Listen Up: 10-Minute Family Devotions on the Parables

This is a great way to worship and get your kids into the word without a bunch of preparation. It created great conversation, and let us get a topic in every night after dinner. Some topics were hard for our 7 year old to grasp but was important learning.

I use this devotional with my boys and it’s a wonderful discipleship tool. Shorter passages, biblical and theological sound explanations of passages and wonderful conversation starter questions at the end of each reading.

I am looking forward to going through this with my children. This author writes truth from scripture. Just what we all need the most!

I ordered this book for our homeschooling and I really like the fast and deep lessons presented.

As a parent of eight, I’m always on the lookout for Christian resources we can use in our family devotions. We’ve made use of some of the books from Marty Machowski before ("The Gospel Story Bible" and others), so I was eager to look at his latest book "Listen Up: 10-Minute Family Devotions on the Parables" (New Growth Press, 2017). I was not disappointed! Listen Up is a fantastic resource for families and guides readers through a thirteen-week series of lessons focused on the Parables.

Each week starts with an overview of what will be covered, and some prep-work that can be done for an object lesson/illustration introducing the theme for the week. Then 5 lessons follow and include discussion questions and prayer pointers, as well as a deeper dive for older kids or adults. From time to time, the book includes fun facts and points out other resources for further study. The result is an incredibly helpful resource that opens up the Gospels for young readers. Even as an adult and Bible student myself, there were new tidbits to learn — such as what flower is meant by the phrase “lilies of the field.”

The lessons are Gospel-centered and presented from a Reformed-perspective, yet the book is not an overt, over-bearing embrace of the Westminster Confession or anything like that. Conservative Evangelicals of all stripes will appreciate the teaching and themes emphasized in this small book’s pages.

This book goes hand-in-hand with a full-fledged Sunday School curriculum from New Growth Press as well. And the style followed appears to line up with a similar lesson series on Proverbs. Machowski also has Old and New Testament curricula available. Check out New Growth Press for these resources and more.

Parents, get this book! It will help you appreciate the Gospel more and open up the Four Gospels to the young hearts of your children.

Many Christian families find themselves in a predicament. I know a number of Christian parents who desire to instruct their children from the Word of God, yet they lack adequate knowledge and time to equip their child or children with a proper interpretation and application of God’s Word. What they need is a resource which explains the Bible clearly and delivers it concisely. Listen Up: 10-Minute Family Devotions on the Parables by Marty Machowski does both.

The book covers many of the parables of Jesus, helping children and parents understand the purpose of the parables and the point of the particular parable. The book is grouped into 13 different sections. Each section is meant to take place over a week period (5 devotions per week). The structure of each section starts with an action word for the week and then follows with an activity to more concretely show what will be learned that week. The devotions are straightforward in looking at the Bible passage itself and then understanding what it means. Throughout the devotions, “Fun Fact” and “Going Deeper” features provide parents and children with additional information which they will find intriguing and instructive.

This devotional guide by Marty Machowski will prove to be a valuable tool for Christian parents to use in taking their children through God’s Word. Attention is paid to context, both literary and historical. The book does not hesitate to deal with heavy matters either (such as topics on heaven and heel) and calls for the biblical response of repentance of sin and faith in Christ. While at times more could be said, such as the act of forgiveness when there is no repentance by the offender (see pages 78, 90-91), Listen Up teaches the parables of Jesus in a clear and concise manner. If you are a parent or someone who wants to pass on the truth of God’s Word in Jesus Christ onto the next generation, then let Listen Up: 10-Minutes Family Devotions on the Parables by Marty Machowski contribute to that legacy.

This was one of our favorite devotions we’ve done as a family in our ten years of having kids! He did a great job having short excerpts from the Bible, short explanation, and easy questions so our kids ages 5-10 could easily follow along. There is a word a week so that the kids can remember our topic that week. He offers extended explanations if you’re interested as well as crafts to do for those so inclined. Well written, gospel-centered, a definite recommend!!!

I bought this book at the recommendation of my nondenominational Christian church. The devotions are quick and I think the messages are important - going through the parables of Jesus. However, having a 10 year old and 4 others younger, I think my 10 year old is he only one that really understands what I’m reading. The 8 and 7 year old get it through discussion. Obviously, my 3 and 2 year olds are in their own world lol. I would definitely recommend this for older kids.

Really, really love this book! We’re using the Listen Up! Curriculum for our children’s ministry and I grabbed this to review for my church with my family. Understandable for my four year old and my two and a half year old sits still (mostly) through the reading. The questions are helpful, but what I appreciate most is that the message of each parable nails it rather than the usual “friendly story that everyone understands” vibe.
Second in my favorite feature of this books are the object lessons and deeper study for parents to help teach.

We have loved all of his family devotion books. We were really looking forward to this one coming out and we have not been disappointed.

Listen Up is the latest book from pastor and author Marty Machowski. This family devotional is based on the parables Jesus taught and contains thirteen chapters to be completed over the course of a thirteen week period. Each chapter has content for five days so there is something to go through with your family almost every day of the week. Reading Listen Up reminded me of my family devotions growing up and made me especially grateful for the attention to detail that went into making this book. Regarding the book's title, Machowski explains, "Our book is called Listen Up because it is important to both hear the words that Jesus taught and apply them to your life by following what they say, " (pg. 6-7). Each devotion is divided into four sections titled, Listen Up, Think About It, Talk About It, and Pray About It. I enjoyed the overall consistency because it creates a structure that helps children know what to expect.

The first devotion for each week has additional sections titled, Get Ready and Get Set. The Get Ready section gives families an overview of what they can expect to learn that week. The Get Set section contains an activity that serves as a visual aid that accompanies the content for that week. I really liked each Get Set section and I believe that the visual aids will serve as effective reinforcements when it comes to children recalling the lesson for the week.

Another feature of Listen Up that I greatly appreciate is that Machowski includes the Scripture passage for each devotional within the book. I believe that this will provide a smooth flow to family devotion time and eliminate the distraction of going back and forth between books. The subtitle of the book is 10 Minute Family Devotions on the Parables which is a great help because it gives parents an idea of how long each reading should take.

In the Introduction to the book, Machowski offers this helpful encouragement to parents, "Don't feel pressure to perform incredible devotions each session. we don't win our children by entertaining them, the Spirit of God wins our children for Christ as we are faithful to share the good news of Christ with them. So rather than looking to be fantastic, just look to be faithful," (pg. 5). This sentiment greatly encouraged me and made me even more thankful for this resource because I know it will be a great help as I point my daughter to Christ.

Listen Up is practical, simple, and deeply truthful and I'm excited to give it my highest recommendation.

This is an excellent book for weekly family devotional time. I hove no children left at home, but I’ve enjoyed using it in my morning devoted time. This guide gives one lots to think and pray about. It gives the parent daily activities to guide children through each chapter. These aren’t fluff devotionals. They go deeper. You’ll also find fun facts such as how Dijon mustard was created. This devotional guide of the parables can be geared to all ages of children. Thank you, Mr. Machowski, for the insight you given us with this book.

"Listen Up" is a 13-week study on Jesus's parables - but with a twist. This is specifically written to be used for family devotions. Each chapter contains five nights of Scripture reading, discussion prompts, and insightful questions meant to draw out both parents and children. Occasionally there are suggested activities to enhance your understanding of a particular story, but for the most part each of the nightly topics could be covered in about 10 minutes.

I have enjoyed reading the book and getting a clearer picture on some of the parables myself. For example, in Week 5 Machowski tells us, "The parables are designed to help us examine our own lives." That makes a lot of sense, but I don't think I'd ever heard it put quite that way before!

The truths are written simply and clearly. Chapter 8 opens with: "This week we will learn that God is the most generous giver of all, so we can trust Him to give us what we need and follow His example in sharing what we have with others." This is an important lesson and one we cannot hear too often, even as adults.

There's a solid emphasis on evangelism within the home as well as reaching out to others. The goal really is to have Truth sink deep into the hearts of our young ones, making sure they know this is all about what's inside and not an act that someone can put on. I found this quote from Week 3 to be quite thought-provoking: "Treasuring Jesus is not just about the words we say, or how good we took on Sunday. Treasuring Jesus is about what's inside your heart; do you really love Jesus and want to live for Him?"

I would certainly recommend this for families everywhere who desire to grow closer to Jesus together. The questions and discussion prompts always promote parents sharing from their own life experiences, which is sure to help make these things more real for their children. What a great resource!

If you are looking for a family devotional study to do, Listen Up is a 13-week family devotional that focuses on Jesus’ parables. This is a really nice set up and I like that it encourages families to work together and discuss what Jesus taught. We hear stories all the time, either by reading or watching T.V., etc., and this is a great way to get into deeper detail of what the greatest story teller of all time had to say to us. There are activities listed as well that helps make the parable resonate deeper, for example to make cookies for a neighbor. All the activities make word pictures to help younger children to grasp the concept being taught, but this is for older tweens and teens as well. This is a nice, well thought out and planned teaching tool.

My perception of this new devotional release by Marty Machowski is that it is on target theologically. I see the family grouping to use this book to include upper elementary and upwards to adults. Though conceived and written for parental lead devotions, it can be used as a personal devotional for older teens though it is obviously a "guided" study.

The first take-away I got from Listen Up is that when instructions are given in the Bible for us to hear ("he that hath ears to hear.....") is not simply an act of hearing. But we are to hear what is being said, listen to our heart, and act on what we hear. True hearing involves doing or acting on what we hear. This is in the first week's lesson where the action word is "listen."

Each week has a focus..... listen, build, treasure, follow, etc.

The first parable addressed in the study is that of the sower as presented in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. In this five day lesson plan, we learn that the parables are given to explain Christ's teachings to those with open hearts and yet some interpretation is hidden to those with closed hearts.

Each five day plan has a Get Ready and Get Set introduction that can be read on Sunday in preparation for the other five days lessons. Having a five day plan seems to allow for the busyness of Sunday and Wednesday (usually quite busy days for chuch folks) and using the five non-church days or evenings to have family devotions.

Several versions of the Bible are utilized throughout Listen Up. The passages are not lengthy so you can read your preferred version (mine is the KJV) or you can use that printed in the book itself.

As with other materials I have had the opportunity to review for New Growth Press and the author, Marty Machowski, I am quite impressed and pleased to recommend this devotional book. There is a lot of good, sound information to be gleaned from Listen Up. This is not a cute devotional book for young children and there are no illustrations or cute activities. This is straight-forward teaching that is interesting and valuable.

A clear and concise tool for Christian families. If you are a parent or someone who wants to pass on the truth of God’s Word in Jesus Christ onto the next generation, then let Listen Up: 10-Minutes Family Devotions on the Parables by Marty Machowski contribute to that legacy.

LISTEN UP is an absolutely brilliant lesson plan book for parents and/or grandparents to teach biblical truths from Jesus's parables to their children. I was thinking it'd be ideal for Sunday School teachers, too, and it is also available in that format which would make it easier for the teacher to prepare the lesson.

There is scripture reading, a small object lesson, stories, and discussion questions, all in a short ten-minutes a day, six days a week format. The author recommends preparing for the week by reading "Get ready" and "Get set" on Sunday, but if your Sundays are as busy as mine then it could easily be done on Saturday instead.

I love the idea behind this and recommend this book for parents and other Christian caregivers. I also recommend looking into the LISTEN UP designed for Sunday School teachers as it is idea for classes and also for children's church.