So often children know stories from the Bible but don't understand the story of the Bible as a whole, the metanarrative. This book seeks to tell the big story of the Bible in an accessible and engaging way. For very young children the pictures have been designed to tell the story without words, older children can have it read to them or, from about the age of 6 or 7 should be able to read it for themselves. Why is it important that children understand the big story of the Bible anyway? Often as children grow up, particularly if they are part of a church and/or have Christian parents, they will hear how much God loves them, that Jesus loves them; and that God loves the world. It's a great message and one I firmly believe in; but it creates a 'love bubble' which can easily burst when children start to become more aware of and engage with the world around them. A child who has grown up in this 'love bubble' might get to aged 6 or 7 and find that a pet dies, they begin to engage with news media for the first time and are surrounded by sadness; or perhaps a family member dies. Where is the God who loves them now? How could a God who loves them and is their friend let this happen? The love bubble bursts, and the risk is that children turn their back on God because they can't align what they have been taught with the world around them that they are beginning to understand. I believe children need to grow up knowing that God loves them and wants to be their friend, but also that the world is broken and not how God wants it to be. Children need to be given a lens to help them make sense of what they see and understand from the world around them. Teaching children about brokenness at the same time as love avoids the love bubble and the consequences of it bursting. God's Big Story also includes the idea of choices, the choices we make every day but also that being God's friend is a choice. Wrong choices caused the world to break but the essence of God giving choice is love. A God who wants to be our friend allows us to choose how to respond because He loves people. Children are invited to engage with the story, to make choices, on every page. At the end of the book children are invited to choose how they want to respond to what they have heard. God's Big Story aims to tell the big story of the Bible so that children have a frame of reference to fit individual Bible stories into. It also makes the foundations of the Christian faith accessible to children and lays foundations for the future.

New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances and shows readers how to live assured when life doesn't turn out like they expected. What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention hurtful, and His promises doubtful? Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness. Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But she's also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability, and honest humor, helps us to: Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations. Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes. Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle. Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us. Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God's truth.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

You have a place in God’s great story. The divine narrative begins With The creation of the universe and continues through humanity’s fall and struggle, the promises of the prophets, and the coming of Jesus. The story unfolds to reveal God’s mercy for us over our history of sin and redemption, and the plot includes us as partners in God’s great dream for the world. In his parting message to us, Fr. William A. Barry offers a lifetime of wisdom and compassion as he leads the reader through the overarching story of God’s relationship with us, the beloved creation. With his characteristic warm and personal style, Fr. Barry invites us to ponder how the events and characters of Scripture relate to us in real time and daily experience. His theme, so prominent in his life’s work as author and spiritual director, is simply this: God desires our friendship and participation in the grand story of grace.

This first illustrated Bible storybook from one of the world's top Bible scholars draws the connections across all of God's very good story, His Word. This practical Bible guide shares all your family's favorite stories, plus some that may be new, combining a theologian's expertise with engaging narratives that will draw kids into the good news of the world's greatest, truest tale. God's Big Picture Bible Storybook is for children ages 6 to 10; is the first children's book written by scholar and professor Tom (N.T.) Wright; identifies story parallels across the Bible that show kids that all of God's Word matters; includes 140 short stories, each vividly illustrated by award-winning artist Helena Perez Garcia; and shows the intention behind God's stories and the hope for salvation they provide. N.T. Wright wants his readers to discover the many surprising ways in which one Bible story echoes another, and how different stories contribute to the one very good and very big story of God's love for creation--a story that unfolds over the centuries, until at last it is fully revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus. Young readers will be fascinated and delighted as they hear the echoes and spot the visual links between the pictures and the stories. Not only that, they will be thrilled to discover that this is not just a story involving people who lived long ago: it's a living and enduring story, a story in which God invites them to be involved as well!

Everyone's life tells a story. But we are all invited into the story that God is writing in history. It's a story that tells us who we are, why we are here, where we are headed, and what the purpose of each day is.It's a story about being created with a purpose and identity, being in need of rescue, being pursued by the love of a Father, and of being given an everlasting hope.Your story can be part of God's story.Like Abraham, like Moses, like David, like Israel, and most of all...like Jesus.This book, written by a community, contains stories, ideas and personal experiences that will lead you into the biggest story there is.Read the Bible with fresh eyes.Read life in the way God is writing it.

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.