OK, you might be asking yourself, why do I need another story Bible. I mean, many of you have "The Big Picture Story Bible" (and have read it to your kids so many
times that they can almost quote it) and through it you've opened the eyes of your kids to see the Big Picture of the Bible and God's plan of redemption from the very beginning. And, with the curriculum this year based around "The
Jesus Storybook Bible," it's a familiar tool in your home that's been used to point your kids to the cross through all of it's stories. So, why another story Bible?
"The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments" by Marty Machowski does many of the same things that these other story Bibles do....it unfolds
God's redemptive plan through all of history and it points kids to Christ in every story, but it goes a step further. Marty Machowski has chosen 78 Old Testament and 78 New Testament stories (which match up with the stories in the family worship book "Long
Story Short") and carefully weaves them together keep pointing kids back to the cross and back to Christ. "The Gospel Story Bible" is basically a Biblical Theology for
families, designed to help us see how the whole Bible is one story- -God's plan of redemtion through Christ.
One thing that makes this tool special and helpful for families, is the very clear connection with Christ that is made in each of the stories as well as his use of New Testament texts to support the connection and further study and discussion. In the same
way that "The Jesus Storybook Bible" helped us to see a connection to Christ in the familiar stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jonah, Daniel and more..."The Gospel Story Bible" shows us those same connections in many more stories and helps us to see how the
whole Bible points to Christ. Here are just a few of the connections...
- Cain & Abel- - Abel's blood couldn't fix the problem of sin brought into the world, but one day Jesus' blood did what Abel's could not.
- Lot- -Just as God rescued Lot and his family, God had a plan to rescue all of His children through Jesus and He is the One who brings them away from sin to safety.
- Gideon- -God used Gideon to rescue His people even though they didn't deserve it to point to the truth that God sent Jesus to save us even though we don't deserve it.
"It's easy to forget Jesus in the midst of busy schedules and conflicting priorities, but the truth is that He is the only one who can change the lives of parents and children. As you share these Bible stories together, you and your family will meet
Jesus and learn together a new, life-changing way of recognizing Him as the hero of every story."
I received my copy of "The Gospel Story Bible" this week and have loved getting a chance to flip through the stories and be reminded that the whole Bible points to Jesus. "The Gospel Story Bible" isn't available yet in the Bible society, but you can read
the full book online here on the
Gospel Story for Kids website. And it can be ordered (with free international shipping) from Book Depository.
I hope you and your families will benefit greatly from this resource as together you discover Jesus in the Old and New Testaments!
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