The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments Hardcover – December 5, 2011

We have read a few story Bibles to the kids, and this is one of my favourites. There are 156 stories in total, and includes all the major stories of the Bible. This is what I love about this book:1. Illustrations (done by A.E. Macha)--I am used to seeing cutesy, cartoony illustrations of various kinds in the story Bibles that I have read to my kids. These are fine and I like them. However, the illustrations in this book are more like art than cartoons. There is an illustration for each story, and my kids love looking at the pictures. They are colourful, but not your typical children's bible story illustrations--which I find as a positive.2. "Let's Talk About It!" After each story, you will find this section, which usually includes three questions. Two of them are general questions about the story, but I find the third usually gets them thinking. For instance, after Story 9--God Makes a Covenant with Abram, these are the three questions. "1. How many stars can you count? 2. What did God promise Abram? 3. How are you and I like the stars in the sky?" This really created some good discussion on the part of my husband and kids. It really helps bring the discussion around the main part of the story--Jesus. Which brings me to my third favourite thing about this book.3. The Gospel--Just as the title suggests, Machowski brings the Gospel to light in every story. For instance, in this same story--Story 9--Machowski says this, "If we believe that Jesus died for our sins and that God raised Jesus from the dead, our faith will be counted to us as righteousness just like Abram's was." He brings and ties the Gospel in to every story, which is very important for us as we want to teach our children the complete truth of God's word, and how the Gospel is connected to the entirety of Scriptures. This is very good, and I find has really helped aid the discussion.4. It's a jumping off point. What I like is that these stories are short yet concise. They give us a jumping off point in discussing with our kids the truth of God's Word. We have young elementary aged children, and these stories allow us to centre the discussions we have with them on what is important...the Gospel. And he also includes where in the Bible he is getting these stories, so you can always go to the Scriptures as well and read the Chapter(s)/part of the Chapter(s) if that is what you wish.Again, I would recommend this for sure. I'm thankful that we purchased this, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a devotional to read to their children.

Very good Bible for kids

I have recommended this Story Bible so many times that I figured I should make a review already! We have read through this story Bible about 6 times in that many years. (156 stories with questions) We alternate with other study books, but always come back craving the theological depth of this one for our boys. We began when our oldest was two and still read it nightly for ages 3-8.Favorite points:-Points to the importance of Christ in Old Testament and New-No fluffly, sugar coated rhymes-One page of reading with 3 discussion questions-Lists the scripture passages it is referencing-It does NOT overlook sin while saying it's *just* all about God's love. It repeatedly points to our need of a Savior and God's plan of redemption.

This bible is great. I LOVE how they tie the OT in with the new during many of not each story! It is so helpful for kids to know ! It also is great for when your kids are ready for more in their bible reading but not more than they need at the moment.. example - Book of Judges - when they shared the story of Samson they were honest about it- Instead of the preschool version bibles that only praise Samson.. again, I get there is a time and place but my kids need more than the fluff - if they can understand when they were 3 and 5 what they resurrection meant for us they can move up in adding layers of the depths of some stories —- end rant ! - My other favorite things are the fact that the photos are abstract. I’m not a fan of many depictions in childrens book having Jesus be white. He wasn’t. Period. If we are going to teach children about where he was from by adding photos it makes sense to be as historically correct as possible. This bible does great with the pictures being art because art has a way of bringing about what WE see and what we think.Love love love!They also have lesson plans on their website - pricey - like really pricey but if you or your church is going through the Bible it may be worth it to look into!

We’ve been through a lot of story Bibles and this one is my favorite for beyond the toddler years. It includes many of the common stories, but also so much more!! It is rich with material from the Old Testament and always points to Christ. We went through this when our kids were about 4, 6, and 8 and it met them each where they were at, even with the age span. This was so well-done that we’ve since moved onto Machowski’s “Long Story Short” and plan to do “Old Story New” next.

If you love the true Gospel message that it is Jesus and only Jesus that makes us right with God, as opposed to good behavior (which is an understandable but heretic message communicated implicitly or explicitly by far too much of children's Christian literature), this is the story bible for you!We LOVED the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, but after a few years, our kids practically have it memorized. And as our older kids have gotten even older, it became boring to them. The Gospel Story Bible is like the next step up, more advanced in reading level, many more stories from scripture, discussion questions, and similar to the Jesus Storybook Bible, interesting and different artwork, rather than the usual cartoonish and saccharine illustrations you commonly find.Each story also includes how it relates or points to Jesus, which helps us all (adults included) understand the Bible as one story about God's great love for us, expressed through Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.We find this the most usable of the story bibles we have encountered for Advent, Christmas, and Easter readings, as the stories are more in-depth and less condensed.I would say the only "bad" thing I can say is that because each story is simply two facing pages, and therefore only one picture, and no page turns, it doesn't hold younger kids' interest well. Break out the Jesus Storybook Bible for that.