Are you someone who is always looking for a new Bible study or a new devotion? Or maybe you haven’t really read the Bible very much at all? Or maybe you are bringing your children or grandchildren on a trip and are looking for a way to encourage them to read the Bible? Reading a children’s bible, especially The Jesus Storybook Bible, is a good choice for all of these types of readers.
Seasoned Bible Readers
My seminary professor assigned me to present The Jesus Storybook Bible for a contemporary literature class. I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed at first, as I had my eye on some of the novels instead. However, I soon changed my mind. What surprised me most about reading this children’s bible is how much it refreshed my soul. As a seminary student, I can often get caught up in cultural context, Hebrew or Greek word meanings, or other types of head knowledge. At the heart of this children’s bible is the theme of the “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love” of God. Author Sally Lloyd Jones demonstrates how every story in the Bible whispers the name of Jesus. I need reminders of these simple truths!
New Bible Readers
Perhaps you have felt intimidated to try to read the Bible. Read one of the stories in The Jesus Storybook Bible first. Each story gives the Bible reference that inspired the story, so you can look up the chapters in your Bible and read them after you get the overall idea of the section from the children’s bible.
Children or Grandchildren
This children’s Bible will definitely keep your child’s attention. I shared the video above to give you an idea of the style of the stories. The audio version by David Suchet is fabulous; however, I do not recommend it on its own. There is something so powerful about children listening to their parent or grandparent read the Bible story to them. Though it is easy to sit them in front of a screen, the interaction with you is so important! Now after you have read the storybook Bible with them, you could choose to get the audio version for them to listen to as they go to sleep. But make the first reading with you!
If you have preteens and teens, then you might consider taking advantage of their naturally inquisitive (or is it argumentative 😆?) natures. Have them compare the version in The Jesus Storybook Bible with the one in the Bible. What did Sally Lloyd Jones condense? Add? Combine? Leave out? Did it affect the story? How?
Encourage Your Budding Artist
Take time to enjoy the absolutely beautiful illustrations in this children’s Bible. If you have a child that loves art, you could watch the video above about Jago, the illustrator. Then you could encourage them to create their own storybook bible from one of the stories not included in this collection.
Other Fun Resources
To finish up this post, I wanted to share some other resources I found as I was doing research for my presentation.
Here is an interview with the writer:
Here is an interview with David Suchet:
Looking for some activities and crafts?
My last link is to Sally Lloyd Jones’ podcast. She has ten minute episodes with a guest and always shares a section of the storybook bible.
As we travel on the road or through this life, we always need to stay close to God. You might consider The Jesus Storybook Bible as one way to do that. See you next week!