For those of you looking for something in addition to toys, games, gadgets, and clothes to give your children for Christmas, how about the gift of family discipleship?

Here are some ideas that can help you down that road.

For preschoolers and early elementary: The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Many of the children’s story bibles out there seem to present the Bible stories as isolated moral lessons rather than preparing us to undertand the coming Christ. Here is one that is well-written for children, very well illustrated and shows how each Bible story whispers to us about Jesus. We have a few available on our bookshelves or you can purchase on-line.

For older students: Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade. It provides two years worth of family devotions based on a modern reading of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which provides a systematic approach to the teaching of Scripture. It takes one question each week and provides a week worth of family devotions. We have a few of these also available or you can purchase on-line.

For parents of elementary age children and younger: Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp shows the importance of not just educating but nurturing a love for God in the heart of your child. It will challenge you as a parent. I’m not sure if we have any of these available on our bookshelf but you can purchase on-line.

For parents of teenagers: Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp (Tedd’s brother). This book invites you to understand the heart and mind of your teenager and invites you to take a counter-cultural understanding of this stage of development. Available on-line.

For families: Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr. I haven’t read this yet but I have it on my “to read” list. Because I’ve  personally received several trusted recommendations, I wanted to make sure and mention it. From its book jacket, “More teens are turning away from the faith than ever before: it is estimated that as many as 70-88% of teens who profess Christianity walk away from their faith by the end of their freshman year of college. Something must be done. Family Driven Faith equips Christian parents with the tools they need to raise children biblically in a post-Christian, anti-family society… This bold new book is an urgent call to parents–and the church– to return to biblical discipleship in and through the home.” Available on-line.

CSCK workbook: Free! and available at Cornerstone. These workbooks are written to correspond with the doctrinal training and Scripture memory that we go through at CSCK with children.