One Big Story Bible Storybook: Connecting Christ Throughout God's Story

by B&H Kids Editorial Staff

Overview

Discover how the Bible is one big story! 

Give kids the big picture of God’s story with this exciting Bible storybook. It includes 146 Bible stories that show kids how God’s plan for salvation appears throughout the Bible. The One Big Story Bible Storybook is the perfect companion to The Gospel Project for Kids curriculum and features Christ Connections that connect the story of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. Each story also features a Big Picture Question and Big Picture Answer to allow for additional discussion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781535948043
Publisher:	B&H Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2019
Series:	One Big Story
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	693,929
File size:	104 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Big Stories of The Old Testament

God Created the World and People Genesis 1–2

In the beginning, there was only God. Then God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth had no shape, and it was dark and empty.

God said, "Let there be light!" and there was light. God separated the light from the dark. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the first day of creation.

God then said, "Let the waters be separated." So God created a great space between the waters on the earth and the waters above the earth. He called the space "sky." This was the second day of creation.

God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let dry land appear." God called the dry land "earth" and the waters "seas." God then said, "Let the earth grow plants and trees." The plants and trees grew, and God saw that they were good. This was the third day of creation.

Next God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night." So God made the sun to shine during the day and the moon and stars to shine at night. This was the fourth day of creation.

Then God said, "Let the waters be filled with living creatures and the skies be filled with birds." And they were. This was the fifth day of creation.

God then created animals to roam the earth. God looked down at His creation and saw that it was good. Finally, God created people. He made them in His very own image. God took dust from the ground and formed a man. And with His own breath, God breathed life into the man. He took a rib from the man and created a woman to be his helper and wife. They were called Adam and Eve.

God planted a garden in Eden, and He placed Adam and Eve in the garden to care for it. God said, "You may eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat from that tree, you will die." This all happened on the sixth day of creation.

On the seventh day of creation, God rested from all of His work.

Christ Connection: Colossians 1:15–22 reveals that Christ is ruler over all of God's creation. All of creation was created through Him, by Him, and for Him. Everything was created to give glory to Christ, but people would choose not to give Him glory. The rest of the Bible reveals how Jesus would restore the relationship between God and man.

Big Picture Question: Who created everything?

Big Picture Answer: God created everything. He created the world and people to bring Him glory.

Sin Entered the World Genesis 3–4

In the garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve only one rule: do not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate it, they would die.

Now the serpent (who was really Satan) said to Eve, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Eve said, "We may eat from any tree except the one in the middle of the garden. If we eat its fruit or even touch it, we will die."

"You won't die," lied the serpent. "You'll become like God, knowing good and evil."

So Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked! They made themselves clothes from fig leaves. But when they heard God walking in the garden, they hid.

"Where are you?" God called.

Adam answered, "I was naked, so I hid."

"Who told you that you were naked?" God asked. "Did you eat the fruit I told you not to eat?"

Adam blamed Eve: "The woman gave it to me."

Eve blamed the serpent: "He lied to me."

Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, and God had to punish their sin. Eve would have great pain in childbirth, and Adam would have to work hard to get food from the ground. And one day, they would die. Then God drove them out of the garden.

Adam and Eve later had two sons named Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain grew crops. One day, Cain gave God an offering of some of his crops, while Abel offered God the firstborn of his flock. God was pleased with Abel's offering, but not Cain's. Cain was very angry.

"Why are you angry?" God asked. "If you do what is right, you will be accepted too."

But Cain said to Abel, "Let's go to the fields." There, Cain attacked Abel and killed him!

"Where is Abel?" God asked Cain.

"I don't know," Cain lied.

But God knew what Cain had done, and He cursed him. "The ground will never again grow food for you, and you will wander the earth." Then God placed a mark on Cain so that no one would kill him. Cain left God's presence and went to the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Adam and Eve had other children, including a son named Seth.

Christ Connection: Adam and Eve failed to give God glory when they brought sin into the world, but God didn't leave them without hope. God sent His Son Jesus to live as Adam didn't — perfectly sinless. Jesus was God in the form of a man sent to rescue people from sin.

Big Picture Question: What is sin?

Big Picture Answer: Sin is breaking God's law, and it separates people from God.

Noah and the Ark Genesis 6:5–9:17

One day, God looked at all the people on the earth and saw that their every thought was evil and full of sin. He was sorry that He had ever made man. So God said, "I will wipe man off the face of the earth."

But Noah was a good and righteous man who tried to follow God in all things. God wanted to save Noah, so He said to him, "Build an ark out of gopher wood. Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high." Then God told Noah exactly how to build the roof, where to put the door, and how to fix the rooms inside the ark.

God said, "I will flood the earth, and everything on it will die. But I will keep you safe. You will go into the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives. Take with you two of every living creature, male and female, to keep them alive too."

So Noah built the ark just as God told him. Then he, his family, and the animals went inside, and God shut the door. The rains came, and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The waters rose and covered the entire earth — even the mountains! Everything on dry land died. Only Noah and those in the ark lived. For 150 days, the water completely covered the earth.

Then God sent a wind to dry up the waters. After another 150 days, the ark landed on the mountains of Ararat (AIR uh rat). After 40 days, Noah opened the window and sent out a raven. The raven flew back and forth until the waters dried up. Then Noah sent out a dove, but she came back to the ark because she couldn't find a place to rest. After seven days, Noah sent the dove out again. This time she came back with an olive leaf. A week later, Noah sent the dove out again, and this time she didn't return. The ground was dry.

Noah, his family, and all the animals came out of the ark. God promised He would never again flood the whole earth. Then He placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of His promise.

Christ Connection: The story of the flood shows us how serious God is about sin. He will not leave sin unpunished. But the story of Noah also shows us how loving God is. He provided a rescue plan for one righteous man — Noah. The rescue was extended to Noah's family. This story points ahead to a greater rescue! Jesus, the only perfectly righteous person, came to take the punishment for sin. We trust His act of obedience and are saved from the punishment our sin deserves.

Big Picture Question: Why does sin separate people from God?

Big Picture Answer: God is holy and separate from sin.

The Tower of Babel Genesis 9:1; 11:1–9

After Noah and his family left the ark, God blessed them. He told them to have many children and to fill the earth with people again. But the people found a valley in the land of Shinar (SHI nahr) and settled there. Now at that time, all the people spoke the same language.

The people began to say to one another, "Let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. We'll make a name for ourselves, and it will show how great we are. Then we won't have to be scattered over the whole earth." They were trying to bring glory to themselves instead of to God.

So the people began to make bricks, and they fired them in ovens until they were very hard. They used the bricks to build their city and its tower.

God came down to look at what the people were building. He said, "If they are doing this, they'll just keep thinking up more bad things to do. We need to stop them." So God mixed up their languages and their words. When the people tried to make plans to build more of their city and tower, they couldn't understand each other! If one workman said, "Hand me another brick," nobody else knew what he wanted. Or if someone said, "Give me that hammer," he might be given a shovel instead! They had to stop building the city.

People began to move away in groups to live with those who spoke the same language. In this way, God scattered them over the face of the whole earth — which is what He had told the people to do after the flood.

The city with its unfinished tower was called Babel (BAY buhl), or Babylon (BAB uh luhn). It means "confused," because the people were confused when they tried to talk to one another.

Christ Connection: Instead of glorifying God, people chose to ignore God's plan and glorify themselves. This didn't stop God's plan to scatter the people and to form nations. Eventually one of these nations would become God's chosen people. Through the nation of Israel, Christ would come to save the world.

Big Picture Question: What happens when people sin?

Big Picture Answer: Sin separates people from God and one another.

Job Job 1 — 42

Job was a great and godly man who followed God. He turned away from all evil and sin. Job was also very wealthy.

One day, God said to Satan, "Have you seen Job? No one else on the earth is like him. He turns away from all evil."

But Satan said, "That's because You bless and protect him. Take away everything Job has, and he will curse You."

"Very well," said God, "you may take away everything Job has, but do not hurt Job himself."

So Satan sent men to steal Job's oxen, donkeys, and camels. Then he sent lightning to kill his sheep. He even caused all 10 of Job's children to die! But Job still followed God.

So God said to Satan, "You've tried to turn Job against Me, but it didn't work."

Satan said, "Take away Job's health, and he will curse You."

"Very well," said God, "but do not kill him."

So Job became sick. Painful boils covered his whole body. Job's wife told him to blame God, but Job would not. Job's friends told him that he was being punished for some terrible sin. But Job knew that he was innocent. He wished for a mediator — someone who would speak to God for him. Job even began to question why God had allowed all these things to happen to him.

Then God Himself spoke to Job from the whirlwind. "Where were you when I made the earth?" God asked. "Were you the one who told the sea where to stop? Did you command the morning to come? Or put the stars in their places? Do you know when the animals have their babies? Did you tell the eagle to fly?"

God asked all these questions and many more. God wanted Job to understand that He is all-powerful and ruler over all. Because Job was only a man, he could not fully understand God's ways.

Job said, "Surely I spoke about things I didn't understand, things too wonderful for me to know."

Then God gave Job 10 more children and twice as much wealth as he had before. Job lived 140 years after his suffering. He saw both his grandchildren and great-grandchildren before he died.

Christ Connection: Job's suffering and his request for a mediator give us a glimpse of our Savior, Jesus. Neither Job nor Jesus experienced suffering because they had sinned. Unlike Job, Jesus never questioned why He had to suffer. Jesus understood that we needed Him to pay the price for our sin and be our mediator before God.

Big Picture Question: Who is in control?

Big Picture Answer: God is all-powerful and in control.

God's Promise to Abram Genesis 12:2–3; 15:1–21

Once there lived a man named Abram whose wife was named Sarai (SAR ay i). God told Abram to leave his home and go to a land that He would show him. He promised to make Abram's name great, and He said all the people on the earth would be blessed through him.

Abram obeyed God and left his home. Then God appeared to him in a vision and said, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, and your reward will be very great."

Abram was sad, though. "What can You give me, God?" he asked. "I have no children, so one of my slaves will inherit everything I have." For both Abram and Sarai were too old to have children of their own.

But God had a plan. He took Abram outside and said, "Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can."

Of course, Abram couldn't count the stars. There were too many!

"Your offspring will be as many as the stars," God promised.

Abram believed God, and God was pleased. God also promised that Abram's family would keep the land they were living in.

"How can I be sure?" Abram asked.

So God gave Abram a sign that He would keep His covenant (or promise) with him. He told Abram to sacrifice a cow, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon. Abram did as God asked, and then fell into a deep sleep.

While he was sleeping, God told him what would happen in the future. He said Abram's family would be slaves in another country for 400 years before God would judge that nation and bless Abram's family. But Abram himself would live a long, peaceful life.

When the sun set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared. They passed between the animals as a sign that God would keep His promises.

Christ Connection: God chose Abram to be the father of the nation in which Jesus would be born. In this way, Abram would bless all nations, as God had promised. God also saw Abram's faith in God's promises and counted it as righteousness. It is faith in Jesus' perfect righteousness that brings salvation to God's people.

Big Picture Question: Why did God choose Abram?

Big Picture Answer: God chose Abram to be the father of the nation in which Jesus would be born.

The Sons of Abraham Genesis 16:1–16; 17:1–9, 15–22; 21:1–7

God promised Abram that he would have a child. But many years passed, and Abram and Sarai (SAR ay i) still had no child. So Sarai decided to fix the problem on her own.

"Since the Lord has kept me from having children," Sarai told Abram, "go to my slave. Perhaps I can build a family through her."

So Sarai gave her servant Hagar (HAY gahr) to Abram to be his wife. But when Hagar became pregnant, she began to look down on Sarai. Sarai complained to Abram, but he said, "Do whatever you want with her." Sarai treated Hagar so badly that she ran away.

The Angel of the Lord found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness. He said to her, "Hagar, where have you come from and where are you going?"

"I am running away from my mistress Sarai," Hagar answered.

"Go back to your mistress," the Angel of the Lord told her. "You will have a son. You will name him Ishmael (ISH may el) because the Lord has heard your cries." (Ishmael means "God hears.")

So Hagar went back to Sarai. She gave birth to Abram's son, and she named him Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. But Ishmael was not the son of God's special promise to Abram.

Abram and Sarai waited 13 more years, then God appeared to Abram once again. He changed Abram's name to Abraham, which means "Father of a Great Multitude." This was because Abraham would be the father of many nations and kings.

God also changed Sarai's name to Sarah, which means "princess." God said, "I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. She will be the mother of nations and kings."

Abraham laughed to himself, "How can a child be born to a 100-year-old man and a woman who is 90?"

But God said, "In one year, Sarah will have a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will make My covenant with him and his future offspring. I will bless Ishmael, too, and he will be a great nation. But My covenant will be with Isaac."

God kept His promise. A year later, Sarah gave birth to a son. Abraham named his son Isaac, just as God had told him to do. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. He had learned that God always keeps His promises.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "One Big Story Bible Storybook"
by .
Copyright © 2013 B&H Publishing Group.
Excerpted by permission of B&H Publishing Group.
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