The Jesus Storybook Bible At Home resources

At CVKids for the rest of the year we will be reading each story in the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Sally has written this bible so that each story reveals what the Bible is really about – Jesus!

Each week you will be given suggestions of things you can do at home to keep the conversation and learning going.

If you don’t have a copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible, please let Andrea know.

God the Rescue! (pg 84)

Activities for home

  • God used a burning bush to get Moses’ attention. Do you find it easy or difficult to hear God? If God made a big gesture to you, would that help you trust God? Talk about the different ways God might talk to you. Ask friends or family if God has ever spoken to them as dramatically as a burning bush. Draw a picture of a burning bush to leave next to your bed to remind you that God wants to get your attention.
  • The Israelites had to trust God. Do you find it easy to trust people? Who are some people you trust? Eg parents, policemen, teachers, grandparents. Who else can you think of?
  • Have you ever shifted house? Normally you pack all your belongings into boxes. Read Exodus 12:31-42 to find out what the Israelites were told to take with them.
  • Do you have a big problem or something that’s scaring you? God is stronger than the problem. Talk to him about it.
  • Do you ever have days when it seems as though nothing goes right? One way to help us to thank God for the good things. Each day write down 5 things you are grateful for.

The Forgiving Prince (pg 76)

Activities for home

  • Friends listen to one another when tough times come. Listening – really listening – helps. Take time this week to listen to a friend or family member’s problem or tough situation. Don’t try to help them, just listen.
  • Joseph thanked God even for the tough times because he knew they were all part of God’s plan. Try doing the same. Ask God: What can I learn from tough times that will help me better serve you and others.
  • Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognise him at first because they hadn’t seen him in so long and he looked and dressed like an Egyptian, not like a Hebrew. Have you ever met someone you haven’t seen for a long time? Did you recognise them? Did they recognise you? How did they look different from what you remembered?
  • Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to get food because there was a famine. They had to eat the same thing every day. What is something you would like to eat every day? Try having the exact same meal at the same time every day for a week. Did you still enjoy it at the end of the week?
  • Draw a family tree of Joseph’s family and your own family.

The Girl No One Wanted (pg 70)

Activities for home

  • How old will you be in seven years’ time? Do you think your life will be different from the way it is now?
  • Jacob had a bad relationship with his brother Esau. But Jacob knew that God was with him even when things were really difficult. Chat together about your own difficult times: it may be an argument with a friend; perhaps someone at school has been unkind; it may be squabbles with your brothers and sisters or your parents. Remember that God has promised to be with us to help us through the difficult times, just as he was with Jacob.
  • The Trickster Game – Jacob is well known as being a trickster (which stories did he trick someone in?) Using 3 identical plastic cups, place different small toys under them. Take turns mixing them up. Pick one of the items and try to guess under which cup it is. It was much harder to guess if you didn’t watch the cups the entire time.
  • Can you think of any unlikely people that have gone on to do great things? Sir Edmund Hillary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary) was a beekeeper who decided to climb Mt Everest. He went on to be an advocate for Nepal and helped thousands of people. Malala Yousafzai (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai) became famous for surviving being shot in the head by the Taliban and has gone on to be a human rights activist and the youngest person to receive a Nobel Prize. If these ordinary people can do extraordinary things, what could you do?

The Present (pg 62)

Activities for home

  • Abraham loved his son, Isaac. Abraham loved Isaac the most. Think about the thing you love most. What is it? A toy? A sport? A pet? Pretend that you had to give up the thing you love most. How would you feel?
  • Discuss things that people might love more than God. TV, sports, being famous, etc. How do you think God feels about that?
  • God asked Abraham to trust him. That is what faith is.  It is beyond belief.  Faith looks beyond the present situation and looks toward something that is not seen. Look up Hebrews 11:1 and discuss.
  • Play a trust game. One person wears a blindfold and then has to guess what they are being asked to eat. Say “Do you trust me? What if I am giving you a yucky worm or a rotten apple to eat?” Continue in this train of thought for a little while and then put something VERY tasty in their mouth (lolly-pop, biscuit, etc.) Discuss what it felt like to trust someone when you did not know what they were going to do. “Abraham trusted God even when he did not understand what God was going to do.”
  • Make an altar out of old boxes or some stones from outside. Use this as a place to talk to God or put things on it to remind you to put hand those things over to God.
  • Today both Jews and Muslims mark the traditional specific location of this event as the Foundation Stone – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_Stone. Jewish tradition is that this was where Abraham sacrificed Isaac and where the “Holy of Holies” portion of the temple originally stood.