365 Stories, Prayers & Promises

Transcription

1 A N N O D O M I N I P U B L I S H I N G FORMAT 256 pages Flexi 175 x 220mm AUTHOR Bethan James, a former teacher and youth worker, has written a number of books for children. She lives with her husband and children in a rural part of England. ILLUSTRATOR Frank Endersby is a well established illustrator whose passion is children s books. He has worked with a number of major publishers in his career and now lives with his family in the Cotswolds, in the west of England. NEW FOR 2018 B e t h a n J a m e s a n d F r a n k E n d e r s b y 365 Stories, Prayers & Promises A Bible story, prayer or promise for every day of the year, beautifully illustrated by Frank Endersby s child-friendly pictures. Perfect for bedtime, perfect for anytime! CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION: info@ad-publishing.com

2 B e t h a n J a m e s a n d F r a n k E n d e r s b y

3 1 In the beginning Genesis 1:1-2:1-3 In the beginning there was nothing at all. Everything was dark. Then God said, Let there be light! And suddenly there was light in all the dark places. He called the light day and the darkness night. God gathered the waters together so that there was land and sea, beaches and splashing waves. God filled it with plants and trees and fruit and flowers and made the hot sun to shine in the day and the silvery moon to shine at night. He scattered stars in the night sky to sparkle in the darkness. God filled the salty seas with creatures large and small and the skies with every kind of winged and feathered creature. God filled the land with every kind of animal so there were chattering sounds, colourful creatures and the smell of scented flowers. Then God made a man and a woman people to take care of everything else he had made. They could think and feel, share and be happy. They could love, as God loved all that he had made. God saw that it was very, very good. So God rested from the work of creation

4 16 A heart to love Thank you, God, for eyes so that I can see your world, ears to hear the things you have made and a heart so that I can love. BEN AIDAN 17 A world to care for Lord, you have given us your world to care for; you have trusted us to look after everything you have made: the sheep and cows, dogs and cats, lions and tigers and all creatures that live on the earth; the birds in the sky, bees and butterflies, and all the creatures that live in the waters. Lord, you have given us your world to care for; help us to look after everything you have made. SALLY ANN WRIGHT 18 The good things God made I want the world to be here when I grow up. Help us to look after it now, God, to see it, to smell it, to hear it and to taste it, to enjoy it and to love it, and not waste or spoil all the good things you made. BETHAN JAMES 20 Spotty ladybirds, stripy snails Spotty ladybirds, stripy snails, Tiny spiders, buzzing bees, Slimy slugs with silvery trails, Wiggly worms and centipedes, Crawling creatures with long tails: Thank you, God, you made all these. BETHAN JAMES 19 Woods and fields For woods and fields, for sea and sky, for flowers, trees, family and friends, all the creatures around me, and all your gifts, thank you, God! 21 Thank you, God! SALLY ANN WRIGHT For seasons For sunshine, blue skies, fluffy clouds, Thank you, Creator God. For dewdrops, raindrops, windy days, Thank you, Caring God. For snowflakes, hoar frost, icicles, Thank you, Loving God, For warm days, cold days, wet days, dry days, Thank you, Forgiving God. BEN AIDAN 24 25

5 30 Jacob s ladder Genesis 27:30-46, 28:10-22 Esau had been out hunting for hours. When he returned, he went to Isaac and asked for his father s blessing. But it was too late. Isaac was very sorry that he had blessed the wrong brother. Esau was very angry. Rebecca was very worried that Esau would do something terrible to his younger brother for tricking them both. She and Isaac decided it would be best if Jacob went to stay with her brother, Laban. So Jacob left his family and travelled to the place where Laban lived with his two daughters. Jacob slept under the stars that night with a rock for his pillow. And Jacob dreamed. In his dream he saw angels climbing up and down a ladder that led to heaven. God spoke to Jacob from heaven, promising that he would bless Jacob and take care of him as he had his father and grandfather. 31 Jacob meets Rachel Genesis 29:1-20 When Jacob was not far from his uncle s house, he met some shepherds waiting with their sheep by a well. Jacob asked if they knew his uncle Laban. Yes, they said, and look there is his daughter Rachel with her sheep. Jacob saw that Rachel was beautiful. He helped her water his uncle s sheep and explained how he came to be there. Rachel went to fetch her father and soon Jacob was welcomed into their family. Jacob stayed with them for a month and helped him with his sheep. What can I give you for working for me? Laban asked. I will work for you for seven years if you will let me marry Rachel, he said. Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel

6 72 A new home in Egypt Genesis 47:5-12, 48:1-22 So it was that Jacob found the son whom he thought was dead and the whole family was reunited. Jacob was brought before Pharaoh who told him he could live in the best part of the land. Joseph s brothers farmed the land and their families grew. Joseph continued to manage the Egyptians through the years of famine. By the end of it all the people had sold Pharaoh their land so that everything belonged to him. They received grain to farm and feed themselves and had to give a fifth of it all to Pharaoh in taxes. Jacob grew old in Egypt and asked God to bless Joseph s sons before he died. God will take you home to Canaan one day, he said. 73 Slaves in Egypt Genesis 50:22-26, Exodus 1:1-22 Joseph lived a long time in the land of Egypt. His sons grew up and had children and grandchildren of their own. God had blessed them all and kept them safe. Joseph died an old man. Now the land of Egypt was full of Joseph s family and their descendants. Pharaohs came and went and the time came when a new Pharaoh ruled Egypt. He did not care what Joseph had done for his people long ago. He only saw that his land was full of Israelites, people from another land and he was afraid. The new king made the Israelites his slaves. They worked hard making bricks in the hot sun and he beat them to make them work harder. But still their numbers grew

7 104 Listen from heaven Lord, hear my prayer. Listen from heaven, the place where you live, and when you hear, please forgive. SOLOMON, 1 KINGS 8: Show me the way Show me how to live, Lord, Teach me the right way. Guide me and teach me for you are my God. Forget the bad things I have done; remember only that you love me. FROM PSALM 25: Don t be angry Please don t be angry with me, Lord. Don t be angry for ever. I know I have done things that are wrong, But I need your help now. FROM PSALM 79:5, Help me to love you Lord, help me to know you better, so I can love you, and help me to love you, so I can do the things you want me to willingly and without complaining. BASED ON ST AUGUSTINE 108 Don t leave me, Lord Do not be far from me, Lord, For trouble is near And there is no one to help. PSALM 22: The best father Lord, you are kind and loving, and you are slow to get cross. You do not punish me for the terrible things I do, because you love me so much. You not only forgive me, but you forget that I have done something wrong. You are kinder than the best father in the world, and you have promised always to look after me. FROM PSALM

8 120 God is always there When trouble comes, call on me and I will help you. PSALM 86:7 121 God is a safe place I will be your safe place when you go through difficult times. NAHUM 1:7 122 God watches over us I will not let you fall, for I am watching over you day and night. PSALM 121:3 123 God protects us All people can find protection in the shadow of my wings. PSALM 36:7 124 God is there to help Cast all your burdens on me and I will look after you. PSALM 55: God is faithful Hold fast to the hope you confess for I am faithful to keep my promises. HEBREWS 10: God will guide us I will guide you always. I will be your God for ever. PSALM 48: God provides for us If you love me with all your heart, I will provide you with all you need. DEUTERONOMY :13-14 God loves us I am full of mercy and grace and overflow with love. PSALM 103:8 129 God does not change I am the Lord your God and I never change. MALACHI 3:

9 130 A prophet called Deborah Judges 4:4-5 The time came when the Israelites did not remember God. They did not keep God s commandments. They worshipped the false gods of the people who lives around them. They were cruel to each other. They no longer behaved like God s special people. God waited. He waited for them to call upon him again. In time other nations fought against them and made them miserable. When King Jabin sent his commander Sisera to make their lives difficult, the people began to pray to God for help. Deborah was a prophet. She still heard God s voice. So God told Deborah how she could help them. 131 A woman wins the battle Judges 4:6-24 Deborah called Barak to come to see her under the palm tree where she often sat. God wants you to fight against Sisera, she told him. God has a plan to defeat him at the river but you must lead his army of ten thousand men. Me? Barak replied. Against Sisera? I will go if you will come too. God will help you, Deborah told him, but because you do not trust him, people will remember the bravery of a woman after this battle, not yours. The battle was a fierce one. But God sent down rain and Sisera s 900 chariots got stuck in the mud. Sisera ran from the battle and hid in the tent of a woman called Jael. While he was sleeping, Jael used a tent peg to kill him

10 146 Ruth meets Boaz Ruth 2:1-14 Naomi was welcomed in Bethlehem. People were sorry that her family had died and they knew how poor she would be with no husband or son to take care of her. But they also smiled at Ruth. They saw that she was good and kind. One day Ruth went out to gather barley so that she and Naomi would have enough to eat. The field she was working in belonged to Boaz, a relative of Naomi s husband. Boaz saw how hard Ruth was working and spoke to her. May God bless you for the way you are taking care of Naomi, he said. I have told my harvesters to leave plenty for you to gather. And there will be water for you to drink. 147 Naomi s new family Ruth 2:4-17, 4:9-17 Ruth took home nearly a sack of barley that night. Naomi was amazed at how much she had collected. But when Ruth told her about Boaz, Naomi understood that he had helped Ruth. Boaz was a kind man. Boaz saw that Ruth was a good daughter to Naomi. He saw that she was kind and loyal and became her friend. Soon he knew that he wanted Ruth to be his wife. They married and in time had a baby son called Obed. Naomi had been so sad but now she had a family again. God had taken care of them all

11 194 Elijah s prayer 1 Kings 18:30-37, 1 Kings 18:38-46 Then it was Elijah s turn to pray. He built an altar with a small trench around it. He told them to pour water all over it until it filled the trench. Surely nothing could burn on that! Then Elijah prayed for God to bring down fire. Lord, show everyone here that you alone are the true and living God. God answered Elijah s prayer. Fire fell from heaven and burned up everything on Elijah s altar. It even dried up the water in the trench. The people saw that God was real. They knew that he alone should be worshipped and they knelt down before him. Then the God of all the earth sent rain once more. The drought was over. 195 God is gentle 1 Kings 19:1-15 Queen Jezebel was very angry with Elijah for showing the people that her god was not real. So Elijah ran for his life! Elijah sat alone in a cave. He was lonely. He was afraid. God sent an angel to him with food and water. But still Elijah was sad. Then God told Elijah to meet him on the mountain. Elijah listening to a roaring wind around him: but God was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake followed by fire; but God was not in the earthquake or the fire. When God came, it was with a gentle whisper and God spoke to Elijah and comforted him

12 200 The great big fish Jonah 1:7 2:1 Jonah forgot that you can t hide from God. While he was sleeping, a massive storm rocked the boat. The sailors were terrified. They threw the cargo overboard. Then they found Jonah and woke him. Pray to your God! they shouted. Jonah knew straight away that the storm was all his fault. Throw me overboard! he shouted above the wind. Then God will save you. The sailors threw Jonah over the side and Jonah called to God for help. And God sent a great fish to swallow him up. Jonah sat for three days and three nights in the body of the fish and prayed. 201 God forgives Jonah 2:10-3:1-10 I m sorry, Jonah told God. You have always been good to me. I will do what you ask. I will go to Nineveh. So the fish spat Jonah out on to dry land and he made his way to the great city. He told people that God was angry with them. He warned them to change their ways. And just as Jonah had feared, the people listened. They wore sackcloth to show they were sorry and promised to change their ways. And Jonah was right about God too. He was kind and loving. God stopped being angry with them and God forgave the people of Nineveh

13 249 This Christmas time May the joy of the angels, the wonder of the shepherds, and the peace of Jesus Christ, fill our hearts this Christmas time. TRADITIONAL 248 A long time ago Thank you, God, that today we can know Jesus, whom Mary placed in a manger. Thank you, God, that today we can worship Jesus, about whom angels sang praises. Thank you, God, that today we can love Jesus, whom shepherds hurried to see a long time ago, in Bethlehem. SALLY ANN WRIGHT 250 The gift of Jesus Dear Father God, thank you for Christmas. Thank you for the gift of Jesus to be our friend, our Saviour and our king. BETHAN JAMES 251 Making room for Jesus Father God, help us this Christmas time: to make room for you with the innkeeper, sing with the angels, rejoice with the shepherds, seek you with the wise men and worship you as Lord and King. MARION THOMAS 253 A tiny baby Lord Jesus, once you were a tiny baby in a manger, in Bethlehem. You grew up to be a man who helped people who were ill, or sad, or lonely, and you showed us how to love other people as God does. Thank you, Lord Jesus. SALLY ANN WRIGHT 252 Teach us to love Lord, you came to earth to bring us the gift of eternal love. Touch us, hold us and teach us to love as you love this Christmas time. JONATHAN WILLIAMS

14 310 God gives us his peace Come to me, when you can t cope any more, and I will give you rest. BASED ON MATTHEW 11: God knows all about us As a father loves his children, so God loves those who trust him. He knows all about us and remembers that we are weak. BASED ON PSALM 103: God cares Tell God about all your worries, for he cares about you. 313 Help when I need it most I can do even the things that frighten me because Jesus is there to help me. BASED ON PHILIPPIANS 4:1 314 All things work for good We know that all things work together to make good things happen if we love God and trust him. BASED ON ROMANS 8:28 BASED ON 1 PETER 5: Nothing can stop God loving us Can anything separate us from God s love? No, nothing. BASED ON ROMANS 8: A home in heaven There is in heaven a special place ready for you. BASED ON 1 PETER 1:4 316 When I am ill and sad Even if I am close to death, I will not be afraid; because I know you will be there to comfort me. BASED ON PSALM 23:4 317 Hope for the future Surely I will know goodness and kindness all my life; and I will live in God s house for ever. BASED ON PSALM 23:6 319 Being with God God will wipe away every tear from your eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying and no more pain. BASED ON REVELATION 21:

15 325 Buried in a tomb Matthew 27:55-58, John 19: Three crosses on a hillside Luke 23:35-43 The men hung there on their crosses for many hours. Each breath was hard to take. As they were dying, one of the thieves spoke to Jesus. You saved other people why don t you save yourself? But the other thief answered, Leave him alone! We deserve to be punished but this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, please remember me. Then Jesus spoke to the man. Trust me, he said. Today you will be with me in Heaven. Then Jesus saw his mother with his friend John. Mother! Jesus cried out. This is your son now. John! Take care of Mary for me. John comforted Mary. Hours passed and Jesus became weaker. Jesus knew that he was dying for others and not for himself. But now he felt very much alone. Jesus cried out in a loud voice and then he died. The soldier near his cross said, This man really was the Son of God. Some of the women among Jesus friends stood weeping by the cross. It was almost the start of the Sabbath, and they did not want his body left there. Joseph from Aramathea went to Pontius Pilate and asked if he could bury Jesus in his own tomb. Pilate agreed. The soldiers put a sword in Jesus side to make sure that he was dead. Joseph went with Nicodemus and took Jesus body down from the cross. They carried him to the garden where a new tomb had been carved in the rock and wrapped his body in spices and a clean linen sheet. The men closed the tomb tightly by rolling a large stone against the entrance

16 360 Lighten our darkness Lighten our darkness, Lord, we pray, and in your great mercy defend us from all the dangers of this night, for the love of Jesus, your only Son. TRADITIONAL 361 Before the ending of the day Before the ending of the day, Creator of the world, we pray that you, with steadfast love, would keep your watch around us while we sleep. BASED ON ST AMBROSE 362 Into your loving care Into your loving care, Into your keeping, You who are everywhere, Take us, we pray. TRADITIONAL 363 God bless everyone God bless all those that I love; God bless all those that love me; God bless all those that love those that I love And all those that love those that love me. FROM A NEW ENGLAND SAMPLER 364 God s blessing May the Lord bless us and watch over us. May the Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious to us, may the Lord look kindly on us and give us peace; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with us and remain with us now and every day. BASED ON NUMBERS 6: The peace of God May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with us and remain with us always. THE BLESSING

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