Cold-Case Christianity for Kids by J. Warner Wallace and Susie Wallace

About the Book:

Cold-Case Christianity for Kids (David C. Cook, October 2016)

Between the ages of 8 and 12, kids often start to wonder if Christianity is true.

In Cold-Case Christianity for Kids, detective J. Warner Wallace draws readers into the thrill of high-stakes investigation by showing them how to think rather than telling them what to think. In this children’s companion to the bestselling Cold-Case Christianity, detective Wallace gets kids excited about testing witnesses, examining the evidence, and investigating the case for Christianity. Includes author illustrations and links to a website where kids can download activities, fill in case notes, and earn a certificate of merit.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

 

 About the Authors:

J. Warner and Susie Wallace have been training young people in the church setting for over a decade. J. Warner is a cold-case homicide detective who has been featured on Dateline, FOX News, Court TV and other crime-related television shows. A former atheist, he is the author of Cold-Case Christianity: God’s Crime Scene and Forensic Faith. He has a master’s degree in theology and is the founder of ColdCaseChristianity.com. Susie has a master’s degree in speech pathology and co-writes (and edits) all the kids books in this series. J. Warner and Susie have four children and live in southern California.

Margie’s Comments:  

Cold-Case Christianity for Kids is an interesting approach by the authors to teach older school-age children how to investigate and think through difficult questions about Christianity, the Bible, Jesus, and God. Each chapter takes the reader into more investigation techniques and to the interactive website, ColdCaseChristianityforKids.com, for more activities and a certificate of merit when they complete the “training.” The book is full of illustrations and graphics and includes extra investigations in sidebars to encourage the readers to search out answers to their questions for themselves.

My children are grown, and my grandchildren are still very young, but I will share this copy of Cold-Case Christianity for Kids with my son, a church camp director, and others on our church staff who work with children. If you have children or grandchildren who would benefit from this book, I highly recommend it. We need young people to learn to think through these questions of faith so that when they are faced with opposition (and they will be!) they are equipped to “give an answer of the hope” that lies within them.

I was given a copy of the book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

The Finishing School by Valerie Woerner

About the book:

The Finishing School: How One Book Nerd Began Living What She Learned (Nyree Press, August 2015)

Are you tired of waiting for change to happen in your life? Do you feel stuck, even though you want to live more intentionally?

In today’s world, our most precious pursuit of a life well lived gets squeezed out by the silliest of things: binging on Netflix or ice cream, shopping trips for things we don’t need, bad habits we can’t seem to get a handle on, and so much more. Valerie has been there despite knowing what she wanted for her life. Actually do it? That’s the challenge.

After gobbling up all the non-fiction and self-help books her donut-filled belly could handle, she decided it was time to put her knowledge to good use and start actually living it out. You will hear about her journey through victories and plenty of failures and find practical tips to apply to your own pursuit of holiness. You will find homework at the end of each chapter that includes a worksheet to put real change in motion for your own life as well as recommended books to further study those topics that really test you.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the Author:

Valerie Woerner is passionate about inspiring women to live a life of peace and joy. She is owner of Val Mari Paper and design prayer journals and other products inspired by her own desire to connect with God in a real way in everyday life. She was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, and resides in a sweet, simple bungalow with husband Tyler and daughter Vivi Mae.

Margie’s Comments: I am very impressed with Valerie Woerner’s The Finishing School. Based on the concept of young ladies being sent to finishing school to refine their social skills, Valerie has come up with a “program” of learning about and seeking refinement in our spiritual lives. After a chapter of introduction, she begins the study by focusing on the foundation of our relationship with the Lord: prayer and Bible study.

At the end of each chapter, she has a section entitled “Homework.” Here, she sends you either to the workbook that accompanies this book —you can order from her online shop (http://shop.valmariepaper.com/collections/the-finishing-school/products/preorder-lessons-from-the-finishing-school-workbook)—or to her website to download the chapter worksheet. She also lists resources to read for more information. Also in her shop are journals of all kinds, for both men and women, if you like having everything together in one place.  

She suggests at least three ways to read The Finishing School, tailored to each person’s learning strengths and abilities, knowing that some topics may come easier to some than for others. After discussing prayer and Bible study, the author also covers other topics, such as setting goals, dealing with distractions, learning self-control, and many more. Each chapter is short, easily read in just a few minutes, but depending on your desire for gaining victory in each area, she suggests you take as much time as you need in digging deeper into each topic. Her southern way of talking adds to the easy conversational style, making you feel like you’re sitting in her living room having a nice chat over tea or coffee.

The Finishing School is a great individual study or small group study, one that I highly recommend for anyone who is seeking a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Lord. I especially like the chapters on living more simply, setting boundaries, and getting enough rest, living within margins. I plan to re-read the book at a slower pace, so that I can work through each chapter to gain as many benefits as possible from this study. 

(I received a copy of The Finishing School from the author and LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.)

A More Christlike God by Bradley Jersak

About the book:

A More Christlike God (April 2015)

What is God like? A punishing judge? A doting grandfather? A deadbeat dad? A vengeful warrior?

Believers and atheists alike typically carry and finally reject the toxic images of God in their own hearts and minds. Even the Christian gospel has repeatedly lapsed into a vision of God where the wrathful King must be appeased by his victim Son. How do such good cop/bad cop distortions of the divine arise and come to dominate churches and cultures?

Whether our notions of 'god' are personal projections or inherited traditions, author and theologian Brad Jersak proposes a radical reassessment, arguing for A More Christlike God: a More Beautiful Gospel. If Christ is "the image of the invisible God, the radiance of God's glory and exact representation of God's likeness," what if we conceived of God as completely Christlike---the perfect Incarnation of self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering love? What if God has always been and forever will be cruciform (cross-shaped) in his character and actions?

A More Christlike God suggests that such a God would be very good news indeed---a God who Jesus "unwrathed" from dead religion, a Love that is always toward us, and a Grace that pours into this suffering world through willing, human partners.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1JHG9yp

About the author:

Brad Jersak (PhD) is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, BC. He is on faculty at Westminster Theological Centre (Cheltenham, UK), where he teaches New Testament and Patristics. He also serves as adjunct faculty with St Stephen's University (St. Stephen, NB). He is also the senior editor of CWR (Christianity Without the Religion) Magazine, based in Pasadena, CA.

Find Brad online: website, Facebook, Twitter

Margie’s Comments: I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading A More Christlike God by Bradley Jersak, but as I read and processed what I was reading—this is not a “quick-read”—three scriptures came to mind:

[Christ] is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]. Colossians 1:15 amp

[Christ] is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature. Hebrews 1:3 amp

 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. John 3:16 amp

The author begins the book by revealing some of the false images of God mankind has created. Then the discussion moves on to how Jesus is the exact image of God. He is the flesh that allows us to “see” God. Finally the images of a judgmental, even cruel, God that many of us have formed from the Old Testament are held up to the light of Jesus Christ’s character and shown to be false or, at least, misinterpretations of a whole.

While many of the conclusions Jersak comes to are mine as well, it was interesting to ponder the different means God uses to teach us more of Him, to give us a complete picture rather than a distortion based on too few facts. To understand more of why Bradley Jersak wrote A More Christlike God, read this interview that Litfuse did with the author: http://litfusegroup.com/blog/story-behind-a-more-christlike-god

When I finished reading the book, I came away with a sense of awe and a renewed belief in God’s love, mercy, and grace as revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that these truths about God will remain with me for a very long time. Of course, no one will ever fully comprehend the enormity of God’s love in our short lifetimes, but then we will have all of eternity to rejoice in Him.