Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History

Its real life super heroes!That fought for God from days forgotten.We all are enjoying it!

I got this book to read to our kids as part of the Ambleside curriculum for homeschool. I’m learning so much as I read it to them! It’s a great encouragement to read about the faith of others and a great way to make their stories more than just facts. Would highly recommend.

How much do you know about the history of the Church? To be honest, I don't know as much as I would like. This book aims to resolve this lack of knowledge in at least some small way by providing a short biography of 46 Christians. These men and women are chosen from throughout Christian history, divided into six general periods of time.Mr. Hannula starts with Polycarp in the Early Church , who died in the Roman arena for his Christian faith. The selection in the Middle Ages includes such famous people as Pope Gregory I, Boniface, Charlemagne, and Alfred the Great.John Wyclif, who died for translating the Scriptures into English, is included as well. There are a number of people here I'd never heard of; people like John Huss, who laid the foundations of the Reformation. The section on the Reformation includes famous men like Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and John Calvin, as well as not so famous men, such Jeanne d'Albert.The Post Reformation era includes Gustavus Adolphus, Jonathan Edwards, and two women named Margaret who died for their refusal to stand against their Protestant beliefs. In Modern Missions, the author includes David Livingstone, John Paton, and Hudson Taylor --I didn't know of any of these men before reading this book. The book ends with 6 more recent examples, including the Chinese Christians and C.S. Lewis. The author uses each story to teach small snippets of theology, and to show how Christian faith overcomes in all circumstances, good or bad.Overall, I found this book to be well written, the stories well selected, and the layout to be easy to follow and read. The book downplays some of the negatives of each of these people, but this fits within the format; the introduction should serve as just that, an introduction. With this book as background, you could do an in depth study of each of these over time, and gain a real appreciation of Church history.

I am so very thankful to understand better how God brought the true gospel through His church down through the years and generations to me ! This book was both inspiring and challenging. God's faithfulness is in display in every chapter!

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is so well written and the perfect amount of information for younger and older children alike.We homeschool and are using Classical Conversations curriculum on our own but wanted to tweek it a bit to more saturate it with church history. Wow, this book is such a blessing. We've been reading this aloud to our son since he was six but I would say this could be great from 4yrs to adult. Son enjoys it very much and looks forward to learning about the early church fathers. He asks to read it and bookmarks what he would like to read next. It is just enough info for a grammar stage classical student to wet the appetite and enrich memorization of church history. We all enjoy this so much. Thank you, Mr. Hannula!

This was a neat story book for supplemental use with teaching history to 3rd and older. Some stories can be somewhat gruesome, so not for overly sensitive kids. They are true stories that bring to life what people of our past have gone through. They helped forge ahead and paved the way for things we take for granted today. Short stories easy to follow. Historically true, embellished so it makes it feel like you are there with the people. I recommend it fully.

Many people have a bias against history, thinking it is either boring or that it has no application and value for the modern time. As a result, many people of the past and their contributions to what we are now are never known. This book can change that. Its well written and engaging style warmly introduces the reader to many important people in Christian history, giving a brief summary of the lives of 46 Christian men and women, beginning with Polycarp down to the modern time ending with Richard Wurmbrand. We've been reading a chapter a week in our church's Wednesday night studies to a mixed crowd of adults and children. I think it says something of the author's ability to communicate when both adults and children say that have been blessed and inspired by the witness of these saints as Hannula tells their stories.

Such a great book! The stories are about Martyrs in the church and their struggle through persecution. Great for character building, but be aware that it can a bit graffic.

A very interesting book about certain figures during the Christian historical era, targeting children to adults BUT NOT recommending for youngsters due to unsuitable content: torture, decapitation, immolation, other brutalities and inhumane behaviors. Most informative read but please note that Wurmbrand has disassociated himself from the Voice of Martyrs organization. The book he wrote but no longer has rights to, is an important read also.

Biased to the Protestants, this book spreads misinformation - and what's worse, an unloving attitude - towards Christian brothers and sisters in the Catholic church. Will be returning.

While there are certainly strains of Christianity that put too much emphasis on tradition, Evangelicals typically put far too little emphasis here. In fact, most Evangelicals suffer from a general historical ignorance which stems from a self-centered chronological snobbery. In our (noble) eagerness to emphasize the authority of Scripture, we forget that Christians who have gone before us had the Scriptures as well and that God taught them things from his Word that we would do well to learn, retain, and build upon. Richard Hannula's book is an excellent place to begin teaching a new generation of Christians about our "big brothers and sisters" in the faith, on whose legacy and because of whose faithfulness in the gospel we are where we are. As a parent, this is a book filled with the kind of God-honouring and courageous heroes that I want my children emulating instead of the shallow, self-centered and Godless idolatry of celebrity worship rampant in our culture. This is a great teaching tool which is a blessing for the teacher (parent) as well.

We were so blessed by reading this book together as a family on Sunday afternoons. The stories are rich and accurate and it gave our younger ones a great insight into the heroic suffering of the people of God through the ages. We highly recommend the book. May it be a blessing to each one of you. I’d like

I find I have to do a fair bit of backstory for Ella to understand the people and their place in history.