Thursday, September 3, 2009

The Best Children’s Bible in Print

The Best Children’s Bible in Print: "

If you’re a Christian parent like my wife and me, you want your kids to know the Bible. Most Christian parents have multiple Bible story books laying around the house — fruit of their experimentation to find one their kids really love. But I’ve been consistently disappointed by the total lack of Christ-centeredness in most kids’ story Bibles. Wise publishers know they can market the same material to Jewish, Christian, Mormon and quasi-religious parents as long as they steer clear of any Jesus-as-Savior implications. And even good evangelical publishers tend to turn Bible stories into moralistic lessons (David beat Goliath, so you can defeat the “giants” in your life too) instead of drawing the connection to God’s plan of redemption (Through the intervention and courage of one deliverer (David/Jesus), the many are rescued from oppression and certain death).


It was with great skepticism, then, that I opened a package from my mother-in-law a few weeks ago to find The Big Picture 1Picture Story Bible. But my skepticism quickly melted away as soon as I began reading it to my kids. This is the story Bible I’ve been searching for all my life. Rather than taking stories from the Bible as isolated, moralistic lessons, it traces the redemptive-historical arc of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Bible stories are placed within their context in redemptive history – God’s kingdom coming “on earth as it is in heaven.” I can’t even describe how rich and engaging this book is – even I’m seeing connections in Scripture that I’ve missed. If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or if you’re looking for a good birthday gift for a kid who’s just learning to read… this book needs to be on your short list.


This story Bible isn’t just theologically rich; it’s kid-approved. My 4 children complain each night when we put it down: “Daddy, can’t we keep reading?” A children’s Bible story book that will help your kids love the Bible… need I say more?

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