I am starting to recognize that we are living in a unique age within children’s biblical literature, in being able to see many authors tie in the large themes of the scriptures. This is my second read from Marty Machowski (the other being The Ology) and I can faithfully say he is an excellent children’s author. Even more important though – he is excellently orthodox.
Old Story New sets to bring us through this New Testament and display the richness of grace in Jesus Christ. Sounds simple, no? Truthfully though, ask yourself how many biblical children’s books set to this task, yet fail to do so and end up teaching morality over lavish grace in Christ? Yes, obedience is a good thing – yet we do not wish to raise upright pagans, but children who cling to the Lord and trust in His efficacious grace through Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is yet another helpful resource from Machowski that helps parents trigger the heart of their children so that obedience will be brought under a true framework: conformity to the image of Christ rather than simply the expectations of mom and dad.
Therefore, one can see the very clear goal of connecting the gospel to each part of the NT in this book. Here again is the metanarrative focus, not moralism, not half-truths, not ambiguous language of God’s love without a clear understanding of His justice – the gospel.
Yet beyond this, the book is quite helpful in delivering high-level content suitable for children in small doses. This is the perfect book for dinner time, bed-time reading, or even just lazy-time reading, as each devotional reading will take roughly ten minutes (fifteen if taking it slow and the children are a bit restless).
I find as a father with young children, this is about the breaking point of their focus some nights. Other nights they could have me read all night, but those with young children all know the nights when it is near impossible to get them to sit still for more than thirty seconds. While my children love it when we read to them – they are no exceptions to this rule, so having something concise and clear is quite beneficial. If it is a really crazy night, then we can close the book and try again the next day!
Yet I find this doesn’t often happen with this resource simply because it is clear, we are seeing the benefits of training our children to sit for prolonged periods of time, but namely, it becomes a fun thing to do. It is simple without being condescending, short without being pointless, and creative without sacrificing content. It provokes questions one might not think about that can bring excellent discussions without being unrelated to the topic (or chasing down a rabbit-hole).
It is a time commitment; you are not going to finish this book in a few weeks unless you plow through it – but that should never be the goal. I fear in the auspices of an on-demand culture, we often feel that biblical Christianity is another one of things we can condense and manufacture for quick results (if not in resources, then in our time of teaching). Yet, a book like this forces you to slow down a bit and get sidetracked with conversation. Isn’t that the goal? Shouldn’t we just enjoy the fact that we are handing down the gospel to future generations and getting them to think critically, even if that process isn’t fully developed in them, about the chronology of the life of Christ, i.e. the specific mention of Christ’s ministerial events respective to foreordained points in time?
Take your time with it and enjoy the process; let conversations trail off topic and wrangle them back in when necessary – but simply use this as a means to teach how the gospel relates to all of scripture and life.
You can get the book here.
Disclosure: I received this book free from New Growth Press through the media reviewer program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
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