Summary
This story Bible is divided into two volumes: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament volume is 412 pages long and the New Testament is 204, with 45 chapters between the two. After each chapter, there is a review page covering elements of God’s Presence, God’s People, God’s Place, God’s Promise, Review Questions, Gospel Glimpse, and a Prayer.
Mom Thoughts
There are so many story Bibles, what makes this one different? Lithos Kids has created a story Bible that not only focuses on the central theme of “The Kingdom of God”, but faithfully retells the Biblical narrative as the cohesive story it is. Instead of telling one “story” at a time, the author moves chronologically through scripture and connects the timeline seamlessly. This is especially helpful in the Old Testaments sections on Israel in exile.
The illustrations are realistic enough to not feel “cartoony” while also having great character and incredibly effective use of light, shadow, and color. I also appreciate that the author includes several stories that are rarely covered in story Bibles like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Revelation.
The text stays wonderfully close to scripture and where there is a little commentary, it’s clarifying and very helpful. For example, “God had told Adam to care for the garden and protect it. The moment Adam saw that snake whispering his wicked lies, he should have thrown that evil liar out of Eden. But Adam only watched and listened and didn’t even say a word as Eve spoke with the serpent. When Eve passed the fruit to him, he ate it as well. On that terrible day, Adam failed to rule over God’s kingdom. Worse still, Adam and Eve had disobeyed God’s word and listened to the serpent’s lies instead.”
More text excerpts:
“Melchizedek’s name means “king of righteousness,” and he reigned over Salem, which means “peace.” One day, God would fulfill his covenant promise and bring Adam’s offspring to this very land. God would send another King of Righteousness to build his kingdom of peace. He would remove the curse of sin and bring God’s blessing to all nations.”
“The true King had come to reverse the curse of sin. Jesus was showing what life in the kingdom would be like—with no more sickness, or sorrow, or danger, or death. He cleansed the unclean, he welcomed the outcasts, and he defeated the powers of darkness. He was fixing the broken things in this world, because in God’s kingdom, nothing is broken anymore. One day, Jesus will take away death once and for all, and he will wipe away everyone’s tears.”
Overall, this story Bible is so unique in its structure and theme and is incredibly true to scripture that it’s one of the few story Bibles that I can recommend whole-heartedly. This is a stunning, instant heirloom that will teach your children that the Bible is one story- God’s story- about His kingdom. I highly recommend this for your family!
A few small things to note:
The Christmas story uses the traditional telling of Mary and Joseph not finding a room at an inn and thus ending up at a stable. Also, the place the Wise Men come to meet Jesus looks different than when the shepherds come, but still rather stable like with an infant Jesus.
Baptism is depicted as an adult being fully submerged in water and concerning it he writes, “Baptism is a powerful symbol of this new life in Jesus. When a person is placed into the water, it represents how they have died to their old way of life in sin and rebellion. When they rise, it represents how they have been resurrected to new spiritual life with Christ.” I wholeheartedly agree with this, but thought it was worth mentioning.
There are a few depictions of Satan.
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