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 PrintableVersion Glimpses of HeavenHow to Teach Bible Doctrines to Children Nurturing Children in the Lord Time for Christianity The Children's Bible Glimpses of Heaven Sam Doherty has over 40 years' experience of ministry to children with the Child Evangelism Fellowship. Now retired, he spends his time writing down systematic manuals for children's workers of which How to teach Bible doctrines to children is the third. He writes with a passion for Bible doctrine, and a concern that too often our Sunday Schools and children's clubs are content to teach Bible stories with little idea of the concepts behind the stories. This book is for anyone involved in children's work who wants to know how to redress that. It would be an excellent place to start if you wanted to devise your own syllabus. It is also a superb book of simply-taught systematic theology in its own right, breaking up all the main topics into manageable and teachable portions, cross-referencing Bible stories and giving ideas about the way into a teaching session. At the back of the book is a list of questions for a self-examination on doctrine, e.g.: 'Give six reasons why you know the Bible is truly God's Word. Name the nine aspects or parts of the saving work of Jesus Christ. What are the four things which the Holy Spirit has done in the life of every believer?'. Are you convinced yet that you need this book? Equally solid is Nurturing children in the Lord by Jock Fennema. It is subtitled 'A study guide for teachers on developing a biblical approach to discipline' and its context is a Christian school. However, it makes helpful reading to anyone involved in education who wants to think through the issues instead of simply taking on board and adapting behaviourist or humanist solutions. The book's foundation is a thorough treatment of the biblical view of the child. It helpfully distinguishes between preventative and corrective discipline and takes into consideration the whole learning environment, the formal and the informal nature of instruction and the place of biblical counselling to restore communication. Meanwhile, Christian teachers or governors in the state sector of education may find themselves having to defend the place of Christianity as the largest component in the RE syllabus. For them, Time for Christianity will prove invaluable. Richard Wilkins takes the argument right into the court of those in education who lean towards multicultural mishmash and succinctly makes the case on the grounds of culture, heritage, fairness and numbers, among other things. This short booklet is a must for anyone writing or reviewing an RE policy. Once the place of Christianity in a school is established, resources which are both sound in content and attractively and appropriately presented are vital. The Children's Bible, a book of simply told Bible stories is suitable for under-sevens. The stories lend themselves well to reading aloud and the colour illustrations are attractive. It includes only the all-time-greatest-hits kind of stories and is a bit thin, for example, on the Acts of the Apostles, but the information boxes are helpful. Primary school teachers are always glad of ideas for assemblies and Glimpses of heaven is an excellent compilation of poems, prayers and extracts from Scripture around particular themes. It is the shortness of these pieces that makes them just right for that moment of quiet reflection which every act of collective worship is supposed to contain. This book is so attractively presented that it would make a very acceptable gift either for a child, a teacher or a school. Esme Shirt© Evangelicals Now - September 1997 |
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