A Family of Grace

A FAMILY OF GRACE is the third book of a trilogy of books to not only encourage families to have a daily devotional time together, but to provide a resource that is family friendly. The first two books of the trilogy which focused on the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament and the gospel of Luke from the New Testament, each provided 100 devotionals on the respective books of the Bible. A FAMILY OF GRACE - 100 Devotionals from Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, has an identical format as the other two books. There are 100 one-page devotionals that explain verses from each chapter of these four letters of the apostle Paul in the New Testament. After each of the 100 devotionals the author has provided three questions that pertain to the subject material. One unique advantage with these devotionals is that following the questions there are answers that the parents can use if they so desire. There are plenty of anecdotes throughout these devotionals that add to the interest as well as help children make application of these Bible truths to their own lives.

I think the most accurate description of the book would be by a well-known evangelical pastor who reviewed the manuscript of A FAMILY OF GRACE and then wrote the Foreword to the book: "God makes it very clear that He wants believing parents to take seriously the crucial needs to formally teach God's Word and spontaneously communicate a biblical perspective to their children in the various contexts and teachable moments of life. Yet as both a parent and a pastor I have asked the question, "Where do I begin with teaching my children and how can this be done effectively?" While the spontaneous communication of a biblical perspective to one's children must flow out of a parent's own walk of faith with the Lord and having the Word of God on the launching pad of their own thinking, a regular time of family devotions can be one means in seeking to formally teach our children. And to assist in this godly desire, Bryan Coupland has provided for parents a very helpful resource titled, A FAMILY OF GRACE - 100 Devotionals from Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Each of these 100 devotionals in A FAMILY OF GRACE includes a title, a Scripture text to be explained and often illustrated with a story, some questions from the text to be discussed, and then the right answers to the questions (so the parent and child can get it right). These devotional books truly fill a real void in biblical Christianity as there is little devotional material available for elementary age children into teens." D.R.

Bryan Coupland was a veterinarian who taught at MSU and later was a drug company director, before he and his wife became missionaries with New Tribes Mission. He has held a variety of leadership positions including missionary trainer, chairman of NTM Bible Institute, field director of NTM Panama, and Executive Board member of NTM-USA and Canada. Bryan has authored three other books including COME REST WITH ME - Experiencing Intimacy with Jesus through God's Rest; GROWING A WISE FAMILY - 100 Devotionals from the Book of Proverbs; and GOOD NEWS FOR THE FAMILY - 100 Devotionals from the Gospel of Luke. Bryan and his wife Del have three married children and eleven grandchildren.