Best-selling children's author Marty Machowski's beautifully illustrated storybook captivates young readers with the heart of the gospel. In this easy-to-read children's book, families are invited to see Jesus clearly in the people, places, and events of the Old and New Testaments.
The Gospel Story Bible points to Jesus, helping families and kids identify Christ as the hero of every story. While it's easy to forget Jesus in the midst of frantic schedules, family squabbles, and conflicting priorities, Machowski reminds families of God's plan of salvation in Christ, which is continually on display throughout the Bible.
This gospel-driven resource orients the minds of children toward the wondrous works of God, encouraging them to see Jesus in a larger context of redemptive history. As a treasure for both parents and young children, The Gospel Story Bible traces the gospel through the Bible with clarity and traction for all ages.
As you share these engaging Bible stories together, you and your family will meet Jesus and learn a new, life-changing way of growing in intimacy with him. Vibrant illustrations, child-friendly discussion questions, and Scripture references accompany each narrative to help you lead in effective family Bible study.
You will be delighted to discover how easily even a young child can understand the original text of a story he or she has already come to love. Ideal as a storybook for your preschooler, a devotional for your grade school student, a refresher for the adult believer, or an introduction for the new one.
The Gospel Story Bible is a companion resource to the Gospel Story Curriculum, Long Story Short, Old Story New, the Old Testament Gospel Story for Kids Coloring Book, and the New Testament Gospel Story for Kids Coloring Book. Each bible story corresponds to a lesson in the Gospel Story Curriculum, a coloring page in the coloring books, and a week of devotions in Long Story Short and Old Story New.
"I could speak at length about how much I recommend Marty Machowski's books to churches and indeed I do, along with books from a long list of other authors. But Marty's resources for families and children also appear on a far shorter list that places them in a more significant category for me they are books that I actually use in my home. Again, Marty has provided us with a God-centered, Scripture-grounded, gospel-driven resource that orients the minds of children toward the wondrous works of God."
Timothy Paul Jones, PhD, Associate Professor of Family Ministry, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; editor of The Journal of Family Ministry
"Marty Machowski gets the gospel and knows how to transfer it to kids in a way that delights the soul and engages the mind. The Gospel Story Bible is a treasure for parents of young children. But it's not just for children, Marty traces the gospel through the Bible with crystal clarity and traction for all ages. Few pastors I know are this skilled in making the glories of Scripture so accessible in narrative form. It's a must-buy."
Dave Harvey, DMin, author of When Sinners Say "I Do" and Rescuing Ambition
"Machowksi does a great job of keeping the essential details of the stories intact while keeping the language accessible. This is no easy feat. Many storybook Bibles tend to be a bit too complicated or a tad too over-simplified. Machowski strikes the right balance between accuracy and age-appropriate comprehension, and for this I'm grateful. This is perhaps most noticeable when touching on a serious topic like God's wrath and judgment. This is something you don't see in a lot of storybook Bibles, even pretty decent ones like The Jesus Storybook Bible. Machowski doesn't shy away from the hard truths of Scripture, but there are no scare tactics. He speaks plainly and appropriately, always returning to the hope found in the gospel. Perhaps the greatest feature of this storybook Bible is its versatility. It can be used for bedtime stories for the little ones, dinnertime discussion with the older kids, and as a basic primer for the parents in telling the story of Jesus in a way that kids will understand. Of all the storybook Bibles we have, I'd say The Gospel Story Bible is the best. The stories are concise and faithful to the Scriptures, the artwork is engaging, and the discussion questions are extremely helpful. I'd encourage any parent to get a copy of this book to share with their children."
Aaron Armstrong, Author, blogger at BloggingTheologically.com
"If you want your children to grow up loving the Bible, then introduce them to The Gospel Story Bible. Here you have a simple, readable, understandable, and engaging account of 156 of the most powerful stories in the Bible. Every story is of manageable size, and even the most energetic child will be able to remain attentive for an entire story. In fact, you may be pleasantly surprised that your children will want to hear more than one story. The most important feature of the book is that Pastor Machowski sees the gospel in every story! Listen to how his book opens: "God's gospel story starts at the very beginning!" I assure you that it doesn't end there. The gospel permeates every chapter of this book. I highly recommend it."
Nancy E. Ganz, Author of Herein Is Love: A Commentary Series for Children
"Reaching the generations with the gospel requires an enormous amount of parental wisdom and intentionality. Marty Machowski has provided a great tool to aid parents in their primary task of discipling their children. Not only that but The Gospel Story Bible presents the grand story line of Christ in all of Scripture. Every parent should have a copy."
Randy Stinson, Dean, School of Church Ministries, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Former President, The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
"With hints of Marc Chagall, Marty provides more than the requisite 1,000 words with his depictions of biblical stories. The accompanying questions provide a great starting point for discussion with children of all ages, while the illustrations evoke even more stimulating thoughts for reflecting on the story of God's people. See the story again for the first time!"
Dr. Phil Schroeder, Church Consultant - Associate Director of Connectional Ministries, North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church
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This children's Bible is unique in that it focuses on Jesus and the Gospel as it goes through the different stories from the Old and New Testaments. It's a retelling of the Bible based on the ESV translation; a little wordy so I'd recommend it to 8-10 year olds. At the end of each story there's a little editorial to connect it with other parts of the Bible and try to paint the big picture of the story of redemption. Every couple of stories, some guide questions for reflection. The art is a little avant garde, so it might turn off those who are used to traditional drawings. But I think children should be exposed to variety, it'll make their imagination run. The book is hardbound and heavy so kids will probably have to read it at home. All in all, I think it's a good addition to a child's shelf, and a good reminder for parents and the rest of us that as we teach children Bible stories, we should also show how these all point to the central story of God's love and redemption through Jesus.
I honestly didn't think I'd come even close to finding a storybook Bible that I love as much as The Jesus Storybook Bible that we've had for a few years now. But when I saw this one I knew I had to give it a try. I really do like it! It's got more actual scripture references than the JSB, but the storytelling isn't quite as creative. But I do like that there are many more stories than the JSB has. The pictures are also very nice (not quite as lovely as JSB). One thing that is a little weird to me is that the skin tone of each of the biblical characters is left white. I believe the introduction states something like they did this intentionally so that the child reading it could picture themselves in the story. Hmmm, I think it's odd for a child to be picturing him/herself as Jesus, etc. And I know that, ethinically, the people in the Bible did not have white skin. But once I look past the white skin color I really think it's a nice storybook Bible.
My children have greatly enjoyed reading from The Gospel Story Bible. Although some of the language may be too old for younger children (i.e. preschool age), the book is laid out in a user-friendly format so that you can either read the whole story, which includes the commentary, or just focus on the Bible story itself and point out the pictures. Because of this, it can appeal to a wider age range. My children said they loved the interesting pictures that accompany each story, and that they found them colorful and fun to look at. As a father, I appreciated how each story is ended by pointing the way to Jesus who is, after all, the point of everything! This was an especially neat feature when reading through the Old Testament stories and seeing how they are woven together into God's grand plan of salvation through Jesus.
"The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments" is designed for use with preschoolers as a story book and as a devotional guide for young grade school students The book can be used for home family applications or in the classroom as a curriculum resource . As you read and share these stories with your children you will be pleased to note the way they serve as a refresher to your own spiritual and devotional life. The colorful dramatic illustrations drawn by A. E. Macha bring the stories to life. The accompanying questions in the "Let's Talk about It" section are carefully designed for engaging interaction with your child. The author carefully includes God's plan of salvation in Christ throughout the narrative. Machowski's narrative is child friendly, readable, understandable, ideal for age graded Bible exploration, and life changing application, designed to reach a new generation with the truths of the Gospel. The 156 chapters chronicle the key events of the Old and New Testaments. The scriptures quoted are based on the text of the Standard English Bible. A complimentary copy of this book was provided for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own. I add my
I love Martin Machowsky's family devotional book, "Long Story Short," thus I had high hopes for this story Bible. I give "The Gospel Story Book" three stars because of one serious and two minor issues with the book: The serious concern:: This volume is replete with 2nd Commandment violations (images of Jesus). This is certainly not unusual for a children's story Bible, but I feel there should be a clear disclaimer as this book is heavily promoted in the reformed community. The minor issues: This book is printed on high-gloss paper and much of the text is printed on richly colored backgrounds; this makes it difficult for persons with less than perfect vision to read this book in any situation with less than perfect lighting (e.g. at a child's bedside). The paper stock, cover and size of this book render it extremely heavy. As it constantly takes two hands to physically manage this book, I find it very awkward to read with my son on my lap. I hope the publisher considers breaking this up into two volumes and printing the text on white paper as the content of the book is excellent.
