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The Case for Christ for Kids Copyright 2006 by Lee Strobel Illustrations copyright 2006 by The Zondervan Corporation Requests for information should be addressed to:
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Strobel, Lee, 1952-
The case for Christ for kids / by Lee Strobel with Rob Suggs.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-71147-6 (softcover)
ISBN-10: 0-310-71147-9 (softcover)
1. Jesus Christ—Person and offices—Juvenile literature.
2. Apologetics—Juvenile literature. I. Suggs, Rob. II. Title.
BT203.S77 2006
232.9'08—dc22
2005034269
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Reader's Version. NIr V. Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright
1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Nav Press Publishing Group.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version
. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
Editor: Kristen Tuinstra Cover Design: Sarah Jongsma Interior Art Direction: Sarah Jongsma and Kristen Tuinstra Interior Design: Sarah Jongsma Composition: Ruth Bandstra Illustrations: Dan Brawner Printed in the United States of America
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Introduction What's Up With That?
Somewhere you took a wrong turn.
This is just the kind of street Mom and Dad warned you to avoid. Run-down apartment buildings line both sides of the road, and the sidewalk is cluttered with garbage.
You need to be home soon, but who can help you? There is one friendly face. She smiles and says her name is Lydia Delgado, and she is eleven.
She gives you clear directions back to your neighborhood.
You think about Lydia later, and ask your mom if you can go back to thank her. 'Only if I go with you, '
says Mom. So you climb into the car and track down Lydia and her little family. There are only two others: a thirteen-year-old sister, Jenny, and their grandmother,
Perfecta. The two sisters have no parents.
What's more, they live in an empty little room with no furniture, no food, no warmth. Lydia and Jenny take turns wearing one sweater as they walk to school.
That makes you and Mom sad, but the three who live there seem to be full of smiles.
Your mom has a friend who writes for the newspaper.
She tells the story of the Delgado family and says, 'Write an article! Your readers need to know about our poor neighbors who need food and shelter.'
Christmas Day arrives. You open your shiny new gifts and enjoy a delicious turkey dinner. But afterward,
your family decides to pay the Delgados a visit.
You have gifts for them and extra turkey and vegetables.
So again, you climb into the car.
A Christmas miracle has happened!
Newspaper readers have sent the Delgados boxes and bags of Christmas gifts: warm coats and sweaters for the family, and carpets and chairs for the little apartment. A magnifi cent Christmas tree illuminates the room, and carols are playing from a little stereo system. The room is drenched in loving gifts from a wealthy city to a poor family.
But that's not the miracle.
Perfecta, Lydia, and Jenny are busy packing many of their gifts back up. As they are writing the names of friends on the boxes, you blurt out, 'What are you doing?
Why are you giving your gifts away?' You think of your own Christmas — all the new stuff you would never give away.
Perfecta says, 'Our neighbors are still in need.
We cannot have plenty while they have nothing.
This is what Jesus likes us to do.' You just stare,
your eyes wide. The grandmother continues, 'We did nothing to deserve these gifts. But the greatest gift of all is the one we're celebrating today: the gift of Jesus.'
You have a lot to think about on the ride home.
When the Delgados were poor, they were happy. When they were showered with gifts, they seemed exactly the same. But instead of hoarding their gifts for a rainy day, their fi rst thought was to share. Why? They said it had to do with Jesus — what he 'likes us' to do. Just as if he were right here, a living person!
You think about the story your family tells at Christmas, about the little baby in the manger — two thousand years ago, right? Exactly who was in that manger? Can he make you as beautiful inside as the Delgados are?
There was something in the old story about shepherds.
An angel told them a baby had been born nearby, and the shepherds said, 'Hey, let's go check it out.' And they did.
You can do the same. Who was in the manger? Is he real? And how can we be sure?
Go check it out!