Big Truths for Young Hearts

Even as large sectors of the church fall into apostasy and unbelief, Christian parents are evidencing a return to family worship with its promise of spiritual formation and a faithful foundation for godly living. Some of this could be due to renewed interest in the lives and writings of the English Puritans, but whatever its cause the revolution is much needed: without generational faithfulness, the church will soon founder, break apart, and lose its way.

Recognizing that many parents wanting to educate their children biblically and doctrinally are themselves uneducated in such things, theology professor Bruce Ware (formerly of Western Seminary, now of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) has written a book to help them in their efforts. Big Truths for Young Hearts was initially inspired by bedtime talks Ware used to have with his daughters, and grew into a thorough examination of ten major topics within the broader framework of systematic theology.

Topics include the nature of God; the doctrine of the Trinity; Christ's dual natures, life, and work; justification and sanctification; the atonement; and more. Because of his Baptist background, Ware devotes more attention at times to his own perspectives. For instance, in his discussion of baptism he pays more attention to believer's baptism than paedobaptism, though he doesn't denigrate opposing views, and keeps his content more or less catholic (i.e., universal) throughout.

Each major topic (there are ten in all)has its own chapter, which is broken into smaller sections. At the end of every section Ware includes questions for thought along with a passage of Scripture to memorize. The text is accessible for a spectrum of youngsters, though younger kids will likely need to have the book read to them while older students can read on their own.

Whether you intend to use Big Truths for Young Hearts as part of your school curriculum, a central feature of family devotions or worship, or simply as a sometimes text for supplemental teaching, the information it contains is not information you can afford to withhold from your children. If you're serious about raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord, you need to be serious about teaching them the full counsel of the Word of God, and this book is an excellent resource to help parents of various educational and experience levels do just that.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.