Growing up God's Way for Boys (Richards & Jones)

Growing up God’s way for Boys is a colourful, fully illustrated book available as separate versions for boys and girls. It is intended for children approaching or experiencing puberty, typically represented by the 10-14 years old age range. The artwork haas been specially produced for the book and includes accurate biological drawings as well as ‘cartoon’ illustrations to keep the young reader interested. Most importantly of all, the Bible is the constant reference point, so that what the Bible has to say about the matters dealt with is always front and centre. The result is that this book conveys essential biblical ethical teaching as well as the facts about puberty. For example, here’s an extract from the teaching on the chapter on ‘Physical Intimacy’ (in this case in the girls version): 

So special that God has given us rules

It might seem attractive to live in a world where there are no laws. (Of course it would mean that your parents would never be able to tell you that you were doing something wrong!) But have you ever thought what would happen if there were no laws about how we should drive a car? The laws of the road make it safe for us to drive. If there were none, many more people on the road would get injured and driving would be a very frightening experience. God has given us a law regarding how we relate to the opposite sex in sexual intimacy. This law is the seventh of the Ten Commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery’ (Exodus 20:14). From this verse and other passages in the Bible, we learn that all sexual activity outside marriage is wrong. The word adultery means either being married and experiencing sexual intimacy with someone who is not your husband, or experiencing sexual intimacy with someone else’s husband. In the New Testament, God warns us to ‘flee from sexual immorality’ (1 Corinthians 6:18). The term ‘sexual immorality’ includes any sexual activity that is not between a husband and his wife. The fact that God has given us a specific command to keep sexual intimacy for marriage shows how important God considers sexual intimacy to be. The husband and wife are important to Him, their marriage is important to Him, and the new life that may result from sexual intimacy is important to Him. God’s law about sexual intimacy is for our safety and well-being – it protects us, it protects marriage, and it protects young life.

Contents include:

1.  An introduction to puberty
2.  Marriage
3.  Puberty and how it starts
4.  How your body changes
5.  How the body changes in boys
6.  Physical intimacy
7.  Changes in the way you think
8.  Going out and beyond
9.  Preparing for the future

Endorsement  

"Gentle and rooted in God's word, it addresses the emotional issues as well as the biology. I read it with our eleven year old and we enjoyed it together." - Mrs. Sheena Brailsford, minister's wife.