(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best christian education books

It's a good impulse to try and reconcile knowledge together, but it isn't easy to do.

One of the best things to do in such a situation is to turn to people who do these things for a living. On the other hand, it is usually easier to tell whether a scientist is a reputable scientist or a theologian is a good theologian rather than tell if a scientist has a solid understanding of philosophy or if a preacher is qualified to speak on the state of man's current understanding of the natural world. In my experience these books have been good at showing the effect of scientific advancement on religious understanding: God of Evolution and 4 of the Pope's homilies on Genesis. Ken Miller is a distinguished scientist who understands the relationship between learning how the world was created and learning that the world was created. He was a big part of bringing down the Intelligence Design movement in Dover, Pennsylvania, and he gave a long talk at school here on the subject

I'm really into Sojourn from Louisville, the new Gospel Coalition album from the book of Luke, The Sing Team (and basically anything that Brian Eichelberger does), anything by bifrost arts, The Modern Post, and Peters Branch

When It comes to books, I've really loved Mike Cosper's Book, Rhythms of Grace, Kauflin's Worship Matters, and Harold M. Best's Unceasing Worship.

All of these books are steeped in great theology, story and are incredibly inspiring to the worshiper and worship leader.

I'm currently reading Unceasing Worship and have been blown away by it!

I'm in Indianapolis, where are you in Kentucky? I'd love to try and meet up sometime when I'm in Louisville to visit family.

Ok I was half asleep but I went and found the links :)

https://www.amazon.com/Untold-Story-Testament-Church-Extraordinary-ebook/dp/B0051OKXK2

https://www.whitehorseinn.org/series/how-to-read-your-bible

This is the children's Bible in the off chance anyone was interested. It's definitely for young kids but it's a good overview without being preachy. https://www.amazon.com/Beginners-Bible-Timeless-Childrens-Stories/dp/031075013X

You might find these [three] books interesting:

What's going on in there?

Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready

Phonemic Awareness in Young Children

Every child will be different, and it does depend on what they are exposed to.
Building vocabulary (by reading to a child, not lessons or flashcards), phonemic awareness, problem solving and building skills, creativity, and physical agility and strength through play are all more important than learning facts right now. Think of it as creating the sponge that lets a child be ready to learn when they are ready. Knowing an alphabet at 2 isn't that useful, but being able to identify individual sounds in a word is a fundamental pre-reading skill. Knowing what architect designed a building is cute at 4, but problem solving and building things with blocks and such is more important.

Just keep playing, talking, and reading, and it will all be OK.

• Unceasing Worship by Harold Best - This one has some incredibly high reviews on Amazon, I think it will be my next purchase! What was especially your favorite part of this book?
  
  
• Christ Centered Worship by Bryan Chappell - This one looks very interesting. I'm especially intrigued by the first part describing the evolution of Christian worship.
  
  
• on Worship by A.W. Tozer - I couldn't find anything called "On Worship" by Tozer (he was a rather prolific writer, so it is possible I just missed it).
  
  
• Worship By the Book by D.A. Carson - Based on one of the reviews, am I correct in understanding that this is a collection of essays written by three members of different denominations (Anglican, Free Church and Presbyterian)?
  

Cheer up, buttercup! :)

[This] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnT7pT6zCcA) might cheer you up!

[This] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0310725429/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=297XX50KERYHX&coliid=IE19GOHMEEWTP) is pretty awesome, under 15 dollars, and it's from my wishlist.

Great answers! Hey OP, If I can recommend a book to you, theologian Bruce Ware has a book aimed at kids called Big Truths for Young Hearts that might just be good for discussion in your class. It's a theology overview with a section on the Trinity. Hope that helps.

I have heard a lot of people say different things about youth ministry, and most of them fall flat. One thing that most people seem to be agreeing on these days is that the current direction of youth ministries is not enough.

But will forcing kids to sit with their parents in church make them more likely to stay in the church? I have not seen that work very well. Church needs a sense of community, and like it or not, most kids are not going to get that if you try and make them hang around old people all the time.

The best book I have read on this subject is Simple Student Ministry. It basically says that most youth groups have just become entertainment centers for teens who will gladly move along when something better presents itself, but we need to be intentional about what we want to get done and look into cutting out the unnecessary and distracting programs. This, and more so the book before it, Simple Church, have excellent principles which can be applied to all parts of ministry within the church.

Also, Christianpost did get it right in claiming that this takes students away from their parents. Parents should be the primary spiritual influence in their kids lives, and youth ministries should be supplemental to that. But when parents refuse or are not in the church or not really in the picture at all, a good focused youth ministry can have powerful results.

I probably would not still be in the church today were it not for the influence a youth group had on me. A real genuine community that I loved to be a part of. Serving with those brothers and sisters in Christ, almost all of whom are still in churches today, gave me a passion for the ministry. ANY ministry done wrong will have negative results, but perhaps some ministries, although they can be frustrating at times, can be powerfully used if they are refocused a little.

> I cannot imagine this Bible will surpass the ESVSB for most general readers, especially for fellow ESV-onlyists

Love this guy. :-)

Tony Reinke is one of the most well read guys I know. When he says a book is good, it's meaningful. There's a reason Desiring God hired him (SGC's loss, their gain) - he's really good at what he does.

If you haven't read his book, Lit! - read it. It's not boring. And it will help you be a better reader, both of Christian works and of fiction (and non-fiction, too). Not only will it help you to be a better reader, but it will help your soul as you read non-Christian works.

> Orthodox Judaism prioritizes acts that emphasize the kabbalistic/mystical meanings of tikkun olam

Isn't that really post-Ari? I mean that was also a change in what Tikkun Olam was as well, also some of us aren't massive fans of Kabbalah.

I picked up a book some times ago to dig a bit more into this concept, Tikkun Olam, by Members of The Orthodox Forum

So here is a random dump of my thoughts based on that book and some other reading:

The Mishna talks about Tikkun Olam but it is used as a justification for things inside Jewish society, not outside of it. Certainly not anything about 'repairing the world'

The other argument I often hear is that it comes from Alienu, but that also might have been modified

http://www.hakirah.org/Vol%2011%20First.pdf

"This article will show that a very strong case can be made that the original version of Aleinu read עולם לתכן=) to establish the world under God’s sovereignty), and not עולם לתקן=) to perfect/improve the world under God’s sovereignty.) If so, the concept of עולם תקון has no connection to the Aleinu prayer."

Really the modern usage shows up later and is very new:

https://jcpa.org/article/place-tikkun-olam-american-jewish-life1/

"Moreover, although by the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was invoked thrice daily in the liturgy, tikkun olam remained a fairly obscure notion until it was appropriated by the kabbalists. While Jews always were concerned with social justice, its association with tikkun olam is hardly a century old and was not widely adopted in North America until the 1970s and 1980s. Waxman’s translation of tikkun as “mend” (as opposed to the more common “repair” or “perfect”) and the centrality of the Holocaust to the interfaith dialogue with the Vatican, may indicate his indebtedness to theologian Emil Fackenheim, whose influential work of post-Holocaust theology, To Mend the World, appeared in 1982."

Seek and Explore looks pretty good. I think its mostly of children on the older end (+7) but I like how it has devotions for everyday, and the devotions spend time in every book of the Bible, point where we see Jesus in each.

The Catholic Faith Handbook is outstanding. While, written for youth ministry, it does a fantastic job outlining the Catholic faith without dumbing it down.

http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Faith-Handbook-Second-Edition/dp/0884899888

I've devoured this book, and we are on board to Classically educate our kids. If anyone is looking for an interesting overview with a little more theory and a bit more relaxed approach to classical education, Leigh Bortins' The Core was a really good read for our family. I think we'll land somewhere in the middle of these two excellent approaches to a classical education.

Oh man, I'll have to go check the book out. It really is what I say but I'm glad you're skeptical.

The reason I picked it up in the first place was to look for ideas about drawing dragons. It looked pretty normal, just glancing through, but then I kept seeing mentions of God and the bible. I didn't have time to take more pictures at that moment, but I'll be sure to check it out tomorrow.

For now, here's it's Amazon listing.

I would like to recommend this book to you that explains what the Bible is about. I highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/This-Name-John-R-Cross/dp/1890082805

Also, the YouTube channel “Bible Thinker” by pastor Mike Winger is an awesome resource for how to think biblically about things.

I Love Sci-Fi/Fantasy so here is my completely biased list of Orthodox Writers...

Dobrica Ćosić- various Historical Fiction books published, must read for history buffs...

Milovan Glišić- After Ninety Years: The Story of Serbian Vampire Sava Savanovic

Boban Knežević

R. L. Copple

Sue Dent takes a little to load

[Demetrious Glimidakis- The Crimson Knight](https://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Knight-Demetrious-Glimidakis/dp/1617399574?ie=UTF8&qid=1304459201&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1)

[Donna Farley- The Ravens of Farne: A Tale of Saint Cuthbert](https://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Farne-Tale-Saint-Cuthbert/dp/0982277059?ie=UTF8&qid=1466021370&ref_=la_B001K80TNY_1_3&s=books&sr=1-3)

[Nick Mamatas- Insults Every Man Should Know](https://www.amazon.com/Insults-Every-Should-Pocket-Companions/dp/1594745242?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc) tons of books published...

and how could forget... our favourite [Yevgeny Zamyatin- WE](https://www.amazon.com/We-Yevgeny-Zamyatin-ebook/dp/B00KR3HV3O?ie=UTF8&qid=1466021671&ref_=la_B000AQ1TZY_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1) -seriously... ★★★★★ prefigured Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and inspired George Orwell's 1984*

I recently bought 'The Story for Children' to read with my 5 year old. So far it is pretty good, great artwork too.

It's not specifically geared towards Christmas, I think the Jesus Storybook Bible does an excellent job at both (a) telling the Christmas story and (b) tying everything together from the OT to the NT. Even in the creation story and the earliest chapters, it does a great job of constantly referencing the coming of Christ.

(Since you're SBC, I'll assume you don't hold to a strict 2C interpretation. If that's an issue for you, then this ain't for you.)

If you're OK with giving a Catholic spiritual gift, you could consider giving some of the St. Joseph board books. (There are a total of about eight available, for $5 each). https://www.amazon.com/dp/089942841X/

Here are their top picks for each category:

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Apologetics/Evangelism - Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News About Jesus More Believable

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Biblical Studies - Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels

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Children and Youth - The Friend Who Forgives

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Christian Living/Discipleship - The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World

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The Church/Pastoral Leadership - Preaching as Reminding: Stirring Memory in an Age of Forgetfulness

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CT Women - Perfectly Human: Nine Months with Cerian

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Culture and the Arts - Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?: Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock

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Fiction - An Extra Mile: A Story of Embracing God’s Call

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History/Biography - The Spirit of Early Evangelicalism: True Religion in a Modern World

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Missions/Global Church - Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered: Millennials and Social Change in African Perspective

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Politics and Public Life - Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women

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Spiritual Formation - Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World

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Theology/Ethics - Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition

Sorry, I live in a diff city and it was relayed to me by my parents. My mom is quite Christian, and she was helping my nephew w/his homework. But she said she refused to help him learn it because the book was so absurd.

My brother is pissed, too. Not for the first time...I don't know the title of the "science" book, but my nephew likes dinosaurs and brought home this book from their library one time. It says dragons were real:

https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Legends-Dinosaurs-Laura-Welch/dp/0890515581

That's sick. The librarians weren't paying attention when that one came in...

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Legends-Dinosaurs-Laura-Welch/dp/0890515581