**Disclaimer: I was given a free digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. No other compensation was given to me. With all my book reviews my thoughts are honest and 100 percent my own.
About the Book:
Everyone loves a good story, and children are no exception. Who better to tell those stories than Jesus? Listen Up, by bestselling author Marty Machowski, delves into some of Jesus’s best-known stories in a two-part discipleship resource fashioned to help children explore the parables of Jesus and learn the biblical truths they convey.
Listen Up offers two separate discipleship tools. The first product, a twelve-week curriculum and companion music album is designed to help children understand the gospel and the kingdom of God through Bible reading, discussion questions, object lessons, puppet skits, and art activities. Included in this curriculum is the Sovereign Grace Listen Up music CD, which reinforces the themes of the lessons in a catchy, easy-to-learn format. This curriculum includes three learning levels—preschool and kindergarten (ages 4–6), elementary (ages 6–9), and middle school (ages 10–12).
Also available in this series is the companion family devotional, Listen Up: Ten-Minute Family Devotions on the Parables, which will further reinforce the surprising truths of Jesus’s parables and explore how they are relevant and meaningful today. This family devotional can function as either a stand-alone resource for families or serve as reinforcement to the curriculum content learned at church. The ten-minute lessons for each week include Bible passages, short commentaries on the meaning of the verses, as well as discussion questions. “Fun facts” are also included to break up more serious teachings, and each lesson closes with a prayer suggestion. Through the stories that Jesus himself used, parents have a unique opportunity to help their children “listen up” to the good news of the Kingdom of God
My Thoughts and Review:
Listen Up is a great devotional for children and families. I was excited to get a chance to review this one. We are always looking for ways to gather together as a family and learn more about our faith and lessons within the Bible, so this was a great place to start a new study!
There are 13 weeks of this study and they cover parables in the Bible. Each one of the weeks starts with an action word and uses other sections called “Fun Fact” and “Going Deeper” to help the family look further in the stores and what they actually mean. I love these two sections of each study.
We are only a few weeks in but I love the way the author has the weeks broken down into short daily lessons for each week’s theme. The studies include a focus word for each week and scripture. The studies are well organized and they help my 9-year-old’s attention well. I really think the direct and shorter study approach is key with his attention span at this age.
This book can act as the standalone devotion for your family, but Machowski has some great tools that can be used with this study like a music cd, If you have children of different ages and learning levels then you will love to know that they have different levels for these devotions so you will be able to customize your family’s study time. If you are interested in a great new devotion with quick and insightful studies you can use with your entire family I would hightly reccomend Listen Up. We can’t wait to do the remaining week in the book!
About the Author:
Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church, a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, where he has served on the pastoral staff for over twenty years. He is the author of numerous resources for churches and families, including the Gospel Story for Kids series and The Ology. He and his wife Lois and their six children reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!
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