The 1689 in Rhyme

Children can understand more than we often think they can. That's why it's important to teach them early and often the basic truths of the faith. Kerry has produced a wonderful tool to help parents and grandparents do just that. His rhymes (or raps, if you prefer), are great for both young and old to internalize, memorize, and meditate on the truths of our great Baptist confession. He has helpfully summarized each chapter, maintaining the rich theology in each, yet he has also simplified each chapter in ways that even a 3 year old can grasp. I'm hopeful that the Lord will use this work to raise up strong, confessional Baptists for the next generation.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith is one of the great, historic summaries of biblical truth. Now, it has been put to rhyme so that children and adults alike can easily familiarize themselves with it. These memorable lines are designed to stick in your mind, giving you a basic understanding of key biblical doctrines and a starting point for further study.

As a dad and pastor, I am thrilled to see the publication of Regnier's book. It introduces children to the biblical doctrines summarized in the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith, and it does so with memorable rhymes. Regnier accomplishes this without sacrificing truth for a turn of phrase—not an easy feat. I pray that this resource will be used widely in homes and churches as a discipleship tool for years to come.

The 1689 in Rhyme is a remarkable and faithful retelling of the great truths of the Second London Baptist Confession, made accessible through beautifully crafted verse rhyming. This work distills deep theological convictions into a format that is both engaging and memorable, making it an invaluable tool for instructing young hearts and refreshing seasoned minds. In an age of doctrinal drift, this book stands as a welcome aid in planting timeless truth firmly in the soul.

The Bible is full of poetic devices like alliteration and rhyme (Psalm 119). The lesson from the Bible's use of such devices is this: they help us retain and remember the things we hear and read. Kerry Regnier's use of rhyme in taking each of the chapters of the 1689 Confession and distilling them into 1-4 rhyming stanzas is, thus, a very commendable attempt to make our wonderful Confession more accessible for children of all ages. I commend both the effort and the book to your use as parents.

Kerry Regnier has produced a tool that will charm, challenge, and educate. Children are like learning machines. Get good things in their heads early and they won’t be dislodged. Things learned early, in fact, will inform all subsequent learning. These poems are simple in rhythm (6, 5, 6, 5) and rhyme (lines 2 and four in each stanza rhyme). Their content, moreover, is adamantine in endurance. For example, the first verse (2 verses for each chapter of the confession) on God’s Decree reads likes this as a straight line proposition: “God’s plans are without fault, decreed from His will. He wove all of history with unfailing skill.” Absolutely! Teach that to your children and when they are ninety they can still say it. Combine it with the Scripture proofs provided, and in a couple of years you will have third-graders—maybe first-graders—with a theological education.

When the 1689 Confession was first published, it included a letter to its readers. Among other things in the letter, parents were exhorted to instruct their families in the truths of Holy Scripture. This brief book simplifies that task by summarizing doctrines in short poems and verses of Scripture for memorization. I urge parents who love the truth and love their children to use it for the good of their souls.

Children need an understanding of the Bible as a whole to form the foundation of their faith, and one of the most important ways to give them that is to make sure they are well-grounded in sound doctrine. Kerry Regnier has given us a tremendous resource by setting the great doctrines of the Second London Confession to rhyme, making it easier for children to learn them. I highly recommend this resource to pastors and parents who are praying for children to know the Word of God, trust in Jesus, and glorify Him for the rest of their lives.