Gospel Grown Uncategorized

The Emmaus Road: Series Introduction

Have you ever wondered what the Old Testament is all about? Do you find yourself reading the New Testament more than the Old? Isn’t the New Testament all about Jesus and the Old is now outdated?

Jesus taught that the Old Testament is actually all about him (John 5:39). He said that many important things in his life happened to fulfill the Scriptures (Matthew 26:54, John 19:36, etc.). But even Jesus’ disciples found this hard to understand. After Jesus died and rose again, he appeared to two of his disciples walking on the Emmaus Road. On that road, Jesus declared again that all parts of the Old Testament were fulfilled in his life. But on that road Jesus also “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44–45). From that time on, Jesus’ followers have been spreading the good news that Jesus died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Paul reminds us that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16). And Jesus welcomed the little children to come to him (Matthew 19:14). We understand this to mean that Jesus wants children to learn about him—and that includes learning about Jesus from all of Scripture, including the Old Testament.  

The Emmaus Road is a series of illustrated children’s books that unpacks the message of biblical books from the Old Testament while also showing how these books point to the good news about Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that, through reading these books, God may open the minds of many children to understand the Old Testament and how it points to Jesus so that their knowledge and love of God would increase.

Gospel Grown Series Introduction

Search the Scriptures: A Series for Youth

It is difficult to know whether or not young people today face harder struggles than previous generations—though they certainly face different struggles. In navigating these years, young people begin to decide for themselves what moral standards and what truth—if any—they believe in. God’s Word remains the unchanging source of truth upon which Christian youth can stand firm through these years—but they need to know it well.

Young believers, though young in age, need not be young in faith. Born-again youth can be, and ought to strive to be, examples to the whole church body. Older believers need to recognize the role that believing youth play in their local church body and encourage them to live out and continue growing in their faith. One very important area in which to encourage them is in the study of God’s Word.

Search the Scriptures is a series of in-depth studies into books or major themes of the Bible. These studies are biblical-theological in nature. In other words, they do not start with a common problem, such as peer pressure, and then apply the relative Scriptures to the problem. Rather, they start with the categories and framework of Scripture itself. It is in studying and embracing the overarching story of Scripture and its major themes that one will form and develop a robust biblical worldview. Armed with this biblical worldview, Christian youth will then be strengthened to address the diverse issues that they face in the world.

While these studies can be used entirely on their own, they are also intentionally created as companion study books to Gospel Grown’s illustrated books bearing the same title. Our goal in doing so was for families with young and older children to study the same topic in Scripture at the same time, yet in an age-appropriate way. These studies are able to be completed individually, as part of a family devotion, or together in a youth group.

Our prayer for all who would use these studies is that they would find God’s Word sweeter than honey and more desirable than gold, and that they would build their life upon this solid rock.

Gospel Grown Author Interview

Author Interview: The Promise of Life

What is The Promise of Life about?

The title is taken from Romans chapter seven verse ten where Paul says that the Law promised life but it resulted in death. The book itself is an overview for children of this important theme of Law found throughout the storyline of the Bible, and how this theme contributes to and shapes the Gospel message—namely, the promise of life.

Why do kids need a book on God’s Law?

At first glance, sure, it can seem to be a topic that kids are not really interested in! But I think it’s important for a number of reasons.

First, it’s a very important biblical theme, and one that is often misunderstood, and one over which there is still differing opinions among evangelicals. Often the Law is seen as a bad thing because it cannot save. But Paul makes it clear that the Law is a good thing. The problem is not the Law, the problem is that all people are born slaves to Sin. I wanted to teach children the goodness of God’s laws, while also show how good laws expose our slavery to Sin. This is an important biblical theme that children can grasp.

Secondly, the main goal of the book is to present the Gospel, not to have a monologue on biblical Law. Because all people are born slaves to Sin, we disobey God and are under God’s good Law and its punishment. The only way to be set free from being under the Law and its curse is by Jesus. Jesus came and fulfilled the Law, gave us His Law-keeping righteousness, died taking the curse of the Law for His people, and sets His people free from their slavery to Sin, so that they can now love God and love others. The biblical theme of Law is thus very important to the Gospel message.

And thirdly, because children are in fact surrounded by laws and rules from the get-go. Don’t touch, don’t put that in your mouth, say please and thank you, don’t jump on the couch, etc. And our children in their unregenerate state, are just like Israel, slaves to Sin and incapable of gaining life through obeying laws. Children need to be taught how to rightly understand their own slavery to Sin and how to understand and respond to all these laws around them. I hope that children can relate their own experience to the story of Israel and the Law. Children may try to be “good kids” others may be more prone to blatant rebellion, but both need Jesus to give them the gift of life. Young children can be taught about their slavery to Sin through their disobedience to what are good, upright laws that their parents give them.

This book is part of the series called The Bible’s Big Ideas, in which important biblical themes, teachings, and words are traced throughout the storyline of Scripture. This series seeks to show how the “parts” contribute to the “whole.” How does this theme of God’s Law, contribute to the whole message of the Bible?

God’s goal in creation and, since the fall, His goal of redemption has been to graciously give people eternal, blessed life with God. Having our sins forgiven is only part of the Gospel message. Our sins are forgiven for a purpose, that we might dwell in the house of the Lord forever. God’s Law promised this kind of life, it really did (Gal 3:21), but because of Sin it was ineffective to grant this life.

The story of the Gospel is the story of how God did what the Law could not do by sending Jesus into the world (Rom 8:3–4). God’s creation and redemptive goal—to create a people who dwell with God forever in a sin-free world—was promised through the Law but was accomplished through Jesus.

What do you hope to achieve with this book?

I want children to know and cherish Jesus. I want children to know that the Law is powerless to deal with their slavery to Sin and Law-keeping will not lead to life. I want children to see that Jesus not only pays the price for sin, but he gives eternal, blessed life-with-God to all who believe in him.

Moreover, I also want parents to see that, in raising their children and giving them laws—teaching about right and wrong—they also need to teach their children about their slavery to Sin and about the life that Jesus gives. Parents ought not be surprised that their children disobey nor exasperate their children by giving them laws upon laws seeking to produce obedience. Because of Sin, laws are impotent to save. Parents ought to seize the moments in which their children disobey to talk about their slavery to Sin and the freedom Jesus can give. I hope this book gives fresh categories and help for parents to think rightly about their children’s disobedience.

Children will never understand why they do the things they do unless they know about the Sin within them. And children will never find rest in seeking to do good, unless they receive life as a gift from God.

Jonny Atkinson was born and raised in Northern Ireland and moved to the US in 2010 to marry his sweetheart and study the Bible. He is now married to Janaye and holds an MDiv and a ThM from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. They live together in Louisville with their five children, where Jonny serves as a pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church.

 

 

 

 

 

Gospel Grown Series Introduction

The Bible’s Big Ideas: Series Introduction

Children love a good story. They are captivated as they are transported to other times and worlds, meet fascinating characters, hear new phrases, and experience new customs. They are gripped with plots of good versus evil as their innate sense of justice gets roused. And even when the story is over, the story often lives on with them, as they imagine themselves living in such a world, pretending to be such a character, and utilizing their newly expanded vocabulary.

The Bible is the greatest story ever told, itself chocked full of extraordinary places and exciting peoples, unique characters and strange customs, new words and novel phrases, memorable events and momentous battles, all within an overarching plotline, the greatest triumph of good over evil.

The central message, or The Story, of the Bible is the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ. However, the Bible is a Story made up of many stories, sub-plots to the Gospel Story, each with their own setting, characters, and plot. These stories highlight, develop, and illumine the various themes of the main plot, the Gospel Story. Therefore, knowing the parts well will deepen our understanding of the whole.

Rather than summarizing the whole, The Bible’s Big Ideas is a new series for children that focuses on these parts. Each book published within The Bible’s Big Ideas highlights an important biblical theme, teaching, or word and traces its development throughout the biblical storyline showing in its contribution to the Gospel message. The goal of this series is to help children see how the big picture is made up of many pieces and so deepen their understanding of the Gospel.

May this Gospel, the greatest Story, live on with our children as they enter in and embrace the world of the Bible, not in their imagination but truly, as the only way to make sense of their story.