure the rejection, hatred, mockery, and shame that followed him all the way to the cross. But he did it for the joy set before him, the joy of spending eternity in heaven next to his Father with YOU. Therefore, fix your eyes on him. He is the object of your faith, the perfecter of your faith, and the encourager for your faith" (p.216). 

What I love most about Get Your Story Straight is that it teaches teens how to study the Bible and gets them in the word each day. The book is divided into 52 chapters, one for each week of the year. At the beginning of the week, the teen reads through a passage of Scripture and answers questions about what they read. On the next day, they read Kristen's explanation of the passage and consider more questions. Day three, the reader is encouraged to read the passage of Scripture again and answer more questions. Day four does the same. And day five encourages the reader to journal and pray about what they learned that week.  

Kristen often points out repetitions of words and phrases in Scripture and encourages the reader underline them. She asks specific questions of the text that help the reader understand what they have read. She then helps the reader think through how the text applies to their own heart. In addition, Kristen has the reader memorize various passages throughout the book. 

As a mom of a preteen, I am thrilled about this book. Though my son is not yet a teen, I know he can already benefit from this study and plan to go through it with him. If you have teens yourself or will soon, you'll want to get this devotional for your children.

I have one copy of this book to giveaway. Enter below, US residents only please. Update: Bethany is the winner of this giveway. Congrats!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Book Review and Giveaway: God's Gospel

Like any parent, you probably spend your day teaching and instructing your children in all manner of things. "Put your toys away when you are done with them." "Speak words that are kind and uplifting to others" "Don't walk through the house with dirty shoes" "Say 'Thank you' when someone gives you something." And of course, my oft repeated phrase, "We don't use our shirts as napkins."

If we fail to teach our children manners, they might struggle socially. If we fail to teach them to use a napkin, they will be messy and food stained. These are problematic issues to be sure but there is one thing we don't want to fail to teach our children: the gospel. 

As Jill Nelson writes in God's Gospel: "We have no greater responsibility and privilege than to pass the gospel on to our children. It is the only means of salvation. If our children are to inherit the kingdom, they must embrace the gospel. Therefore, we must take the greatest care to present the true essence of the gospel, making sure that we include the bad news as well as the good news" (p. 9).

God's Gospel is the latest release in the Making Him Known series of devotionals for children. Our family has every book in this series, so we obviously are huge fans! In God's Gospel, the focus is on explaining to children the bad news about their sin and the good news about what Jesus has done for them. The book begins at the beginning, the creation of the world. It goes through the story of redemption, including the fall, God's promise of a Savior, the giving of the law, the arrival of the promised Savior, and his life, death, and resurrection. 

The author goes through the teaching and life of Jesus, sharing specific events from the gospels and explaining what Jesus came to do for sinners. Interspersed throughout each devotional are theological truths such as God's holiness, how God's promises are fulfilled in Christ, the divinity of Christ, God's sovereignty over all things, and the specifics of justification.  God's Gospel presents the bad news about sin and the good news about salvation in a thoroughly Biblical yet uncomplicated way. It teaches rich theological truths in a way that children ages  five to ten can understand.  

Included at the end of each chapter are additional passages to read, discussion questions, and activities to help children apply what they have learned. As with all the books in this series, I highly recommend God's Gospel. There is no more important lesson or life truth we can teach our children than that they are sinners in need of a Savior. Don't you agree?

I have one copy of this book to give away. Enter below. US residents only, please. Update: Juli is the winner of the giveaway. Congrats!

 

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Book Review and Giveaway: Give Them Truth

What is your child's greatest need? As parent's we spend countless hours anticipating and meeting our children's needs from checking for fevers to putting on band-aids; from filling hungry bellies to teaching them to look both ways; from providing them clothes to wear to giving them books to read; from reminding them to share to teaching them to pick up their toys. But of all the needs we anticipate, look for, and meet, what is the greatest?

I would argue that our children's greatest need is to know their Maker God and to be restored back into right relationship with him through his Son, Jesus Christ.

 As parents, we are given the responsibility to teach and train our children in the Lord. We are tasked with passing on to them the truths of who he is and what he has done. We are to instruct our children in the word of God, impressing it upon their hearts, when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up (Deuteronomy 6:7). 

This is a huge and very important task yet one that is often neglected or passed off to Christian schools and Sunday school teachers. Simply reading Bible stories to our children at bedtime is not enough. Our children need Biblical instruction. They need to know what God's word teaches about who God is, who they are, and what God has done. They need to know the Bible and they need to know theology.

Give Them Truth

That's the premise of Starr Meade's new book, Give Them Truth. She writes, "Our children cannot apply Scripture without knowing what it says. They cannot love Christ without knowing who he is. They can't obey God without knowing what he has commanded. And they will not know these things if we do not provide deliberate, thorough, rigorous instruction, just as we would do for subjects like math or grammar" (p.25).

Give Them Truth spurs parents on to teach our children the foundational doctrines of the faith. The purpose is not for mere head knowledge. It's not to make them win every game of Bible Trivia. The purpose is so that our children will be prepared for the storms of life. Knowing God's word gives them an anchor to cling to when life is uncertain, frightening, and out of control. Meade writes, "I contend that a robust theology, a strong, well-connected belief system, is the most helpful thing we can give our children to prepare them for the suffering they will inevitably face as they live in a world spoiled by sin." (p. 37)

The book is divided into three sections. The first section's main premise is that too many children in Christian families do not know the Bible or what it teaches. The next section goes into specific teachings and doctrines children need to know such as the doctrine of God, his incommunicable attributes, the Trinity, doctrine of man, sin, salvation through Christ, and the Church. The final section covers specifics on how to go about teaching children what they need to know in God's word and discusses applying the Trivium model of education to Biblical learning. The end of the book includes a helpful list of resources, books, studies, and catechisms.

This well laid out book contains helpful summaries throughout each chapter, highlighting the key points. Though not exhaustive, Give Them Truth provides the foundational truths we need to teach our children. It is readable and not too heady for parents who are not as familiar with theology and theological terms. Over and over, Meade goes back to the point that our children need to know these things to prepare them for the hard challenges and trials of life they will face at some point in their lives. And all of this instruction is given with the knowledge that it is the Spirit who regenerates dead hearts and makes them alive to Christ.  "The task of parent and teacher is to provide the truth to which the heart will respond. We pile up doctrinal truth in the minds of our children, and we eagerly await the Holy Spirit who alone can cause that truth to give life. But the truth needs to be there!" (p. 194)

Our family has used many of Starr Meade's books in our devotional and instructional time with our children. We've loved every book we've used and this one is no exception. In fact, it won't be long before my copy of Give Them Truth is dog-eared and worn.  I highly recommend this book to every parent, grandparent, and Children's ministry worker. 

 

I am giving away one copy of this book. Enter below. US residents only please. Update: Rachel P. is the winner. Congrats, Rachel! 

 

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links.

 

Book Review and Giveaway: The Biggest Story

What's the biggest story in the Bible? Is it the plagues in Egypt? Is it the story of David and Goliath? Is it the one about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead? Or maybe it's the story of Jesus' death and resurrection?

Actually, it's the one about the Snake Crusher.

Book Review: The Biggest Story

The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden
is the new children's book written by Keven DeYoung. It's about the biggest story, the story of redemption. It begins with a perfect world, the first man and woman, and a deceitful snake. It tells the story of what happened in the Garden where Adam and Eve believed the Snake's lies, disobeyed, were removed from Paradise, and the presence of God. Before they left the Garden though, God gave them a promise that one day, a snake crusher would come and make things right.

The rest of the book follows the familiar stories of God's people who failed to follow God over and over and of God who kept his promises all the same. "It was a very good thing God was always rescuing his people. Because it seemed that no matter how many times God saved his people, the Israelites were never quite safe from themselves" (p.66).

And then the promised Snake Crusher is born. The book goes on to talk about Jesus' perfect life, death, and resurrection. The promise given back in Genesis came true. Jesus conquered sin and death at the cross. "Our story is the story of God doing what we can't, in order to make up for us doing what we shouldn't. The Christ suffers for our sin, that we might share in his sinlessness...God kicks his own people out of Paradise and then does whatever it takes to bring them back again" (p.107).

The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden ends with the glorious promise of the Snake Crusher's return to make all things right where we will live with him forever in a place where there is no more bad guys and no more tears.

This book is filled with engaging prose, and fun images that my children enjoyed. The story is Christ-centered, God exalting, and filled with hope. It shows children that God keeps his word. No matter how far God's people strayed, God never failed to keep his promise to bring them a deliverer. The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden also incorporates theological truths, woven throughout the story, teaching children that Jesus is the second Adam, that he is the final and perfect prophet, priest, and king, and the fulfillment of God's promise to Adam, Abraham, and David. It also highlights the truth that God is holy and we are sinful. We need salvation and we need Jesus, the Snake Crusher, to restore us back to God.

I highly recommend this book to all families who have elementary age children. The story of redemption is the biggest and best story and one our children need to hear over and over again.

I have one copy to give away. Enter below, U.S. residents only. Enter below. Update: Lisa is the winner of this giveaway. Congratulations!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my review. The thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains Amazon affiliate links.