This post concludes our interview with Nancy Ganz, author of
Herein Is Love, a set of Bible
commentaries designed specifically for children. We believe this series is
unique, with thoroughly biblical material presented in a warm, flowing
narrative. Parents, teachers, and children will gain fresh insights into the
biblical texts, insights that will impact everyday life. If you have ever
wondered how to make the Bible come alive to your children and to yourself, Herein is Love will do just that.
Shepherd Press is offering the set of all four commentaries
for $29.95. The details of this special can be found at the end of interview
questions in this post.
Jay Younts: We tend to
look at the first books of the Bible as dry academic history. By
contrast, your prose in retelling these stories is both lively and
conversational. Why is this important for children?
Nancy Ganz: God imparts biblical history to us, not in a dry
academic way, but through the exciting lives of real people. God's truth is
revealed to us in a very stimulating way--in peoples' stories. There are some
dry facts communicated too (such as long lists of numbers in the book called
Numbers) but this never lasts very long. One time in Russia, my husband and I
were having a tour of the Jewish Ghetto that was liquidated in WWII. The
historian was imparting to us historical facts: lists of the numbers of people
exterminated in different places and the dates when the massacres took place.
At the end of the tour I asked the man to recount for us his personal story of
that terrible time. At first he refused, saying it was unimportant. I
contradicted him and said his personal memories were of utmost importance to me
and to the world. I do not remember a single statistic that he told us, but I
remember his story almost word for word. That is how God has imparted
historical information to us--in the midst of exciting stories. This is not just
important for children. It is important for all of us!
JY: This may be a hard question to answer, but do you have a
favorite of the books you have written so far?
NG: This is the easiest
question to answer--Genesis.
JY: Genesis coves a huge sweep of redemptive history. But the next 4
books slow down the historical clock and focus on the life of Moses. Why do you
think Moses is such an important part of these first Bible books?
NG: In the last four books of the
Pentateuch (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy) Moses is the main
character ... aside from God, of course. Moses is the one, humanly speaking,
who leads the people of God out of Egypt, through the wilderness for forty
years, to the border of the Promised Land.
JY: And as a follow up, what are the things about
Moses' life that children should seek to imitate, and what are some examples of
things they should learn to avoid from Moses.
NG: I don't think I would ever
encourage children to imitate Moses. Jesus is our great example. However, Moses
was a man who lived by faith and in that sense, we too should live by faith.
Moses bore witness to the Truth and to the Savior--and so should we. Moses was
not perfect; he was flawed--and so are we. That is why we all must look to
Christ! A great man of faith like Moses or the smallest sweetest child you can
imagine--everyone must look to Christ and trust in Christ to be saved.
JY: There are number of ways that this series can be used to teach the
Bible to children. One important use, I believe, is to encourage the practice
of family worship. Would you agree? Do you know of families using your
books as a resource for family worship, and, if so, what is their feedback?
NG: Yes and yes, I do know of
families who read a portion of Scripture and then read to their children what I
have written about the passage. They find this instructive for all.
JY: Perhaps you could comment on
why family worship is so important, especially in our modern culture.
NG: Family worship entails reading a passage of God's Word, perhaps
reading a commentary about that passage, praying to God and singing praises to
God. Reading together ANYTHING is a wonderful activity for a family! Reading
the Bible is the most wonderful of all. Praying as a family--what could be more
crucial than that activity? And a family singing together every day/night--not just
a few Christmas Carols on Christmas Eve but daily praising God together in song--that
is an amazing thing to do in this world filled with sorrow and pressure and
trouble of every kind. The birds sing praises to God every single day. So
should we. Somebody should do a study to see if singing praises to God prevents
cancer. I can't think of anything more important than all of these activities
in a culture that forgets God. If your child goes to public school, the day
will pass and God will not even be mentioned, except as a curse word by
teachers and students. Let God be mentioned in your homes with reverence. Read
His Word. Pray to Him earnestly. And sing His praises forever.
JY: Nancy,
thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. And
thank you for this wonderful series. May God use it mightily for his Glory!
Blog Special
All four volumes of Herein Is Love will be available
at a special price from now until
Monday, February 22. Here are the specific instructions to take advantage
of this special:
The
coupon code for the set is JYGANZ4.
The special price for this set of 4
volumes is $29.95! That's $16 off the usual set price, or $23 off the price for
all four books sold separately.
You may need to be logged into the
website for the coupon code to work!
To enter the coupon code, add the Herein
is Love Set to your shopping cart. Click "View Cart" on the right
side of your screen. At the bottom of the shopping cart page is a field titled
"Redeem a discount coupon." Enter the coupon code there and click
"Submit." Then proceed with the checkout process.
This is a limited
time offer. One set per customer.
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