Tried With Fire

I have many fond memories of reading to my daughter when she was little. "Read it?" was one of the things she would ask many, many times a day. I loved children's books, so it was a chance to revisit all my favorites as well as find new ones. As a parent, I knew it was good to read to her so she would eventually learn to read herself and express her thoughts in words, but I had no idea of the learning processes that were going on in her young brain. From Reader, Come Home : "When you read to your children, you are exposing them to multiple representations - of the sounds or phonemes in spoken words, of the visual forms of letters and letter patterns in written words, of the meanings of oral and written words, and so on across every circuit component. The young brain is setting down re-presentations of this information every time the child hears, sees, touches, smells books" (pg. 131) "It is the stuff of conceptual and linguistic development (even tho...

There's been a recent post by a well-known Baptist pastor on making church membership more meaningful. One of his points advocates that children be denied baptism and church membership. (See point 5 here. )  I can see why my Presbyterian friends would object to this. As a 1689 Baptist, I would respectfully disagree with the Presbyterians on who is a member of the covenant of grace, but I would also respectfully disagree with Pastor Dever. (Of note, what follows is solely my opinion and not meant to reflect the opinions of my local church.) If Baptists believe that those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and given new life are members of the covenant of grace, why would we deny them baptism? If adults and children are saved in the same manner, then why is the covenant sign denied to one group and not the other? If children need to grow in maturity and may have lapses, don't adults? Does anyone walk so perfectly as a Christian that there was never a moment of doubt...

The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden by Kevin DeYoung, illustrated by Don Clark, Crossway, 2015, 129 pages, ages 5-11. As a kid, I learned about the Old Testament as a collection of moral fables on how to be good. But the OT as a whole didn't make sense. There was no unifying thread that tied it all together let alone with the rest of the Bible. So as an adult, learning the Bible's storyline was eye-opening, specifically God's promise of the One who would crush the head of the serpent and restore all that had been lost. (Gen. 3:15) Well, you don't have to wait to be an adult to learn Biblical theology. Kevin DeYoung has written a book on the Bible's big story for children, The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher brings Us Back to the Garden . This overview covers Genesis to Revelation. This is quite a tall order, so many details are omitted given the intended audience. However, the main theme of God's promise of the Snake ...

Jonathan Edwards by Simonetta Carr, illustrations by Matt Abraxas, Reformation Heritage Books, 2014, 64 pages, for ages 7-12. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was one of America's greatest theologians and thinkers. Unfortunately, many know him of him only as the author of the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." But there is much more to his life. In this biography by Simonetta Carr, you will learn about Edwards' childhood, his love of learning, and his love for God. He eventually became a pastor who was instrumental in the First Great Awakening. However, he was removed by his own congregation for taking a stand that the Lord's Supper was only for believers. Edwards pondered over the scriptures and wrote on such topics as original sin, freedom of the will, and religious affections, which are theological classics to this day. Carr's writing makes Edwards' life accessible and interesting, pulling out tidbits of his life that would appeal to c...

Great Kings of the Bible: How Jesus is greater than Saul, David, and Solomon , Deepak Reju, CF4Kids , January 2014, 48 pages. Read to me: 5-7, Read myself:8-11. Great Kings of the Bible recounts the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon. Each account sticks very close to the biblical text, giving an overview of each king. Unlike many children's books, their triumphs as well as grievous sins are included. So this does  not  teach a "Dare to be a Daniel" sort of moralism. Rather the author weaves Jesus into the kings' stories by showing how He is greater. Where these human rulers failed, Jesus was perfect. Each of these men died. Jesus rose from the dead, and His kingdom is forever. After growing up reading very moralistic Bible stories, I appreciated that these characters were not held up as paragons of virtue but human beings who fall. I thought David's sin with Bathsheba was handled in an age-appropriate manner and yet stayed true to 2 Samuel 11-12. Also the ...

Anselm of Canterbury by Simonetta Carr (author), Matt Abraxos (illustrator), Reformation Heritage Books, 2013, 64 pages. Anselm (1033-1109) is the latest subject in the  Christian Biographies For Young Readers  series written by  Simonetta Carr.  Born near the border of France and Italy, Anselm wanted to serve God by becoming a monk but faced family opposition. Eventually he took orders at a Benedictine monastery in Normandy where he studied the Word, wrote, and taught. He was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William II, the son of William the Conqueror. He did not seek this position, which was very difficult due to the lack of clearly defined boundaries between church and state. Anselm died in Canterbury at the age of 76. Anselm is known for his work, Cur Deus Homo ( Why God-Man? ) which sought to clarifying the issues of sin, the atonement and its application. Written during a time when the ransom theory was the primary teaching on the a...

66 Books One Story: A Family Guide to Every Book of the Bible  by Paul Reynolds, Christian Focus, 2013, Our adult Sunday school class is tackling an overview of the Old Testament. It's been a great series so far. We've learned the main theme(s) of each book and its role in redemptive history. We've also found foreshadowings of Christ and the gospel. I was wondering, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a book for kids that would give an overview of the Bible this way? Is there a resource where they could learn the big picture rather than view the Bible as just a collection of good stories?" Thanks to Carl Trueman's review , I think I've found it. 66 Books One Story gives a three-page synopsis of all the books of the Bible. (Exceptions: Genesis is divided into two sections. Two psalms are highlighted rather than the entire book, and John 2 & 3 are combined.) First, the book is summarized in a single phrase. (Wouldn't that be good for us ad...

For want of counting the cost, the children of religious parents often turn out ill and bring disgrace on Christianity. Familiar from their earliest years with the form and theory of the gospel, taught even from infancy to repeat great leading texts, accustomed every week to be instructed in the gospel, or to instruct others in Sunday schools, they often grow up professing a religion without knowing why or without ever having thought seriously about it . And then when the realities of grown–up life begin to press upon them, they often astound everyone by dropping all their religion and plunging right into the world. And why? They had never thoroughly understood the sacrifices which Christianity entails. They had never been taught to count the cost. ~ Holiness by J.C. Ryle This quote by J.C. Ryle was very sobering. I was also sobered while reading What He Must Be . Voddie Baucham quotes James Snyder's biography of A.W. Tozer. Although Tozer was a great preacher and writer, he "...

From my notes on Sunday's sermon : - Cherish and nurture our children in the Gospel. Not that they only love you, but that they fall in love with Christ. - Give our children the Gospel, not Christian materialism. - The Gospel is Christ-esteem not self-esteem. - Raise children who are poor in spirit not religious moralists. - Obedience is out of our identity and standing. Our identity and standing is not because of our obedience. Pastor Ryan's point about not raising children who are just religious moralists struck a chord in my heart. I was raised in a Christian home by parents who love the Lord. Not to fault them, but I was a Christian and a good religious moralist. I never rebelled, at least not outwardly. I was always one of the good kids. But I also learned how to play the game. I learned that as long as I maintained a good outward appearance everyone thought I was a good Christian daughter. Although there was nothing outwardly wrong in my behavior, I shudder at wh...

This humorous pos t is from reformationtheology.com. Here is a sample: The Bible says,'The Lord thy God is one', but I think He must be a lot older than that After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments.

This morning we had our regular women's Bible study. We're going through "Twelve Extraordinary Women" by John MacArthur. It has been a blessing and an encouragement to get to know these sisters. I am grateful that we can share our struggles and not feel like we have to put on a face with one another. There are eight ladies, counting my DD, a six year old, one infant, and five toddlers. Needless to say, there are always interruptions from the little ones - everything from a diaper that needs to be changed to dealing with disputes over toys. Sometimes it feels like we just start a question when one or more moms need to get up and tend to their children. But this is life. Life is messy. Life has interruptions. Rarely with small children is it possible to have an extended period of uninterrupted time. In some ways, the Christian life is messy. We sin, we fall, we pout, we cry, we need our spiritual diapers changed, and we need to be disciplined when we whine ove...