Recommended Resources
Each month I recommend different devotion, Bible, and religious book for families and different age groups. This month we have a variety of resources for you to check out! Click the blue title to be taken to the Amazon page or other purchase location for each book. If you wish to see each book in person, we have a copy in the family library in the Cry Room.
Family Devotions
Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God
Christian parents know the importance of passing the gospel story on to their children, yet we live in a busy world filled with distractions. Schedules collide, there is homework and yard work and dishes and laundry, the car's oil should be changed, there are phone calls to make and before you know it, everyone is getting to bed late again.
The Bible can seem like a long story for an active, Christian family to read, but when you break it down into short sections, as Marty Machowski does, family devotions are easy to do. Long Story Short will help busy Christian parents share with their children how every story in the Old Testament points forward to God's story of salvation through Jesus Christ.
You won't find a more important focus for a family devotional than a daily highlighting of the gospel of grace. Clever stories and good moral lessons may entertain and even help children, but the gospel will transform children. The gospel is deep enough to keep the oldest and wisest Christian parents learning and growing all their lives, yet simple enough to transform the heart of the first grader who has just begun to read.
Ten minutes a day, five days a week is enough time to pass on the most valuable treasure the world has ever known. Long Story Short is a family devotional program designed to explain God's plan of salvation through the Old Testament and is suitable for children from preschool through high school.
A copy of this devotion are available for families in the First Lutheran Cry Room for you to check out.
Books for Kids
Notes From Jesus -
Jesus is the stuff best friends are made of--especially if you're a kid!
He’s always up for hearing how the day went, listening to worries, and laughing at silly jokes. And he wants to share about himself, too, as best friends do.
Notes From Jesus are his messages to new friends. Each playfully illustrated note includes:
• Answers to common faith questions kids ask, like "What happens when I mess up?" and “Is it okay to pray with my eyes open?"
• An inspirational Bible verse for kids to tuck away in their hearts
• Doable, kid-sized ideas for readers to become even better friends with Jesus
Each note reminds kids that Jesus enjoys their company, and he wants a lifelong friendship that deepens with each new conversation.
A copy of this resource is in the FLC cry room.
Youth
10 Minute Moments: Seeking Justice: Exploring God's Perspective Ten Minutes at a Time
If you’re like many teenagers today, you’re tired of living in a world filled with injustice—but what can you do about it?
10-Minute Moments: Seeking Justice will give you a biblical foundation for making a lasting, life-changing difference in this world. You’ll discover how God loves justice, and you’ll discover how you can honor God through involvement in social justice issues. You’ll also encounter stories from the life of author Brian Cress—director of student mobilization for International Justice Mission—and from the lives of other teenagers and people who’ve been rescued by IJM.
This 31-day devotional is set up as a journal. Each day, you’ll read a Scripture dealing with God’s heart and passion for justice, chew on a few thought-provoking questions, consider simple action steps, and then pray a simple prayer to close the reading. It’s a one-month plan that’s easy to read and easy to stick with.
Written in partnership with International Justice Mission, 10-Minute Moments: Seeking Justice will help you explore what the Bible says about social justice in our world today—and how you can make a meaningful impact in other people’s lives!
A copy of this resource is in the FLC cry room.
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