Give Them Jesus: Raising Our Children on the Core Truths of the Christian Faith

GIVE THEM JESUS provides parents with tools to effectively teach children the core truths of Christianity in a family setting and prepare children to live out their faith in the world.

The book begins by making the case that parents/guardians are the ones primarily responsible for opening up the Scriptures to help their children understand God, the world, and themselves. The family is the divinely appointed discipleship program; the home is first and foremost a place of worship. The introduction of the book discusses the four vital components of family worship--teach, treasure, sing, and pray--and offers practical suggestions for beginning and prioritizing family worship in the rough and tumble of life. A brief introduction to the Apostles' Creed follows, with an emphasis on why the Creed is the ideal syllabus for teaching our children.

Subsequent chapters guide parents to a deeper understanding of the core truths of the historic Christian faith, as summarized in the Apostles' Creed, arming them with appropriate language, helpful illustrations, and relevant object lessons, so that in the end they will be better prepared to pass these truths on to their children. Each chapter concludes with a family worship guide, which includes: 1) family memory verses, 2) nuggets of truth from the chapter, 3) questions for family discussion, 4) songs that celebrate the truths of the Creed, and 5) prayer prompts.

GIVE THEM JESUS wants to equip the parent/guardian to conceive of his or her role as a "sending" one; the task of the Christian parent, simply stated, is to prepare the child to leave the home and go out into the world as a faithful participant in the great gospel story.