Skip to main content

The Jesus Storybook Bible




The Jesus Storybook Bible Written by Sally Lloyd-Jones Ilustrated by Jago
http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/index.php

We have been using this amazing book in our children’s worship time at Mercy Road for a long while.  Finally, I decided to purchase a copy for my family, especially as a gift for my daughter for Christmas, except I couldn’t wait for that long to give it to her.  The Jesus Storybook Bible, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago Silver is a beautifully done retelling of the Bible story with Jesus as the center.  During the opening chapter, Sally writes, “But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing.  It’s about God and what he has done.” (14)  This God-centric understanding of Scripture permeates the entire Jesus Storybook Bible.  Further, Sally indicates that, “And at the center of the Story, there is a baby.  Every Story in the Bible whispers his name.  He is like the missing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.” (17)  The centerpiece which holds all the other pieces together is Jesus. 

We see the beautiful connection between Old Testament stories such as the great escape from Egypt retold from Exodus 3-13.  At the end of the story, Sally writes, “God’s people would always remember this great rescue and call it “Passover.”  But an even Greater Rescue was coming.” (91).   We get hints and intimations of the great coming of King Jesus into the world to rescue sinners and restore creation here.  The interaction with Pharaoh and Moses was stunningly illustrated and pointed to the futile nature of the Pharaoh and the celebration of the people upon their path out of Egypt.  The great redemptive acts of God in the OT and NT are highlighted in this Storybook Bible as a way to point to the real hero of the text, God himself.

Another point of strength of the book is its insistence that in reading the Bible we are not just looking for heroes to follow, although they are there, but God to behold our gaze and worship. Concerning Daniel, Sally writes, “God would keep on rescuing his people.  And the time was coming when God would send another brave Hero, like Daniel, who would love God and do what God said – whatever it cost him, even it if meant he would die.” (159).  The point is made that Daniel was surely a brave lad to face such grave circumstances with faith and devotion, but this point is not the hinge point of the story.  Rather, God has been a God of rescue from the very beginning, and this would be no different when he sent his Son to die for our sins.


I really enjoy this Bible Storybook and hope you do also.  I told my daughter once we get finished reading through it, we just do it again.    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wisdom for All

Interpreting the Wisdom Books: An Exegetical Handbook by Edward Custis Among the many wonderful books on the OT wisdom literature, this fine new book helps the reader interpret, exegete, and apply God’s Word to his people in succinct and helpful way.  The book is laid out nicely with bolded words that emphasize necessary themes in the study of the wisdom books and short chapters that get to the point of the biblical books.  This series of exegetical handbooks is a great treasure for students and pastors because it synthesizes much of the academic work on a biblical book into digestable portions helpful  for preaching and teaching. The opening chapter on the wisdom books brings out a helpful grid for understanding wisdom literature.  Custis writes, “Biblical wisdom, in contrast to Israel’s neighbors, reflects “Yahwistic theology” through its regular use of terms like “fear of the Lord,” its affirmation of God’s providence, and its recognition th...
Post a Comment
Read more