There are a thousand books that have been written on every aspect of parenting. Here you will find a list of books recommended by the pastoral staff of Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia. These books are available in our bookstore.
For Parenting
“Family Worship” by Donald S. Whitney
Gathering together for worship is an indispensable part of your family’s spiritual life. It is a means for God to reveal himself to you and your loved ones in a powerful way.
This practical guide by Donald S. Whitney will prove invaluable to families—with or without children in the home—as they practice God-glorifying, Christ-exalting worship through Bible reading, prayer, and singing. Includes a discussion guide in the back for small groups.
Sign up for a free 5-day email course on family worship at crossway.org/FamilyWorship101.
“Parenting By The Book” by John Rosemond
With a down-to-earth, warm, and humorous style, one of America’s top family psychologists sets forth a virtually stress-free, biblically based system of childrearing that encourages family growth in harmony with God’s Word.
Picture respectful, responsible, obedient children who entertain themselves without television or video games, do their own homework, and have impeccable manners. A pie-in-the-sky fantasy? Not so, says family psychologist and bestselling author John Rosemond.
In the 1960s, American parents stopped listening to their elders when it came to child rearing and began listening instead to professional experts. Since then, raising children has become fraught with anxiety, stress, and frustration. The solution, says John, lies in raising children according to biblical principles, the same principles that guided parents successfully for hundreds of years. They worked then, and they still work now!
In this book you’ll find practical, Bible-based advice that will help you be the parent you want to be, with children who will be, as the Bible promises, “a delight to your soul” (Prov. 29:17).
“Parenting: From Surviving to Thriving – Building Healthy Families in a Changing World” by Charles Swindoll
Everything that parents need to survive and thrive in the 21st Century. Marriage, children and family have been lifelong priorities for Charles Swindoll. Based on his extensive study of both the Old and New Testaments, Chuck has drawn together those timeless insights for building close and rewarding family relationships. Following a biblical exploration of God’s purpose and plans for families, readers are equipped with all the tools necessary to grow strong healthy families. Chuck then takes a clear-eyed look at those areas where parents and families often experience difficulties. In typical Swindoll fashion, these discussions are frank and direct but always leave the reader filled with hope and encouragement.
“Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by Tedd Tripp
Written for parents with children of any age, this insightful book provides perspectives and procedures for shepherding your child’s heart into the paths of life. Shepherding a Child’s Heart gives fresh biblical approaches to child rearing.
“The New Strong-Willed Child” by Dr. James Dobson
Is a willful little darling driving you to distraction? The New Strong-Willed Child is the resource you need―a classic bestseller completely rewritten, updated, and expanded for a new generation of parents and teachers. Challenging as they are to raise, strong-willed children can grow up to be men and women of strong character―if lovingly guided with understanding and the right kind of discipline. Find out what Dr. James Dobson, today’s most trusted authority on parenting, has to say about what makes strong-willed children the way they are; shaping the will while protecting the spirit; avoiding the most common parenting mistake; and much more. If you are struggling to raise and teach children who are convinced they should be able to live by their own rules, The New Strong-Willed Child is a must-read!
“The New Dare to Discipline” by Dr. James Donson
Much-needed answers to your toughest parenting questions! Why are boundaries so important? Do children really want limits set on their behavior? My spouse doesn’t seem to care about discipline; why I am I stuck being the “bad guy?” Is it okay to spank my child, or will it lead him to hit others and become a violent person? Join the millions of caring parents who have found answers in the wisdom of parenting authority and family counselor Dr. James Dobson. The New Dare to Discipline is a revised and updated edition of the classic bestseller, designed to help you lead your children through the tough job of growing up. This practical, reassuring guide will teach you how to meet your children’s needs of love, trust, affection―and discipline.
“Good Pictures, Bad Pictures” by Kristen A Jenson
Good Pictures Bad Pictures is a comfortable, read-aloud story about a mom and dad who teach their child what pornography is, why it’s dangerous, and how to reject it. Using easy-to-understand science and simple analogies, this ground-breaking book engages young kids to porn-proof their own brains.
The 5-point CAN DO Plan teaches kids how to avoid the brain-warping images of pornography and minimize the troubling memories of accidental exposure that often tempt kids to look for more and lead them into a dark and destructive addiction. To stay safe in the digital age, kids must install an internal filter in their own brain. Good Pictures Bad Pictures shows them how.
It only takes a few taps on a mobile device for a curious young child to find an endless supply of deviant, hard-core, and addicting pornography–all for free. Unfortunately, many young kids are being exposed to pornography without the slightest clue that it can damage their developing minds.
Parents will appreciate this resource to porn-proof their kids because it makes a difficult discussion easy and empowering. How? By teaching kids simple concepts about the brain and the process of addiction, and by giving them a specific strategy for keeping safe from the poison of pornography. Many parents also use this book as a powerful tool for sexual abuse prevention!
For Marriage
“This Momentary Marriage” by John Piper
The chasm between the biblical vision of marriage and the common human conception is—and has always been—gargantuan. Reflecting on over forty years of matrimony, John Piper exalts the biblical meaning of marriage over its emotion, exhorting couples to keep their covenant as a display of Christ’s covenant-keeping love for the church. He aims to lift the church’s low view of marriage to something infinitely greater, namely, a vision of Jesus’s unswerving allegiance to and affection for his bride. This Momentary Marriage unpacks the biblical vision, its unexpected contours, and its weighty implications for married, single, divorced, and remarried alike. Now available in paperback with a freshly redesigned cover, Piper’s book on marriage holds even greater appeal.
“Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage To Make Us Holy More Than To Make Us Happy” by Gary Thomas
Happy is good. Holy is better.
Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know God better, trust him more fully, and love him more deeply. What if God’s primary intent for your marriage isn’t to make you happy . . . but holy?
Sacred Marriage doesn’t just offer techniques to make a marriage happier. It does contain practical tools, but what married Christians most need is help in becoming holier husbands and wives. Sacred Marriage offers that help with insights from Scripture, church history, time tested wisdom from Christian classics, and examples from today’s marriages.
Sacred Marriage reveals how marriage trains us to love God and others well, how it exposes sin and makes us more aware of God’s presence, how good marriages foster good prayer, how married sex feeds the spiritual life, and more.
The revised edition of Sacred Marriage takes into account the ways men’s and women’s roles have expanded since the book was first written. It has been streamlined to be a faster read without losing the depth that so many readers have valued.
Sacred Marriage uncovers the mystery of God’s overarching purpose. This book may very well alter profoundly the contours of your marriage. It will most certainly change you. Because whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God, and to a spiritual integrity that, like salt, seasons the world around you with the savor of Christ.
“Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
A Marriage Book with a Difference!
A Revolutionary Message
“I’ve been married 35 years and have not heard this taught.”
- “This is the key that I have been missing.”
- “You connected all the dots for me.”
- “As a counselor, I have never been so excited about any material.”
- “You’re on to something huge here.”
A Simple Message
A wife has one driving need―to feel loved. When that need is met, she is happy. A husband has one driving need―to feel respected. When that need is met, he is happy. When either of these needs isn’t met, things get crazy. Love and Respect reveals why spouses react negatively to each other, and how they can deal with such conflict quickly, easily, and biblically.
A Message That Works
Based on over three decades of counseling, as well as scientific and biblical research, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs and his wife, Sarah, have already taken the Love and Respect message across America and are changing the way couples talk to, think about, and treat each other. What do you want for your marriage? Want some peace? Want to feel close? Want to feel valued? Want to experience marriage the way God intended? Then why not try some Love and Respect.
For Family Devotions
“Kingdom Family Devotional: 52 Weeks Of Growing Together” by Tony Evans
This new devotional from Dr. Tony Evans and his son Jonathan Evans will provide both single and married parents with a resource tool to maximize those family devotional times, such as the dinner hour or bedtime. The family virtues–based devotional provides 52 separate topics, one for each week of the year, and five devotionals within each topic that will guide devotional times Monday through Friday. This is a wonderful way to build a spiritually strong family week by week, day after day―a perfect way to head into the weekend. Topics range from the basics of the faith―such as salvation, spiritual warfare, prayer, forgiveness, and discipleship―to essentials of living as followers of Christ: money, prayer, family, friends, and priorities. The subject matter is simplified so even young children can grasp important concepts. This is a perfect resource for busy families.
“Experiencing God At Home Day-By-Day: A Family Devotional” by Tom Blackaby & Rick Osborne
Experiencing God at Home and this hands-on day by day family devotional take a fresh path back to the rich roots of Henry Blackaby’s world-renowned Experiencing God writings to connect what happens in our homes to what happens in our churches.
Indeed, a parents’ task is to disciple their children, and the church’s task is to equip parents for this work of ministry. Experiencing God at Home Day by Day will guide parents in having daily worship together as a family. It also helps mom and dad lead the kids toward developing their own personal relationship with Christ at each age and stage of growing up.
“The One Year Classic Family Devotions”
Many parents are searching for ways to bond as a family while encouraging spiritual growth in their kids. The One Year Classic Family Devotions provides a full year of devotions and activities designed to strengthen family time and deepen spiritual awareness. Each devotion includes a story about children and other family members, fostering personal connection with the content. Lessons come from the child’s perspective at times and from the parents at other times. An activity page is included every seven days as an additional source of ideas for families to use in their time together.
For Parents’ Devotions
“Praying Through The Bible For Your Kids” by Nancy Guthrie and Sinclair Ferguson
Daily encouragement for parents who realize the things they want most for their kids are things only God can do . . . so they pray.
As parents we want to protect our children; we want them to move forward in life; most importantly, we want them to take hold of and grow in Christ. And while the advice offered by parenting experts can be helpful, at some point we realize there are no simplistic formulas or sure-fire methods. We need wisdom from God’s Word for this all-important task.
In The One Year Praying through the Bible for Your Kids, trusted author Nancy Guthrie weaves together wisdom and insight from each day’s reading in The One Year Bible, providing encouragement through the triumphs and turbulence of parenting. Day by day you’ll find your dreams and desires for your children are becoming shaped more by Scripture than by the culture around you. Worry less, pray more, and help yourself to a daily dose of perspective, hope, and grace as you parent.
“Prayers For Prodigals: 90 Days of Prayers For Your Child” by James Banks
When you’re the parent of a prodigal, you know you can never pray enough. But how do you persevere when you’re tired and discouraged? Prayers for Prodigals offers encouragement for parents to “come boldly before the throne of grace” and intercede daily for their children through a series of inspirational prayers. The book also includes fourteen brief reflections, which are drawn from Scripture and the writer’s and others’ personal experiences with prodigal children, such as Ruth and Billy Graham and Monica, the mother of Augustine. This unique and helpful book encourages and inspires parents in a sustained, daily prayer effort for their prodigal children.
Children’s Bibles
AGES 4-8
“NIrV Kids Devotional Bible – Over 300 Devotions”
Complete with a year’s worth of devotions, the Kids’ Devotional Bible, NIrV will help children develop a habit they’ll want to keep. Engaging weekday devotions, fun weekend activities, interesting illustrations, and a dictionary make this a Bible they’ll want to read and apply to their lives. It includes the complete New International Reader’s Version (NIrV), language written at a third grade reading level and the perfect stepping stone to the NIV.
Features include:
- Short weekday devotions that help young readers apply Bible lessons for a full year.
- 52 weekend devotions that teach kids about God’s creation through fun activities like visiting the zoo and gazing at the stars.
- Got It” feature that encourages kids to find answers to Bible trivia themselves.
- Book introductions that give helpful information about each book of the Bible.
- A dictionary to look up words they want to know more about.
- The complete NIrV text, which uses shorter sentences and easier words. Kids can read this Bible on their own!
AGES 6-10
“NIrV Study Bible For Kids”
The bestselling NIrV Study Bible for Kids starts early readers ages 6 to 10 on the rewarding path of reading and studying God’s Word. This Bible uses the complete text of the New International Reader’s Version® (NIrV) which is written at a third-grade reading level and is perfect for those learning to read. With colorful artwork, easy-to-read Bible text, and fun features, kids will engage with the Bible in a way that makes it stick.
Features include:
- Presentation page—for personalization and gift giving
- 32 full-color pages—includes illustrations to bring Bible characters and events to life plus helpful study information about the Ten Commandments, how to become a Christian, prayer, and more.
- Check It Out—sketches and descriptions of what life was like in Bible times.
- Brain Game—questions to help kids remember important Bible themes.
- Soak It up—key verses highlighted for kids to memorize.
- Book Introductions—brief overviews of each book with an outline of key events.
- Dictionary—key Bible words for quick reference.
- Map section
- Book Introductions—brief overviews of each book with an outline of key events.
- Dictionary—key Bible words for quick reference.
- Map section
AGES 8-12
“NKJV The Explorer’s Study Bible: Seeking God’s Treasure and Living His Word” with contributions from Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie, John Courson, Llyod Pulley, Mike McIntosh, and more
The Explorer’s Study Bible takes kids on an adventure of a lifetime to find the treasure of God’s message.
A full New King James Version Study Bible just for kids. Incredible study helps include maps, keyword verses, interesting Bible facts, dictionary/concordance, and more—all designed to bring God’s Word—its people, places, events, and message—into a kid’s world! It’s full of fascinating features that make the Bible fun to read and explore, entertaining to learn about, and easy to study and understand.
Colorful pages are full of special features:
- WordDecoders: “Compass” to the meaning of Bible terms
- Discoveries: Experience living in Bible times
- Bible Treasures: Learn wisdom from the lessons learned by Bible characters
- Digging In: Find rich treasures in story backgrounds, the meaning of key passages, and more
- Mystery Solved: Answers to the most asked questions about the Word