By Michael Catt
B&H Books, 2012
English, 176 pgs
Available September 15, 2012
Description:
Catt brings fresh insight to “stories of people in the Bible who displayed great courage when it would have been easier to play it safe . . . (who) challenge me to keep moving forward. They demand that I examine my priorities and deal with anything that brings fear to my heart.”
Teen readers will be inspired to resolve to live
for God as they learn more about Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, Ruth, Daniel,
and many more.
Best-selling youth market author Amy
Parker arranges the heart-stirring material into four categories:
Courageous Faith, Courageous Leadership, Courageous Priorities, and
Courageous Influence. Discussion questions are also included at the end
of each chapter.
Review:
This book hooked me in the introduction with the line "Unless the people of my generation take the time to equip you, our young people, with spiritual courage, the church is always just one generation from extinction."
There are 4 sections and 10 total chapters. Each chapter has questions at the end and each section has a recap page. These would be really useful in a group setting.
The first section "Courageous Faith" is about learning to trust God. It uses a lot from the life of Abraham to teach. It encourages teens to find what motivates them and to find courage regarding facing a future that we don't always plan for our selves. It uses the examples of Esther and Joseph.
The second section "Courageous Leadership" is about a personal relationship with God, finding courage to lead and be a humble hero. It used Joshua and Moses as some of the examples. I like the inclusion of Gideon here. That's a study in learning to be humble and let God have all the glory!!
The third section "Courageous Priorities" is about doing what's right. This is probably the hardest lesson for teens. So many are pulled in so many directions. It's good to ground yourself in your faith and let that be your guide. Examples are Elijah, Martin Luther and Moses. The chapter on facing persecution is, I'm afraid, going to be more and more relevant to teens. The Biblical example is Stephen.
The final section "Courageous Influence" is about taking what's been learned so far and using it to reach others. I like that this section uses modern examples as well as Nehemiah and Paul. The chapter regarding mentoring has really touched my heart and given me a desire to reach out to the youth in our church.
This is a powerful book, with a powerful message. I cannot wait to hand it to one of the youth group leaders at church and suggest that this be the Spring Bible study.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. No additional compensation has been received and I was not required to write a positive review.
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