The Sword by Marty Machowski — A Bible Study in Romans for Kids

• What if you found an old sword that once belonged to a Roman gladiator? 
• What if a mysterious journal held the key to a secret that could change how you see the world?
• What if studying the book of Romans didn’t feel like a chore—but like an epic quest for truth and salvation?

Welcome to The Sword and Story Podcast—where we help Christian families find exciting, faith-filled books for their boys.

Our mission is to raise strong, courageous warriors for the Kingdom of God. Join us on a quest to discover stories that inspire our boys to grow into godly young men.

I’m your host, Laurie Christine. I’m an author, bible teacher, wife, and mom to four wild, wonderful, boys. I’m the author of the Dragon Slayer Bible Series, adventure-packed biblical fiction and devotions for middle-grade boys. 

Our guest author today is Marty Machowski

Marty Machowski is a pastor and best-selling author. He serves as the Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. He serves as the Executive Editor for Children’s Resources for New Growth Press. Marty has authored over twenty books and curricula for children and families, including The Gospel Story Curriculum and The Ology. 

Back Cover of The Sword: Magnus and the Mystery of Romans

Best-selling author Marty Machowski leads young readers on an adventure to unlock the mystery of the swords of Magnus while exploring Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Following the format of his popular storybook studies, Machowski weaves a Bible study of the book of Romans with a fictional story. The Sword shares the story of Katana and Brant who find a wooden sword and ancient journal belonging to Magnus, a one-time gladiator who became a guard who watched over the apostle Paul while he was under house arrest. Their discovery leads the siblings on a quest to reveal the mystery of the swords by studying Magnus’s journal.

The Bible study portion of The Sword is presented as the study notes of Magnus. It was through his study of the gospel from Paul’s letter to the Romans that Magnus received the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Readers will learn alongside Katana and Brant the bad news of our sin and the good news that rescues us through the cross of Christ.

Appeal to Boys

Key Themes

• The bad news of sin and the good news of salvation through Jesus (Romans “road” to the gospel).
• Scripture as “the sword of the Spirit”: learning to wield God’s Word with wisdom and courage.

• Purpose and mission: boys are called to a clear, God-given battle plan.

• Jesus as the second Adam: death through Adam, righteousness through Christ.

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW 

The Sword: Magnus and the Mystery of Romans

An interview with Marty Machowski

Laurie Christine:
I am excited to have you on the show today. We both have a similar passion to communicate the truth of God’s Word to kids in the form of stories, and I love that about you. When I heard that your newest book is called The Sword, I had to have you on the show—this is the Sword and Story Podcast. We love swords here. Another fun fact is that Marty lives in Pennsylvania, only about an hour from me, so it’s a fun connection to have a local author on the show. We’re going to dive in and talk about Marty’s newest book: The Sword: Magnus and the Mystery of Romans. Marty, this book is advertised as one of your popular “storybook studies.” What does that mean? What is a storybook study?

Marty Machowski:
It’s a subgenre of literature for Christian children that combines a Bible study and a fictional story. I like to weave a story where characters in the story access the Bible material you’re learning, and we get to see how it affects their lives—and, in seeing that, how it might affect our lives. In this case, the fictional story is the discovery of an ancient sword once held in the hand of a Roman gladiator who was a guard for the Apostle Paul. The study is Paul’s letter to the Romans, which, in the story, he gives the gladiator to study.

We go through Romans as the gladiator—the soldier guarding Paul—goes through the book. There are twists and turns in the story that keep you wanting to read more.

Laurie Christine:
I love that. This is such a powerful way to communicate the truth of the Bible to kids because kids love stories, and using a story to share biblical truth is so effective. Marty, you do that so well. Several things I love about this book—I have a copy here on my desk, and we just started reading it together as a family with a couple of my boys yesterday. I love the illustrations: they’re colorful and engaging, and your kids are going to love them. Nearly every page has beautiful art. There are multiple storylines throughout the book. You start with the two kids who discover the sword; their story is woven through the book. They’re learning about Magnus, the Roman gladiator, and he’s telling his story as well. Throughout, you get glimpses that build as you go, and interspersed are the studies of Romans. It’s a fabulous book. I’m excited to continue going through it with my boys. Tell us more. What are some special features readers will find?

Marty Machowski:
As you said, the story and the study go back and forth. You get part of the story, then you jump into the beginning of Romans. For each section in Romans that I explain for children, I add analogies and word pictures—things that help kids connect the truth to what they’re reading. You don’t need to worry; it’s all explained in a way your children will understand. Sprinkled throughout the study is a section called “The Old in the New,” where I show how something in the Old Testament connects to the New. I finish with a section on the armor of God—it seemed appropriate to talk about the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Then there is an epilogue, which is the Romans Road at the very end. It’s a seven-step walk through Romans, a way to present the gospel to our children.

After you go through the story and the study, you’re left with these seven steps at the back of the book—how someone becomes a Christian. That’s designed for you as the parent to interact with your children over. And who knows? I know I’m going to one day in heaven meet families whose children were brought into the kingdom by a walk along the Romans Road as presented in my book, The Sword.

Laurie Christine:
Praise the Lord. That is amazing. That is my prayer as well for my books and for yours—that as families read, our boys will be captured by the gospel and want to put their faith and trust in Jesus or strengthen that faith if they already have. I love how you take theological concepts and make them easy to understand. Some listeners may be thinking, “The book of Romans—isn’t that super in-depth theology? How do we talk about Romans with our kids?” Often, children’s Bibles focus on stories and events—the action. You don’t always see a lot of digging into theology. You do such a great job explaining theological concepts in ways kids understand, using illustrations, analogies, and metaphors. I think this will be a great resource for parents too—“Now I understand the book of Romans. Now this makes sense to me.” For those who haven’t read Romans recently, can you give us a quick overview of the book itself—who wrote it, why, and what it’s about?

Marty Machowski:
Romans is written by the Apostle Paul. It was a letter sent to the church in Rome as he hoped to garner their support for a mission to Spain. He wanted to share the gospel he proclaimed so they would see it was the same gospel they knew. He took time to pen this letter, beginning with what you might consider the most basic steps of the gospel: the wrath of God is revealed against mankind’s sin; we are helpless and hopeless apart from a Redeemer; Jesus is the second Adam who comes—and just as sin entered the world through the first Adam, deliverance and righteousness come through the second Adam. He takes you through to the return of Christ and the end at the close of the letter. His goal was to communicate to the church in Rome, “Support this mission,” and he makes an appeal at the end.

Through Romans we see what is probably the most in-depth and detailed presentation of the New Testament gospel after the Gospels themselves were written—how this was told in the early church, how the gospel was presented. Paul lays out the gospel he says he received from Christ along the road when he was thrown down, blinded, and his mission to arrest Christians was canceled—and his mission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles inaugurated.

Laurie Christine:
I love Romans. It presents the gospel so clearly. Our church studied Romans a few years ago. I remember the first half of the book is a lot of theology—“Here’s the gospel; here’s what we believe.” The second half is, “Now what do we do about it? How do we live this out?” I know there will be a lot of practical application throughout your book. What themes will we find in The Sword—in those shorter devotionals and Bible studies throughout?

Marty Machowski:
Think of three major themes: the bad news of the gospel—we are lost in our sin; the good news—God rescued us and made a way for us to go to heaven; and the endurance of the gospel—the salvation God provides will never fail. We see that all the way through Romans. Finally, at the end: how should we live in light of the fact that we were saved and are being preserved? How do we cooperate with what God has done by honoring Him with our lives? So: the bad news, the good news, the endurance of salvation, and our response. They’re presented in that order so that by the time you get to “now this is what you need to do,” you’re meant to be so full of gratitude and affection for God for what He did that you want to follow and obey.

Laurie Christine:
Exactly. It’s not a checklist of “here are all the things you have to do to be a Christian” or “you owe God something.” You’re so full of thankfulness after being immersed in the gospel that obedience is our natural response. One question I always ask—and we touched on it—how will your book challenge boys specifically to become strong, courageous warriors for the kingdom of God?

Marty Machowski:
That’s a great question. Romans gives us our marching orders. It tells us what life is all about. A soldier without a mission is an aimless soul. A soldier called to battle and given a mission is a man with purpose. We live in a world that doesn’t have a mission—people wandering, boys without purpose, young men without a dream. Romans provides your purpose: what you’re meant for and why God created you. Once you catch that purpose, you take up the sword—which is really what the story is meant to incite in young boys: who will be a steward of the sword, a wielder of the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and continue through the centuries to slay evil and promote good?

If you’re a boy listening, I challenge you to take up your sword—the sword of truth, the sword of the Spirit—and learn to use it in your life to slay the enemies of God: the remaining sin in your life that seeks to lead you astray; Satan and his temptations—he prowls like a roaring lion; and unfaithful companions, the fools of the world who say “follow me” instead of following God. The sword will help you discern to say no to the enemies of God and yes to God Himself—and to do great things for God.

Laurie Christine:
Amen. Preach it. That’s so good. I felt like I was sitting in your church listening to a sermon. Thank you for that challenge for our boys and for writing this book. I’m going to read the back cover so listeners can get an idea of what the book is about. The book is The Sword: Magnus and the Mystery of Romans. Here’s what it says:

“Bestselling author Marty Machowski leads young readers on an adventure to unlock the mystery of the swords of Magnus while exploring Paul’s letter to the Romans. Following the format of his popular storybook studies, Machowski weaves a Bible study of the book of Romans with a fictional story. The Sword shares the story of Katana and Brant, who find a wooden sword and an ancient journal belonging to Magnus, a one-time gladiator who became a guard who watched over the Apostle Paul while he was under house arrest. Their discovery leads the siblings on a quest to reveal the mystery of the swords by studying Magnus’ journal. The Bible study portion of The Sword is presented as the study notes of Magnus. It was through his study of the gospel from Paul’s letter to the Romans that Magnus received the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Readers will learn alongside Katana and Brant the bad news of our sin and the good news that rescues us through the cross of Christ.” Be sure to check out The Sword: Magnus and the Mystery of Romans.

Marty, I am excited to continue reading this with my boys, and I know our listeners will be excited to get their hands on it as well. You’ve written a lot of other books. Are there other books in this same “fictional story + study” style?

Marty Machowski:
I do. I have The Treasure, which covers the Gospel of Luke and Acts. I have Wonderful, which is on the Psalms. Theology is a basic theology of the New Testament. And I just received The Death and the Victory, the fourth book in my Redemption Tales series—stories of redemption as experienced by the animals who were there to witness it all. If you’re interested in a great chapter book with a Bible study at the end, pick up one or all four of the Redemption Tales.

Laurie Christine:
Very nice. We have read several of those. We have Theology and have gone through it with my boys. It’s such a fabulous resource—almost like a systematic theology course for kids that goes through all the aspects of theology. I also have my copy of The Death and the Victory here, which I had the privilege and honor to endorse for Marty. It’s a really fun series—a retelling of Bible stories throughout the New Testament. Actually, the whole series starts in the Old Testament and goes through the whole Bible from the perspective of the animals in the stories. That’s a really fun series as well.

You have one other book I need to mention because of the connection with my series about dragons—the Dragon Slayer Bible Series. You have a book called Dragon Seed, which I think would appeal to boys, specifically teen boys. Can you tell us about that?

Marty Machowski:
Dragon Seed is an allegory of the gospel—an adventure story of a young boy whose father passed away. His mother gives him the family legend book to read, and that is Dragon Seed. “Dragon seed” is synonymous with pride. If a dragon seed lands on your heart and you don’t immediately get rid of it, it will sprout and send its black roots deep into your soul and turn you into a dragon. But if you pull out pride—and one of the best ways to do that is through humility—then the seed is dead and will not harm you. You get to see how that works and the dangers of dragon seed.

Laurie Christine:
That sounds like a great challenge for our boys as well. Several of my boys struggle with pride—that’s something we all need to deal with. I think it would be a great book for preteen and teen boys. Thank you so much, Marty. Where can listeners learn more about you and find your books?

Marty Machowski:
They can find all of my books at newgrowthpress.com. They can also learn more about me at martymachowski.com, and all of my books are available at Amazon.

Laurie Christine:
Very good. I’ll include links in the show notes and blog version to all of your books. Marty, we’re thankful you could come on the show to challenge and encourage our listeners. Thank you so much.

Marty Machowski:
Thanks for inviting me, Laurie. It’s been a pleasure to be with you.

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