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A Note to Parents Reading ‘New Morning Mercies for Kids’
The Discipline and Instruction of the Lord
The central task of parenting is not ensuring that your child gets a good education and a good job, develops talented athletic and artistic skills, and ends up marrying well. No, your primary calling is to bring up your child “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). This means that you are the one God has chosen to introduce your child to him, his truth, and what it looks like to live in a way that pleases him. To help you do this, God has given you his word and his church. His word is your greatest resource because it’s there that God reveals himself, his truth, and his redeeming grace to your child. His church offers you training and practical resources of truth and grace to help you along the way so that you can be God’s tool in the life of your child.
New Morning Mercies for Kids is one of those practical resources. It helps you introduce your child to the truths of Scripture, to the God those truths point to, and to his rescuing and forgiving grace. This devotional highlights twenty core truths of the Christian faith, such as God’s glory, God’s sovereignty, sin, Christ’s righteousness, grace, the Holy Spirit, and prayer. Each week of the devotional focuses on one core truth, and each week contains three devotions from New Morning Mercies that have been adapted for kids. If you want to follow along with your child, a list of the entries from New Morning Mercies that correspond with the devotions in this book can be found in the appendix.
New Morning Mercies for Kids
Paul David Tripp
Adapted from Paul David Tripp’s bestselling book New Morning Mercies, these 60 devotions teach children how to trust God and rely on his grace each and every day.
Although New Morning Mercies for Kids can be read alone by your child, here are some ideas to engage alongside him or her each day:
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Use the verses on the weekly introduction pages as Scripture memory verses. Write them out and post them on a bedroom mirror or the refrigerator and practice memorizing and reciting them aloud together.
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Read the daily Scripture passage with your child. You could utilize this section in two different ways. You could simply read the passage on the same day that you complete the daily devotion that it falls under, creating a rhythm of being in God’s word with your child three days per week. Or you could extend each day’s content into two days, creating the opportunity to have devotional time with your child six days per week. To do so, complete Day 1’s devotion on the first day, but then go back and study the Scripture passage in depth with your child the following day. Then move on to Days 2 and 3, alternating between completing the daily devotions and studying the passages in depth together.
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Answer the daily reflection questions with your child, leading with transparency, admitting the places where you are weak and unable, and confessing sin and how you fall short—not only before God but also in your parenting.
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Spend time praying together, using each day’s prayer prompt as a starting point.
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Use the final section of each day as a conversation starter or to simply have fun with your child. The “Ready, Set, Action!” and “Grab Bag” sections can be returned to multiple times in a week for reinforcement and fun. The “Did You Know?” section is meant to engage your child with an interesting fact and could lead to additional reading of Scripture together.
You are the one God has chosen to introduce your child to him, his truth, and what it looks like to live in a way that pleases him.
Make this time with your child a priority. Get creative with these devotions and fight the temptation to just check a box and rush on with the rest of your regularly scheduled day. You know your child best, so look for unique opportunities to address what God has shown you about his or her heart, using these elements as prompts. My prayer is that God will use this simple gospel tool in your life and the life of your child to help him or her grow up knowing, trusting, loving, and serving him with understanding and joy. However, I do not make the assumption that every child reader of this book has already made a profession of faith or has a personal relationship with the Lord, and the devotions intentionally reflect that. In fact, in the initial “Note to the Reader,” I explain the gospel and encourage kids to talk with an adult about sin and salvation. I would encourage you to read that note yourself and, when the opportunity presents itself, to invite your child to confess his or her sin and trust in Jesus for the first time. May God bless you on the journey of truth and faith that you are about to take with your child.
This article is adapted from New Morning Mercies for Kids: 60 Devotions to Focus on Jesus by Paul David Tripp.
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