Read Me a Bible Story By Elizabeth Friedrich and Pamela Nielsen Illustrated by Kathy Mitter Edited by Pamela Nielsen
God Makes a Wonderful World! Long, long ago there was no world to see. No birds, no flowers, not even a tree. In the darkness, God said, Let there be light. He made the day; then came the night. God made land with hills to run up and down. He put water in oceans all around. God made moon and stars for in the night. Just for the day He made sunshine so bright. He grew grass and flowers and trees so tall, Elephants big and butterflies small. Fish swimming fast and lions running free, He made them all just for you and for me. After God made a man and woman, too, He rested and looked at His world so new. It s so good, God said. I like what I see. Thank You, God. What a world You made for me! Genesis 1 and 2 Parents: Enjoy the wonders of God s creation with your child. Examine a spider s web. Feel the rain on your faces. Smell the fresh pine tree. Taste an apple. Listen to the wind. In the Apostles Creed, we confess, I believe in God the Father, Maker of heaven and earth. God loves His creation! We see evidence of His love for us in the world that He made and in His richly and daily providing all that we need for this body and life. All that we are and have are His gifts to us, including God s Son, Jesus, who was sent to be our Savior. 3
Little Samuel Hannah cried and cried. She felt so sad. She wanted a baby to love. Hannah prayed to God. Dear God, she prayed, please give me a baby. I will take very good care of him. And I will tell my baby about You every day. God heard Hannah s prayer. Soon, she had a little baby boy. She named her baby Samuel. Now Hannah felt so happy. She loved to rock her baby and play with him. Hannah sang songs to Samuel. She sang about God. One day, Hannah dressed Samuel in a special coat. She took him to church. God gave me my son, she said. Now I want my son to love God his whole life. And Samuel did. 1 Samuel 1:1 2:21 and 3:19 21 Parents: Hannah knew that children are wonderful gifts from God. She also knew how to help her child learn about God and His love. She talked to Samuel about God, sang songs with him, prayed with him, took him to church, and reflected God s love through her love. Look for ways to show God s love to your child. Help your child know how much Jesus loves him or her. Put pictures of Jesus in your child s room; listen to the Church s songs. Talk to your child about your Savior from sin and death. Pray with your child, and let him or her hear you pray to your heavenly Father. Take your child to church often. 5
David Sings to God David took care of sheep. He led them to hills with green grass and cool water. Sometimes, he chased away bears and lions that came to hurt his sheep. When that happened, David must have felt afraid. But God always took care of him. Most of the time, the hills were quiet, except for the baa-baa of the sheep. Then, David liked to play his harp and sing songs to God. He told God how much he loved Him. One day, David s king felt sick. David played his harp; David sang songs for him. And the king felt much better. David grew bigger and bigger. Then, he became a king too. He still sang songs. The songs said, I love You, God. God always took care of David. 1 Samuel 16; 2 Samuel 2:1 7 Parents: Even young children can express their love for God in song. With psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, we joyfully confess all that God has done for us, declaring the praise of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. The songs you sing with your child joins with the song of every saint from every age, the new song of Christ s holy people. Begin teaching the Church s song to your child right from the start. Sing some of the songs on the CD presented to you when your child was born. 7