Ebook
In a fast-paced world full of distractions, how do we create space to have conversations about faith? Parents long to talk about Jesus with their children, but are unsure where to begin. Families want to slow down and reconnect with what matters most, but struggle to squeeze anything into already busy schedules. Teens and adults desire to go deeper in their faith, but are filled with unanswered questions. In Our Only Comfort, Rev. Stephen Shaffer provides individuals and families with a helpful structure for growing in Christian faith. In a series of 364 daily devotions, Our Only Comfort will take families, young adults, and new believers through the core teachings of the Christian faith through the lens of the Heidelberg Catechism. Wrestling through questions like "Who is Jesus?" "How do I pray?" and "What does it mean to keep the Ten Commandments?" these short devotions create opportunity for conversations about faith between parents and children and provide nourishment for faith to grow.
“This is a book for which I've been longing—a biblically rooted,
theologically rich, warm and engaging invitation into the Christian
faith that I will without a doubt use in my own home, share with my
church and children's minister, and incorporate into my teachings
on the importance of creative, thoughtful contemporary catechesis.
Stephen Schaffer joins a larger movement of Christians exploring
what wisdom we can glean from those who’ve gone before us in the
faith. With this devotion, he offers the classic wisdom of the
Heidelberg Catechism in a form that, by God’s grace, can and will
bear real fruit today.”
—Kristen Deede Johnson, Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs
and Professor of Theology and Christian Formation, Western
Theological Seminary
"Stephen Shaffer is an exceedingly bright and faithful pastoral
theologian in the great tradition of John Calvin. This beautiful
piece on ways of utilizing the Heidelberg Catechism in our crazy
and mixed-up culture will be a gift to everyone who reads it and a
terrific resource for everyone who deploys it in their own home. In
his Third Epistle, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, shared the
longing of every parent and pastor, 'I have no greater joy than to
know that my children are walking in the truth.' Schaffer has
written a book that will help every reader experience that
joy."
—Timothy L. Brown, President Emeritus and Henry Bast Professor of
Preaching, Western Theological Seminary
“This is a book for which I've been longing—a biblically rooted,
theologically rich, warm and engaging invitation into the Christian
faith that I will without a doubt use in my own home, share with my
church and children's minister, and incorporate into my teachings
on the importance of creative, thoughtful contemporary catechesis.
Stephen Schaffer joins a larger movement of Christians exploring
what wisdom we can glean from those who’ve gone before us in the
faith. With this devotion, he offers the classic wisdom of the
Heidelberg Catechism in a form that, by God’s grace, can and will
bear real fruit today.”
—Kristen Deede Johnson, Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs
and Professor of Theology and Christian Formation, Western
Theological Seminary
"Stephen Shaffer is an exceedingly bright and faithful pastoral
theologian in the great tradition of John Calvin. This beautiful
piece on ways of utilizing the Heidelberg Catechism in our crazy
and mixed-up culture will be a gift to everyone who reads it and a
terrific resource for everyone who deploys it in their own home. In
his Third Epistle, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, shared the
longing of every parent and pastor, 'I have no greater joy than to
know that my children are walking in the truth.' Schaffer has
written a book that will help every reader experience that
joy."
—Timothy L. Brown, President Emeritus and Henry Bast Professor of
Preaching, Western Theological Seminary
Stephen C. Shaffer is the pastor of Bethel Reformed Church in
Brantford, Ontario.