A Family Guide to the Bible October 14, 2009

A Family Guide to the Bible by Christin Ditchfield is a historic look at the making of the Bible as well as a brief book by book overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  Readers will learn about the authority and message of the Bible as well as how to study it and where to find important verses.

I think this book is more for older middle school children to enjoy with their families.  It can work with younger children if you pre-read each chapter and paraphrase to their understanding.

We were just learning about  the Guttenberg press when my review copy arrived.  It was great to be able to read to my daughter the impact the press had on the accessibility of the Bible. 

In homeschooling my children often have scriptures assigned for copywork.  This book provides wonderful lists of good scriptures for Christians to hide in their hearts.  I love the section on Verses to Help You Celebrate Holidays.  We are working on Thanksgiving scriptures right now.

There are also maps in the back of the book which are helpful.

With some preparation and a bit of reading ahead, this book would be a wonderful resource for teaching the purpose and history of the Bible to kids.  

You can find this book at www.crossway.org/blog

If God Is Good

Summary:  

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us. delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.Alcorn, Randy

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God–Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven

Author Bio:

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries and a bestselling author. His novels include Deadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, and the Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written eighteen nonfiction books as well, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Purity Principle, and The Grace and Truth Paradox. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Oregon and have two married daughters and four grandsons.

My Review:

Randy Alcorn takes a different approach to suffering in his book If God Is Good Faith In The Midst of Suffering and Evil.  Where many books on this topic tend to center around feeling, emotions and reaction Randy’s Book deals with logic.  He provides detailed scriptural evidence and anylitical thought to the problems that plague all of humanity. 

Sin is a real problem and to understand it is to understand pain on a much deeper level.  Randy writes about the root of sin from it’s very first occurance and provides a roadmap through scripture of sin’s effects and how to overcome them.  This book also tackles our confusion about God’s character that causes even christians to waver in their faith.  Problems and trials are hard to line up with the idea of a good God, but when you come to the last page of If God is Good you will understand God in a new way.  You’ll be ready to trust Him with your problems when they come.

One of my favorite spots in this book included Ch. 11 A Study: Bart Ehrman, a “Christian” who Lost His Faith.  This chapter was a rich and thought-provoking warning of the dangers in questioning God’s wisdom and goodness.  I was challenged by it.

I also love what Randy writes on Pg.488:

“Suffering is limited.  It could be far worse.

Suffering is temperal. It could last far longer.

Suffering, as we’ve seen, produces some desirable good.  It can make us better people, and it can reveal God’s character in ways that bring him glory and bring us good.”

Wow!

If you are facing a time of suffering, pain or trial I recommend checking out Randy Alcorn’s If God Is Good.

You can go here to purhase this book online. 

 

Read and Share Toddler Bible

With The Read and Share Toddler Bible you can enjoy several classic bible stories from both the Old and New Testaments.  Activity ideas are found inside Parent bubbles in each stories.  Suggestions might include discussing “no-no’s” at your house to cover disobedience and bring the sin of Adam and Eve to their level or something similar.  The activity’s center around parent guidance and don’t really require a lot of preparation or time investment.  This together time can really bring the stories to life though and it’s a wonderful feature.  

The stories in the Read and Share Toddler Bible are very sweet and age appropriate, but it’s the picture I can’t take my eyes off of.  I love the illustrations in this adorable toddler Bible.

This book also includes the 60 minute animated DVD that coincides with the book.

For $14.99 this is a really exceptional value.

You can see a sample and get a feel for the Read and Share Toddler Bible with this free online flip book.

Go here to order the book on sale for $10.99!

Extraordinary

John Bevere has a wonderful talent for inspiring Christians to examine their faith.  His writing is always a challenging “I dare you to go deeper” approach that will set a spark in your spirit or wake you up to what you could have.

Extraordinary: The Life You’re Meant To Have is a well-written challenge to surrender the simple in search for the fantastic.  It’s an attempt to stir Christians to make use of the gifts and abilities God has placed in them.  It’s a call to be more than just the average joe.  Extraordinary sparks hope inside the reader and wakes up the dreams we have undermined with doubt and fear.

The first chapter perfectly expresses Bevere’s heart and purpose for writing.  This chapter ends with a prayer.  Each chapter is written with a very personable voice.  Chapters are concluded with questions for review and reflection. 

I always feel a little bad when I read books by John Bevere.  Somebody worked a lot of hours to create the pages and bind them into this wonderful looking book and there I sit with my pen in hand marking it up from front to back.  With notes and underlined sections all over the place, John Bevere books always end up looking more like a spirit-led journal once I’m through with them.  The truth is I learn a ton with every sentence.

Extraordinary begins with the definition of the title word.  To be “beyond what is unusual, exceptional, exceeding the common measure.”  If we can learn to live this book and the scriptural foundation it’s built on, we could take our world by storm.  We could overwhelm them with the talents of God manifested in his children.

Personally, I received the majority of the message God had for me through this book on the second chapter.  I re-read it over and over again.  Boy do I struggle with concept of how deep God’s love is for me.  The fact that God loves and values me whether I am viewed as extraordinary to the world or not just amazes me.  It makes me want to do big things, not to gain His love, but to demonstrate the courage His love gives me.   

I will be recommending this book to friends.  I’ve already mentioned it to my Pastor’s wife who is now dying to read it.  She’ll have to get her own copy though.  Mine is too marked up with eye-opening notes.

You can order your  copy of Extraordinary here.