Building Faith Block by Block: [An Unofficial Minecraft Guide] 60 A-to-Z (Kid Only) Survival Secrets

by Michael Ross, Christopher Ross

Improve Your Game, Build Your Faith Decisions, decisions. In both the virtual world and the real world, you have to make a bunch of choices. Mess up in the virtual world of Minecraft and you can always start over. But in the real world, where the decisions you make have real consequences, both good and bad, it's not that simple. Where can you go for help? Is there a gamer's guide for living? Yes, it's called the Bible—and God created it to help you win! Join gamer Dragee90 as he shares daily devotions packed with secrets to success in two key areas of your

Gameplay—Learn A-to-Z tips and tricks for virtual world-building and secrets and online survival in the game of Minecraft.Real Life—Dragee90 reveals some of his own daily struggles and gives you powerful Scripture verses from the Bible you can use to overcome life's biggest obstacles. Building faith block by block is easy when you start with the right foundation!

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Building Faith Block by Block is a Minecraft manual including some gameplay secrets while at the same time teaches some helpful life lessons about how we should live according to God. The author weaves the story into the gameplay while teaching about real life scenarios. After each story, the reader is taught a line of scripture from the Bible, then there are sections that get kids thinking about that Scripture. Finally, the book teaches how we can apply the Scripture in life. From building a farm to avoiding a dungeon trap, kids will get some secret Minecraft tips as well.

The book is unique and has many tips for kids on living their best life. At times it feels like a self-help book which I think is great for kids. I thought it was written well and liked the format. The quick guide in the back is useful and offers a quick search for Bible verses. For example, you can search for the word salvation and be guided to the Bible verses covered on that topic. We thought the book aimed more towards spiritual guidance than it does actual Minecraft help, although there are plenty of tips and tricks included for gaming as well.

Christian families that enjoy playing Minecraft will love this book...

I'd like to thank Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for sharing a copy of this book with me.

4****

[Justin Tapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a dad of a nine year old autistic son who loves Minecraft and spends hours each week reading books and watching videos on the game. We do devotionals with him every night and he eagerly engages in family worship, but he does not show much interest in reading Bible stories or watching faith-related videos-- and there is little out there on YouTube worth watching, unlike the endless hours of Minecraft.

So, I was VERY excited to learn about this book and check out an evaluation Kindle copy via NetGalley. It has the same type of Minecraft gameplay tips as other books my son reads, but it relates those tips to a spiritual concept. Each Minecraft concept includes a "Best Tip" for use in the game, a "Read It" passage that relates to the concept from Scripture, a "Think It" passage to challenge the child to understand the biblical lesson, and a "Live It" that applies to real life.

For example, the author talking about bedrock in the game (acquired through a command line code):
"This common mineral can withsatand creepers who attack in the night. It cannot be broken by tools, and it can't be destroyed by explosions. It's the only block that a beacon beam can shine through at night. And it's one of the materials used to create an End gateway portal when the ender dragon is killed. We need bedrocks in our lives. They're solid pieces that go unnoticed--but are so important in life-- having a strong faith, a safe home, and a family that loves us." Dragee90 gives a tip about using bedrock in the game, and then offers Matthew 7:24-25 as a Scripture reading-- building your house on the solid rock. His Think It questions ask: "What is the solid rock? How do we build our lives on it?" His Live it concludes: "There is only one rock-solid truth--one bedrock. Truth comes from God...we build on solid rock by following the teachings of Jesus."

I received a pre-release Kindle copy and the pictures are black and white and the text was organized to make it difficult. So, I'm hoping the actual Kindle version is much better. But nonetheless, I'm buying a paperback version for my son today! While the book says it's geared for 7th graders, I think it's written at a much lower reading level than most regular Minecraft books, so no problem if you have an elementary-aged child.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a neat book for children who are addicted to Minecraft (my son) and you want them to also build their relationship with Jesus.
I think the authors did a great job of engaging the young reader by bringing them into the Minecraft world and then applying it to the scriptures.
I wanted to read this book hoping my son might want to read it. I think this is something he would enjoy if he will give it a chance. I would encourage parents out there whose children love Minecraft to give this book as a gift and maybe even read it with them.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley.com. All opinions are my own.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how this book took something that children are very interested in and built a faith based lesson into it. I am looking forward to sharing this with my students.