“Mom, is the prince in this story supposed to be Jesus?” asked my four-year-old.
“Yes, he is. What makes you think that?”
“Because he dies for the people.”
The most important job we have as parents is to share the gospel of grace with our children. Pointing them to the cross of Christ and what He did for them there is the greatest gift we can give them.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7
One of the ways I teach my children about the gospel is through books. (I know, obvious, right?) Some books are better than others at helping children understand God’s story of redemption. Today I’ve compiled a list of some of our favorites and I have one to give away.
1. The Jesus Storybook Bible, Read-Aloud Edition: Every Story Whispers His Name
2. The Prince’s Poison Cup
: Allegories are an excellent way to help children (and adults) understand Biblical concepts. This story is about a King and his people. They sinned by drinking water from a well that they were told not to drink from. The water turned their hearts to stone. The King asks the Prince to drink a cup of poison to rescue His people. This book is an allegory about why Jesus had to die. At the end of the story, there are questions for parents to ask their children to help ensure they understand it.
3. The Lightlings
: Another allegory, this book explains how The King of Light made a race of tiny beings called Lightlings. They sinned against the King and ran away to live in the dark woods where there was no light. It’s the story about the Fall, the effects of the Fall, and about the promised Savior born to set them free. It too contains questions at the end for discussion.
And a new one that I found, The Magnificent Amazing Time Machine: A Journey back to the Cross
To enter the drawing, leave a comment below, become a new blog subscriber, or become a new Facebook follower. Just leave me a comment, letting me know that you just became a subscriber or follower. Random.org will select the winner on August 8th at 8:00pm EST. Update 8/8/12: Random.org chose Joy as the winner of this drawing. Congrats, Joy:)
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I’ve never heard of Ferguson’s book either! Great find! I’d live to win!
Thanks for the book recommendations! These will be great for my two young grandsons!
i always love your book recommendations! hoping for a new selection for my library!
Love Sinclair Ferguson, and I’m gonna be a grandma, so I think I need this book. Pick me, random.org! Pick me!
(Already getting Jesus Storybook Bible for le petit bébé)
I subscribed last week and I’m really enjoying your blog, thank you. I’d love to win the book!
I am absolutely LOVING reading your blog. I don’t say that to win anything either since that’s up to Random.org.
I truly enjoy and look forward to getting your recent blog posts in my inbox. They are always SO encouraging!!
I LOVE The Prince’s Poison Cup, and so do my kids. It’s been a while since we read it though, so I think I need to get it back out again, especially for my younger son. I haven’t heard of Ferguson’s picture book, so what an awesome giveaway!
Sarah
I LOVE the Jesus Storybook, and I’m always delighted to hear of others like it in sharing the Gospel with young hearts!! Thanks for the recommendations!!
Christina, these look like some great books. You reminded me of the time when my son was a little younger and I read The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe to him. The scene in the story when Aslan dies was a such a powerful moment. My son cried. He understood the symbolism. I had to quickly tell him that Aslan would come back to life!
We have the Jesus Storybook Bible and LOVE it! The rest look like great reads too. Thanks so much for sharing!
Andrew loves to read books about Jesus. Such a sweet time for us and he often talks about what he learns through out the day. Thanks so much for always giving such great resources!
Thank you for sharing these great resources and for linking up!
Blessings~
Shari
I haven’t heard of some of these books. But they sound like real treasures. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us
Blessings to you,
Michele-Lyn
I haven’t heard of these! yay! Thanks for sharing.
(and friend, I follow you every which way. That way I know I don’t miss anything. even when it takes me awhile to get to it in my email)
Thank you Christina!!!