Tag: age

“Remy the Rhino Learns Patience” by Andy McGuire

~ Bob Hayton

Books are powerful tools in the hands of children. My own five children remain fascinated with books of all types and sizes. Picture books especially captivate my younger children, who often read the same books over and over. Being a Christian parent, I know that Christian books for children are one way of reaching the hearts of my children for Christ. Yet finding good quality, well-written, Christian children’s books is not necessarily easy.

For these reasons, I applaud Andy McGuire’s attempt to offer beautiful, captivating story books which enable Christian parents to teach Biblical virtues to their children. In Remy the Rhino Learns Patience, we are introduced to an impatient, African rhino. He finds out the hard way that angrily insisting on one’s own way, doesn’t work. Remy finds himself in a pickle and at last learns to relax. The back cover provides the moral: “This entertaining story will help your children learn that anger only makes things worse, and that patience is the key to building friendships and solving problems.”

I was quite impressed with the quality of this little book. I’ve seen too many, poorly-produced picture books. This book from Harvest House Publishers, however, stands right up there next to books produced by the giant, general market publishers. The cover has a deluxe hardback feel, where it feels a bit soft and welcoming to kids’ hands. The pictures are beautifully illustrated, majoring on vivid earth tones. The pictures are life-like as well. The pages are glossy and the book’s size is a nice 7 by 7 inches — perfect for preschool and young elementary kids. This book could easily become a favorite with little hands.

Andy McGuire’s African theme is continued in another title from the “Little Lessons from Our Animal Pals” series: Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth. The two books together would make a wonderful addition to your kids’ reading material.

When it comes to the message of this book, it is missing any direct reference to the Gospel, and doesn’t quote a Bible verse, either. This allows the book to appeal to a wider audience, I suppose. But as a Christian I hoped for more. Still, the book has important lessons to convey to little hearts. As it is, this little book will provide an opportunity to parent your children and talk through the issues of anger and patience. And it certainly has more of a message than many other picture books your children will find. I’m happy to recommend this book for Christian parents and their little children.

Learn more about Andy McGuire at his website here. You can also preview the book here.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Harvest House for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Pick up a copy of this book at Amazon.com or through Harvest House direct.

Thinking Biblically about Retirement

~ Bob Hayton

I just recently picked up my October 2009 Tabletalk issue again, and came across a really good article by Alex Chediak. I bumped into him a few times when he was a member at Bethlehem here in Minneapolis, and I’ve reviewed his excellent book With One Voice: Singleness, Dating and Marriage to the Glory of God (Christian Focus).

The article I want to share with you all is entitled: “Don’t Retire; We Need You“. In it, Alex challenges those of retirement age to invest themselves in the next generation through the context of their local church. It’s a great challenge that all should consider. Please read his article.

For more resources on this issue, I recommend Pastor John Piper’s booklet, Rethinking Retirment (Crossway). Learn more about that book here, or download a .pdf of the booklet for free.

“The Christian in an Age of Terror: Selected Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones” edited by Michael Eaton

~ Bob Hayton

Author: Martyn Lloyd-Jones (edited by Michael Eaton)
Publisher: Kregel
Format: Softcover
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9780825429798
Stars: 4 of 5

The Christian in an Age of Terror is a compilation of previously unpublished sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The volume is edited by Michael Eaton and was recently published by Kregel.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a master of the pulpit. In reading this book, I learned that for a while he shared preaching duties with his predecessor G. Campbell Morgan, so he stood linked to England’s puritan past in some sense. The sermons in this volume betray Lloyd-Jones’ pastoral warmth and his spiritual vibrancy.

The theme of the book is “the Christian in an age of terror”. For us we think of September 11th, but for the doctor’s London churchgoers, that age of terror was life in and following World War II. His pastoral sermons for the London congregation speak equally to today’s chaotic age.

While chronologically the sermons address terror, the sermons themselves are on other themes. These are the topics Lloyd-Jones felt were important for Christians in such a time. And indeed they are exceedingly relevant. Michael Eaton arranged them thematically picking from series of sermons Lloyd-Jones preached from the years 1941-1950. The book starts out with sermons on Acts 12, the Christian facing danger. It moves to a summary of the Gospel found in a few sermons focusing on Hebrews 1:1-3. Then a series on “What is a Christian?” covers Romans 8. A series on Rev. 4 gives us a “preview of history”, and 1 Cor. 16:13-14 provide a few sermons on how to be strong in such an age as this. The final sermon is one preached at the half-way point of the last century. In January 1950, Lloyd-Jones reminded his flock that the Lord is the only One who can build the house.

Lloyd-Jones presents some wise insights and has a refreshing knack for gaining jewels from simple texts. The best way to show this will be to quote from the end of his series on Acts 12. I’ll leave you with the quote and an encouragement to pick up this excellent book.

If ever I have thanked God for the fact that I belong to the church it is as I read a text like this. If we are truly Christians, and truly members of the church, we are on the winning side. We are on the side of the church militant, the church triumphant. Our victory is certain and assured, come what may. There may be times of difficulty and distress; we are promised such things; but, and there is always that “but”, the Word of God will grow and multiply, until the Lord, in His own good time, comes to wind this earth and all its affairs, and hands over the kingdom to God the Father. God grant that we all may know for certain that we belong as living members to the invincible church. (pg. 56)

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, or direct from Kregel.

Baptism & Young Children

~ fundyreformed ~ 4 Comments

A quick update here. Grudem responded to Piper’s rebuttal of Grudem’s change of his position on baptism and church membership. (That sentence is a mouthful!)

Then Justin Taylor followed that up by highlighting two helpful articles by Vern Poythress. The first one is called “Indifferentism and Rigorism in the Church: With Implications for Baptizing Small Children“, and explores two attitudes to church membership and the nature of faith in little children (ages 2 and up). What Poythress says concerning the church in that paper is worth thinking through irrespective of the baptism position altogether — especially for us fundamentalist types.

The second paper is more overtly connected to paedobaptism (Vern Poythress is paedo), and is entitled “Linking Small Children with Infants in the Theology of Baptizing“. It explores the implications of Jesus’ reception of the little children and the nature of our experiencing Jesus in the company of the saints every time we gather in corporate worship.

Both of the articles by Poythress are well worth your time. He is very humble and brings up some excellent points. What he says can also be taken to heart even without opening membership to those of the opposite baptismal position. I’d be interested to hear any of your thoughts on the articles!