This book takes you, as a parent, through key concepts (the apostles’ creed) in christian faith. Some of these can be hard to read, but the family worship guide (key verses, nuggets of truth, questions, songs and prayer ideas) found at the end of each part are well integrated in family devotions.

This book was amazingly put together. I enjoyed every page and it was a quick and easy read where I could grasp the information presented and apply it to my context.

I'm a children's ministry person. I have three children of my own. I teach and create lessons on the core truths of my faith- so when I saw that I could review this book as a Netgalley reviewer, I knew nothing about it, but jumped at the opportunity. This book is written for parent-theologians the author labels us. The theology it covers all revolves around the apostle's creed.

First, let me say this was not the one or two sitting book that I often find when it deals with our children and faith. This book is jam packed with theological concepts to ensure that we know the core truths (reformed perspective) so we can raise our children in them. It's deep. That being said. It's deep but I did not find it hard to read, or think it's over the average parent's or even new christian's head. There are stories and anecdotes right along with the doctrine taught making it an enjoyable read. I just don't read through non fiction fast when it's a lot of truth in one book.

Second, I won't speak to the accuracy of his theology. The author writes from a reformed perspective, and I will let those more well versed at the ins and outs of this teaching share it's inaccuracies or their objections. I found it to be true to what I know of this theology and focused on the bigger picture of these teachings rather than the more nuanced teachings of different faith groups. It's evangelically written with faith as the center.

I found this book a worthy tool because it is written with connections for the reader, concepts are well defined, even the greek translations are mentioned, but in a clear teaching so that the reader learns the concept in light of the creed. It's a book that I think anyone who is interested in this topic could easily read and understand-which makes it quality as the reading teacher that I am.

I especially appreciated that value of all of this learning not being dependent on the local church, but the reminder that all of the teachings that are parent led, are supported, reinforced, and found in active, consistent participation in a local gathering of followers of Christ- the Church.

I would recommend this book to others who want to raise their children in the Christian Faith. Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

I think this book is an excellent resource for parents who want to start a devotional time with their family. I would say it is more age appropriate for school aged children. There are some minor details of this book that I did not agree with, however the core truths are all fundamental Christian beliefs. The author addresses the parents as “parent-theologians” and also discusses the needs of the parent to educate themselves in order to dedicate their children. He discusses the apostles creed and then breaks it down into six sections and discusses each section. At the end of each section, he includes a template for family worship and I appreciated that very much.
I wouldn’t say this book would be my exclusive guide to family worship time, but I gained a lot of insight and tips from this book, and therefore I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to start being more intentional with their family.

Give Them Jesus!

The author starts out the book by stating its’ purpose :”This is where I hope this present work will be of some help. My goal is to guide you, parents and guardians, to a deeper understanding of the core truths of the historic Christian faith, and along the way to arm you with appropriate language, helpful illustrations, and relevant object lessons, so that in the end you will be better prepared to pass these truths on to your children. In short, I want to help you become a parent-theologian.”
There are four guidelines for having a family devotional time :
1. Prayer - praying for a few minutes or longer - thank God for Who He is, how He has blessed them and bringing Him petitions.
2. Treasuring God’s word - by teaching your child how to memorize scripture, how to find scriptures that will teach him or her about God, and how Scripture changes their outlook on the world and others.
3. Singing - use a hymnbook, the internet, instruments or your own DVD’s to sing to God.
4. Teaching Doctrine - The author uses the example of the Apostles Creed because he feels that it encapsulizes the whole of the Gospel in a paragraph.
The Apostles Creed begins with telling Who God is, an Almighty Father, and the Creator of heaven and earth.
Then the creed mentions that Jesus is God’s only Son, conceived by the Holy Ghost’s power and born of the Virgin Mary.
The creed then tells of Jesus death, burial and resurrection, how He is at God’s right hand and He will someday judge the living and the dead.
Lastly, the creed mentions the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead and eternal life.

As a parent, you are given the tools to teach your children about God, you need to modify the truths taught in this book for your own family.
At the end of each chapter, the truths are provided in easy to understand steps, with truths, Bible verses, nuggets of truth that summarize what the chapter was about, questions for the family, songs and prayer prompts.
This book will teach you how to break down Biblical truths for your children in a logical manner that they can understand.

Very interesting take on family devotions. I agree with the principle of the parent should be the primary Bible teacher in the home. We can not leave our children's discipleship to others.

This book came out of the oven September 11th 2018. Just give it a try! Even if you don't know the author I invite you to just read the intro and I am sure you will want to keep going. It is a book that gives you a lot to think about, you will want to wait and think, go through your own thinking and keep going. I invite you to take a notebook while you read, there are many things that will come up to your mind and you need to write down. There are things that you will find out that you are doing just great and some others that you know you need to change or to implement. I thank God for men who care for families and want to invest in them, intentionally, Finally the best we can give them is Jesus. I really want to become a parent-theologian. It is a book that quotes Tripp (author that I truly like and respect) and some very interesting others, i enjoyed that, even when sometimes I felt I already knew or read before what he shared. It is good to review things that you think you have mastered but you have not.

You will determine and decide if you want to pass your children to the "professionals" or you want to take the baton and invest in their lives to help them grow in faith. I enjoyed to know that the author is a pastor kid himself. My children are, and it is important to me to know something about their point of view, even when every situation is so different. If you struggle as almost every family with time together you may find useful the Family Worship Guide, you may want to add your own family order and style. They will feel our love, heart, intention and consistency.

As a parent, I often wonder if I’m doing enough. My prayer journal is filled with pleas to God to equip me with the right words & tools as well as the wisdom to recognize teaching opportunities and the faithfulness & courage to be an example by walking what I talk. I can’t even tell you how many times I have stood at the bathroom sink, washing my face before bed and mentally rehashing the day’s events when the perfect scripture or Bible story to correspond with whatever was going on hits me all of the sudden... hours after the kids are in bed & the moment has passed. So, as you might imagine, I couldn’t agree fast enough to the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Give Them Jesus by Dillon T. Thornton, Ph.D. It is possible that I just haven’t looked in the right places but (at least to me) the entire concept of this book was one of those “How has no one thought of this before?” things. The author branches out from most Christian literature by not necessarily being written or targeted to those it is meant to serve. What I mean is that this book isn’t written for children but it is aimed at serving them while at, the same time reiterating the adult/parent’s own theological base. It is like a teaching manual, complete with curriculum & lesson plans. That might sound boring or even preachy but Dr. Thornton does a wonderful job of infusing his words with wit & just enough snark to keep it feeling more NIV than King James. He teaches in a way that is non patronizing & also detailed enough that even long time believers will feel like they are learning something new. The Family Worship Guides are great & the author’s experience as a childrens’ pastor is apparent throughout the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as both a parent and children's pastor. Ironically enough, I went through a series on my blog explaining the Apostles' Creed bit-by-bit and talking about activities and resources to explain the concepts behind it just a few months ago. I wish this book was available at this time!

Thornton's conversational tone, humour and way of breaking down theological concepts makes this book an easy and enjoyable read. At the same time, the truths he shares are deep and timeless. Many of the illustrations he uses are child-friendly, but also relevant to parents and adults who read. I found my own understanding deepened and challenged as I read this book.

I did struggle with some of Thornton's theological viewpoints, simply because he comes from the Reformed Tradition. I don't share many of his points of view, and while the basics and fundamentals of this book were solid theology, there were some things (not essentials) that I disagreed on, and for that reason, may be hesitant to recommend the book to parents in my tradition.

That being said, I did really enjoy the book and gleaned a lot of knowledge and practical application for my own ministry and parenting journey. I received this book as an advanced reader's copy from #netgalley.

This is a great book for Christian parents who wish to raise their kids in Christian faith. I did not read this fully, because I do not have kids, but it definitely piqued my interest and I would recommend it to my Christian friends. A good thing about this book is the fact that it is not difficult to understand, so it makes it easy to teach your children.