Questions like, How are babies made? or How was I born? ; Who is God? And can I really know Him?, tend to freak some parent’s out. Sure, we may know the answers ourselves, but lack the confidence to think we can clearly articulate them. We don’t want to mess up or leave some pertinent information out.
I see it as a huge responsibility to parent my children. One that I don’t take lightly, but also one that I don’t stress over – usually. =) Because, my husband and I are not raising our children alone. We are in a partnership with God. I believe that God equips us for every task He gives us, and in this case, some of our equipment comes from Apologia Press.
Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? is the first book in a series, What We Believe, published by Apologia Press with Summit Ministries.
What We Believe is a Biblical worldview series. Who Is God? reminded me that I must teach my children “how to use Scripture as a lens; viewing the world through it.” If I don’t, I set them up to become a grim statistic –
“Well over two-thirds of young people leave church soon after graduating from high school or starting college. Many are already gone by their teen years,” says Davis Carman, steward of Apologia Educational Ministries. The vision for the What We Believe series is, as quoted from Apologia:
- to help children build their lives on the solid rock of God and His Word
- to encourage family discipleship as an educational model
- to eliminate the fear factor of teaching worldview at home
- to decrease the rate at which young men and women are leaving the Christian faith
Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? is 252 pages beautifully bound in a hard cover book. It is an easy to read conversation, geared for students ages 6 – 14. You can find a Lesson 1 sample here. Who Is God? is Scripturally sound, but not denominationally specific. It touches many subjects; teaching more than Bible. $39 includes access to many resources and extensive extras online. Available soon is a coordinating Notebooking Journal, a Coloring Book and audio MP3 CD. Check the catalog for these prices.
We received our book, from Apologia, for this review, but we have not rushed through it. We are savoring it. We read, notebook, discuss and ponder, question, answer and memorize. I want the truths to stick with my children long after we finish this book. I already know that we will be purchasing the next in the series, Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here? and continuing this study, together. The time is priceless to our family. The third book, Who Is My Brother? And Why Do We Need Each Other?, will be available this year, while What On Earth Can I Do? will not be finished until 2012. Sounds like perfect timing for us.
There is a lesson plan/schedule outlined, but it is not mandated. In fact, the book is set up to allow maximum flexibility. Sounds like a perfect plan for us.
Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? is comprised of 10 Lessons, each structured around The Big Idea – which is an intro to the main subject. Topics covered include:
- Where Am I Building My Life?
- How Can I Know What’s True?
- What Is God Like? pt.1
- What Is God Like? pt. 2
- Who Are The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit?
- If God Created The World, Why Isn’t It Perfect?
- Why Did God Create Me?
- Will God Meet All My Needs?
- Why Does Sin Keep Me From Knowing God?
- Is Jesus The Only Way To God?
I appreciated the section – What You Will Do – that lays out the learning objectives for the lesson. I used these objectives to guide our conversations and reinforce what we read.
A Short Story is read and used to demonstrate a situation and how it might be handled when a Christian Worldview is in action. Many of the stories were geared to the younger ages, but our discussions around the stories were interesting and age appropriate.
Vocabulary words are listed separately in Words You Need To Know. I had the children write these and their definitions, along with their Bible memory verses, from Hide It In Your Heart, first. We referred back to them as needed.
There are various articles in each lesson, touching on subjects of art, music, math and science, etc., that tie into the main idea – either directly or through the short story. This is Integrated Learning. In a section titled What Should I Do?, a specific Godly character trait is highlighted. Combining Integrated Learning and What Should I Do? gave us the opportunity to brainstorm several scenarios and the best way to handle them.
Each lesson closes with a Prayer. I used this as a model to keep our prayer time focused on the attributes of the lesson.
Worldview Study is a dynamic I have neglected in our previous Bible studies. In every lesson, we are given knowledge that helps us center our lives on God’s Truth, knowing what we believe and why. “When we recognize the components of our own worldview, we can begin to look at other worldviews and understand why others believe as they do.” As Christians, we have a hope in Christ Jesus, The One True and Living God, that other religions don’t have. Worldview equips us to effectively communicate that hope to others.
As we complete each lesson, through all four books in this series, we are encouraged that we are building a House of Truth. The foundation and the first wall are completed in Who Is God? It is a visual memory aid. “The House of Truth can be used figuratively, drawn in the notebook, or built with items you have on hand. A three-dimensional, build-as-you-go model is also available for purchase separately from Summit Ministries.” Sounds like the perfect house and we’re excited about building it!
Apologia Educational Ministries
1106 Meridian Plaza Suite 220
Anderson, IN 46016 US
Telephone:
888-524-4724
I hope you will consider – Who Is God? I assure you, you can really know Him.
Blessings,
This product was given to me, free of charge, in exchange, for my honest review, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I receive no other compensation for my reviews on this blog. The opinions expressed are my own.
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[…] I have previously used and reviewed the first three books in their What We Believe Series: Who Is God? , Who Am I? , and Who Is My Neighbor? I also appreciate their Resources for Parents, especially […]