Talking with Your Kids about God: 30 Conversations Every Christian Parent Must Have

by Natasha Crain, Sean McDowell (Foreword by)

Overview

Christian parenting is hard work—and it's getting harder. Parents have a deep desire to pass on their faith, but fear that today's increasingly skeptical and hostile world will eventually lead their kids to reject the truth of Christianity. That leaves many parents feeling overwhelmed—uncertain of what they can do to help their children, given the difficulty and extent of the faith challenges they will face.

This practical and timely resource gives parents the confidence of knowing what to discuss with their children and how to discuss it in order to facilitate impactful conversations that will form the basis of a lifelong faith. In a friendly, parent-to-parent voice, Natasha Crain identifies 30 specific conversations about God that parents must have with their children, organizing them under the categories of

- the existence of God
- science and God
- the nature of God
- believing in God
- the difference God makes

Chapters are sequenced in a curriculum-oriented way to provide a cumulative learning experience, making this book a flexible resource for use in multiple settings: homes, church classes, youth groups, small groups, private Christian schools, and homeschools. Every chapter has a step-by-step conversation guide with discussion questions and tips, and content is readily adaptable for use with kids of any age (elementary through high school).

Endorsements:

"My prayer is that God will use this book to both motivate and equip you to help your kids develop convictions about their faith."—From the foreword by Sean McDowell, PhD, Biola University professor, speaker, and author of more than eighteen books, including A New Kind of Apologist

"I can't think of a more relevant or more needed book for parents raising kids in today's culture. This book on apologetics will lead parents in critical conversations that will help grow and guide kids to be lifelong followers of Christ."—Kristen Welch, author of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

"Hey parents: Do you want to reduce the chances that your child will follow the crowd to the point of rejecting Christ and the values and truths you hold so dearly? Then you need to have the conversations that Natasha Crain so brilliantly describes in this book. Prevent heartbreak later by reading and heeding this book now!"—Frank Turek, PhD, president of CrossExamined Ministries and author of I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist and Stealing from God

"May this book lead to thousands more Moms and Dads engaging with their kids through an intelligent faith. And may there be tens of thousands more kids who feel loved because the adults in their lives take their questions seriously."—Jeff Myers, PhD, president, Summit Ministries

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801075520
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/17/2017
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	432,268
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Natasha Crain is a national speaker, author, and blogger who is passionate about equipping Christian parents to raise their kids with an understanding of how to make a case for and defend their faith in an increasingly secular world. In addition to Talking with Your Kids about Jesus, she has authored two other apologetics books for parents: Keeping Your Kids on God's Side and Talking with Your Kids about God. Natasha's articles have been featured in the Focus on the Family magazine and the Christian Research Journal, and she's been interviewed on radio shows across the country. She has an MBA from UCLA and a certificate in Christian apologetics from Biola University. A former marketing executive and adjunct professor, Natasha lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. She writes at www.natashacrain.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sean McDowell 15

Acknowledgments 17

Introduction 19

Part 1 The Existence of God

Overview 29

1 What Can We Learn about God from Nature? 33

2 Where Did the Universe Come From? 41

3 Where Did Life Come From? 49

4 Where Did Our Moral Understanding Come From? 58

5 What Is the Difference between God and a Flying Spaghetti Monster? 66

6 How Much Evidence Do We Need to Be Confident God Exists? 73

Part 2 Science and God

Overview 83

7 Can Science Prove or Disprove God's Existence? 87

8 Do Science and Religion Contradict Each Other? 95

9 Do Science and Religion Complement Each Other? 103

10 Is God Just an Explanation for What Science Doesn't Yet Know? 110

11 Can Science Explain Why People Believe in God? 118

12 What Do Scientists Believe about God? 125

Part 3 The Nature of God

Overview 135

13 What Can We Learn about God from the Bible? 139

14 What Does It Mean That God Is Love? 147

15 What Does It Mean That God Is Just? 154

16 Why Does God Seem So Harsh in Parts of the Old Testament? 161

17 How Can God Be Three Persons in One? 169

18 Why Didn't God Reveal More of Himself in the Bible? 177

Part 4 Believing in God

Overview 185

19 Why Do People Believe So Many Different Things about God? 189

20 Do All Religions Worship the Same God? 198

21 Is What You Believe about God Simply a Matter of Where You Grew Up? 206

22 Why Do Christians Sometimes Doubt Their Belief in God? 214

23 How Do We Know God Hears and Answers Prayers? 223

24 How Can We Develop a Relationship with a God We Can't See or Hear? 231

Part 5 The Difference God Makes

Overview 243

25 What IS the Meaning of Life? 247

26 Do We Really Have Free Will? 255

27 What Should We Do with Our Lives? 262

28 What Is Our Responsibility to Other People? 270

29 How Should We Make Sense of Evil? 278

30 Why Does Biblical Hope Matter? 287

Notes 297