Talking With Your Kids About Jesus: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have
By Natasha Crain
Like many generations before us, following Christ is a counter-cultural way to live in a deeply fallen world. From the people we interact with to secular music, television, movies, social media, magazines, news reports, and more, a Christian’s beliefs are challenged nearly every day whether we realize it or not. Adults who have received wisdom, discernment and maturity in their personal faith journeys may not be so easily compromised by worldly influences, but for the Christian parent who desires to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), building a solid foundation of faith for their child is as challenging for them as it is for the child they love.
So how does a parent even begin to address the never-ending questions a young mind develops? If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of throwing spaghetti at the wall until something sticks, you are not alone!
Natasha Crain is a national speaker, blogger and author who has a passion for equipping Christian parents with the tools needed to raise children who are able to defend their faith in an increasingly secular world. In her latest book, Talking With Your Kids About Jesus: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have, Crain provides parents with direction to tackle the toughest questions a child may have while helping parents gain confidence in the conversations that will shape their child’s faith.
Talking With Your Kids About Jesus is a part apologetics and part parenting book that is applicable, practical, biblically-sound and full of parent-to-parent encouragement. Talking With Your Kids About Jesus is divided into five different sections that cover the identity, the teachings, the death, the resurrection and the overall impact Jesus’ influence can have on an individual’s life as well as the world. This is Crain’s third parenting apologetics book and follows a similar format as Talking With Your Kids About God (which I also read and reviewed a while back; you can read my review here). Each chapter covers a specific question pertaining to the topic of the section and includes a skeptic’s opinion/belief/response while walking the reader through conversation starters, further research and study, and personal application. It is a genius way to challenge, prepare, test and equip parents while providing a biblical understanding of each of the questions asked.
I’ve read a handful of apologetics books over the last few years but of all of those I have read I really enjoyed Talking With Your Kids About Jesus the most, even more so than Crain’s Talking With Your Kids About God. In particular, I found value in this book and the conversations it encourages a parent to have because I believe Jesus makes Christianity both real and relatable. Jesus as a human form of God makes Christianity humanizing and I feel that is a vital point to communicate to new and young believers who are exploring faith and seeking evidence for the Truth we believe is true.
If you’re a parent, grandparent, someone in youth ministry or someone who has a heart for the future generation of the church, I would definitely recommend you give this book a spot on your bookshelf. It is one of those books you’ll find yourself referring back to as the questions of concern arise and the discussions begin to unfold. It is also a great way to dip your toes into studying the importance of apologetics – making a case to defend one’s faith.
* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
