Ministry-to-Children.com » Book Reviews

Julie Cantrell “God is with Me” Books (Review & Giveaway)

Tony Kummer — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:15:15 +0000

Here are two wonderful new children’s books that will reassure young children of God’s love and protection. They are written by new author Julie Cantrell and titled “God is with Me through the Day” and “God is with Me through the Night.”

Each page has one line of text and adorable pictures of baby animals. What’s not to love. Plus they emphasize the protection and comfort that God provides for his children. “I am safe” and “I am loved” are recurring themes in each book. Children age 4 – 7 will learn to trust God even when they feel afraid, or lonely, or scared. The books also refer to well-known Bible characters like David and Daniel. This reminds the reader how God has always watched over those he loves.

As part of this review, I sat down with my own children to give them a test. My 1st grade daughter was really excited about the puppies and other baby animals. She read the books aloud to me and again to her 3-year-old brother. He loved to roar along with the baby bear. The smiling ostrich and monkeys were a bonus. My wife also approved and some un-churched relatives will receive a copy for Christmas. Needless to say, these books are quickly becoming favorites in my family.

These books have great ministry potential. At church, I’m adding copies to our preschool resource shelf. They are also on my short list for Christmas morning giveaways for the church kids. From a family ministry perspective, these books are a great asset for bedtime devotions.

You can read more from Julie Cantrell on her blog or the Facebook group for these books.

Giveaway: How You Can Win These Books

To enter this contest, leave a comment below saying how you would use these books if you win. Would you give them to kids at your church or read them at home with your children? Whatever you would do, just let us know in your comment.

On Monday 23 November, I will draw one random winner from the comments left on this post. They will get one copy of both books. Special thanks to Julie and ZonderKidz for donating the books and my review copies.

If this is your first time to leave a comment, it will take up to three hours for it to appear. I moderate new commentators to prevent spam. Just make sure you use a real email or I won’t be able to contact you. I can only mail the prizes to US addresses.

Video of Julie Talking About the Books

Book Review: Family-Integrated Church

Charlie Wallace — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:08:06 +0000

One of the current buzzwords in churchlife today is the phrase, “family-integrated.” However, what looks to the casual observer as simply a “fad” is more than that: it is a theological, methodological, and philosophical conviction for those leaders in churches who are truly family-integrated.

Family-Integrated Church, by J. Mark Fox, (Xulon, 2006) is one church’s story of how it transformed over the years from a typical program-driven church to one that became purely family-driven. It is the story of how Antioch Community Church in Burlington, North Carolina has developed into what it is today.

Fox says, “We realized…how God had led us over the past 18 years to be a church where biblical manhood and womanhood is celebrated and encouraged, and families are not divided up as soon as they walk in the door.” (10)

With this statement, Fox opens the discussion on the topic of age-segregation versus integration. To be honest, up until a year or so ago I had given very little thought to the truth that there was another way to “do church” where people and children of different ages were not divided up into age-graded classes and/or ministries.

Early in Antioch’s history, the church met at Elon College where hundreds of college students attended their weekly services. Fox says, “We could not be a program-driven church while we were meeting on the campus, and did not have a facility to ‘call our own’…we did not have the space or energy to devote to age-segregated programs. So we did not have them.”

What started out as a void in the church developed into one of its key principles. Fox says, “It was becoming clearer to us as we grew up in the Lord that God was changing the vision of the church. We had started with the idea that we could be all things to all people…but God began to change our hearts. We began to see that the heart of the church was family, that God had called us to relate to one another as brothers and sisters.” (44) Furthermore, “We began to catch on to the revelation that God’s purpose for “youth ministry” is to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers” and not the opposite. (45) This idea is central to the family-integrated movement.

In Antioch’s children’s ministry, the church started to run out of called, qualified teachers. Instead of plugging reluctant people into those slots the church began to re-think their strategy. Part of this strategy included ditching Sunday School. Fox says, “But why was Sunday School begun in the first place? It was an effort to reach out to the poor children who were not well educated, who were running wild in the streets on the ‘Sabbath’ and profaning the day of the Lord. It was an effort at evangelism and education, and I believe God used the effort to win souls and encourage saints to reach out. But as with many programs that started out with good intentions, the purpose morphed into a place to corral young people and children so they could be kept out of trouble and possibly where they could be taught the Bible stories that every child should know.” (55)

Fox states further, “…most churches who offer age-segregated programs do so because they believe that is ‘normal Christianity,’ not because they believe it is the best way to reach children. They keep Sunday School and other programs in place because they honestly believe that a church without a Sunday School program is not even a biblical church. But I would challenge them to find anything that vaguely resembles age-segregation in the Scripture.” (55) To a children’s pastor that oversees a very high-octane program-driven ministry, that one stung.

Antioch does offer programs during the “Sunday School hour” before church and at other times on a rotation basis. The key is that no program is permanent. They use programs as they see fit and discard them when they’ve run their course.

The second half of the book is a more of a description of the way the church is governed and organized and less about the family-integrated element. However, the last chapter does give a sketch at what it looks like on a typical Sunday morning.

Most Sundays begin at 7:30 am as the pastor and elders pray for 90 minutes. That’s humbling. At 9:00 am the worship team gathers and practices and any current studies that are going on may meet during this time. They’ve had a class before for boys aged 12-18 where fathers come and are involved. They’ve also had one for girls of the same age. Again, any idea for a short-term class can be done during that hour.

At 10:00 am the worship service begins. For the first 3o minutes of the service, during the singing, there is no nursery. Antioch desires to have infants in the sanctuary, crying and all, during corporate worship. Once the preaching starts, the nursery is open to those children 2 years old and younger, although Antioch encourages them to stay with their families. Another interesting aspect is that after the sermon, the pastor opens up the floor (egads!) for questions and testimony by the members. Fox says that this is is almost always a rewarding time. Whenever someone abuses it, however, the elders, call the abusers out. Once a month the church takes communion after this session. Then they open the floor once again to “thanksgivings” and people tell how the Lord has been good to them. The entire service usually runs around 2 hours.

I would say that Family-Integrated Church is a must read for anyone that is involved in children’s ministry or any type of church ministry for that matter. Some will be tempted to immediately overhaul their ministry or church by reading this book. That, of course, would be disastrous. However, there are many subtle things that you could do in an established church that can help create a more family-integrated atmosphere. Antioch Community Church is just one of many such churches being plante or organized. Family-integration is not a fad. It is a conviction. And it is one that will further continue to impact, and rightly so, churches, ministries, and lives.

More posts about family ministry: Read Terry Dealaney’s review of the book Three Perspectives on Family Ministry or browse all our posts on family ministry.

Children’s Books That Engage The Young Hero

Kristin Charles — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:16:39 +0000

I have to admit. I want my little guy to grow up to have a heart that follows God’s own. I want him to dream big dreams, to fight sin with the sword of the Spirit, and to rescue the wayward with the One who came to save us from ourselves. I want him to be brave and strong and wise.

Though it’s great to dream dreams, it’s essential to put feet to those notions. I have to be intentional about walking towards those goals. The activities in our everyday should be purposed, creative, fun, and engaging. One of my favorite things to do with my son is to snuggle up with a few good books. When we’re reading together, we’re creating an emotional bond, promoting early literacy, developing language skills, and building character through good literature.

The following is a compilation of my favorite resources for the little heroes in our lives, particularly boys ages 2-8. Since boys tend to be quite active, engage them in helping you tell these stories. Use motions to keep them involved, ask questions, hunt for particular objects in the illustrations, and most importantly make reading about God fun and dynamic! Treasure your time together with your little hero, grand-hero, or that boy in your ministry who insists on wearing a cape.

God’s Wisdom for Little Boys: Character-Building Fun from Proverbs, by Jim and Elizabeth George: This book is a delightful compilation of rhymes that highlight character traits from the book of Proverbs. It is geared to little guys, ages 4-8, but the rhyming patterns would catch the attention of most 2 and 3 year olds, also. Judy Luenebrink illustrates the book with classic color paintings. My only critique is the lack of diversity displayed in the illustrations. However, it is still a fabulous resource that will instill wisdom in the youngest of boys, so that they may grow up to have a heart after God’s own.

I’d Be Your Hero: A Royal Tale Of Godly Character, by Kathryn O’Brien: This is a well-written conversation between a mother and her son. The son’s imagination takes him to royal places, where he embarks upon one adventure after another. As the boy dreams of fantastic feats, the mom affirms her son and utilizes scripture to help him pursue traits like bravery, perseverance, skill, and humility. The amount of scripture used in this book is incredible! I also love the illustrations by Michael Garland. They are fun, vivid, and whimsical. It is a must read for little heroes, ages 3-8.

The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale, by Angela Hunt: This may just be my favorite children’s book of all time. It weaves the classic folktale of three trees who dream of who they want to be when they grow up. There is a deep sense of sadness when their dreams do not materialize the way they had imagined. However, the trees each discover that God’s dream for them is bigger and better than their own. Little guys reading this will learn about the life of Christ and will hopefully grow to discover God’s purpose for them, in accordance with Jeremiah 29:11. This book is illustrated by Tim Jonke and perfect for boys and girls alike, ages 2-10.

What other good resources have you found particularly helpful for the installation of Godly character and wisdom in little guys?

Fool Moon Rising (A Book Review)

Jeri Tanner — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:55:23 +0000

“Dear God,

“I heard a cosmic story and wondered if it’s true. The Moon was stealing glory and this is what he’d do.”

So begins a highly enjoyable and quite profound new children’s book from Crossway Books, cleverly titled Fool Moon Rising. Husband and wife team Kristi and T. Lively Fluharty wrote and illustrated this “rhyming, rollicking tale” about the moon’s prideful folly in believing that his radiance and light actually emanate from himself! The moon’s boasting and posturing prove very annoying to all who have to endure it, until finally one day the proud fellow catches a glimpse of the real star of the show…the sun. The moon’s heartfelt repentance, and consequent boasting in another’s true glory, and not his own, are a great end to a meaningful tale.

At 40 pages, each humorously illustrated with larger than life planets, outer space monkeys, and a host of other creatures irritated at the moon’s foolish self-absorption, Fool Moon Rising is aimed at children 3-7 years old (although my 13-year-old and I both relished it!) I haven’t seen a children’s book before written along the theme of learning to boast only in God, and to give Him the glory for what we have and are.

Enough can’t be said about the rich artwork. T.Lively (Tom) Fluharty is an illustrator whose artwork has appeared in Time magazine, Sports Illustrated and Focus on the Family. Deep purple and blue backgrounds give the pages the mysterious feel of space. For the outer space loving youngster there is a short study guide and some fun moon facts at the back of the book.

Though the poor moon (which in real life has never boasted of its own glory at all, but has always done just what it was created to do: reflect the glory of the sun!) gets an undeserved bad rap in the story, it’s all in good fun, and communicates an important message for old and young moon gazers alike: “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7, NLT)

One nice bonus: the book has its own website at www.foolmoonrising.com. There you can view and download free screen savers, read about the authors, and more.

The Westminster Bookstore has a full PDF preview of the book.

You can purchase Fool Moon Rising here. Pick up a few as Christmas gifts for all the little star-gazers you know and love.

The Eaglet Gospel Booklet for Children by Jim Elliff & Caffy Whitney

Tony Kummer — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:23:21 +0000

There are many helpful tools for sharing the Gospel with children, but sometimes the most effective are Gospel-centered stories. When kids grow up hearing these stories, it can impress God’s grace upon their imagination.

Recently, the people at Christian Communications Worldwide sent me a review copy of the Eaglet booklet and DVD. I had read the story online from their website, but had not printed it off for real world use.

The booklet has two main sections. The first is the story of a baby Eagle, the Eaglet. The second discusses the story that brings out the Gospel clearly. The artwork is by illustrator Caffy Whitney.

The Eaglet DVD is a narrated version of the booklet. We watched this in our children’s church with some success. The children liked the story and the last minute rescue.

This resource could be distributed to families in the church. With repeated reading, it would help them understand the Gospel. It is more expensive that a simple tract, but priced reasonable if you buy in larger quantities. They also have a free PowerPoint version of the storybook on the CCW website.

Buy the Eaglet DVD
Buy the Eaglet Booklet
Download the free Eaglet PDF or PowerPoint

Children’s Books That Engage True Princesses

Kristin Charles — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:04:46 +0000

My three-year old is sleeping right now, all snuggled up under her beloved princess blanket. Most likely, her dreams have set her on a frantic search for Cinderella’s lost slipper in a faraway land. I adore this stage of her life – the tea parties, the dress-up gowns, the pretend play and the creativity. However, I am not as crazy about the princesses themselves. Most often, they lack a good bit of substance.

On a search for literature that would appeal to my three year old, I found the following children’s books. Not only do they engage her imagination, but they also satisfy my desire that she grow up to be a princess after God’s own heart. I hope and pray that they become a blessing to the little princess in your life, as well. Enjoy reading these books together. And may many good God questions and conversations result.

The True Princess, by Angela Elwell Hunt

Angela Hunt, the author of The Tale of Three Trees (one of my all-time favorites!), has written a captivating fairy tale in The True Princess. There is a generous king and a beautiful princess, who live in a faraway land. This parable reinforces the concept of royalty taught in scripture – the honor and privilege of being an heir to the King. What I love about this princess story is the focus on serving selflessly, instead of being served with an air of disdain. It teaches the concept of Matthew 20:26, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” Diana Magnuson illustrated this charming tale with medieval-style pictures, sure to engage little princesses ages 4-8.

God’s Wisdom for Little Girls: Virtues and Fun from Proverbs 31, by Elizabeth George

This is bestselling author Elizabeth George’s first children’s book. Though it would not be classified as a princess story, it certainly teaches Biblical truths that would characterize “a true princess.” God’s Wisdom for Little Girls: Virtues and Fun from Proverbs 31 utilizes Proverb 31 to teach girls (ages 4-8) about the virtues of being helpful, confident, thoughtful, eager, prayerful, creative, cheerful, and kind. The illustrator, Judy Luenebrink, compliments the book’s rhyming text with beautiful classic paintings that correlate with the character traits identified. This book is one of my personal favorites!

My Child, My Princess, by Beth Moore

This is the first children’s book written by Beth Moore, best-selling writer. My Child, My Princess weaves the tale of a king’s rebellious daughter, who runs away after an argument with her dad. Disguised as a peasant, the princess spends a day playing in the mud with children in the country, who lack respect for the King. Once she realizes that she has made a mistake, she wonders if her father will forgive her. Upon her return to the castle, her dad greets her with welcoming arms and unconditional love and care. This parable, a heartwarming tale of our Heavenly Father’s love for us, will work its way into the hearts of any little girl, ages 4-34. (I got choked up at the end, first time through!) Beverly Warren’s gorgeous medieval-style illustrations also complement the fairy tale well.

God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible, by Sheila Walsh

We recently purchased God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible for our daughter. I can’t wait until we dive into it together! The book is set up like a devotional, with short excerpts of spiritual truths. These truths are divided into sub-features, including a Scripture memory portion, beauty tips (brush your teeth, take a bath, etc.), Bible princess biographies, promises from God, articles on drama, worship, and manners, Biblical values, and simple applications of those values. It’s very practical, fun, and engaging for girls, ages 4-7.

What Biblically based resources have you found helpful for teaching the princesses in your life?

Book Alert: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Terry Delaney — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:08:35 +0000

I am not sure about the children in your church, but my kids have been enraptured by a series of books entitled Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. The book is called “a novel in cartoons” and consists of pencil sketches made by a “kid” as he writes about his life in a diary.

I am wanting to bring this book to your attention because, truth be told, your children do not need to be reading this book. Greg Heffley, the “author” of the diary is a smart-mouth kid who does everything he can to challenge authority and get away with everything he can. For example, he writes, “If there’s one thing I learned from Rodrick, it’s to set people’s expectations real low so you end up surprising them by practically doing nothing at all.”

This is the tip of the iceberg. He writes of how he makes fun of kids and how he wants to beat them up and on and on it goes. You may want to advise your parents as to what is in these books and that their children ought not be reading them because there is nothing in them that is glorifying to God. If anything, these books will be counter-productive to anything you are trying to accomplish in your ministry.

New Audio Edition of the Jesus Storybook Bible

Tony Kummer — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:21:40 +0000

I just got word about a new audio edition of one of my favorite story Bibles for kids. The Jesus Storybook Bible is a wonderful way to help kids see Jesus in every part of the Bible. I’ve been using this book in children’s church and with my own children for several years.

Now, they are publishing a Deluxe Edition that will include a 3 CD audio version. I can’t wait to have this story Bible echoing through our home at bedtime. If you want to learn more you, check out Sally’s official website. You can download audio samples there too. They also have set up the new edition of the book to pre-order on Amazon.com, here is the link – Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition

If you don’t have at least one copy of this book yet. You should go to the WTS Books website and check out the samples.

“Dad really believes the things that are in this book.”

Tony Kummer — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:51:54 +0000

I just read about a new book for children by Dr. Bruce Ware. I’m always glad to see world-class theologians tackle the important task of relating truth for young children.

The book is titled Big Truths For Young Hearts. It aims to equip parents to guide their young children through all major doctrines in an understandable, chapter-a-day format. More from the publisher:

The book covers ten topics of systematic theology, devoting several brief chapters to each subject, making it possible for parents to read one chapter per day with their children. With this non-intimidating format, parents will be emboldened to be their children’s primary faith trainers and perhaps learn a few things themselves along the way.

I don’t have the book yet, but hope to get it soon. I found it recommended by another world class scholar Dr. Russell Moore. On his blog he quoted the book’s foreword written by the author’s adult daughters. They write:

Dad really believes the things that are in this book . . . To parents: it may sound cliche, but we followed our father’s teaching in part because he practiced what he preached.

That is a powerful statement, especially for a young father like me. Here’s the link to Dr. Moore’s strong recommendation.

Update: Justin Taylor has just posted an interview with the author on his website. AND here is the link to read the Contents and the Introduction and Chapter 1 online for free.

Three Perspectives on Family Ministry

Terry Delaney — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:19:52 +0000

This post is a review and summary of Perspectives on Family Ministry: Three Views. Ed. by Timothy Paul Jones. Nashville: Broadman and Holman Academic, October 2009. 213 pp.

Introduction

Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, the editor of this book, served for fourteen years in vocational ministry. He is now an Assistant Professor of Leadership and Church Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. His passion is to see the church come alongside families and teach them how to fulfill the commandment given in Deut. 6:7, “You shall teach them (God’s words) diligently to your children.”

He recognizes that there is a movement within evangelical churches to better minister to families. He has aided our understanding of this movement through the contributions of three pastors serving “in the trenches.” The format of the book was argument for, two responses against, and a final response in favor for each of the three models.

Paul Renfro, pastor of discipleship at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, writes concerning the Family-Integrated Model. Brandon Shields, minister to high school students at Highview Baptist Church in Kentucky and Indiana writes of their use of the Family-Based Model. Finally, Jay Strother, minister to emerging generations at Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, writes in favor of Family Equipping Ministry.

Family-Integrated Church, Paul Renfro

The family-integrated model jettisons all age-graded ministries. Those who adhere to this model view each family unit (single or married, with or without children) as one “block” that comprises the local church. That is, they view the church as a family of families. They view the church’s purpose as equipping the parents, primarily the fathers, to evangelize and disciple their children.

Some difficulties to this model include that a “family of families” cannot define the church which is defined as the “body of Christ” in Ephesians 4. There seems to be an inability to reach public school families as well as the non-traditional families that are prevalent today. Finally, there is still the challenge of equipping the children to engage the culture with their faith.

Family-Based, Brandon Shields

The are two values that are foundational to this philosophy, Brandon is careful to use this term over and above “model,” are flexibility and balance. Flexibility is essential because every church is different and therefore every church must adapt to their culture. Balance is also necessary because not every family in the local church is a “traditional” family. There are many challenges with blended families, single families, and other situations that must be handled with care when discipling the family. They do not see a need to radically reorganize and restructure the present ministry model. The key concept is the philosophical shift wherein the activities and programs are used to draw the families closer together.

Some problems with this particular model include the appearance that there is a greater concern for being culturally relevant rather than biblical. Some believe this model does not go far enough in addressing the disconnect between the church and the home. It is still too programmatic and does not really offer clear training to the parents to disciple their children.

Family-Equipping, Jay Strother

Pastor Jay explains in a diagram that the family-equipping model of ministry has a three-pronged approach. First, there are the catalysts. These are the parents who are primarily responsible to disciple their children and then the small group leaders in the church who lead Bible studies that reinforce the spiritual truths taught at home. Second, the content of what is being taught is intentional so that as the child grows, he meets certain “milestones” in his spiritual training at the church. Finally, the context of the model is found in worshipping Christ through small-group discipleship and serving in the church and community for the sake of the gospel.

Objections to the model include the parents simply do not have the time to disciple their children which then begs the question of how to confront parents who are not discipling their children. Also, the reasons offered for leaving other models were simply not convincing enough and therefore does not warrant a wholesale change of mindset. Finally, the question of strategy is too limited in scope and need not be the cause for the adoption of this ministry model.

Conclusion

This volume offers much to think about in the way of how the church should minister to the family. All three models are rooted in Scripture and all three models are driven by a love for the church and the family. Each pastor is passionate about seeing our world impacted by the church with more efficiency and more zeal. More importantly, each pastor writes and ministers with an urgency to change the landscape of the home through their respective views of family ministry.

The formatting of this book—with the point, counterpoint, and response method—offers the reader a balanced perspective. This book will be a great tool for church leaders who want to better address the family unit in their ministry. I highly recommend this book. Many Evangelical churches are shifting paradigms; this book will help you make sense of these new approaches.

Special thanks to Terry Delaney who contributed this guest post. To read more of Terry’s book reviews visit Going To Seminary or Diary of a Seminary Student.

Children’s Book On The Atonement: Caleb’s Lamb

Tony Kummer — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:26:32 +0000

Children’s pastor and book review blogger Terry Delaney has posted a review of Caleb’s Lamb. I’m always interested in books that teach sound doctrine in ways that children can understand and appreciate. Terry writes:

This book is an excellent tool to teach your children what substitutionary atonement is and how Christ’s death on the cross was foreshadowed in the book of Exodus. I would recommend this book for any child who can read, any child who enjoys being read to, and any person who is a parent or may become a parent.

Book Review of Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress

Tony Kummer — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:24:54 +0000

The Pilgrim’s Progress needs no introduction nor would any review do it any justice. However, this particular rendition of the classic-that word does not suffice for the second most sold book of all time behind God’s Holy Word, the Bible-is not a well know resource for children. With the help of illustrator Alan Parry, Oliver Hunkin set out to arrange the story of Pilgrim so that young children could meet with Everyman who journeys from this world to the next.

Hunkin did a masterful job of choosing the pertinent sections from the original Pilgrim’s Progress and placing them alongside the masterful artistic renditions of each scene. The artwork in and of itself is worthy of the price of the book and might even be able to tell the story just by looking at the pictures. Because of the graphic display of the pictures, it is recommended for children older than eight years old. However, I have read it to my boys (4 and 2) and have witnessed no adverse affects. What I have noticed is that through these illustrations, they have given a “face” to the works of the devil and are beginning to see the reality of his work in our world to the believer.

Perhaps one of the weaknesses of this book, in my humble opinion, is that the language has been modernized. I completely understand why that was done in that today’s children would have no idea what Elizabethan English is saying. Shoot, some adults have no idea how to read it. But, for this particular book, it seems as though something is lost in the modernization of the language. It is as though we lose the full force of Bunyan’s words when we update the language.

Keep in mind that the modernization of the language is almost necessary to be able to relate to the reader what is being said by the author. After all, Bunyan wrote this masterpiece in the 17^th century! I do believe that Hunkin was able to grasp the meaning and relate it to a younger audience than if we were to just read the original book (modernized or not) to our children. By introducing our children to the doctrines found in this book through the writing genre of allegory, parents are beginning to lay the foundation for true Christian faith that we, assuming our own faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, pray that our children might some day make their own.

If you have a time of family worship, this would be a great way to engage your younger children during that time. If you are a children’s minister, or involved in children’s ministry, this would be an excellent resource to add to your ministry. If your children enjoy reading, this would be a great book for them to read and introduce them to the nature of allegorical writings so that they may better enjoy, and understand, other books like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings.

Hunkin, Oliver. Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, 1985. 126 pp.

Book Review: Pastor Daddy by Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles

Terry Delaney — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:37:44 +0000

Blair, Lindsey and Bobby Gilles. Pastor Daddy. Louisville: Sojourn Community Church, 2008. 16 pp. $11.95. (available directly from the publisher)

In 16 short pages, this book introduces the view that the home is a little church. This was espoused by great divines such as Martin Luther and Jonathan Edwards and more recently by men like Donald S. Whitney and R. Albert Mohler.

As I read this book to my two children, they enjoyed the pictures and the stories. This book is a great introduction to the practice of family worship and how the church and the home are interrelated. The authors alternate between church and home and show how each element of worship (outside of baptism and the Lord’s Supper) can be done at home through family worship.

This has become an important direction that many in the church are beginning to move toward. There has become an emphasis on family worship and its importance to the health of the church in recent years. If you are involved in children’s ministry, this is an excellent resource to own. It is also a way in which you can introduce family worship to the parents through the children.

You can see more information about Pastor Daddy on the Sojourn website.
You can also read Gretchen’s review of Pastor Daddy
Check out Terry’s review of family integrated church book

Book Review: A Bible Alphabet by Alison Brown

Terry Delaney — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:37:13 +0000

Brown, Alison. A Bible Alphabet. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2007. 31 pp. $8.00 (Buy from Westminster Books and save 40%)

I knew coming from Banner of Truth, this book would be a solid resource for young children learning their alphabet. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how much of a resource this book can become. Beginning with “a is for ark” and ending with “z is for Zion,” Ms. Brown takes a quick tour of the entire Bible in twenty-six letters.

The sub-title of the book is “introducing little children to well-known Bible stories.” This is accomplished and then some. For example, I would have thought that “w is wall” would have been about Jericho but it was not. Rather, she chose the story of Nehemiah’s rebuilding Jerusalem. Throughout the alphabet, you are introduced to Jezebel, Dorcas, jail, the epistles of Paul and Balaam. These are stories that most children are not as familiar with; that is, in the children’s bible story books I have read to my boys, these have never been mentioned to our detriment.

My oldest son, who is four, knows his alphabet but enjoyed the illustrations and even told me more about the stories than what was shared in the book. As I was reading the book with my boys, I was wishing they had scripture references for the stories so we could turn immediately to the Bible for more information. When I got to the letter Z, I noticed that the opposite page had a list of Bible references for all of the letters of the alphabet. I was excited that they did include this. Perhaps the only change I would make is to add them in a smaller font size on each page, but that is just me.

This book has so much potential for use in Sunday School, in home schooling, and parents who want to teach their children their alphabet and introduce stories from the Bible as well. There is a 64p. activity book that can be purchased in addition to this book. This is a great resource at many levels because it not only teaches the alphabet but it also begins to build a solid foundation of Scripture knowledge for the children as well as perhaps the new believing parent.

Book Review: Tell Me About Heaven

Terry Delaney — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:09:47 +0000

Alcorn, Randy. Tell Me About Heaven. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2007. 59pp. $19.99. Buy From Amazon.com $13.59

Introduction

Randy Alcorn was a pastor before founding Eternal Perspective Ministries in 1990. His ministry is dedicated to teaching Biblical truths. According to their website, www.epm.org, the ministry exists “to meet the needs of the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled and unsupported people around the world.” Randy has and his wife, Nanci, are the parents to two grown daughters, Karina and Angela. They have four grandsons, Jake, Matthew, Ty, and Jack.

Tell Me About Heaven is a children’s book by Randy Alcorn and illustrated throughout with the paintings of Ron DiCianni. This book can be read to your children or can be read by your children. It is designed to explain the doctrine of heaven in such a way that even the smallest of minds will be able to capture the grandeur and awe of God’s home.

Summary of Tell Me About Heaven

Jake’s Grammy has recently passed away and now he is on his way to spend two weeks with his Papa like he does every summer. This time, though, it will be different because Grammy will not be there. Immediately, we see Jake struggling with what happened to Grammy as well as how this particular visit is going to go with Grammy not around.

Over the course of the two week visit to Papa’s house, Jake asks a lot of questions about heaven and Grammy. Jake begins with hesitation as he first states that he doesn’t think he would like heaven. However, as Papa explains from the Bible what heaven is all about, Jake begins to understand that life in heaven is going to be so much better than life here on earth.

The book concludes with Jake confessing to Papa that he does not want him to ever die, but is now looking forward to learning more about heaven and can’t wait until his whole family is reunited there-Grammy and Papa and everyone.

Critique of Tell Me About Heaven

I must confess that I was skeptical about a children’s book that would attempt to explain what heaven is like. Given all the recent discussions of how much a kid can learn and should know about Jesus, his crucifixion, and other biblical truths, I was afraid that this book was going to be a disappointment even though it is authored by Randy Alcorn. I was extremely impressed with what I read in the pages of Tell Me About Heaven.

In this children’s book, the reader (or hearer) is introduced to the doctrine of inherited sin, the Incarnation, Penal Substitution, Hell, resurrected bodies, and more. The central theme of the book is that heaven and earth will pass away and God will replace them with a New Heaven and New Earth. Papa quotes scripture heavily (especially Rev. 21 and 22) in explaining what heaven is like to his grandson, Jake.

The story is very believable and at one point, I began wondering if this was a rehearsal for Randy Alcorn as he may have this discussion with his grandsons. The story line is pretty forthright and does not dance around the issues. Nowhere does Papa state something as truth if it is not based in the Bible. At one point, he corrects Jake and says that he is to always pray to Jesus and not Grammy. It is subtle, but significant in that many young children are told to pray to their loved one. However, that is not in the Bible and therefore, Papa (Alcorn) explicitly says that this should not happen.

The greatest aspect of this book is that the gospel message is presented clearly and concisely in the story itself. However, at the end of the book is a page devoted to the Roman Road along with a brief explanation of the gospel. It is very clear that the goal of this book is to be used as a tool for evangelizing children (and perhaps the adult reading to the child) as well as explaining what awaits them in the life to come.

If there is a negative to be found in this book, it is of no significant value. There are some assumptions made that I do not personally agree with, but nothing that causes any concern. For example, in a discussion about pets and animals in heaven, Papa tells Jake that he thought Moses (the dog) would be in heaven because animals were in Eden. I don’t see that as biblical precedent, but I also do not see that as a bad thing. On page 32 of the book it is said, “It’s always about God, isn’t it?” That is perhaps the best way in which to explain the book: It is always about God, isn’t it.

Conclusion

In asking my pastor and some other men in the church I attend about how much their children know about heaven, they said not much. I admit that I have not told my son much about heaven, either. That is, until now. I have already told a these men I talked with to pick up this book and am telling you that if you have children or are involved in children’s ministry, this book is a must own. It explains the doctrine of heaven in a way that a child can understand and a parent can be interested in. The book is solidly rooted in the Scriptures.

Also, throughout the book, there are hints (I say ‘hints’ because certain phrases like “penal substitution” and “inherited sin” do not appear) of other doctrines as mentioned above that will help to lay a foundation for biblical doctrine to be learned as the child grows. As a seminary student, I appreciated Alcorn’s ability to break down systematic theology into easily understood doctrines that do not require a degree to understand.

The conversational tone makes for a good story time book to be read at night, as part of family worship, or during story hour at church or a daycare. I would also highly recommend this book for a young child grieving the loss of a grandparent or parent. It would be a great resource for those who council children after the death of a loved one. This book is worth owning multiple copies of to give away during these times.