Children love a good story. They are captivated as they are transported to other times and worlds, meet fascinating characters, hear new phrases, and experience new customs. They are gripped with plots of good versus evil as their innate sense of justice gets roused. And even when the story is over, the story often lives on with them, as they imagine themselves living in such a world, pretending to be such a character, and utilizing their newly expanded vocabulary.
The Bible is the greatest story ever told, itself chocked full of extraordinary places and exciting peoples, unique characters and strange customs, new words and novel phrases, memorable events and momentous battles, all within an overarching plotline, the greatest triumph of good over evil.
The central message, or The Story, of the Bible is the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ. However, the Bible is a Story made up of many stories, sub-plots to the Gospel Story, each with their own setting, characters, and plot. These stories highlight, develop, and illumine the various themes of the main plot, the Gospel Story. Therefore, knowing the parts well will deepen our understanding of the whole.
Rather than summarizing the whole, The Bible’s Big Ideas is a new series for children that focuses on these parts. Each book published within The Bible’s Big Ideas highlights an important biblical theme, teaching, or word and traces its development throughout the biblical storyline showing in its contribution to the Gospel message. The goal of this series is to help children see how the big picture is made up of many pieces and so deepen their understanding of the Gospel.
May this Gospel, the greatest Story, live on with our children as they enter in and embrace the world of the Bible, not in their imagination but truly, as the only way to make sense of their story.