Customer Reviews

Herein Is Love, Vol. 1: Genesis

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4 star:		(1)
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Actual title Herein is Love: Genesis
This set of Old Testament 'commentaries' for children is going to take the world by storm once the word gets out. Nancy Ganz has taken the details of Gods great work of creation and redeeming a people for himself and told it in a way that is engrossing for kids (and adults). We use it for family devotions; we're up to "lesson" 46 in Genesis. It doesn't dumb anything down or just make it a bunch of unconnected Bible stories. Like the title says the emphasis is showing Gods great love in all he does. The books are so creative; check out Noahs 'journal' while on the ark (yes, she puts in appropriate disclaimers. Nancy Ganz doesn't make things up, (she holds Gods word in such high regard it comes through on every page) she applies a magnifying glass to the text that showed my wife and I things we'd never noticed before. What a wonderful and exciting treat. Get these books, they are the next classic in childrens Bible literature. I don't even have time to talk about the full teaching guide at the back of each book: suggestions for visual aids, memory work, review questions, songs to sing, outdoor activities all on lightly tinted pages to stand out from the rest of the book. This stuff is great!

We've used Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus for our family devotions and haven't found anything better over the years.

I would like to note that the book bridges the ages. By that I mean, my husband and I are challenged, as well as our four children, aged 1-7.

I wrote more about how we use the books here:
http://humblemusings.com/archives/2005/06/15/our-family-routine/

My children(12 and 8)and I homeschool, and we have been reading through the Genesis commentary for this whole school year so far (it is almost March, and we are almost through it) It has been really wonderful. Mrs. Ganz adds so much more insight than I could have done on my own, and she writes in such an engaging way that it really keeps my kids' attention. But more importantly than what I have to say is what my children have said in regard to these books: "Oh, don't stop reading yet - I want to know what happens!" "There's an Exodus book, too?! Cool!"(upon learning that we were almost finished with Genesis and I had ordered the Exodus commentary), "Mom, you have to get ALL of these books - they're REALLY good!"(upon learning that there is also one for Leviticus and Numbers). So, as you can see, our family highly recommend these books! They are well worth the price.

for your kids, this is IT! I've already written to pastor friends with young children to tell this about this gem!!

Our daughter is only 3, but I've wanted something beyond the Bible story books (which we still use), but something she could get also get her head and heart around. This is it!

I would imagine this resource could easily span 2 years old to 10 years old. There are crafts/visual aid suggestions, a memory verse, suggested Psalter songs and 5-7 questions and a suggested field trip for each chapter. Ganz goes through Genesis with a chapter for each verse or every few verses. The chapter reading is a little long for a 3 year old, and we've split some of them into two evenings instead of one--or you could cut and paste some of your own readings from Ganz's. Otherwise I just try to keep our daugther focused while Daddy reads and asks questions once in a while.

There is some minimal advanced planning required to get the most use of the crafts and visual aids. I am not "crafty" at all, but we have most of the craft resources around our home, and also use the library for a few outside books Ganz suggests for pictures, etc.

I would imagine this is perfect for a Sunday School class (a really *great* class I'd be thrilled to have my kids in!), but we're using it at home very happily for family devotions. We do a chapter 2-4 times a week, which is moving quickly especially if we expect our little one to remember the Bible verses. But, they are all being stored in the "treasure heart" that she made for the first chapter craft--and she wants them read to her each night!

This book has depth for big ones (including Mom and Dad), hands-on involvement for little ones, and lots of Scripture throughout the readings, as well as broad suggested Scriptural references to sprinkle a lot of seeds if you want to read them. Ganz has done her homework and shared it with us!

Get this resource if you're serious about your little one learning to love God and His Word!!

Wonderful resource to use with family Bible devotional times, or teaching Sunday School...any time you are wanting to teach children from a strongly biblical viewpoint. Weaves God's love for all mankind throughout Bible history. Excellent resource. Tough to find other resources that compare in quality and substance.

I'm constantly on the lookout for better devotional material, including Bible commentaries. While there are some good, older Bible story books out there, a Bible commentary for children seems fairly unique. For this reason alone, Nancy Ganz' "Herein is Love" is a welcome new publication.

The Genesis volume has many positive features. I'm glad to say that I found it very biblically orthodox and therefore suitable for a wide number of churches and Christian families. It's written in easy to understand language, although the publishing information is incorrect when it says that the Reading Level is Ages 4-8. It's really more suitable for older kids, maybe 8-13 or so.

I like the fact that each chapter has a given theme to help focus the lesson, and I especially like the way that Ganz ties together various biblical themes throughout the volume. Perhaps best of all, she attempts to relate various aspects of Genesis to Jesus Christ, rightly recognizing that the entire Bible speaks of Christ.

At times the volume is very creative, such as Lesson 24, which contains Noah's journal account of the flood narrative. However, I didn't find most of the lessons to be particularly engaging or creative. Some of the early lessons will help children learn to take delight in God's creation, but overall the lessons don't seem to make children think as much as they could. In particular, there could have been more application geared towards children.

While I'm not as enthusiastic about the Genesis volume of "Herein is Love" as are some reviewers, it's a simple, solid Bible commentary that should be a welcome tool to many Christian families.