Devotions for the Childrens Hour by Kenneth N. N. Taylor

by Kenneth N. Taylor

This book will help teach you child the basics of the Christian life. Make the most of the time you spend with your child by making devotions part of your child's day.

Genres: Childrens, Devotional, Nonfiction, Christian

Paperback

First published February 1, 1982

About the author

Throughout his publishing career, Dr. Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor's dream was for all peoples of the world to read and understand God's Word and experience its power at work in their lives. From his earliest children's books to his generous support of Christian ministry, this vision was (and still is) reflected in his work. Ken Taylor, founder of Tyndale House Publishers, died in June 2005 at the age of 88. Early in his publishing career in the 1950s as director of Moody Press, Dr. Taylor wrote several children's books. Born out of experience with his own ten children, "Stories for the Children's Hour," "The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes," and others are now being enjoyed by a third generation of children. "My First Bible in Pictures" was included in "Publishers Weekly"'s list of "All-Time Best-Selling Children's Books" in 2001. His love for children (including his 28 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren) continues to inspire new titles. In fact, it was his children, in their confusion over the meaning of the King James Version, who prompted his mission to make the Bible understandable for everyone. Dr. Taylor's "Living Letters," a thought-for-thought translation of the New Testament Epistles, was published by the newly formed Tyndale House Publishers in 1962. The complete "Living Bible" followed in 1971 and has now sold over 40 million copies in its many editions. In 1996 Tyndale House introduced the "Holy Bible," New Living Translation. In keeping with Dr. Taylor's vision of Scriptures that everyone can read, the New Living Translation is a thought-for-thought translation that is exegetically accurate and idiomatically authoritative. Ninety of today's leading Bible scholars worked with Tyndale House to develop this easy-to-understand translation. Tyndale has become one of the top evangelical publishers in America and today publishes books, several Bible lines, periodicals, and videos. During the past 40 years, Tyndale House has distributed over 100 million Bibles, New Testaments, and Bible portions worldwide. Dr. Taylor used the success of "The Living Bible" to further his mission by distributing all its royalties to Christian ministries worldwide. He founded Living Bibles International (which merged in 1992 with the International Bible Society) for translating, publishing, and distributing modern-language versions of the Bible around the world. His life of service has been recognized with at least 30 honors and awards from different organizations, including four honorary doctorates. In October 2000, Dr. and Mrs. (Margaret) Taylor were awarded the Distinguished Service to Family Award by Wheaton College. A graduate of Wheaton College, with graduate studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Taylor held 15 directorships with Christian organizations at home and abroad.

Reviews

[BlueMeadowlark · Rating 1 out of 5]

We received this book as part of a curriculum package and, while the rest of the package is great, the two books by Kenneth N. Taylor have given me nothing but concern. Within the devotionals in this book, you will find:

- A doctrine of works rather than faith. Page 28, "Some day, if we obey God, He will take us to heaven when we die..." Page 67, "When you obey God, it makes Him very happy and He gives you many lovely things." While we should strive for obedience, that isn't what gets us in to heaven, and we should certainly not be teaching our children that "lovely things" are the reason to be obedient. These highly questionable statements alone are enough for me to want to remove this book from our house, but here is the rest...

- Stories inserted into the end of each reading which cannot be verified. Almost all of the readings end with a short story of some sort. However, they do not include any references or citations. If we are striving to present "doctrine" and truth, this needs to be clarified. I need to be able to discern whether I am presenting consistent truth to my children, rather than following up Truth with some random fable.

- Multiple references to "bad" people and "good" people. Page 59 "God did send the great flood, and all of the bad people drowned." It is extremely important that children understand the difference between "bad" and "sinful", and that they understand that a sinful person is still a redeemable person. The use of the terms "bad" and "good" imply worth or value, making it very confusing to try to explain to the child that our value to God does not depend on our "good"ness.

- A dialog-type narrative which, in my own opinion, seems to talk down to children. For instance, the above mentioned use of "good" and "bad" - this seems to be done out of a desire to simplify things for children who do not need this to be simplified. Also, the use of the term "happy", instead of "joyful" or "content". This, again, sets the child up for confusion down the road, since "happiness" is dependent on circumstances and emotion, while joy and contentment should not be.

The book is BADLY in need of updating, by someone who can put serious prayer and discernment into the doctrinal basis of many of the statements made. Though it may make more work for us in the context of the curriculum package, I am definitely scrapping this one.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, quick devo we did at bedtime. There are a few references to millions of years but I just substitute on the fly.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice devotional. Had to rephrase a couple of things that I didn't like how it was worded. Touched on lots of different topics like "There is only one God", "If we can not see God, how can we know he is alive?", "Who is Satan?" "Who is on the throne in your heart?", "Bearing fruit". Each chapter starts off with doctrinal information and then ends in a short application story.