Giving the Gift of the Gospel To Our Kids, by Daniel Montgomery

One of the recurring themes of the Old Testament is the desperate need to pass along God’s word to the next generation. The cycle of death that we examined last week could largely be broken by a generation that aggressively brought up the ones behind them to love the Lord with all their hearts and minds and obey all of his commands. It’s a challenge that’s before us constantly at Sojourn as kids keep coming out of the woodwork. As we learned today, Godliness is not genetic – we must teach our kids.

I’m thankful to work alongside pastors like Jared Kennedy, who has poured a lot of energy into compiling a great list of resources for families to center their home on Jesus and raise their kids up to love the Lord. Check it out.

I’m also thankful for men like Dr. Bruce Ware, a good man who’s taught at Sojourn a couple of times, on the trinity and on biblical manhood/womanhood. He’s written a good book on impressing the gospel on the next generation. Here’s what he writes about why he took this challenge:

The beginnings of this book go back nearly twenty years…I recall Jodi and me trying to figure out just how to best get two fun-loving, giggle girls to bed in a way that kept our sanity but didn’t distract from the sheer happiness they enjoyed that last hour before sleep came upon them both. One night it occurred to me that since they loved being with us this last part of the day and weren’t quite ready for sleep yet, I might consider co-opting the time and using it to do what I loved most and what they needed most (though they wouldn’t have known this yet) – teach them great and glorious truths of the Christian faith!

This is a fantastic book to read as a parent (alone or with your kids), but it’s also a great book for anyone who wants to learn more theology but gets lost in all the theological jargon. It’s a simple, but not simplistic, presentation of God’s truths about himself, his church and his world.

Here’s what it covers:

God’s Word and God’s Own Life as God

God as Three in One

Creator and Ruler of All

Our Human Nature and Our Sin

Who Jesus Is

The Work That Jesus Has Done

The Holy Spirit

Our Great Salvation

The Church of Jesus Christ

I strongly recommend this book. When it comes to bedtime in my house, I typically turn to the Jesus Storybook Bible (and a lot of times I find myself understanding the Bible stories better myself) and Tom Ascol’s Truth and Grace Memory Book #1, which is great to help my kids (ages 6, 4 and 1) remember basics about the gospel (catechism for you theologs out there).

What about your families? What are you reading to learn how to pass the gospel on to your kids for the sake of their generation?