Give Them Jesus ― Raising Our Children on the Core Truths of the Christian Faith

GIVE THEM JESUS aims to help parents not simply add to their children's stockpile of knowledge, but to cultivate children-disciples who are able to display Christ-likeness in every situation. Parents are the ones primarily responsible for opening up the Scriptures to help their children understand God, the world, and themselves. The family is the divinely appointed discipleship program; the home is first and foremost a place of worship. The introduction of the book discusses the four vital components of family worship: teach, treasure, sing, and pray, and offers practical suggestions for beginning and prioritizing family worship in the rough and tumble of life.

Subsequent chapters guide parents to a deeper understanding of the core truths of the historic Christian faith, as summarized in the Apostles' Creed, arming them with appropriate language, helpful illustrations, and relevant object lessons, so that in the end they will be better prepared to pass these truths on to their children. Each chapter concludes with a family worship guide, which includes: 1) family memory verses, 2) nuggets of truth from the chapter, 3) questions for family discussion, 4) songs that celebrate the truths of the Creed, and 5) prayer prompts.

GIVE THEM JESUS equips parents to prepare their children to leave home and go out into the world as faithful participants in the great gospel story. "Never stop telling the gospel story to your kids," Thornton says. "Give your children Jesus. Again. And again. And again. And you'll see them walk in the truth."

Dillon T. Thornton (PhD in New Testament, University of Otago) has nearly two decades of diverse ministry experience. He has shepherded churches in Alabama, Colorado, and New Zealand. Presently, he serves as the Senior Pastor of Faith Community Church (EPC) in Seminole, FL. Dillon is a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a highly regarded organization of local church pastors who also serve as writing theologians for the broader Christian community. In his writing, preaching, teaching, and other aspects of pastoral work, Dillon seeks to equip people of all ages to love Christ with their whole hearts, think Christianly about the world and everything in it, and live faithfully by displaying the beautiful truth of the gospel in every sphere of life. In his spare time, Dillon does CrossFit, drinks far too much coffee, reads C.S. Lewis, and watches adventure movies. He and his wife, Jamie, have two energetic boys, Aidan and Cullen, and live in Seminole, Florida.