Did you ever wonder what Jacob’s face looked like the morning after his wedding night, when he woke up in bed with a different woman than the one he thought he had married — Leah instead of Rachel? Jago did, and what he imagined and drew made me laugh out loud. I was living my whole life just to be the best chef in the world. That's all I ever knew. No one ever asked me who I was going to be, what I believed. No one ever cared to ask me any question about myself.” - Darnell Ferguson

What follows is a paraphrase of John 1:11–13, and an invitation to say yes to Jesus and receive his wonderful gift. I see kids who are virtually illiterate carrying your Bible around the school grounds every day and reading it every time they get a chance. Some of them had read it all the way through within a week of receiving it. Some of the older girls in the boarding house read it together with the younger girls every night before they go to bed. They come to school and love to tell me what they’ve been reading about and where they’re up to.In the United Kingdom, the London City Mission passed it out to as many as they could in the poorer parts of the city, former chief executive John Nicholls said. In fact, they handed it out so often to at-risk adults that they asked for—and got—an adult version titled The Story of God’s Love for You. The book is aimed at children younger than 8 years old, but Lloyd-Jones said she began to think the book was going to do really well when “it seemed to be fathers who loved it.” The key to introducing children to a life long faith is the same as the key that opens the door to a lifelong love of reading. And the key is called sharing. Of course you can’t make children find faith just as you can’t make them read something they don’t want too – well, not and expect them to love it. Tim didn’t have a clue it was being written,” said Kathy, who reviewed the book’s theology for Zondervan before it was published. “The first time we saw it, it was a finished [manuscript].”

Children will love the vivid illustrations and animated videos that bring to life Bible stories from both the Old and New Testament. They’ll learn that every story in the Bible points to Jesus — and what that means for them!Sally Lloyd-Jones is a leading writer of inspirational books for children. She is the author of three bestselling Children’s bibles, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning Baby’s First bible. She has written many picture books for children, including Handbag Friends and Time to Say goodnight. A native of England, Sally lives in New York City. The Jesus Storybook Bible is, in my opinion, one of the best resources available to help both children and adults see the Jesus-centered story line of the Bible.' Tullian Tchividjian, Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church PCA When kids understand that God is in pursuit of them in the good, the bad, and the ugly, when they can connect to those moments, and then they can see what God did for characters like Rahab, characters like Jacob when he was super jealous and not behaving properly, or David. In all of those stories, the Bible is really the key, and the crown jewel in knowing how God moves in our lives and loves us and pursues us relentlessly.” - Melina Luna Smith Naturally I chose Samson, because I thought he would be fun to play. But when I reread the story through the lens of how I would tell it to children, I didn’t know what to leave in and what to take out. Could I tell them about the time I tied the tails of foxes together, set them on fire, and sent them running through the Philistines’ vineyards? Or the time, after spending the night in a brothel, I tore the city gates from their hinges and carried them off?

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name disproves the adage that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Lloyd-Jones is firm: “You have to know you’re loved first. Rules don’t have the power to change your heart; God’s love does.” For Children and Adults What makes this collection unique is that each story points to Jesus, showing how Biblical history is redemption history. For instance, the story of the tower of Babel, begun so the people could reach heaven, ends: People could never reach up to Heaven, so Heaven would have to come down to them. And one day, it would. (p.54) So as soon as we received this book, we started reading a story every night to our three-year-old daughter. From the beginning, we were pleased. Everything in the Bible points to Christ as our Savior, and that is exactly what this Bible storybook does. It makes you think so much more about some of the Old Testament accounts because of how clearly each story shows how Christ has been there from the beginning and will continue to be there through the end.

I realized that I'd been given this platform for whatever reason, and I had this urge and sense of responsibility to use it, to encourage others to think beyond just this life and this moment.” - Nathan Tasker Melina Luna Smith believes that art is a powerful tool that can open the door to the heart and allow kids to connect with stories from the Bible in a fun and engaging way. She has dedicated her creative skills to interactively recreating Bible stories for children through her company, Storymakers. Melina shares with us some of her imaginative ways to retell God’s stories and connect with our kids (or adult friends!) about faith. Lloyd-Jones was hooked. “I had a narrator,” she said. “I started writing like a mother speaking to her child.”