Finding Cross-centered books for children
Philip Ryken has issued a warning about new children’s books. This highlights the difficult challenge parents fac
e in selecting books centered on the Cross (rather than terminating on ethics or the feats of David, Daniel, Joshua, Ruth, Peter, Paul, etc.). My wife and I have come to love two specific volumes that are both Cross-centered AND child approved. We highly recommend The Big Picture Story Bible (Crossway: 2004) as an easy-to-follow and well illustrated guide through the biblical storyline. And of course another family favorite is Caleb’s Lamb by Helen Santos (Reformation Heritage Books: 2005). Read our review from last year for more information.
Know of a good Cross-centered children’s book to recommend? Let us know in the comments.
Blessings, and have a great weekend worshiping our gracious Savior! Tony
14 Comments »
Leave a comment
Tony Reinke
Whether by intention or accident you are looking at the blog Miscellanies (formerly The Shepherd’s Scrapbook). This blog exists to provide essays and quotes on Cross-centered living and theology for a small gathering of sinners seeking their daily food in the Cross of Christ.
None of our posts have received more attention than a little how-to series on ripping a Bible through a table saw for the purpose of manufacturing a personal Blank Bible. Please watch your fingers.
As you can see, we focus a lot of attention on books. I personally enjoy reading a lot and am known for taking a lot of photographs of books (nerdy, I know). On this blog we have the privilege of pulling the blanket off newly released reformed Christian books. And an annual highlight is our selection of a book of the year award among the best Christian books published in the past year. View the 2008 winners here.
Anyway, that’s a little intro to what we do here. Thanks for joining us! -Tony
* * * * * * * * * *
View our top 15 favorite books of 2008 here.
* * * * * * * * * *
For Tony’s current reading schedule click here.
* * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
Playing on Tony’s iPod …
Were You There?
music > off shai linne’s excellent rap album
Podcast #1: 07/07/07
podcast > interview with artist Tom Fluharty
Podcast #2: 04/09/08
podcast > interview with Dr J. Ligon Duncan [more]
Let Your Kingdom Come
music > from the excellent Valley of Vision CD
How Great Your Name
music > by Will Pavone
What a Savior!
music > live recording from NA’07
Rick Gamache
sermon jam >
sermon > A Functional Doctrine of Sin
sermon > The Glory of the Cross [great sermon!]
C.H. Spurgeon
sermon > Without Money and Without Price [a favorite sermon!]
John Piper
biography > on Jonathan Edwards [required!]
sermon > Boasting only in the Cross [classic!]
C.J. Mahaney
sermon > Cross-Centered Parenting [excellent!]
* * * * * * * *
Who is Tony? My name is Tony Reinke. Like a well-dressed but heart-hardened Pharisee I spent 22-years hiding from God in self-righteous ‘faithfulness.’ That was until one morning my heart–numbed by my empty morality and trapped in a deceptively low standard of ‘goodness’–was subdued by God’s sovereign grace (Eph. 2). During a sermon by Paige Patterson in Lincoln, NE on Luke 18:9-14, I perceived the Gospel as the great exchange, released my self-righteousness, and clung to the saving righteousness of Jesus Christ. That morning this Pharisee became a broken tax collector and, though once blind, I could now see the reality of life, the gravity of sin, and the preciousness of Christ’s redeeming blood. Now there is nothing more precious to me than knowing Jesus Christ, the One who died for me and gave me His righteousness in place of my sinfulness (Phil. 3:7-9). Pursuing further up and further into the Cross has become the center of my life and this blog is intended as a place to share the pursuit.
Though I wouldn’t survive long in the wild, I consider myself agrarian (a farm boy from Nebraska). I was a short-term sports writer and a long-term carpenter who loves to tinker with gizmos and design web content. My story is part Mayberry part BlackBerry. Educationally, I graduated from a little private business school in Omaha with a degree in Liberal Arts. Theologically, I’m an autodidact made possible by the patient and wise direction of pastors in a local church. I’ve been married for 11 years to the wife of my youth (Karalee) and we have three precious kids, a majority of whom are named after dead preachers. I now *work* full time as the editorial and research assistant to my living hero of the faith, C.J. Mahaney. My line of work is a mix of theological research, reading, writing, journalism, photography, all integrated into social media (blogs). For fun I administrate Herman Bavinck dot org .
Email/comments. I’m grateful for your readership and would love to hear from you. You can leave a comment on any post to get in touch. Often I can respond to email but sometimes that’s not possible. Here’s the address: crede.ut.intelligas AT mac.com .
* * * * * * * * * *
“If you find me short in things, impute that to my love of brevity. If you find me besides the truth in anything, impute that to my infirmity. But if you find anything here that serves to your furtherance and joy of the faith, impute that to the mercy of God bestowed on you and me. Yours to serve you with what little I have.” John Bunyan (Works, 1:336).
* * * * * * * * * *
Book wishlist. I hope to have all these valuable books added to my library one day. All from the The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Yale editions) …
- Vol. 1: Freedom of the Will (a gift from my friend Robin)
- Vol. 8: Ethical Writings (purchased)
- Vol. 21: Trinity, Grace, and Faith (purchased)
- Vol. 2: Religious Affections (a gift from my friend Josh)
- Vol. 3: Original Sin
- Vol. 4: The Great Awakening
- Vol. 20: The ‘Miscellanies’ ( No. 833-1152 )
- Vol. 23: The ‘Miscellanies’ ( No. 1153–1360 )
- Vol. 17: Sermons and Discourses ( 1730-1733 )
- Vol. 22: Sermons and Discourses ( 1739-1742 )
- Vol. 15: Notes on Scripture
* * * * * * * * * *
Princeton Cemetery. I don’t know how I did it, but in the Spring of 2006 I convinced my wife and kids it would be fun to spend the day at Princeton cemetery. Princeton is famous for its school and less famous for its rich evangelical history. I took several photographs at Princeton Cemetery (where Edwards, Hodge, Warfield and the Alexanders are buried). These photos always remind me to be Cross-centered.
* * * * * * * * * *
Do-it-yourself Blank Bible. Of all the books we promote, none compare with God’s Word. We pursue the Cross as God opens His Word to us. In this anticipation, we encourage you to make your own blank bible like Jonathan Edwards.’ Building a blank bible shows both a commitment to serious, life-long reflection and the anticipation of God’s illuminating Spirit. To date, over 15,000 readers have accessed the Blank Bible Index.
* * * * * * * * * *
Humble Calvinism. Early this year we started a series on Humble Calvinism, a study through John Calvin’s Institutes. Especially noteworthy is Calvin’s experiential sensitivity to the contours of godliness. Join us as we continue learning humble and holistic Calvinism as Calvin intended. See the Humble Calvinism series index here.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Puritan Study. The Puritans were Cross-boasters. So how do we use the wealth of Puritan literature in our personal devotions and expositional studies? Our series on building and using a Puritan Study answered this important question. For more see the full Puritan Study series index.
* * * * * * * * * *
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
-
Recent Comments
-
Archives
- July 2009 (8)
- June 2009 (21)
- May 2009 (21)
- April 2009 (14)
- March 2009 (12)
- February 2009 (26)
- January 2009 (22)
- December 2008 (17)
- November 2008 (8)
- October 2008 (20)
- September 2008 (24)
- August 2008 (14)
-
Categories
- .posts by Kare
- .Reading Digest
- 2007 BOT MC
- 2007 SGM LC
- A.W. Tozer
- Abide in Christ
- Abortion
- Adoption
- Affections
- Albert Mohler
- Andrew Fuller
- Anthony Burgess
- Anxiety
- Apologetics
- Art
- Assurance
- Athanasius
- Atheism
- Atheist
- Atonement
- Attributes of God
- Audio
- Audio sermon
- Augustine
- Awakening + Revival
- B.B. Warfield
- Banner of Truth
- Bible
- Bible Study
- Biblical counseling
- Biblical Quotes
- Biblically Faithful
- Blank Bible
- Blogging
- Blunt Force Trueman
- Bob Kauflin
- Boldness
- Book announcement
- Book Notes
- Book reviews
- Books
- BP > BH
- BP > Reformation Heritage Books
- BR > Baker Books
- BR > Banner of Truth
- BR > Broadman Holman
- BR > CD-Rom
- BR > Christian Focus
- BR > Crossway
- BR > Dover
- BR > Eerdmans
- BR > Evangelical Press
- BR > Grace Publications
- BR > HarperCollins
- BR > IVP
- BR > Kregel
- BR > Mentor
- BR > Moody
- BR > Multnomah
- BR > Naphtali
- BR > NavPress
- BR > OPC
- BR > P&R
- BR > Reformation Heritage Books
- BR > Reformation Trust
- BR > SGCB
- BR > Soli Deo Gloria Pub.
- BR > Tentmaker Publications
- BR > Thomas Nelson
- BR > Tyndale
- BR > Vision Forum
- BR > Zondervan
- Brian Regan
- C.H. Spurgeon
- C.J. Mahaney
- C.S. Lewis
- Calvinism
- Canons of Dort
- Carl Trueman
- certified cross centered
- Charles Bridges
- Children
- Christ
- Christ manifest
- Christian book review
- Church discipline
- Church fathers
- Church growth
- Church history
- Church methodology
- Church unity
- Churches in Minneapolis
- Churches in Omaha
- Churches in San Diego
- Churchianity
- Coffee
- Come to Jesus
- Commands of God
- Commentaries
- Communion with God
- Community
- Complimentarian
- Complimentarianism
- Confessing sin
- contending
- Contest
- Contextualizing
- Cornelius Van Til
- Correction
- Critical thinking
- Cross of Christ
- Cross-centered life
- Culture
- D.A. Carson
- Darrin Patrick
- David Clarkson
- David Powlison
- Deity of Christ
- Depression
- Derek Thomas
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Discernment
- Doctrine
- Doctrines of Grace
- DVD
- Earnestness
- Easter
- Ecclesiastes
- Ed Stetzer
- Edward Reynolds
- Election
- Eloquence
- Emergent
- Emotion
- Encouraging
- Entertainment
- Essay
- ESV
- Evangelism
- Evil
- Exegesis
- Experiential preaching
- Faith
- Faith in Pulpit
- Family worship
- Fellowship
- Fighting sin
- Francis Schaeffer
- Free downloads
- Fresh preaching
- Funny business
- G.K. Chesterton
- Geerhardus Vos
- George Whitefield
- Glory of God
- God
- God's love
- God's motives
- Gospel
- Gospel in Culture
- Grace
- Grave
- Great Preachers
- Great Quotes
- Greek interlinear
- Growth in godliness
- Hallgrímur Pétursson
- Hard decisions
- Harry Potter
- Health-wealth
- Hell
- Herman Bavinck
- Historical theology
- Holy Living
- Holy Spirit
- Homeschooling
- Horatius Bonar
- Humble Calvinism
- Humble orthodoxy
- Humility
- Hypocrisy
- Hypocritical pastor
- Idolatry
- Idols
- Imagination
- Imputation
- Incredible
- Indulgences
- Interpretation
- Interviews
- iPhone
- Isaiah
- Islam
- J. Gresham Machen
- J.I. Packer
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Jeremiah
- Jeremiah Burroughs
- Job
- Joel R. Beeke
- John Angell James
- John Broadus
- John Brown of Haddington
- John Bunyan
- John Calvin
- John Chrysostom
- John Flavel
- John Frame
- John Gill
- John MacArthur
- John Newton
- John Owen
- John Piper
- John Stott
- John W. Tweeddale
- John Woodbridge
- Jonathan Edwards
- Josh Harris
- Judgement of God
- Justification
- Justification by Faith
- Justin Taylor
- Karl Barth
- Kris Lundgaard
- Legalism
- Legalist
- Liberal Theology
- Library organization
- Life of Christ
- Ligonier Ministries
- Literature
- Local church
- Logic
- Logos
- Lord of the Rings
- Lordship
- M'Cheyne
- Manifestations
- Mark Alderton
- Mark Dever
- Mark Driscoll
- Marriage
- Martin Luther
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones
- Matt Chandler
- Meditation
- Minnesota
- Missiology
- Missions
- Mortification
- Movies
- Music
- Musical Worship
- N.D. Wilson
- N.T. Wright
- Narnia
- Nathanael Ranew
- New book alert!
- New Perspective on Paul
- Nietzsche
- Obedience to Scripture
- Octavius Winslow
- Old Testament
- Omaha
- Omaha NE
- Outrageous
- Parenting
- Pastor's family
- Pastor's wives
- Pastoral Failure
- Pastoral faith
- Pastoral Ministry
- Pastoral Sin
- Patristics
- Paul David Tripp
- Photographs
- Pluralism
- Podcast
- Politics
- Prayer
- Preacher's study
- Preaching
- Preaching Legacy
- Preaching notes
- Predestination
- Pride
- Princeton Cemetery
- Promotions
- Prosperity gospel
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Psychology
- Publishing
- Pupit Seriousness
- Puritan CD-Rom
- Puritan Library
- Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
- Puritans
- Q and A
- R.C. Sproul
- Ravi Zacharias
- Reading
- Reformation
- Reformation Day
- Reformed spirituality
- Reformed theology
- Relationships
- Religious tolerance
- Resurrection
- Revelation
- Richard Baxter
- Richard Sibbes
- Rick Gamache
- Rob Bell
- Roman Catholic
- Sacraments
- Sam Storms
- Samuel Rutherford
- Samuel Ward
- Sanctification
- Seeker Friendly
- Seeker Sensitive
- Self-promotion
- Self-strength
- Sermon
- Sermon notes
- Sheol
- Shepherding
- Sin
- Sin in Culture
- Sin in the church
- Sinclair Ferguson
- Sinfulness
- Skepticism
- Slavery
- Sovereign Grace Ministries
- Spiritual gifts
- Spiritual Warfare
- Sports
- spurgeon
- Stephen Charnock
- Stephen J. Nichols
- Steven J. Lawson
- Suffering
- Systematic theology
- T-shirt design
- Thabiti Anyabwile
- The Puritan Study
- Third Day
- Thomas Boston
- Thomas Brooks
- Thomas Chalmers
- Thomas Goodwin
- Thomas Manton
- Thoughts of God
- Timothy Keller
- Together for the Gospel
- Tragedy
- Trials
- Unbelief
- Uncategorized
- Valley of Vision
- Van Til
- Vanity of life
- Video
- Westminster Confession of Faith
- What is sin
- Wickedness of the heart
- Wilhelmus à Brakel
- Willem Teellinck
- William Perkins
- Wisdom literature
- Wives
- Word of God
- Worldliness
- Worship
- wrath of god
- Writing
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
You do quite a few book reviews and many systematic theologies, one I haven’t seen yet is a review of James P. Boyce’s Abstract of systematic theology. As a Baptist this would be one a review I would be interested in seeing. What do you think?
Thanks for the heads up. It is important to filter these things out for the truth.
Wisecarver
calledout.wordpress.com
I highly recommend Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schooland. It’s excellent for family devotions as well. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name is great as well for little ones. The Millers series is another great one that may only be found at http://www.rainbowresource.com now adays. The one we like the most so far is Wisdom And The Millers. They are old Amish stories.
You are absolutely right, Tony. I can tell you that we at Banner of Truth have had some discussions about this. We publish some children’s things (let me know if you’d be interested in checking them out for the rest of your readers), but you can look for more children’s books in the future from Banner.
On a related note, I got an email from a pastor recently, now 36 years old, who started reading Jonathan Edwards at age 15, and began devouring other writings of the Puritans throughout the rest of his high school and college years. Any ideas what we can do, or who we can partner with, to really get guys like Bunyan and Flavel and even Owen and the rest in front of some our nation’s Senior High teens? A Puritan readers’ group for teens, or … I’m seriously thinking about the need that exists, and what we can do to make a difference for our church’s youth. All ideas welcomed. Thanks, much.
Steve B.
http://www.trophiesofhisgrace.blogspot.com
Tony – I highly recommend the Big Picture Story Bible as well. We read this with our three year old son. We have been through it five or six times now, reading it nightly before bedtime.
Just recently my wife and I on a date night went to a Christian bookstore to look for some books for our son, and I have to agree there is not much out there. I would really like to see Banner of Truth and Crossway work at developing a series or books for children that are cross-centered. And hopefully something where the illustrations are not so strange looking too!
A children’s book I love is Dangerous Journey. It is an illustrated retelling of Piilgrim’s Progress. The message is great and I always enjoyed it when I was younger.
This looks wonderful! I also like leading Little Ones to God and Children’s Every day Bible…but I may have to add this one to our library!
Thanks for the recommendation.
Kim
I haven’t read it, but it appears “The Jesus Storybook Bible” is good. http://sallylloyd-jones.com/JSBB.html
The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name and the Dangerous Journey (Pilgrim’s Progress) are both excellent recommendations. Thank you everyone for your thoughts. There is a clear need for more books on the Cross and I’m thankful for publishers who are pursuing this as we speak.
[...] over at The Shepherd’s Scrapbook recently commented that it is difficult to find children’s book that are specifically cross-centered. There are [...]
Pingback by Kicking at the Darkness » Blog Archive » Cross-centered Focus | July 17, 2007 |
[...] Finding Cross-centered books for children [...]
[...] Should We Cover More in Our Sermons? * 9 Marks Audio: Evangelism and The Gospel With Will Metzger * Cross Centered Books for Children * Controversy – Erik Raymond and Luis Palau Interviews * Faith by Hearing – Top 12 MP3 [...]
Pingback by Toolbox: How To Listen To A Bad Sermon « Unashamed Workman | July 21, 2007 |
Several have already mentioned The Jesus Storybook Bible. If you have not yet read/seen it, here’s an interview of her about this great little children’s book: http://www.eucatastrophe.com/blog/archives/2007/03/12/interview-with-sally-lloyd-jones-author-of-the-jesus-storybook-bible/
G’day. How about a few more book reviews for children’s books? Just purchased Caleb’s Lamb from a previous review but interested in what else you have found.