The Relational God: What the Scriptural Commands for Children, Marriages, Siblings, and Parents Teach Us about God - Softcover

Halbert, Mr. Steven J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0999309900 ISBN 13: 9780999309902

Publisher: Tusitala Publishers, 2017

Synopsis

What are the most important relationships in your life?

How do those relationships shape your identity?

What does the Bible say about how those relationships thrive?

What do they teach us about the nature and character of God?

The Relational God began with the question, "If God could have created us to be in any sort of relationships, why did He create us to be children, spouses, siblings, and parents?"

Even though our identities are so closely tied to those relationships, we don't often take the time to consider what they might actually be meant to show us. Perhaps God wants us to understand something more through our identities as sons and daughters, our identities as husbands and wives, our identities as brothers and sisters, and our identities as fathers and mothers.

The Relational God considers our common experiences in these relationships and then looks at biblical narratives which challenge and support those experiences. The book then distills down the biblical commands for each of those relationships in order to determine what doing them right might teach us about the nature and character of God. What we discover is that God created these relationships-and the rules which govern them-to serve as living metaphors that reveal truths about Himself. He wants these relationships to thrive, because, when they do, they reflect the very nature and character of God.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Halbert is a husband, father, son, and brother. He has held various roles in children and family service organizations and currently works as a product manager for an industrial manufacturer. He enjoys teaching adult Sunday school, which is where the idea for this book materialized. He has an associate's degree in Bible and a master's degree in English. He blogs about business, relationships, and the church at stevenhalbert.com.

Review

The Relational God has the weightiness of theology with the clarity and approachability of being written by a layperson. Steven consistently returns the reader to the heart issues behind the commands for children, marriages, siblings, and parents. The Relational God is a great read and a resource that the church can return to for years to come.
--DR. CHARLES F. BOYD, pastor and author
Different Children, Different Needs
and What God Has Always Wanted

In The Relational God Steven Halbert has given us a biblically based handbook for human flourishing in the context of both the human family and the family of God. His honesty in sharing his own struggles as a child to his parents, a husband to his wife, a brother to his sister, and a father to his children is refreshing. There is much God-glorifying help here for the people of God.
--AL JACKSON, pastor
Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn, AL

I enjoyed this book and its insights. Steven is a strong writer and a serious Bible student. He has put a lot of thought into our primary relationships and how they illustrate God's love for us. The author's personal experiences also serve as great background for the principles he finds in Scripture. If you're looking for a thorough treatment of what our relationships teach us about God, I recommend you pick up this book!
--AMY SIMPSON, leadership coach and author
Blessed are the Unsatisfied
amysimpson.com

The Relational God is a great resource in understanding daily relationships and how they reflect upon God. I would highly encourage you to read this book to better understand how the relationships we have all reflect back to God and the commands He has given to us throughout Scripture. It has encouraged how I view all my relationships as a daughter, sibling, wife, and mother!
--LINDSEY RENEE, author and blogger
45 Days of Prayer
learninggracethrumotherhood.com

What if one of the main purposes of every human relationship is to teach us something about God Himself? In Scripture, He is known as our Creator and Counselor, our Father and Friend, and our Brother and Beloved. And what if God wants us to know Him more intimately by changing how we think about our earthly brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and spouses and others? That's what Halbert is after - rewiring how we approach everyday relationships, so that we might see God more clearly.
--JIM THOMPSON, pastor and author
A King and a Kingdom

About this edition

• Publisher: Tusitala Publishers
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0999309900
• ISBN 13: 9780999309902
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296