One Big Story Bible
God has put a hunger for Himself in the heart of each of our children. As parents, it’s our job to feed that hunger and to give our kids the tools they need to feed themselves.
One of the primary tools we are given to satisfy our appetite for God is the Bible. Cultivating a love for the Word of God in the heart of your child is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. David wrote, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103 NIV). Still, for kids the Bible can feel overwhelming and confusing. Who am I kidding!? It can feel that way for parents, too! Most of us would not consider ourselves Bible scholars and can feel intimidated by leading our kids in this area. This is where the One Big Story Bible can be a big help.
Four key advantages
Bringing Sunday mornings home
At The Crossing Church, we use the Gospel Project for Kids curriculum in our CrossingKIDS ministry. The One Big Story Bible has been created to compliment this curriculum. That means it uses the same illustrations and language that kids experience in their classes on Sunday. On each full-page illustration, you will find an icon that helps group stories together by subject. These icons also correspond with individual quarters from the Gospel Project for Kids curriculum.
Helpful bonus features
This Bible comes with some pretty cool features that kids will find engaging. For example, there is a free app from B&H Kids, which allows you to scan the illustrations in the Bible with your phone’s camera. The image then “stands up” in a 3D way as a narrator tells the story of the illustration. This would be more engaging for young readers as Middle School students may find it a bit childish. It’s still pretty cool.
There are also 100 Verses to Remember sprinkled throughout the Bible, which encourages readers to not only get into the Word of God, but to get the Word of God into them. Each book of the Bible comes with a Book Introduction. These are written with kids in mind and are helpful in understanding context and asking those who, when, and why questions.
Christ Connection
The driving force behind the Gospel Project is to highlight the fact that all of Scripture is telling one big story and that Jesus is the hero at the center of it all. Through the One Big Story Bible, kids will find “Christ Connections.” These short commentaries point to Jesus and illustrate how He is the true hero of the story. For example, here’s the Christ Connection from the book of Job.
“Job suffered and wanted a mediator—someone to bring him to God. This reminds us of Jesus, who suffered even though He had never sinned. Jesus is our Mediator. He suffered to pay the price for our sins and put an end to suffering on earth. Jesus brings us to God when we trust in Him.”
The CSB is a faithful translation
The Christian Standard Bible is not a “kids” translation. It is a faithful yet readable English version. The benefit here is that the CSB could easily serve parents as well as kids. As you conduct family worship, everyone in the room can be reading from the same text. This also means that this Bible is best suited for elementary and middle school aged kids (2nd-8th grades).
It should be noted that most of the teaching on Sunday mornings at The Crossing comes from the New International Version (NIV) or English Standard Version (ESV). However, the CSB could be considered a good blend of the two translations.
The Main Thing
The most important thing is that we are cultivating a love for the Word of God in the hearts of our kids. Make reading the Bible a priority in your home. Set aside time for your kids to read on their own. Let them see you reading, and be quick to share what you’ve read. Finally, engage in family worship, and give your kids opportunities to read, sing, and pray. Tools like the One Big Story Bible can help your kids be more confidently involved in the spiritual life of your family.