It’s important for children to learn eternal truths that will carry them through the ups and downs of life from the beginning. Children need to be taught the hope of the gospel and the difference that Jesus makes in a persons’ life. This means teaching them the Bible, sound theology and teaching them about people who have been used by God in the past, and all of that needs to be done in an age-appropriate way. Tall order? Here are some resources to help…
Gladys Aylward by Laura Caputo-Wickham
This book is part of the ‘Do Great Things for God’ series from The Good Book Company. The thing I like about these books is that they help children see the amazing things that God has done through Christian women of the past. These books are for children roughly between 3-6 years old. Gladys Aylward was a woman who didn’t let the opinions of others stand in her way of serving God. She went to China and served the people there as a missionary. This book focuses on the truth found in John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts by troubled. Believe in God”. That message changes Gladys’s life, the lives of those she served in China and it is a message that could change the life of your child too.
Betty Greene by Laura Caputo-Wickham
Like the previous book, this is part of the ‘Do Great Things for God’ series. In this addition to the series, you learn about Betty Greene. Betty’s story begins with her as a wee girl with a love for aeroplanes, she learns to fly and is enlisted as part of World War 2, after the war she joins MAF and dedicated her life, and her skill of saying, to spreading the gospel. This book focuses on the truth in Acts 1:8 “You will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth”. Betty’s longing to fly, turned into a longing for people to hear about Jesus and the Lord used her wonderfully to do that.
Any Time, Any Place, Any Prayer by Laura Wifler
Wouldn’t it be wonderful for children to understand, from a young age, that they can take everything to God in prayer? This book teaches just that! It’s a brief jump through parts of the Bible focusing on times when people did or didn’t want to talk to God, it takes you to Jesus and the Lord’s Prayers, to the cross and to the New Creation. The main message is this; whatever you’re going through in life, whether good or bad, you can always pray and talk to God. That is a message that every Christian should learn from an early age.
God’s Daring Dozen Box Set 1: A Minor Prophet Series by John Brown and Brian Wright
Ok sure, this book is written for kids, but I want adults to read it too! The minor prophets are some of the least read parts of many Christian’s Bibles, but they are glorious and they point so wonderfully to Jesus. This series takes four minor prophets (Haggai, Habakkuk, Obadiah and Zephaniah) and gives a summary of each and points the reader to Jesus from the book itself. These books are super accessible for kids and illustrated well. They will inform and excite your kids about the Old Testament. As you read it to them, or with them, you can pray that the same enthusiasm for the Old Testament rubs off on you too. This is a great resource for kids, I highly recommend it.
What Jesus Did and What Jesus Does by Sinclair Ferguson
Both of these devotionals are great. I would say that they are for slightly older kids, potentially pre-teens. Each book has 31 short devotions on, as the two different titles suggest, what Jesus did and what He does. Each day begins with a question, a prayer, a short devotional thought and then concludes with a prayer. These are written for children and therefore have deliberately been written on topics that challenge them and in a way that engages them well. These titles could be good resources to help kids and pre-teens get into a rhythm of reading their Bible and having a ‘quiet time’.
Seek and Find: New Testament Bible Stories by Sarah Parker
If you know any children between 2-5 years old, buy this book. I am not joking, buy it. I really like this book, and the Old Testament edition too, because it gets you into the Bible story whilst being interactive for small children. It gives you the chance to sit and tell your child the story of Jesus whilst they listen and find animals, people or objects on the page. On top of that you can also explain why they’re searching for certain things. Basically, I love these books so go and buy them 🙂 IN this book you’ll journey through eight stories, from Jesus’ birth through to the resurrection. This is a great interactive way to talk about Jesus and the gospel with your children!
*** I received these books from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This does not change the way I rate the books, my views are my own. ***
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