Showing posts with label discipleship resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discipleship resources. Show all posts

Monday, September 10, 2007

A Book Review: The Jesus Storybook Bible

This is the most beautiful Children's Bible I have ever seen - both for its illustrations and, more importantly, its content. I sat at my desk and wept as I read the first five stories.

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules,
telling you what you should and shouldn't do.

The Bible certainly does have rules in it.
They show you how life works best.

But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing.
It's about God and what he has done.

-Chapter One, The Story and the Song (emphasis mine)

How refreshing in the increasingly me-centered world we find ourselves inhabiting. The premise, and what makes this Children's Bible altogether different from others, is that God's redemptive plan is woven in each and every story, continually pointing your child to Christ as ultimate Redeemer! The subtitle of the book itself is "Every story whispers his name."

Here are the endings of two stories which illustrate this truth-

A Giant Staircase to Heaven: The Tower of Babel concludes:

You see, God knew, however high they reached,
however hard they tried,
people could never get back to heaven themselves.
People didn't need a staircase; they needed a Rescuer.
Because the way back to heaven wasn't a staircase; it was a Person.
People could never reach up to Heaven,
so Heaven would have to come down to them.
And, one day, it would.


The final paragraph of The Present: The Story of Abraham and Isaac:

Many years later, another Son would climb another hill,
carrying wood on his back.
Like Isaac, he would trust his Father and do what his Father asked.
He wouldn't struggle or run away. Who was he?
God's Son, his only Son - the Son he loved.
The Lamb of God.


If you are interested in seeing more, click on the photo and it will take you to Westminster Bookstore's webpage. There you can read more reviews (much more eloquently stated than mine) and even download a pdf that shows two full stories: David's Anointing by Samuel and John the Baptist. You can see for yourself if this Bible might be something you will want to include in your family's library. I am so glad it has found its way into ours!