Also by this author: How Do We Know Christianity Is Really True?, What Happens When We Die?, Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?, Who Am I and Why Do I Matter?, How Can I Be Sure What’s Right and Wrong?
Series: Big Questions #5
Published by Good Book Company on March 1, 2023
Genres: Children's
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Tools and tips for growing your relationship with Jesus and making faith a real part of your life.
Sooner or later, kids ask big questions about themselves and their faith: If God is real, why doesn't he feel real? How can I make him seem less far away? What does a relationship with Jesus actually look like? What about when going to church or reading the Bible just feels boring and pointless?
Christian Studies teacher and school chaplain Chris Morphew has been answering big questions from kids for over a decade. In this fun and fast-paced book, he shows children how to grow in their relationship with God through the ordinary yet powerful habits of everyday discipleship: prayer, Bible reading, church community, rest, and simplicity.
Lively stories and illustrations make this book easy for 9-13s to engage with. Readers will be helped to develop a vibrant, living, and life-altering faith of their own as they learn to walk with Jesus day by day.
I have been impressed with each book in the Big Questions series so far, and this is another great installment. Chris Morphew is a teacher and school chaplain at a Christian school, and his experience interacting with kids comes through clearly in his writing. He knows how to answer spiritual questions from kids in a way that gets to the heart of what they’re really asking, and he uses humor and illustrations that they will relate to as he explains different points. Although the previous books in this series have focused on weighty theological questions, this one gets into the practical experience of trying to live out your faith.
Morphew acknowledges that God doesn’t always feel real to us, and he writes about the differences between having factual knowledge of someone versus having a relationship with them. He writes about how the Christian life involves friendship with Jesus, and shares practical examples of what this can look like in real life. In short, highly readable chapters, Morphew writes about why it matters to pray, read your Bible, and attend church, and about how someone can build these habits and deal with issues like feeling bored or distracted. He acknowledges that spiritual disciplines can be a struggle, but that as we practice and experience growth, they will become easier. Morphew also includes a helpful chapter about what it actually means to pursue God’s will, aside from the stereotypes of church culture.
How Can I Feel Closer to God? is a great book for tweens and teens. This will appeal to readers who are brand new Christians, and to those who have professed faith at a younger age but are figuring out what the Christian life looks like for them now that they are older and can take more personal responsibility for their relationship with God. The short chapters and conversational style will help this book appeal to a broad age range, and I highly recommend this resource along with the rest of the series.
