Jason Helopoulos encourages the church to embrace the important part children play in the life of the church and unfolds the enormous blessings to be found in having them present in the worship services of the congregation. He points out how the struggles are temporary - whereas the blessings can be eternal.

Just like trees and plants bear fruit, so must the Christian bear spiritual fruit. Some plants and trees are meant to have only branches or stems, and leaves, and no fruit. But there are others that produce fruit: apple trees, tomato plants, blueberry bushes, etc. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s heart, Christians begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit. This means that a Christian shows by his lifestyle that he walks in the ways of the Lord. As you can tell an apple tree because of the tasty apples it carries on its branches, Christians should be recognized by their godly character. Children, read these stories and see the importance of bearing the fruit of godliness.

Parents are unable to give their children what they need most-new hearts that trust in Christ for forgiveness of sins. All belief is a work of God alone. But parents must not “hinder“ their children from coming to Christ, as Jesus‘ disciples sought to hinder mothers and fathers from bringing small children to Him (Mark 10:13-16). On the contrary, they must do everything in their power to “bring“ their children to the Savior, which means raising their sons and daughters in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). In Parenting by God‘s Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace, Dr. Joel R. Beeke explores what this nurture and admonition looks like and offers gems of practical wisdom for parents on topics such as instituting and leading family worship, teaching children, modeling faithful Christian living, and exercising discipline. However, he carefully puts parental responsibilities in their proper perspective and guides mothers and fathers to lean not on their own abilities but to trust more fully in the God who knits children together in the first place. Above all, he affirms, parents must look to the one true God, who promises to provide everything His people need and to bless them and their families. Endorsements “The defection of young people from the church is creating great concern in our day. Oftentimes the solutions seem to exacerbate the problem. Joel Beeke’s book, Parenting by God’s Promises: How to Raise Children in the Covenant of Grace, is a sane, biblical word in the midst of the chaos. The book blends a vibrant covenant theology with wise, practical instruction. Moreover, it keeps a balance between family and church in the nurture of our children. This book is an important read for pastors, elders, parents, and grandparents.” —Dr. Joseph A. Pipa Jr. “In an age of pragmatism, Joel Beeke is a drink of fresh, cool theological water. Raising children is about more than just surviving until they leave home; Beeke reminds us that Christian parents must view their roles in the broader context of God’s redemptive work. Our goal must be raising children who, by God’s grace, come to know and follow the Lord who has redeemed us and called us to Himself. This is a daunting task, and parents need all the help they can get. For those desperate to hear a clear, thoughtful, biblical, theological, Reformed treatise on the subject, Parenting by God’s Promises is a valuable read.” —Dr. Voddie Baucham

The personal computer and the Internet have transformed the way we and our children study, play, socialize, shop, learn, and even apply for jobs. If you are a parent, teacher, or pastor, you probably feel overwhelmed by the size and speed of the changes. There are many wonderful new opportunities, but also many dangers.In God's Technology, Dr. David Murray presents a Christian response to the digital revolution. After laying the foundation of four biblical principles, he makes the case for disciplined discernment in our use of technology. He then presents a practical seven-step training program to develop disciplined discernment in our children, and he concludes by showing how to apply these seven steps to Facebook use.God's Technology is ideal for families, schools, and churches that want to train their children to use God's good gift of technology in a way glorifying to God."a clear, biblical guide for a confusing, digital age" — Burk Parsons (Editor of Tabletalk)"a must-see for any concerned parent" — Tim Challies (Challies.com)

In Christian Education, Dr. R.C. Sproul calls Christian parents to recover their biblical responsibility to teach their children instead of relinquishing it to the government. He also examines the distinctives of classical Christian education which emphasizes the teaching of Latin, logic, grammar, and rhetoric.

The Bible tells us that God works out all things according to His will (Eph. 1:11) showing us that everything has a purpose and that all events occur according to the eternal plan of God. In this series, Dr. R.C. Sproul examines the often neglected doctrine of providence, explaining that God works out His plan in all things for the good of His children.

The role of reason has been seriously neglected as a necessary element in our life of faith. In this series, Dr. R.C. Sproul demonstrates the interplay between faith and reason in all aspects of our lives as children of God.

The church's practice of infant baptism came under attack in the sixteenth century. Since that time, many churches have rallied against the practice, administering baptism only to believing adults. As he addresses the importance of covenant baptism, Dr. R.C. Sproul explains that baptism is to be administered not only to believing adults but also to their children.

The February 2025 issue of Tabletalk will help readers better understand the depth of well-known Bible stories.As people who love the Word of God, Christians are familiar with its historical narratives, and many even have favorite Bible stories. Yet our familiarity with these accounts as a result of our studying them in children’s Sunday school, personal Bible reading, and elsewhere is not always as deep as we think. Because we know them so well, we can easily miss their full theological significance. This issue of Tabletalk will look at several well-known Bible stories and help readers better grasp their theological importance and meaning. Contributors include Burk Parsons, S.M. Baugh, Allan M. Harman, Robert Rothwell, Stephen M. Coleman, Nick Batzig, Josh Moody, Andreas J. Köstenberger, William Boekestein, Robert W. Carver, Sarah Ivill, Derek W.H. Thomas, Aaron L. Garriott, John C.A. Ferguson, Michael E. Osborne, and Robert J. Cara.

The July 2024 issue of Tabletalk will give an overview of the biblical teaching on the holiness of God and His people. Many Christians are accustomed to hearing how awful and wretched they really are as fallen creatures. Yet while the Bible affirms that all people (except Jesus) are born children of wrath and at enmity with God, the Bible also teaches that sinfulness is not the primary characteristic of God’s people. Instead, believers are fundamentally holy because they belong to the Most Holy God Himself. This issue of Tabletalk will remind readers of God’s majestic holiness before surveying the various aspects of holiness, addressing such topics as our definitive holiness in Christ, our ongoing growth in holiness, the necessity of holiness, corporate holiness, the holiness of worship on the Sabbath day, and our final perfection in holiness in our glorification. It will remind readers that we are holy in the Savior and therefore must pursue holiness in all areas of life. Contributors include Burk Parsons, Mark G. Johnston, Bryan D. Estelle, Mark E. Ross, Michael P.V. Barrett, Stephen Spinnenweber, Rowland S. Ward, Aaron L. Garriott, Peter Whitney, Joel Kim, Sinclair B. Ferguson, Andrew M. Davis, Kara Dedert, Jonathan L. Master, R. Carlton Wynne, William Barcley, Jay Thomas, Fred Greco, and Rebecca VanDoodewaard.

John Calvin’s book, A Guide to Christian Living, is an imitation leather volume embossed with Calvin’s insignia. When Calvin first began writing his Institutes of the Christian Religion, he had in mind a short handbook or manual which would set out the essentials of the Christian faith. Although the persecution of Protestants in France led him in time to accentuate the apologetic nature of the book, the Institutes, as first published in 1536, remained a work of Christian instruction, intended, as Calvin says, for those who were ‘touched with some zeal for religion’, and principally for those among his French compatriots who ‘were hungering and thirsting for Christ’, and who ‘might be shaped to true godliness’.No chapter better corresponds to the author’s original intention than that entitled ‘On the Christian Life’. It offered a clear, balanced set of directions and encouragements to all who desired to live according to the gospel. Strong in its theological affirmation of God’s righteousness and providential care, of the reconciliation won for us by Christ and of the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification, it was equally strong in its pastoral concern for believers who were beset by their own weakness and sin, who daily endured trial and temptation and who nevertheless, united to Christ by faith, shared in his life and tasted his power. The Christian life, as Calvin describes it, is lived simultaneously in the shadow of the cross and in the bright light of the resurrection. That the writer himself knew something of the cost of discipleship is clear from a consideration of his own experience. The distress of exile, the burden of poverty, the hurt of slander and misrepresentation, the threat of physical harm, were all things he knew at first hand. Farel, Calvin’s colleague, rightly calls him ‘my good, true brother, who is a partner in the cross of Jesus, … a man active and upright in the work of the gospel.’ The author who speaks in the Institutes about the pressures of Christian living is no armchair moralist, nor is he an unyielding Stoic for whom overt displays of emotion are a grave weakness. For Calvin tears as well as joy have a valid and necessary place: to be devoid of feeling is to be no better than a stone or block of wood. The essential thing is that, in good times and in bad, we continue to trust God who through grace has adopted us as his children, who quickens and comforts us by his Spirit, and who bids us persevere in well-doing until our life’s end.

We are living in crazy times. Biological men are competing and winning against biological women in sports. The newest Supreme Court justice declined to answer the simple question: “What is a woman?” Record numbers of young Americans now identify as transgender. Sexually explicit materials permeate schools. Pedophiles have rebranded as “minor-attracted persons.” And now sexual identity and gender ideology advocates have hijacked the civil rights movement, co-opting its success for their own insidious purposes. They have sold the lie that sexual identities are equivalent to race and that the fight for the rights of “sexual minorities” is the final frontier in the struggle for civil rights. To make matters even worse, many evangelical leaders, eager to appease the culture, have gone along to get along—even excusing and redefining sinful behavior as a mere “sexual identity.” In It’s Not Like Being Black, pastor and bestselling author Voddie T. Baucham Jr. equips Christians to fight back against this pervasive sexual identity ideology and stand firm in biblical truths, giving them the courage to: Remain vigilant and protect their children from the onslaught of this insidious ideology Contend for biblical truth in the marketplace of ideas Boldly celebrate, cherish, and defend true marriage Willingly suffer as strangers and aliens for holding fast to what the Bible actually says Now is the time for the church to act. Christians cannot contradict Scripture, discard thousands of years of tradition, subvert the English language, and deny fundamental reality without paying a heavy price.

When Jesus commanded His followers to go and make disciples of all nations, He instructed them to baptize those disciples in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since baptism is a central part of life in the church, why has it been controversial and divisive among so many Christians? In Baptism: Answers to Common Questions, Dr. Guy M. Richard tackles the key questions people have about baptism: What does it mean? Is it necessary for salvation? Who should be baptized, and how should we baptize them? As he searches the Scriptures, Dr. Richard helps us think through what the Bible teaches about baptism and encourages us to deal graciously with our brothers and sisters in Christ even when we disagree. Endorsements “Dr. Richard is a sure and trusted guide on the issue of baptism. This is a delightful resource, particularly for paedobaptists. It will be a go-to and concise guide to give to parents who are bringing their covenant children for baptism. An absolutely essential resource.” —Dr. Derek W.H. Thomas “This is a good introduction to baptism, written in an irenic spirit and covering a wide range of relevant material. I expect that many will find this helpful and will come to a richer appreciation of what baptism signifies.” —Dr. Robert Letham

The world today claims that your identity is entirely defined by you. As parents raising children in this world, how do we teach children the gospel and explain how it impacts gender identity? This book of letters written to the author’s children follows the overarching story line of the Bible, making it clear that transgenderism is a symptom of a far deeper problem that only Jesus can heal. Written with biblical clarity, sensitivity, and an awareness that people affected by these issues are people who need Jesus, just like everyone else, this book will help parents who are looking for guidance on how to explain gender issues to their children.

Who were the Puritans, and why are they important?What can we learn from them today?The Puritan movement began in England during the sixteenth century and continued all the way into the early eighteenth century. Although the Church of England was formed as a result of the Reformation, the Puritans believed it needed much more reform. Puritan Heroes is a beautifully illustrated book that gives the reader an idea of what the Puritan movement was about and offers a glimpse into the lives of more than twenty of its most well-known leaders (among them William Perkins, Richard Sibbes, Thomas Goodwin, Anne Bradstreet, and Jonathan Edwards).The book concludes with ten important lessons readers can learn from the Puritans and study questions to help them retain these fascinating stories and assist them in applying the lessons to their lives. It also features a bibliography to encourage further study in greater depth, as well as a glossary and timeline to help readers understand historical context. Written for children and young people, it will prove a suitable introduction to the Puritans for adults as well.

Like much of the New Testament, John’s three letters were written to deal with pressing difficulties being experienced in the first-century churches. False teachers, whom John calls ‘antichrists’, were denying fundamental Christian truths and deeply troubling the Christians whom the aged apostle loved and called his ‘little children’. John writes with warmth, seriousness, and urgency to correct this situation. He shows that sound doctrine is vital, not only to the well-being of Christians, but to their very existence, since error leads to deception, darkness, and ultimately the destruction of those who embrace it.

For thirty years Randy Alcorn has been encouraging people, young and old, to pursue the rewards of sexual purity. Too often we settle for a compromised Christianity that's just a baptized version of the world's sad existence, rather than the abundant life to which God calls us. This book deals with raising children to embrace sexual purity, providing an example of purity in the home, protecting purity in dating (at any age), and maintaining purity in marriage. Biblical, practical, and concise, The Purity Principle is a one-stop handbook for individuals, families and churches.Some people have given up on purity. Some have never tried. Bestselling author Randy Alcorn shows us why, in this culture of impurity, the stakes are so high—and what we can do to experience the freedom of purity. Impurity will always destroy us; purity always leads to higher pleasures! Choose wisely. Let the insights of this amazing book—written for old and young, married and single—help you gain your footing on the path to truly lasting joy.

In the opening pages of the Psalms, believers discover foundational truth for right living and great delight as children of God. Trusted theologian Dale Ralph Davis leads readers through a careful study of Psalms 1-12 with clear application for daily life. These beautiful Psalms see the Psalmist go through both good and terribly bad times. The righteous rely on God, and the Psalms teach us how. This book is ideal for use by small groups, as a teaching guide or for reference.

The life of Guido de Bres teaches us that we can find enduring hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ, even during persecution. Author William Boekestein sensitively tells the story of de Bres for children, guiding them through his turbulent life and times- from his birth in 1522 in a small Belgium town, to his call to the ministry and study under Reformers such as John Calvin and Theodore Beza, to his authorship of the Belgic Confession and a life of suffering, to his martyr's death in 1567. Skillfully crafted illustrations and an easy-to-understand narrative combine to capture the interests-and admiration-of the entire family for this amazing Reformation hero.

More teens are turning away from the faith than ever before: it is estimated that 75 to 88 percent of Christian teens walk away from Christianity 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, antifamily society. Voddie Baucham, who with his wife has overcome a multigenerational legacy of broken and dysfunctional homes, shows that God has not left us alone in raising godly children.This bold book is an urgent call to parents—and the church—to return to biblical discipleship in and through the home. This paperback edition includes a new preface and a study guide to facilitate interaction in small-group settings and to help parents put principles into practice.

Shepherding a Child's Heart is about how to speak to the heart of your child. The things your child does and says flows from the heart. Luke 6:45 puts it this way, ". . . out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (NIV) Written for parents with children of any age, this insightful book provides perspectives and procedures for shepherding your child's heart into the paths of life."Tedd Tripp knows what he is talking about and who he is talking to. He knows children, he knows parents . . . and he knows the ways of God. This book teaches you what your goals should be and how to pursue these ends practically. It teaches you how to talk to your children and what to talk about. It will inspire you to become a different kind of parent. This is a masterful Book." —Dr. David Powlison, Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary.“Dr. Tripp’s material on parenting is the clearest, most biblically framed, and most helpful that I have ever encountered. It has become the backbone of my own parenting. I am not alone, either. His seminar tapes are by far the most frequently requested biblical teaching material among my students, counselees, and friends.” —Dr. Ed Welch, Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary

"It sounded at first like something out of an old horror movie. I thought maybe someone was just playing around, but then I heard it again and again, a loud piercing cry, and less like Hollywood every time. The windows were down in my police cruiser on that warm fall day, but I still couldn’t tell where the sounds came from. I began looking around for the unlikely sight of someone being disemboweled in a mall parking lot on a Saturday afternoon. Seeing nothing, and still hearing the screams, I called in a ‘disturbance.’ Around the next corner I found the source of the commotion.”So begins Greg Lucas’ captivating account of life as a husband, a police officer, and Jake’s dad. Jake Lucas, the first of four children, lives with severe physical and mental challenges. Caring for him each day is an ordeal few of us can imagine, and this story of Jake’s first 17 years is not one you will soon forget. But the remarkable thing is how the whole narrative is saturated with wonder at the grace and goodness of God, who brings hope and promise through his Son into the darkest of circumstances.In this book, we see that Jake’s problems are our problems, only bigger, and the challenges of caring for him carry profound lessons about God’s care for us. Wrestling with an Angel is about tragedy and laughter and pain and joy. It is about faith and grace and endurance and God’s unfailing, loving wisdom daily being worked out in each of our lives, whatever the nature or extent of our difficulties. Here is a book that may explain faith to you in ways you never quite grasped, through a life few of us can relate to. When it is all done, we come away better able to live as Christ calls us to live.Endorsements“Witty…stunning…striking…humorous and heartfelt. In our culture which is so quick to devalue life, Wrestling with an Angel provides a fresh, honest look at one father’s struggle to embrace God in the midst of his son’s disability. Can sheer laughter and weeping gracefully coexist in a world of so much affliction? Greg knows all about it. And inside these pages he passes on his lessons of grace to us. I highly recommend this wonderfully personal book!”—Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center“I didn’t want to read this book. I knew these tear-stained but hope-filled pages would jostle me out of my comfort zone and shake me up. C.S. Lewis wrote that he paradoxically loved The Lord of the Rings because it ‘broke his heart’—and Greg Lucas’ writing does the same for me. And it’s for that reason that I heartily commend this book—especially for dads. This is just the book many of us need to taste afresh the goodness of God and the grace of the gospel even as we long for the day when this broken world will be made right.”—Justin Taylor, Managing Editor, ESV Study Bible“This is not primarily a book for parents of special needs children. There is only one disability that keeps a person from heaven. It is not physical or mental like Jake Lucas’ condition. It is the sin that lives in our hearts. Jake’s father, Greg, is a captivating storyteller. When he writes about life with Jake, I recognize God’s grace and loving persistence in my life. I want more!”—Noël Piper, author, and wife of pastor and author John Piper

In Taking Hold of God, you will enter the treasury of the church of Jesus Christ and discover some of its most valuable gems on the subject of Christian prayer. The writings of the Reformers and Puritans shine with the glory of God in Christ, offering us much wisdom and insight today that can make our own prayer lives more informed, more extensive, more fervent, and more effectual. Six contemporary scholars explore the writings and prayer lives of several Reformers and Puritans—among them Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Perkins, Matthew Henry, and Jonathan Edwards—guiding us to growth in prayer and a more grateful communion with God. "Taking Hold of God is a veritable gold mine on the subject of prayer. Beeke and Najapfour have brought together in one volume the teaching on prayer of the giants of the Reformation and Puritan eras: Luther, Calvin, Knox, Perkins, Bunyan, Henry, Edwards, and others. I was personally encouraged and stimulated to take my own prayer life to a higher and hopefully more productive level. All believers who have any desire to pray effectively will profit from this book.” —Jerry Bridges, a longtime staff member of the Navigators and author of The Pursuit of Holiness"Together, Beeke and Najapfour have produced a marvelously helpful and instructive volume on prayer drawn from such giants as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, and Jonathan Edwards. It is a veritable potpourri of spiritual insight and godly advice. Books on prayer often induce more guilt than help. Taking Hold of God, as the title itself suggests, aims at doing the latter. It beckons us, allures us, into the challenge of prayer itself: laying hold of a gracious Father who longs for our presence and delights to commune with His children. If you aim to read just one book on prayer this year, choose this one."—Derek W. H. Thomas, John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi"Many of us feel either infants in the school of prayer or intimidated and beaten down by those who accuse us of being prayer-less but do not teach us how to be prayer-full. But here can be found nourishment, example, instruction, encouragement, and, yes, deep challenge, all in one volume. May these pages serve as a tonic for our weakness, a remedy for our sickness, and an inspiration to greater prayerfulness in our churches!"—Sinclair B. Ferguson, senior minister of First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina, and professor of Systematic Theology at Redeemer Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas

One of the ambitious dreams that Reclaiming Adoption and its authors share with the Apostle Paul is that when Christians hear the word “adoption,” they will think first about their adoption by God. As it now stands, Christians usually think first about the adoption of children. Reclaiming Adoption sets out to change this situation by providing breathtaking views of God’s love for and delight in His children—views that will free you to live boldly in this world from God’s acceptance, not in order to gain it.Reclaiming Adoption begins by examining Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son because it ultimately puts God the Father’s love on display—a love that embraces the younger son with uninhibited joy (Luke 15:20) and goes out to entreat the self-righteous older son to come join the celebration (Luke 15:28). Reclaiming Adoption believes that behind the Parable of the Prodigal Son(s) is Scripture’s teaching on adoption. The story of the Bible is that God the Father sent His only true and eternal Son on a mission, and that mission was to bring many wayward and rebellious sons home to glory (Hebrews 2:10), to adopt them into His family. That is the Story behind the story of the Prodigal Sons. That is the only story that gives our stories any meaning or significance.Dan Cruver and his co-authors, including Jason Kovacs, Richard Phillips, John Piper, and Scotty Smith, are convinced that if Christians learn to first think about their adoption by God, and only then about the adoption of children, they will enjoy deeper communion with the God who is love, and experience greater missional engagement with the pain and suffering of this world. That's what this book is about. What the orphan, the stranger, and the marginalized in our world need most is churches that are filled with Christians who live daily in the reality of God’s delight in them. Reclaiming Adoption can transform the way you view and live in this world for the glory of God and the good of our world’s most needy.