2 cent review…
Ok, so I got some books the other day from Westminster Bookstore online (best prices anywhere). I was shopping specifically for a new book out that is a compilation of 3 works on sin by the great Puritan, John Owen. My main reason for looking into the book was that John Owen is the namesake of my good friend’s son, Owen. Owen isn’t born yet and has a lot of challenges that we are all praying about, but I wanted to know a little bit more about this man for whom my friend would name his son… So, while I was there I stumbled across a series of booklets call The Basics of the Reformed Faith Series. The booklets were inexpensive and the topics were intriguing, so I went ahead and picked them up as well.
Today I finished two of the booklets but specifically wanted to comment on this one, How Our Children Come to Faith. I must say that Stephen Smallman is an amazing communicator. I find that most of the books I read seem to be written to people much smarter than myself. However, reading this book I found myself thinking, “wow, this is so easy to understand.” Smallman, in a very pastoral manner, takes the time to communicate biblical truths in such a way that the reader can take the material and really gain a greater faith and hope in God for their children.
While I was greatly encouraged in the content of the book (parents, pick this one up) the manner in which Smallman gets the content to you was so impressive. Strange as this might sound, but reading this book made me want to be a better pastor. See, we often like to impress people with how much we know (or flip the coin and we desperately try to hide our ignorance) and in doing so leave people wondering what in the world we are taking about. Smallman, with the heart of a true father encourage parents to rest in God’s covenant faithfulness for their kids.
My hope is that I can not only have greater faith and assurance for my children, but also that I might care for others enough to commuicate truth to them in a manner that they can understand.
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Great choice in the Owen book. Justin Taylor was finishing the program in Minneapolis when I moved there. He’s wicked smart and humble. He was director of theology at Desiring God and is now the managing editor at Crossway books for the ESV project. There’s a link to his blog on mine. He’s always a wealth of info.
Owen’s a warrior when it comes to indwelling sin…something we tend to downplay too much these days. Read Pipers lecture on Owen at his site, it’s good.
Let’s read the collection together if you want to.