How do you explain the gospel to toddlers and preschoolers? Often adults are stumped, but Jared Kennedy’s focus on the promises of God makes the gospel come alive to the littlest hearts. Through fifty-two Old and New Testament stories, The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible highlights God’s perfect promises. Every page pops with bright colors, playful illustrations, fun learning opportunities, and, best of all each story points children to Jesus.
Kids know the value of a promise. Through the gospel, our good and all-powerful God keeps his word and fulfills his promises to us better than we could have ever thought or imagined!
In The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible, author Jared Kennedy traces God’s perfect promises through fifty-two Old and New Testament stories, retold in simple and compelling ways with toddlers and preschoolers in mind. Each gospel-centered story highlights God’s tale of redemption through Jesus and the unexpected and surprising ways that God’s grace and mercy are revealed throughout the Bible. Children will hear the good news of God’s love for them clearly expressed in ways that will speak to their young hearts. Brightly colored illustrations highlight the stories and add fun teaching elements of counting, opposites, patterns, and object recognition to keep even the youngest child’s attention. Every story also ends with a question that parents and caregivers can use to further reinforce the message.
Through reading this book one chapter at a time to your children—or letting them read it to you!—even the youngest kids will come to know that God’s promises are especially for them, and that God always keeps his promises.
AUTHOR
Jared Kennedy, MDiv, ThM, is the cofounder and managing editor of Gospel-Centered Family, a ministry that helps churches and families share Jesus with the next generation. He also serves as the Children's and Family Ministry Strategist for the Harbor Network, and is an adjunct professor at Boyce College. He is the author of The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible, Are You Close to God?, Jesus Rose for Me, Jesus Came for Me, and God Made Me for Worship, and has developed two VBS programs, Proof Pirates and Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet. He blogs regularly at Gospel-Centered Family and contributes to @TGC, @ERLC, and @HeReadsTruth. You can follow him on Twitter @jaredskennedy. He and his wife, Megan, have three girls, Rachael, Lucy, and Elisabeth.
ILLUSTRATOR
Trish Mahoney is a graphic designer and illustrator in Seattle where she runs The Mahoney Studio with her husband, Patrick, also a designer and illustrator. They have two children—both budding artists, too. Trish’s first children’s book was God Made All of Me.
“This simple, beautifully illustrated story Bible is perfect for helping the youngest members of God’s family trace the gospel thread through the rich tapestry of Scripture. It will be the first story Bible I buy for all my grandchildren.”
Iain Duguid, Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary; author
“Jared Kennedy has created a spectacular resource to help us teach the Bible to our youngest children. Though the language is simple enough for toddlers, the gospel truth it carries can and will transform lives. The illustrations compliment the story, creating a colorful journey for children as they discover the promises of God and how they are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. I will be placing a copy of this book in all our children’s ministry classrooms and recommending that every family in our church with small children add it to their bookshelf.”
Marty Machowski, Pastor; author of The Ology, The Gospel Story Bible, and other books and curriculum for the church and family
“With colorful, attention-grabbing illustrations and simple, heart-grabbing stories, The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible is a must for you and your littles.”
Jessica Thompson, speaker; podcaster; author of Everyday Grace
“As a teacher of Biblical Interpretation, I frequently lament the hermeneutical thoughtlessness found in many children’s materials. The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible, however, is a different story. It is characterized by both faithfulness to the intent of the inspired biblical authors and attention to the unifying themes of Scripture that find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. The book is also beautifully illustrated. I wish this story Bible had been available when my children were younger. I am pleased to commend it with enthusiasm.”
Robert L. Plummer, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Colorful! Simple! Beautiful! Jesus-centered! Those are just a few of the words that I would use to describe this new book from Jared Kennedy. The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible is a reliable resource to provide to children’s teachers for use in their classrooms and to parents who need a tool to begin discipling their children at home.”
Timothy Paul Jones, C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family Ministry, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible lives up to its title. It truly is filled with stories that highlight the gospel promise in each portion of the Scriptures. Kennedy brings familiar passages into focus, highlighting God as the promise-making and promise-keeping good father who loves his children. Beautifully illustrated and perfect for a wide variety of ages, this book will definitely prompt questions and conversations about what life might look like as a follower of our wonderful promise-fulfilling God. The gospel is a clear and natural part of each chapter as God’s plan of redemption unfolds through the great stories of the Scripture. Focused on Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise to provide a way back to life with him, The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible is both faithful and fun. I highly recommend it.”
Michael Thigpen, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitics Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
“It has always been challenging to find gospel-rich books to share with our kids, especially when they were very little. Here, Jared Kennedy and Trish Mahoney offer an engaging, beautiful, and fun resource for families. The stories manage to be faithful to the Scriptures and clear for young children, and they’re loaded with conversation starters. My only wish is that this book had come sooner!”
Mike Cosper, Founder and Director of Harbor Media
“Once I started reading The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible, I could hardly stop. Jared Kennedy retells favorite Bible stories with a freshness and clarity that toddlers and preschoolers (and their parents) will love. Open this book with your little one, and watch eyes light up, fingers point, and smiles start to spread. Every page pops with bright colors and playful illustrations. Best of all, each of the fifty-two short chapters will point your child to Jesus. And that’s good news—for young and old alike.”
Champ Thornton, Author of The Radical Book for Kids
“Parents, if you want a beginner’s bible study that’s clear, beautifully-illustrated, on-level and brimming with gospel-promises, look no further. Just spend one minute flipping through The Beginners Gospel Story Bible and you will be convinced that Jared Kennedy is a pastor who knows how to convey bible truths in a memorable manner. Sure to capture little minds with big promises!”
Dave Harvey, President of Sojourn Network; founder of AmICalled.com; author of When Sinners Say I Do and Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls
“It is invaluable that a child’s understanding of the story of God’s love for us to be grand and expansive. Not overly simplified in the form of a love note, but rather as an epic story of perfection, sin, redemption, and restoration. If a child comes to this understanding at a young age, it will fundamentally transform how they relate to God and read scripture. Jared’s distillation of these gospel truths is an invaluable resource to parents and pastors alike.”
Sam Luce, Pastor of Families, Redeemer Church, Utica, NY
“Stories are great conveyers of truth, which is why Jesus so often told stories to his followers. His stories were often simple, repeatable, and powerful. Children of all ages won't be able to put this book down because the truths revealed are timeless!”
Steve Wright, Pastor of Discipleship and Church Planting, Family Church, West Palm Beach, FL
“Jared Kennedy has written a beautiful, theologically rich book that everyone will love—kids, parents, and teachers! The illustrations are captivating and stunning, matched only by Jared’s passion for God’s Word and the incredible way he makes it accessible for kids. I love this book and can’t wait to read it with my daughter!”
Melanie Rainer, Director of Content at JellyTelly
“Jared is a master teacher. He sees what each Bible story says about God, and also what God says in each story to a child’s heart. This book is packed with simple and strong truths like, ‘God never forgets his people,’ and, ‘Jesus died instead of us.’ Jared gets to the core of each Bible story without dumbing it down, and then makes it easy to understand and remember. That’s powerful teaching—exactly what kids need!”
Jack Klumpenhower, Author of Show Them Jesus
“The Beginner's Gospel Story Bible is a gift to parents and Bible teachers alike. The stories are written with a gospel crispness and illustrated with vivid colors and pictures that are sure to teach little minds about the beauty of God and his Kingdom. The Lord will use this work to plant many seeds in mini hearts.”
Jamaal Williams, Lead Pastor, Sojourn Community Church – Midtown
“God’s promises are at the heart of the gospel, and those promises reveal his heart while deepening our faith, sustaining our hope, and enabling us to know and experience his love. The Gospel Story Bible illustrates, clarifies, and applies God’s promises made and kept. Jared’s pastoral heart and his passion for reaching kids with the gospel is seen on every page. Use this book to train children, adults, and even ministry leaders to see the beautiful story of God in ways that stir the imagination and engage the heart, while grounding the reader in the faithful and enduring love of God.”
Robert K. Cheong, Pastor of Care, Sojourn Community Church
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Marty Machowski
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Marty Machowski
Oh man, I cannot say enough good things about The BeginnerÕs Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy. Over the last four years, we have read and utilized many different Bible story books and many of those are still favorites of ours. However, this one just might top the list! First, the book itself is well made, thick and sturdy. If you have kids, you understand why that matters. The illustrations are incredible. Absolutely incredible. They arenÕt overdone and I think that helps the kids to focus on them more. The stories are numbered which we have enjoyed when we are switching off nights reading stories and I can just tell my husband we read story #11 last night, etc. The stories themselves are well told and shortened from the actual Bible stories. I feel like they donÕt mince words.
The illustrations are bright and eye catching. TheyÕre large and simple, yet lovely and pleasing to look at. I think for the average child, theyÕre great.
LOVE this book!! My 11 year old son and I have enjoyed this book! The recommended age is 3-7 but we enjoyed it, so it would be great for older kids as well! This book contains fifty-two stories and the book is arranged chronologically. The fifty-two stories are evenly divided between the Old and New Testaments. The book starts off with GodÕs creation and ends with Jesus opening up a scroll as recorded in the last book of the Bible. This book has over two hundred pages, but it is amazing. I had planned reading one story a night, but once we started reading, we couldnÕt stop!
The best story book Bible for preschoolers and toddlers. I love this piece. It will be the most recommended for me for this page. He beautifully writes these stories to point us all to Christ. All. Every story.
One of my favorite things about this book is that it isnÕt your typical book for kids. It has some not so familiar bible stories, along side really traditional ones. This book highlights 52 various stories. From GodÕs promises, to his redemption, and everything in between. I loved the fact that each story has such a good discussion and reading involved. It is done at a level a child would understand, but also well teach them, strengthen their faith, and open a disucsion about faith. The book contains scripture passages at the begining of each story. A large color print expresses the major point. The gospal of salvation is presented at several places in this book. There is a collection of both Old and New Testament stories. Which is really neat.
This review is for the book ÒThe BeginnerÕs Gospel Story BibleÓ by Jared Kennedy. I had barely even taken this book out of the box it was mailed in when my 8-year old daughter grabbed it, curled up on the couch, and began reading it. By the next night, she had finished the whole thing. Now, I will say that this Bible is probably meant for a younger child, I can see why she devoured it. The pictures and illustrations are colorful and fun. The text is in a font that is very easy to read, and there isnÕt Òtoo muchÓ on a page as far as wordiness goes. There are questions strewn in for the kids to think about when reading it alone or with parents, such as ÒWhat is your favorite thing God has made?Ó when reading about creation.
My favorite feature is the questions as this makes it so interactive for the children and to really teach the truths at even a very young age. My older children even enjoyed paging through this book and exclaiming over the pictures and making comments about various stories they have learned and how this reminded them of certain details. I highly recommend this for young children; it would make an excellent gift for the little ones on your Christmas gift list this year!
The BeginnerÕs Gospel Story Bible is the latest childrenÕs Bible for children three and younger and honestly, it is one of the best. With aesthetically appealing illustrations and truths from the Old and New Testaments, this Bible is great for introducing youngsters to the truths of GodÕs word in a comprehensive, deep and understandable way. My husband and I have really enjoyed reading through this Bible with our 20 month old daughter each night. We appreciate that the stories point to Jesus and each personÕs need to turn from their sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation.
This is absolutely THE best book I have found in the childrenÕs bible arena. ItÕs written in such a perfect way for young kids to get exposure to the gospel and staying on their level without dumbing down the story. I am in love with the illustrations. ItÕs an absolute keepsake in my house. We will read it over and over and over again.
52 chapters the tell the story of Jesus Christ, from Genesis to Revelation, with a conversational lilt to the storytelling, and thought provoking conversation starting questions that get the young person in your life to start thinking about the important things in life. Illustrated in bright colors, and simple, but expressive pictures, this book brings to life the Gospel, from Creation to what is still yet to come. I loved that the chapters were concise. They took each event and connected it to the cross of Christ, and ended with a challenge question that was easy enough for a child to understand, yet deep and would be a great way to start a conversation.
