“My group isn’t outward focused enough! They don’t know much about the Bible! Our discussions always seem so shallow!” Thus, Trevin Wax, author of Gospel-Centered Teaching summarizes the concerns of Bible teachers everywhere. Modern Christianity tends to counteract these concerns by reinventing either the teacher or the curriculum in order to reengage the student. Wax presents a different, thoroughly biblical approach. He argues, “Get the message right, and God will work through a variety of methods. But miss the message, and the best methods in the world won’t bring about transformation” (p.7).
End of the Spear (DVD)
“End of the Spear” is the dramatized account of five missionary families that had a heart to go deep into the Amazon jungle of Ecuador in 1956, in search of the Waodani, a tribe of fierce warriors completely isolated from civilization. When the five missionaries come face to face with the warriors, tragedy strikes, as all five are murdered at the end of a spear. A couple of these missionaries are Nate Saint and Jim Elliot. With the death of these men, their families are left husbandless and fatherless, yet the wives and children stay to share the Gospel with the Waodani.
Threads of Grace
The daily fabric of our lives is woven with threads of expectations and commitments, laughter and tears, joy and discouragement, mundane routine and unpredictable events. In the midst of all this, the unbroken thread entwined throughout the life of the believer is the thread of God’s grace given to us in Christ. The Threads of Grace devotional book is designed to help you turn your eyes upon Jesus each day and to remind you of God’s faithfulness as you spend time in His Word.
Josh McDowell’s Handbook on Counseling Youth
Many different resources seek to serve teenagers and the caring adults that interact with them, but few over the last 25 years have delivered that goal as much as Handbook on Counseling Youth by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler.
Designed as a menu of fifty topics, the Handbook enables pastors, youth leaders, and other believing adults a window into issues that American adolescents deal with on a regular basis.
To Live with Christ
Bo Giertz is best known for his classic novel, The Hammer of God, which has been translated into eleven languages. Dr. Robert Kolb calls it “The best treatment of Law and Gospel in the history of Lutheran theology.” Incredibly, Giertz wrote his classic in six weeks, but it is considered one of the most influential and important theological books in Swedish history. It was with this backdrop that I began reading To Live with Christ, a daily devotional translated by Bror Erickson. The devotional is fairly long (more than 800 pages) and is organized by the Church Year, starting with the season of Advent. Each devotional begins with a verse from the pericope text, a devotional, and a short prayer.
God at Work
If you ever struggle with the “ordinariness” of life, if you ever struggle with having to do the “mundane” things, if you are ever disappointed because your great hopes and plans and dreams seemingly have not materialized in the necessities of living, then you are encouraged to read Gene Veith’s book on vocation. Dr. Veith clearly and with refreshing simplicity explains Luther’s understanding of the biblical doctrine of vocation, and Veith explains how this doctrine impacts our everyday life.
Little Visits with God
Wiggling, talking, whining, disobeying, the struggle is real. What struggle? The difficult task of sitting everyone down for family devotions. Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes the effort doesn’t seem worth the payoff. My husband and I are always on a quest to find engaging ways to interact with our daughters about spiritual things. Usually we can incorporate these conversations into everyday life, but we also like to strive for some semblance of a family devotional time. Enter Little Visits with God. No devotional is perfect, but this one comes close.
Effective Bible Teaching
As a young basketball coach, I worked with fifth grade to eighth grade students, focusing on the basics of the game and drilling the fundamentals. As I taught more advanced students, I built on those fundamentals and instructed at a higher level. One joy for many coaches is the acquisition of more knowledge to teach their players. I harvested basketball knowledge everywhere I could find it, even to the point of traveling with a box of three-ring binders full of sketched offenses, defenses, drills, and game plan elements.
Bible Discovery Devotions
Teaching children God’s Word is one of the most rewarding yet challenging privileges God has entrusted to us. The home is the primary place where this teaching should occur. The Lord doesn’t require us to be a seminary-trained theologian to teach our children. Thankfully when God gives us children, He also gives us what we need to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Helpful resources abound and make wonderful gifts. One of those helps is bound up in a devotional book called Bible Discovery Devotions by Martha Larchar.