Table of Contents

Transcription

1 Table of Contents Introduction Note to Parents 1. God Chooses Joseph and Mary 2 2. The Baby in the Manger 4 3. Shepherds Visit Jesus 6 4. Simeon and Anna Thank God 8 5. Wise Men Find the King Joseph Keeps Jesus Safe Jesus Grows Up Jesus Is Baptized Jesus Doesn t Obey Satan Jesus Helps at a Wedding Nicodemus Talks to Jesus A Samaritan Woman Meets the Messiah Jesus Heals From Far Away Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda Jesus Visits His Hometown Jesus, Strong and Kind Follow Me The Hole in the Roof Matthew Meets Jesus Jesus Heals on the Sabbath Day Jesus Teaches How to Pray 42

2 22. The Story of Two Houses A Roman Soldier Believes in Jesus Jesus Helps a Sad Mother The Story of Seeds and Dirt Jesus Stops the Storm Jesus and the Wild Man Someone Touches Jesus Jesus Makes a Dead Girl Live Again Jesus Makes Food for Many People Jesus and Peter Walk on the Water Many People Go Home Two Friends From Heaven The Disciples Learn Some Lessons One Thankful Leper The Story of the Good Samaritan Jesus and the Two Sisters The Story of the Selfish Farmer Jesus Writes in the Dirt The Pharisees Get Angry The Story of a Full House The Story of the Runaway The Story of the Rich Man and the Poor Man Two Men Pray Jesus Loves the Rich Ruler A Dead Man Lives Again Jesus Heals Bartimaeus The Man in the Tree A King on a Donkey Jesus in the Den of Robbers Lesson From the Fig Tree Whose Picture? The Poor Woman s Coins Mary, Jesus, and Judas Iscariot Judas Makes a Plan Jesus Does a Servant s Job Peter Makes a Promise Jesus Prays in the Garden The Soldiers Come Peter Hears a Rooster Pilate Decides About Jesus Nailed to the Cross A Sad and Scary Day Where Was Jesus? Mary Magdalene Sees Jesus The Man on the Road Jesus Surprises His Disciples One Hundred Fifty-Three Fish Good-bye, Jesus! What Is Heaven Like? 140 Tell Me the Stories of Jesus 142

3 Introduction Note to Parents These stories are for young children children who will grow up to either accept Jesus or reject Him. These stories are for parents parents who are starting young children on the lifelong journey of learning to know and love Jesus. These stories help children begin to understand who Jesus really was. Children see Him as a real person who did real things: sitting down to tell stories to real people, reaching out a gentle hand to touch a blind man s eyes, searching a fig tree for something to eat. These stories will begin to form in children s minds the outlines of a picture that will be filled in as they grow the picture of Jesus as a caring, understanding, and trustworthy Friend. You may read these stories exactly as they are written, or you may tell as much of each story as you like in your own words. Each story is followed by three suggested questions. Children will vary in their ability to answer. Feel free to tailor the questions to your child s understanding. More than simply a way to recall facts, questions are opportunities to start conversations, opening windows into your child s mind. Would you like to see an angel? What would you do if Jesus came to your house? Each story includes a reference where it can be found in the Bible. Many of the stories are told in more than one Gospel, but only one reference is listed unless the account in this book relies on another Gospel for important details. May the time spent sharing these stories with children do more than teach them about Jesus may it bond their hearts more tightly to your own.

4 Wise Men Find the King Matthew 2:1-12 When Jesus was a baby, wise men came to the city of Jerusalem. The wise men had seen a special star, and they were looking for a special king. The wise men did not know who the new king was. They did not know His name. Where is the baby who is to be the king of the Jews? the wise men asked. We saw His star and came to worship Him. But no one they met knew what they were talking about. King Herod heard about the wise men. He heard they were looking for a new king. Herod was worried. He liked being king of the Jews. He did not want someone else to be the king. Herod found out what God had told a prophet to write long ago. God s prophet had written that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. So Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem to look for Jesus. When you find the new king, Herod told the wise men, come and tell me where He is. I want to worship Him too. But Herod didn t really want to worship Jesus. He was only pretending. So the wise men left Herod. On the way to Bethlehem, what do you think they saw? They saw the special star! The wise men were very happy to see it again. The star moved through the sky and the wise men followed it. Then the star stopped above a house. When the wise men went inside, they found Jesus and his mother Mary. The wise men knelt on the floor and worshiped Jesus, the King of the Jews. They unpacked the presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh they had brought along. They gave these expensive gifts to Jesus because He was a king, and because they loved Him. God was taking care of His Son Jesus. God knew King Herod wanted to hurt Jesus. So God told the wise men not to tell Herod they had found Jesus. The wise men obeyed. They did not go back to Herod. They went home another way. What did the wise men see in the sky? Who were the wise men looking for? What gift could you give Jesus? 10 11

5 The Pharisees Get Angry John 9:1-35 Jesus and His disciples came to a blind man sitting beside the road on the Sabbath day. The blind man was a beggar. That means he was poor and needed to ask people to give him money. Instead of giving the blind man some money, Jesus did something strange. He spit into the dust. He bent down and made a little bit of mud. Then He spread the mud on the blind man s eyes. Go wash in the pool of Siloam, Jesus said. The blind man found his way to the pool of Siloam. When he splashed water over his eyes to wash away the mud, his eyes were healed. For the first time in his life, he could look around and see things! Jesus had made his eyes better. The neighbors saw the man was not blind anymore. They did not know that Jesus had healed him. Isn t this the blind beggar? they asked each other. Some of them said, No, it can t be! It is only someone who looks like him. The Pharisees heard that the blind man could see again. They should have been happy, but they weren t. They were upset that Jesus had helped the man on the Sabbath, which was the day to worship God. They thought Jesus should not help people on the Sabbath. The Pharisees talked about Jesus. Some of them said, Jesus does not come from God, because He works on the Sabbath. But others argued, If He is a bad man, He wouldn t be able to do such wonderful miracles. The man who had been blind but now could see listened to all the talk. The other people were confused about Jesus, but he wasn t. One thing I know, the man said, I was blind, but now I can see. He went on, If Jesus didn t come from God, He could do nothing. That made the Pharisees angry. They did not want to believe that Jesus was God s Son. How was the blind man healed? What did the Pharisees think about Jesus? What would it be like to be blind? 80 81