Product Description
1485–1600
Throughout the Christian lands of Europe, there was darkness. Not a physical darkness, but a spiritual one. For many years, the clarity of God’s grace given through Jesus Christ had dimmed. A system of human effort designed to achieve God’s favor meant people were confused about Scripture, about salvation, and about the purpose of life.
But in those dark times, light dawned. Brave individuals challenged long–held teachings that had drifted from Scripture. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Thomas Cranmer led movements of reformation in their nations, calling their followers to the clear teaching of the Bible, to Christ, to faith, to grace, to live to the glory of God. Others, such as Patrick Hamilton, William Tyndale, and Lady Jane Grey, sought to continue this enterprise, sometimes at the cost of their lives.
These bold Christians—called Protestants for their protest against the established and wayward Church practices of the day—sought to be faithful to Christ in their world, and in the process they offered in a new world that endures today.
Paperback, 176 pages
Publication Date: May 2023
Table of Contents
Important Moments in the Reformation Era
The Protestant Reformation
Fact Files
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaple
Martin Luther
Fact Files
Ulrich Zwingli
Patrick Hamilton
Fact Files
Marguerite de Navarre
William Tyndale
Martin Bucer
Fact Files
John Calvin
Catherine Parr
Fact Files
Thomas Cranmer
Fact Files
Lady Jane Grey
John Knox
Where we get our information
Maps
Endorsements
This book is exciting, it is dramatic, it will capture your imagination and it will inform your mind about what God did through the Early Church.
-- Alistair Chalmers (Assistant Pastor of Bruntsfield Evangelical Church, Edinburgh)
According to the Psalms, God’s people praise and glorify Him as they tell of His mighty acts from one generation to the next (Psalm 145:4). Today the church is in need of storytellers who will teach the next generation the great things God has done through His people throughout the centuries. With sparkling prose, backed by solid research, Luke Davis makes church history come alive for the young reader (and readers of all ages!). What makes this work unique is that it offers engaging historical fiction but also provides timelines, factual summaries of significant figures and events, and insightful reflection. This is a powerful combination. You will be inspired to serve the Lord today, as you read of the trials and triumphs of the saints who have gone before us. I look forward to sharing these stories with my children!
-- Ben Wagner (Rector, Anglican Church of the Resurrection, Chesterfield, Missouri)
Luke Davis has written a very accessible and enjoyable introduction to early church history. An ideal starting point for anyone’s first plunge into those formative years of the church’s life, faith, and worship.
-- Nick Needham (Lecturer in Church History, Highland Theological College, Dingwall, Scotland)
A perfect family read aloud, or companion to world history studies for homeschoolers or Christian school students, or those who would like an initial foray into the often confusing and overwhelming realm of church history. This series makes it clear, enjoyably so.
-- Cathleen Smythe (Middle school teacher, former homeschooler and Children’s Ministry Director, Truth Point Church, Florida)
… approaches the Christian past with generous orthodoxy, finding lessons to be learned in far–flung times and places. Whatever a reader’s age, Davis’s books are a perfect appetizer for those tasting the delights of church history for the first time, who will then be likely to return for a full meal.
-- Michael J. McClymond (Professor of Modern Christianity, Department of Theological Studies, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri)
Author
Luke Herron Davis teaches ethics and church history at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis. He has authored books in the Cameron Ballack Mysteries and the Merivalkan Chronicles, as well as ‘Tough Issues, True Hope’. He has also penned lyrics to over seventy new hymns. An ordained priest in the Anglican Church in North America, Luke lives with his wife Christi and their family in St. Charles, Missouri.
