Thomas Nelson - Childrens Favorite Bible Stories

The Bible is Gods message to you... his message of love. That message begins in the book of Genesis with the story of creationand it continues all the way through the Bible to the book of Revelation and its amazing descriptions of how wonderful heaven will be.

The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament tells the history of Gods people, beginning with the story of creation in Genesis. Here, God tells us how he made us in his own image:

So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27

From the first moment of creation, God has kept watch over his peopleand he still does today! Sometimes they please him, sometimes they sadden him, and sometimes they even anger him, but God always loves his people. Over and over again, throughout the Old Testament, we see Gods faithful love and carefrom Abraham to Moses, from Esther to Ruth, and from Daniel to David.

In the New Testament, God shows us just how high and wide and deep and strong his love for us really is. Here, God tells us of his greatest giftthe gift of his Son, Jesus:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. John 3:16

The first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are called the Gospels. They tell about Jesus life on earth, of the many lessons he taught and miracles he did, and of how he let himself be sacrificed on the cross so we could one day live with him in heaven.

The rest of the New Testament tells of how the early church began and how it spread throughout the world, carrying Jesus message of love and forgiveness everywhere it went.

While the Bible has many stories, we must remember that these arent just made-up stories, like Cinderella or Jack and the Beanstalk. These stories are true. They are the real histories of real people and the real things that happened to them. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is given by God. That means that men wrote down the words of the Bible, but it was God who told them what to write.

God gave us the Bible to help us learn more about him, to teach us how to live better lives, and most of all, to show us how much he loves us.

God has one great hope for your lifethat you will choose to be his child so that you can be with him in heaven one day.

God knows that you arent perfect. You can never be good enough to get to heaven all on your own. Thats why he sent his Son, Jesus:

This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him.... God sent his Son to be the way to take away our sins. That is how much God loved us, dear friends! 1 John 4:911

So how do you choose to be Gods child? Gods own Word tells us:

Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Acts 2:38

Say a prayer and ask God to show you how to become his child. Your prayer might sound something like this:

Dear God,

I am learning so much about you and how you sent your Son to save me. Thank you for loving me so much. I want to learn to follow Jesus and to be like him in all I say and do. Please show me how.

I know I mess up sometimesforgive me when I do. And fill my heart with your love, so I can learn to love others as you love me.

In Jesus name, amen.

And then try to live your life as a child of God by loving the Lord your God... with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind and by loving your neighbor as you love yourself (Luke 10:27). You still wont be perfect, but you will be forgiven.

The stories in this book are color-coded:

A story with a beige heading is from the Old Testament.

A story with a blue heading is from the New Testament.

G OING D EEPER includes Read It! and DoIt! sections that direct you to related readings with fun and educational family activities.

S PECIAL W ORDS teach the meaning of unusual or unfamiliar biblical terms.

D ID Y OU K NOW ? sections offer fun facts you may not have known before.

T HE Q UOTE OF THE D AY shares bits of wisdom from some well-known people.

Just as it is important to spend time alone with God, it is also important to spend time with God as a family. Going to church, singing his praises, and praying together will draw you not only closer to God but also closer to one another.

They called to the Lord, and he answered them. Psalm 99:6