We love The Good Company’s colourful, fun and engaging Tales That Tell The Truth series in our house, and The God Content already looks set to be a favourite within that series.

Carl Laferton re-tells the imagination-captivating story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal and their ‘God Contest’ between the God of the Bible, Yahweh, and the false god, Baal, from 1 Kings 18. This is framed in contemporary language that children will connect with: ‘Maybe Baal was the real God. Maybe Yahweh was. Maybe both of them were. Maybe neither of them were… How could they decide?‘

We get all the fun of Elijah’s infamous mockery of Baal’s non-appearance, as well as a clear sense of the awe that Yahweh’s display of fire is meant to prompt.

But rather than leaving things there, Carl brings us forward in salvation history to Jesus’ death and resurrection as another ‘God contest’, where Jesus proves himself as the one true God, who made everyone, rules everywhere, and loves everyone. Elijah’s escapades aren’t left disconnected from twenty-first century life, but instead we see how these two extraordinary events speak into the questions, doubts and experiences of growing up in a pluralistic age.

As ever, Catalina Echeverri’s beautiful illustrations are a huge part of the attraction of these books. Vivid and delightfully detailed, they bring these stories to life for young eyes, as well as capturing a sense of the present-day applications for the lives of the readers. The thin roughly A4-size hardback format also gives the book a sense of weightiness, making for a perfect gift.

Our just-turned 4 year old loves being read The God Contest and our 7 year old loves reading it, so I’d put it in the 3-8 year old ball-park.

You can pick up a copy of The God Contest from the publisher here.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book, but I hope this is a fair and honest review.

Seven up…

1) Spiritual Disciplines for Dark Days – Some helpful and helpfully honest reflections on forming disciplines that help us through this difficult season, when we’re all prone to discouragement, despair and division.

2) Bridgerton, Beauty, and #RelationshipGoals – Maybe you’re one of the 63 million households worldwide who, since Christmas Day, have been streaming the escapist world of Bridgerton on Netflix? I’ve been glued to The Queen’s Gambit so haven’t given it a watch, but a bit like Game of Thrones, I know people who’ve hit the ‘fast-forward’ button fairly regularly, as well as people who have switched off after one episode (for a range of reasons!). This reflection on the series from Alianore Smith, including Bridgerton’s attraction and it’s unspoken questions, seems helpful.

3) Be part of singing a new song for Easter 2021 – but register today! – Really appreciated Joyful Noise’s ‘Comfort and Joy’ song over Christmas. This explains how to be part of their Easter 2021 song, but you need to respond today, Sunday.

4) Let us redefine evangelicalism after the Trump presidency – Good to see Gav Calver of the Evangelical Alliance reflect in yesterday’s The Times on the way this ‘E-word’ has become distorted for us in the UK by its status in the US (if you hit the paywall, Gav has tweeted the article text here). It remains a tricky word to use outside of ‘in house’ conversations, and even amongst Christians in the UK is often defined stylistically rather than theologically. (Frustrating to see The Times add to the confusion by mistakenly using the word ‘evangelism’ in the headline too, but perhaps symptomatic of the religious illiteracy that surrounds such topics in the public square.) Also reflecting on the situation, but from that side of the pond, is Russell Moore, who has been vilified for speaking out against a politicised distortion of Christianity in his nation. This article, which he published last week, is well worth a read.

5) Joni Eareckson Tada COVID Health Update – I was sharing a bit about Joni in last week’s teaching at church from James 1, and hadn’t heard she’d struggled with COVID. Incredibly encouraging as always.

6) A Pox on All Our Houses – Appreciated this conversation between Glen Scrivener and Paul Blackham on how the Church is responding to the pandemic.

7) Man Shovelling Snow on a Unicycle Dressed as Darth Vader with Flaming Bagpipes – For something a bit different, I’m guessing you probably didn’t realise how much you needed this in your life until you saw it, right?

Sharing is caring. Know someone who might find these links a blessing? Why not forward it on?

Seven up…

1) Open or Shut? – In light of the Government’s decision to allow churches to remain open for public worship, if they so wish, it’s felt like the disagreement between Christians – and in particular church leaders – has been pretty intense and often ugly this week. Some of this was captured in this Christian Today article, along with the pastoral pressures being faced. Brett McCracken’s call to not let the Church be divided from May 2020 is worth another read. These suggestions for approaching the question are useful.

2) Be Kind! – The Comment Section by Sidewalk Prophets – Someone shared this with me. I’ve not heard much from this band before, but this is an encouraging listen on kindness, particularly when we’re all online more.

3) 7 Reasons Question Marks are More Productive than Exclamation Points in Evangelism – This is a super-short read, but there’s heaps of wisdom in it.

4) Faith and spirituality in the time of Covid – Always interesting to see how religious belief is being discussed in the media.

5) ‘Soul’ Is the Anti-Disney Disney Movie – We haven’t caught Soul yet, but I’m hearing lots of positive things. This is an intriguing take: “Life’s magic and meaning isn’t primarily found by looking within for a spark, talent, or passion that needs to be expressed. Instead, maybe it’s found by looking around us at the beauty of the world we’ve been given—and then looking up, with awe and gratitude, at the Giver.”

6) Liturgy for a Time of Widespread Suffering – I’ve sung the praises of Doug McKelvey’s Every Moment Holy before, but this is a free pdf download of a prayer to share and use at this time.

7) Every Podcast Ever – For something a bit different, I’m thinking of starting a podcast and this is my first draft. Jokes, this is actually the incredibly talented musician Jonathan Ogden having a bit of fun. If you listen to podcasts, then this will sound all too familiar. And if that wasn’t enough, this is Josh Berry on ‘People who receive the Oxford vaccine‘… no gags about the Durham vaccine please…

Sharing is caring. Know someone who might find these links a blessing? Why not forward it on?