Monthly Archives: November 2017

#GivingTuesday | Together in Vision, Partners on Mission

Brian Eaton - November 28, 2017

Children Desiring God Blog // Giving Tuesday

Dear Children Desiring God Customers,

It is such a privilege to labor with you in a common vision, a vision we cannot fully accomplish on our own. Only God can bring about this vision for the next generations because only God can reach the heart.

Our vision is that the next generations know, honor, and treasure God, setting their hope in Christ alone, so that they will live as faithful disciples for the glory of God.

Honestly, this is what I love most about Children Desiring God…being dependent on God to accomplish this vision. No one is more capable than God to bring about His purposes.

We are not, however, on the sidelines watching. We are in the game. God has called us to a particular mission…this is what we are joyfully giving ourselves to.

Vision Encouragement Parenting

Bring Your Children to the “Market Day of the Soul”

November 27, 2017

I often struggled with the impact of our Sunday church routine when our children were young. Their regular routines—food, naps, playtime, etc.—were disrupted, often resulting in tired crabby children and parents…and we only had two children. My daughter and her husband have four little ones. Multiply the potential struggles! Parents, here is some encouragement provided by Megan Hill this week in her article, “Sundays Are for Babies.” I highly recommend that you read the entire, short article. Here is an excerpt:

Sundays are given to us as a day of rest—a reminder of God’s rest at creation and a foretaste of the saints’ everlasting rest in heaven. But the Lord’s Day rest is not simply an extended afternoon nap. True rest is found in pausing from our ordinary work and, as the Westminster Confession explains it, engaging in “the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.” In those activities, we recharge our souls. On Sundays, God gives us a rest even better than sleep.

News

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2017

This Thanksgiving, our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness to the Lord for so many blessings, both small and large. We are thankful for family, friends and home, but most importantly for the truth found in the Gospel. We are also so thankful for each and every one of you, our partners in ministry. Thank you for joining us in the mission to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things so that the next generation may know and cherish Jesus Christ as the only One who saves and satisfies the desires of the heart. Thank you for joining us in prayer that parents and churches will continue to partner together to instruct the mind, engage the heart and nurture the faith of our children so that millions in every generation will set their hope in God. Happy Thanksgiving from the Children Desiring God Team! David, Sally, Jill, Brian, Terry, Holly, Lori, Suzy, Karen, Nicole and Rachel

Vision Parenting

Orienting Our Parenting Priorities

November 21, 2017

As parents, we want many things to be true of our children as they grow and mature. For example, we want our children to be loving, respectful, caring, productive, motivated, resilient, happy, and more. All are good things and worthwhile goals. All require some measure of our time and attention as we instruct and train our children toward these goals. But consider these words from 3 John 4:

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

This simple statement can serve to orient all of our parenting. It directs us to what is most important: More than anything else, our children need to know, embrace, and walk in the truth—the truth of God. The truth revealed in His Word has the power to make them wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ—the truth that all-satisfying and everlasting joy is found in Him alone, the truth that saving faith will be evidenced by a life that submits to the Savior and walks in His ways, the truth that we are to live all of life for the glory of God!

Teaching Vision Encouragement

The Focus of Your Classroom

November 13, 2017

There are a variety of wonderfully exciting and visually appealing resources designed for the Sunday school classroom these days—high-tech digital media being just one example. There is no denying that these types of teaching tools have a special draw for children. But we must be extremely careful. As more than one pastor has cautioned the church: “What you win them with, is what you win them to.” Recently we received an encouraging note from a teacher, Yvonne, who is using the Jesus, What a Savior curriculum in her classroom. Here is what she said:

Products Fighter Verses

Fighter Verses App: Now Available in French and German

November 08, 2017

We are pleased to announce that we have expanded the Fighter Verses App to include multiple languages. We added Spanish in 2012, French in 2016, and German in 2017. Having the Fighter Verses App in Spanish, French, and German might be really important to you if…

Your heart language is Spanish, French, or German.
You are studying one or more of these languages and want to learn Bible verses or practice your fluency in these languages.
You know missionaries working in countries where they speak these languages and can benefit from the app.
You are going on a short-term mission trip to a place where one of these languages is spoken.
You have friends or relatives whose heart language or mother tongue is one of these languages.

We have also expanded our English version to include the New King James Bible translation. With the My Verses function, you may add verses from any version available on BibleGateway.com.

Teaching Vision Devotional Encouragement Parenting

What Will the Next Generations Stand Upon?

November 07, 2017

Imagine your children 20 years from now. What do you want them to “stand upon” and have full confidence in? What will provide the only unshakable bedrock for them in the midst of the world’s changing norms and values? What will they hold fast to as they are bombarded with more and more information in our digital age? How will they be able to discern truth from error in a world of competing ideas and beliefs? In the past few weeks, the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation has been highlighted and celebrated. We would do well to pass on to our children and students the importance of this historic event. The very essence of the Gospel was at stake as Luther and the other reformers reaffirmed the eternal truths of Scripture. One of these truths was the importance of the authority of Scripture alone. For Luther, it was truly a matter of life or death. Here is an excerpt from an article titled, “Here We Stand” by Albert Mohler:

Martin Luther’s great moment of theological clarification came at the climax of a command performance. Facing the threat of martyrdom and execution, Luther appeared on trial at the Diet of Worms before the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Asked on what authority he dared to defy the Pope and the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, Luther famously replied:

Products Encouragement

God-Glorifying Books for Gift Giving

Truth78 Staff - November 01, 2017

Children Desiring God Blog // God-Glorifying Books for Gift Giving Do you enjoy giving encouraging, God-glorifying books to your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews? Have you been searching for a meaningful gift to encourage families over the upcoming holidays, or to show appreciation to your volunteers? Do you like to give books to children for class promotions or milestones they’ve reached? If you love to give valuable resources to encourage the faith of the next generation there is a new bulk-pricing option for the Making HIM Known series and Jesus is Most Special. Individual books are also available below list price. The devotional books correlate to various Children Desiring God Sunday School or Midweek Bible curricula, and Jesus is Most Special involves children in telling the Christmas story.