Developmentally, it’s hard for a really young child to own their sin and realize they need to be rescued,” he said. “Later, in adolescence, you realize what a dark thing sin is.” One of Lloyd-Jones’s best-known lines from the book is the repeateddescription of God’s“never ending, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love.” In Jeremiah 29:11, God reminds us that He has extraordinary plans for each and every one of us. Often, it can be easy to get anxious when we think about the future and the unknown, but it’s important for us to trust God—His timing and plans are greater than we can imagine. Singer and songwriter Melanie Penn opens up about insecurities she has faced throughout her career and how staying rooted in her faith has always gotten her through the unknown.

Having a narrator also let her end each story with a glimpse of what is to come (“I love cliffhangers”). Tim didn’t have a clue it was being written,” said Kathy, who reviewed the book’s theology for Zondervan before it was published. “The first time we saw it, it was a finished [manuscript].” Written for children ages four and up, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the one story underneath all the stories of the Bible and points to the birth of a child, the Rescuer, Jesus. Complete with 44 Bible stories, The Jesus Storybook Bible paints a beautiful portrait of Jesus and invites children to see that he is not only at the center of God's great story of redemption he is at the center of their story too. It’s a line meant to counter the weight of expectation that Sunday school and children’s Bibles can sometimes put on children, Lloyd-Jones said. Jago the illustrator, and Sally Lloyd-Jones (no relation to Martyn) the author, are a good pair. She brings the same creativity and sense of humor to her telling of the Bible’s stories.Is beautifully written by New York Times bestselling author Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by award-winning artist Jago

The Jesus Storybook Bible is as theological as it is charming… a very grown up children’s Bible”–Christianity Today Christianity Today I bought this book for my four year old sister for Christmas knowing already that it was a popular book. I read the preview before buying it, and I could tell right away that it would paraphrase and change some of God's word. I bought it anyways. Lloyd-Jones is firm: “You have to know you’re loved first. Rules don’t have the power to change your heart; God’s love does.” For Children and Adults The book is aimed at children younger than 8 years old, but Lloyd-Jones said she began to think the book was going to do really well when “it seemed to be fathers who loved it.” So as soon as we received this book, we started reading a story every night to our three-year-old daughter. From the beginning, we were pleased. Everything in the Bible points to Christ as our Savior, and that is exactly what this Bible storybook does. It makes you think so much more about some of the Old Testament accounts because of how clearly each story shows how Christ has been there from the beginning and will continue to be there through the end.And the difference in reading REAL scripture with my kids has been astounding. Both for me and for them. I feel like I’m giving them a real insight into what is in the Bible. Of course, there are some parts I skim or skip over because I’m just not ready to go there yet (like Jesus casting out demons), but for the most part, I read everything to them. Kind of funny, but my middle son’s favorite part so far is the geneology of Jesus in Matthew 1. He’ll ask me, “Mama, read that part where it says, the father of and the father of and the father of…” I believe that God is on my side and that this abundant God who knows all the songs that have ever or will ever be written, that same God is just delighted to give a song to one of His children.” - Melanie Penn

TEDS isn’t the only one to use The Jesus Storybook Bible in a required course. At Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, professors hold it up as an example. Madison Square Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, based an ongoing series for both children and adults on The Jesus Storybook Bible. And missionaries are using the book all around the world. This is artistic license at its best, throughout this wonderful book. God commands Pharaoh to set his people free and the despot reacts with a tantrum, stamping his foot and shouting, “Why should I? … . Don’t want to. WON’T!” The title Lloyd-Jones gives to the classic story of Daniel in the lion’s den is, “Daniel and the Scary Sleepover.” This idea of Thanksgiving, thankfulness, is really interesting to me. And within our own little family, every night around the dinner table, we really make a concerted effort to eat meals together as a family every night. And one of the things we do is go around and ask our kids and we share as well, about what we're grateful for on that day. And it is interesting to work hard to think about, What are the things that you're most grateful for? Not just what happened or what made you feel good, but what are you actually grateful for? And to be able to direct that gratitude to God is pretty special within my own life.” - Nathan Tasker Keep the big picture perspective. Our main goals should be to point our kids towards Christ and teach them that the Bible is largely how we know about Him. When we make it a priority to read and discuss scripture with our kids, they will naturally come to understand that the Bible is a reliable, solid resource and reference for the truth. Lloyd-Jones tells us at the beginning of the book that the story of the Bible is a story that could have ended abruptly with the Fall, but didn’t, because God loved his children too much to let that happen. She ends with John in exile on Patmos, writing down his vision, struggling to cram all that he saw into one book. So when he came to the end of his book, he didn’t write “The End.” “Because, of course, that’s how stories finish. (And this one’s not over yet)Jago’s drawings of the scene moved me to tears. I can only imagine what it will be like to sit with the book open to this scene, a child at my side, and try to read it aloud.