Bible Stories for all of us
Story #46
The Story of Zacchaeus up a Tree
There are 2 things you should know about Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was a little man.
And Zacchaeus was a rich man.
And nobody liked him very much.
Okay, that’s three things.
Nobody liked Zacchaeus very much mostly because he got rich taking money from other people and giving it to the Romans.
Nobody liked the Romans much either. That was because they came in from another country like a bunch of big bullies. They came with all their soldiers and swords and spears and stuff and made people do things they didn’t want to do, like give them money.
That's what Zacchaeus did. He collected money for the Romans. They called it "collecting taxes." Some of the money he gave to the Romans - but lots of it he kept for himself. And that’s how he got rich.
Zacchaeus was a very rich man...
And Zacchaeus was a little man... without a lot of friends.
Click here to read more.
Story #45
Walking on Water
Jesus did an amazing thing!
While the disciples - and more than five thousand other people! - were all sitting out in the sun on a rocky hillside, Jesus took two smelly fish and five crusty loaves of bread and fed them all!
“WOW!” The disciples must have thought, “We should open a restaurant!”
Well, maybe they didn’t think that exactly! But they were amazed by the miracle they just saw Jesus do.
The crowd was still buzzing about the whole thing when Jesus took Peter by the arm and said, “You guys go on ahead to the other side of the lake. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Okay, we don’t really know what Jesus said exactly. For one thing, he was speaking in Aramaic and not English. And chances are pretty good he didn’t call the disciples ‘you guys.’ But we do know that Jesus told the disciples to get in their boat and go across the lake. He needed some time to be alone.
Well, imagine if you had crowds of people following you around everywhere you went, always wanting something from you. You’d want to get away to be alone sometimes too! But what Jesus really needed was time to pray. We all do!
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Story #44
Jesus Goes into the Catering Business
The Amazing Multiplying Meal
You won't believe it!
“It was AMAZING!” Peter said to Jesus.
Peter was one of the twelve followers Jesus had chosen to help him tell the world about God’s incredible love. Jesus called them his disciples.
There was nothing special about these guys. They weren’t the smartest in their class - they probably didn’t even GO to class. Ever. They weren’t the biggest or the strongest. They weren’t star athletes, or ruggedly handsome, or movie stars (of course, they didn’t HAVE movies stars back then. That was mostly because they didn’t have movies!)
No, these guys were just ordinary, most likely smelly most of the time, fishermen.
What made them special was being with Jesus. It’s always that way. God takes the ordinary, and makes it extraordinary!
Anyway, a few days before, Jesus had sent the twelve of them out into the nearby villages to heal the sick and to tell the good news that the Kingdom of God was near.
“We could hardly believe our eyes!” Peter said, “People came to us who were sick - and we made them well!”
I think sometimes the disciples forgot just who Jesus was.
Of course they could do what Jesus sent them to do!
Click here to read more.
Story #43
The Power of God
Bread From Heaven - Part 2
Moses was in trouble!
BIG trouble!
God had sent him to lead his people out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. And, until now, things were going pretty well. Pharaoh finally let Moses and his people go. The Egyptians were so glad to see them leave, they piled their wagons and carts with treasures of silver and gold. And God himself was leading the way to the Promised Land as a great cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
But now Moses was standing on the shores of the Red Sea.
Behind him was the great multitude of God’s people.
And behind THEM was the roar of Pharaoh’s army, charging at them in a thundering cloud of sand and dust.
Pharaoh had changed his mind, and he was coming to take the Israelites back into slavery in Egypt.
God's people were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh and his army!
What was Moses going to do?!
Well, God had a plan. God ALWAYS has a plan. In fact, nothing happens in this world that ISN’T part of God’s plan!
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Story #42
Jesus Feeds 5000
Let's Talk About Bread - Part 1
Bread is such wonderful stuff.
Just think of the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven... even if it is bread baking in one of those bread machines.
Bread really IS good!
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be pretty messy without two pieces of bread on the outside.
But for most of the time people have been wandering around here on earth, bread has been even more important than that. People have been eating bread for thousands of years.
I’d like to know who woke one morning and said,
“I’ve got a great idea!
"Let’s take some of that stuff that is growing all over the place out back - what’s it called? Wheat? Yeah, that wheat stuff. Let’s pick some of that stuff and let it dry out. Then lets take a couple of rocks and smash the wheat between the two rocks until it turns into powder. Then let’s add some water and mix it all up into.... dough.... let’s call that mixed up stuff dough. Then let’s take the dough and put it into a fire! Doesn’t that sound like a great idea!”
“Uh, uh, yeah sure... Great idea!”
Who would have thought of that?!!!
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Story #41
The Run Away Prophet Jonah
or Chicken of the Sea
I don't want to!!!
Would you ever say that to God?
Jonah did.
God said to Jonah, “Go to Ninevah!”
And Jonah said, “I don’t want to!”
Well, he didn’t exactly SAY that to God - but that's what he was thinking.
Back in Jonah’s day - this was a LONG time ago, about 800 years before Jesus was born - the greatest city in the world was Ninevah. Everyone had heard of Ninevah. And everyone knew it was an evil place.
So, God had a job for Jonah.
“Jonah,“ God called, “Get up! Go to Ninevah!“
“Tell the people there that I know all about the terrible things they are doing. They think no one can see the evil things they do. But I see!”
But Ninevah was a big, scary place, and Jonah didn’t want to go!
Besides, the Assyrians lived in Ninevah, and the Assyrians were big bullies. They were always beating up on everybody, especially Jonah's people. They deserved to get in trouble from God.
If Jonah warned the people of Ninevah, they might change their evil ways - and then God might forgive them (God is always forgiving people!) - and then they might get away with all the terrible things they have done.
That wouldn't be fair!
So, do you know what Jonah did?
Click here to read more.
Story #40
Pack Your Bags Boys, We're going to Egypt
Joseph and his brothers were together again.
Joseph could hardly believe it! I am sure his brothers couldn’t either. Who would have ever guessed how things were going to turn out that day they sold their brother to a traveling Egyptian?
But now all was forgiven, and they were a family again.
There was just one, tiny, little problem.
Joseph lived in Egypt - and the rest of his family lived in Canaan. That wouldn’t work! Someone was going to have to move.
Well, the problem was solved when Pharaoh heard the news that Joseph and his family were back together again. He was so happy for Joseph that he said to him, “Tell your brothers to load up all their stuff and go back to Canaan. Tell them to get your father and their families and come back here and live with us! I promise that they will have the best land in all of Egypt.
“Tell them to take extra wagons with them, to carry their wives and their children when they come back. But tell them not to worry about taking all their stuff, they can have the best of everything we have here in Egypt!”
Click here to read more.
Story #39
Joseph and the Silver Cup
And God's Saving Power
Joseph wasn't through...
....with his brothers yet. He needed to test them still.
Were they still the same mean brothers who sold their little brother just to make a few bucks? Or had they changed?
Did they still only care about themselves and what they wanted?
That's what Joseph needed to find out.
And so his brothers were waiting for the Governor of all of Egypt to come home. They had their gifts laid out. The palms of their hands were sweaty. What was going to happen next?
When Joseph walked into the room, his brothers bowed low to the floor - just like Joseph's dreams again, the ones his brothers had laughed at!
But then Joseph surprised them. He was nice to them! (His brothers still didn’t know who he really was.) He asked them how they all were, and then he asked, “And how is your father? Is he still alive?”
“Your servant our father is very much alive and well,” the brothers answered - and they bowed low to the ground again.
And then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin. Remember, Benjamin was Joseph's little brother, and he had missed his baby brother very much (even though he wasn't a baby anymore!).
Click here to read more.
Story #38
Joseph and the Hidden Sacks of Silver - Uh oh!
What is God up to?
What has God done to us?
The Sons of Jacob couldn't help but wonder - and with good reason! After all this time, they couldn't forget what they had done to their little brother all those years ago.
Before they even stopped to unload all the food they had brought home from their hot, dusty journey to Egypt, they ran in to tell their father Jacob all that had happened.
"The Governor of Egypt spoke harshly to us, and accused us of being spies!" they told him, " And now Simeon is in prison until we bring back our brother Benjamin to prove we were not lying!"
Nope. Their trip didn’t go very well.
But at least they came back with food. So they went back to their donkeys and opened their packs -
- and each one of them found a sack of silver sitting on top!
“Oh, no!” they all cried. “What will become of us now! It was bad enough when we found just ONE of our sacks of silver. Now we have ALL our money back! The Governor of Egypt will accuse us of being spies AND thieves! He will come and put us to death for sure!
"We have to go back with Benjamin right away and prove to him we are honest men!” (Which, of course, they weren’t exactly!)
Click here to read more.
Story #37
The Great Famine - Part 2
The famine was hard everywhere.
In the lands all around...
...children looked to their parents with empty stomachs and asked, “Mommy, what is there to eat?” and there was nothing but stale old crumbs.
It all happened just as Joseph said it would.
But there was food in Egypt, they had so much left over from the seven good years. But then even the cupboards in Egypt began to run bare.
And so the people cried out to Pharaoh for food.
And thanks to Joseph, and God’s plan, Pharaoh had an answer.
“Go to Joseph, and do everything he says!”
So Joseph opened his storehouses. He sold grain to anyone who came to him, and there was enough for all.
The word quickly spread that there was food in Egypt, and soon hungry people from lands far and near were coming to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.
The word even spread to the land of Canaan, to the home of Jacob and his family.
“There’s nothing to eat!”
Click here to read more.
Story #36
The Great Famine - Part 1
No more rain.
For seven years, the rains had come. The crops grew green and strong, and there was more than enough to eat for everyone.
But then one day, the rains stopped.
Of course, no one noticed the day the rains stopped. That’s not something you notice. At first all those sunny days are great. But then after a while, the grass starts to turn a little brown, and the crops in the fields begin to shrivel a little. And then later on, the grass turns really brown, and the crops begin to wilt away.
And that’s how it was in the land of Egypt. The rains did not come, and the crops began to dry up and die.
Everywhere the land was thirsty for water. And there was none.
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Story #35
The Brothers Israel and the Trouble With Lies
Meanwhile back in the land of Canaan things were going a little differently for Joseph’s brothers.
More than ten years have gone by since they sold Joseph to those traveling traders. Joseph was just a teenager then. Remember back then, when Joseph’s brothers threw Joseph into that well?
Well, first they had planned on killing him.
But Reuben, Joseph’s oldest brother, knew that would be a terrible thing to do.
“Let’s just throw him into this well instead,” he said.
Secretly he planned to come back and pull Joseph out, and then bring him safely back home to his father. Reuben knew how much his father loved Joseph, and he knew deep inside it would break his father’s heart if anything ever happened to him.
But while Reuben was away, his brothers saw their chance to get rid of Joseph AND make some money on the deal, so they pulled Joseph from the well and sold him to those traveling Ishmaelites.
When Reuben came back to the well later that evening, he fell to his knees in the sand. “Joseph is gone!” he cried. He pounded the ground and tore at his clothes, it hurt so bad inside. “What am I going to do now?” he wailed.
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Story #34
Joseph Rules
Pharaoh...
..clapped his hand on Joseph's shoulder, “Where in all of Egypt could I find a wiser man than you!
“Surely the Spirit of God is with you!” Pharaoh said, “I will put you in charge over my house and all the land of Egypt.
“Whatever you command, it will be done!”
Wouldn’t that be fun! Whatever you asked for, someone would do. That’s why only a very WISE person should have that kind of power. Otherwise you might be commanding things like, “Bring me three dancing bears!” or “Fill my pool with butterscotch pudding!” and goofy stuff like that.
But Joseph WAS very wise. He listened to God, and only did what pleased him.
And so Pharaoh took the ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s hand. It was the ring engraved with the royal seal, the ring of authority and power. Pharaoh said, “I set you to rule over all the land. From now on, in all of Egypt only I will be greater than you!”
And then he had Joseph dressed in the finest royal robes, and he put a gold chain around his neck.
Click here to read more.
Story #33
Pharoah's Dream
Two years later.
That's a long time to be sitting in jail! I wonder if Joseph was wondering if God was REALLY with him.
But two long years went by since Joseph helped the Butler - and the Butler never said a word to Pharaoh about Joseph.
Nice guy!
But, I guess it is an easy thing to do when you are living in a magnificent palace, where there are rows and rows of stone columns as big as trees, polished marble floors, and gold statues everywhere you look.
When you have plenty of scrumptious things to eat, and all kinds of fancy stuff and cool things, it’s easy to forget about the people who don’t.
And that’s just what the Butler did. He forgot all about Joseph in chains, back there in that cold dark prison.
Click here to read more. Story #32
Good News, Bad News
The Butler told his dream first.
“In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine with three branches. All of a sudden, leaves began to grow on the branches, and then blossoms, and then grapes. When the grapes were ripe, I picked some and squeezed them into the Pharaoh’s cup and brought it to him.”
“I have good news!” Joseph said.
“Here is what your dream means. The three branches stand for three days. In three days, you will be lifted up from this cold, dark prison. You will be set free, and you will be restored to your Master’s house!”
And then Joseph added, “When you are back, serving in Pharaoh’s house, please remember me. Put in a good word for me with Pharaoh, and help me get out of prison, because I did nothing wrong.”
Now, when the Baker heard the good news about the Butler’s dream, he thought, ‘Whew! That IS good news! I can’t wait to hear what my dream means!’
And so he grabbed Joseph by the arm and said, “I had a dream too!
“In my dream, I was carrying three baskets on my head. In the top basket there were all kinds of tasty baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them.”
Click here to read more Story #31
The Butler, The Baker and the telling of things to come
Once again things did not look good for Joseph.
But, do you know what? They were.
There was something about Joseph.
He gave himself to God, and he let God lead him in everything he did. It was like the light of God's presence was there, wherever he went - even in a cold dark prison.
That's what God wants for all of us. God wants us to be the light of His presence wherever we are.
The chief jailer must have seen that in him, something maybe he couldn't even explain. But he liked Joseph right from the start. And before long, he put Joseph in charge of the whole prison.
And God was with Joseph, and blessed him in everything he did.
Time went by, and it happened that the Pharaoh's butler and his baker must have been having a bad day. Maybe the butler spilled a goblet of wine in the Pharaoh's lap. Or maybe the baker's sticky buns were too sticky.
Or maybe they offended Pharaoh much more seriously than that.
But whatever happened, Pharaoh was not pleased with them. And when Pharaoh is not pleased, believe me, NO one is pleased!
And so he had the Butler and the Baker thrown in jail.
Click here to read more. Story # 30
Ups and Downs
Joseph in the house of Potiphar.
Joseph was Jacob's little baby, and Jacob loved him very much. That was a good thing.
But then, Joseph's older brothers got jealous and were mean to him. That was a bad thing.
Jacob gave Joseph a wonderful new coat. A good thing.
But that made Joseph's brothers REALLY jealous. A bad thing again. Joseph's brothers were so jealous, they decided to kill him. A really bad thing!
But, at the last minute they decide NOT to kill him - a good thing - but to throw him into a pit instead.
Bad again!
But then Joseph's brothers decide to drag Joseph OUT of the pit, a good thing - and sell him to some traveling merchants, so he would never see his family again.
Click here to learn more. Story #29
The Pits
Bad things happen when brothers and sisters don't get along.
"Here I am!" Joseph answered his father one day.
"Go see what your brothers are up to."
"Yes, Father," Joseph said.
There is another reason why Joseph's brothers probably didn't like him very much. He always wanted to please his father - and they didn't.
But let's see what comes of that.
Joseph's 11 brothers were out in the pastures tending their sheep, and Jacob wanted to know how they were. And so he sent Joseph out to check on them. Little brothers are good at spying for their parents! And there's ANOTHER reason why sometimes they aren't liked very well by their older brothers and sisters!
But it wasn't really that Jacob was spying on his sons. He cared about all his children deeply, and he wanted to make sure they were all right. He also knew that people can get into trouble when they think that no one is watching.
And he was right.
Click here for more. Story # 28
Joseph the Dreamer
"You're Dad's favourite."
That's what Joseph's big brothers thought.
They were sure their father liked Joseph best.
In some ways they were right. Joseph was the baby of the family. And new babies aren't much good at hunting, or watching sheep. Mostly they just roll around and cry a lot, and you have to do everything for them. So, when baby Joseph came along, of course Jacob spent a lot of time with him. Well, that, and babies are just so cute!
But, Joseph's brothers didn't like it.
And they didn't like Joseph.
Click here to read more. Story # 27
A Celebration -
Samson Part 4
"How great we are!"
The Five Philistine kings said to each other. And so they put on a great feast to celebrate their victory over Samson.
They poured too much wine and ate too much food.
"Our God Dagon has given us great victory over our enemy Samson!" they prayed.
Of course, their god Dagon had nothing to do with it. There is no god Dagon at all. It was the one and only God who brought Samson to the Philistines. And it wasn't going to be a victory for them.
"Let's bring Samson out here, so we can have some fun!" the kings said, thinking they were so powerful, and Samson was blind and weak.
They made Samson stand by the columns of the great temple they were feasting in.
But Samson's hair had grown back.
Click here for more. Story # 26
Samson's Secret - Part 3
(Judges 16.4-21)
"But how?" The Five Philistine Kings were huddled together. They were getting tired of all the trouble Samson was causing. They had to find out what made him so strong.
And then they had an idea.
"Let's go to Samson's wife. Maybe she can trick him into telling the secret of his strength."
And so the Five Philistine Kings went to Delilah, Samson's wife. They promised her eleven hundred pieces of silver each if she could discover Samson's secret.
That night, Delilah snuggled up to Samson. "What makes you strong?" she asked him sweetly. "If someone wanted to tie you up, how could they do it?"
Click here to learn more. Story #25
Samson and the Lion - Part 2
Well, of course it did. It ALWAYS happens just like the angel says!
Manoah and his wife did have a son. They named him Samson.
Samson grew tall and strong - and, just as the angel commanded, they never cut his hair.
One day Samson was out walking through a grape orchard, when he thought he heard something. It sounded like a roar.
Suddenly, a lion jumped out from the vines!
The lion and Samson wrestled to the ground in a cloud of dust. Just then, the power of God filled Samson. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands.
A few days later, Samson went back to the orchard, and he found the lion's body. Bees had built a nest in it. So Samson reached in, and took out a handful of honey. Samson had a nice little snack as he walked home.
Click here to read more. Story #24
The Story of Samson
A Powerful Story of a Powerful Servant of God
(Judges 13.1-23)
They forgot about God. They forgot about doing what pleases him. They didn't want God to rule over them, and so God sent the Philistines to rule over them instead.
The Philistines made their lives miserable.
It wasn't that God didn't love his people. They needed to know what life would be like without him.
40 years went by.
And then one day, a woman was out working in the fields. She had her back to the hot sun when someone came up and touched her on the shoulder.
Maybe it was the bright sunshine, or maybe it was something else entirely, but when she looked up, she saw a man so full of light, he frightened her!
"Do not be afraid!" the man said. "I have come with good news. You are going to have a son!"
Well, this was BIG news! The woman had never been able to have children.
Click here to read more. Story #23
Baby Wars-Sons of Jacob
And one surprise.
God saw that Jacob loved Rachel more.
He also saw how it hurt Leah to be loved less (it always hurts to be loved less, so always love the best you can!).
“What troubles I have,” Leah cried herself to sleep one night. “If only I could have a baby, then Jacob would be happy, and he would love me more.”
Well, maybe Jacob loved Leah less, but God didn’t.
And so God blessed Leah, and soon she was going to have a baby.
The necessary months passed, and soon Jacob was the father of a newborn baby. It was his first child. It was a boy, and Leah named him Reuben, a name that sounded like “God has seen my trouble” in her language.
“Now Jacob will love me more,” Leah thought.
But he didn’t.
Click here to read more.
Story #22
A Love Story-Jacob and Rachel
Jacob was on the run.
He was running from his brother Esau.
Jacob had tricked his brother out of their father’s blessing, and now Esau was so angry, he wanted to kill him.
So Jacob was traveling east, to the land where his grandfather Abraham was born.
He was also hoping to choose a wife from his grandfather's family.
Early on a warm afternoon, he came to a well in the fields outside the town of Haran.
The well was just like the one that his grandfather’s servant had come to many years before, when he was looking for a wife for Isaac. It may have been the very same one.
Three flocks of sheep were lying in the fields beside the well, waiting for their shepherds to water them.
There was a large stone covering the well, and the shepherds had to wait until all the shepherds were there before they could move it.
So Jacob came up to the shepherds and said, “My friends, where are you from?”
Click here to read more.
Story #21
Jacob's Amazing Dream
Esau was not very happy with his brother Jacob, to say the least.
First, Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright for a lousy bowl of soup.
Now Jacob had stolen his Father’s last blessing. Esau vowed that he would kill his brother Jacob as soon as their father died.
“You must go!” Rebekah told Jacob. “Go away, back to your grandfather’s homeland, and stay with your Uncle Laban until your brother cools off!”
Now, it happened that Esau had married two of the young girls from the land where he and his family were now living. They were Canaanites, and they didn’t follow the God of Abraham and Isaac. They were making life miserable for Rebekah.
So Rebekah came to Isaac and said, “If Jacob marries one of these Canaanite women, I might as well be dead, I will be so miserable! Please send him to my brother’s family to find a wife there.”
It was a good excuse to have Isaac send Jacob away.
Click here to read more. Story #20
Jacob Steals the Blessing
He was bent over. The hair he had left on his head had turned white. And he could no longer see. He knew he would die soon.
And so he called his son Esau.
“Here I am,” Esau answered.
“My son, before I die, I want you to take your bow and your arrows and go out hunting. When you come back, cook the meat you have caught. Make one of your delicious meals, the kind I like so much, and bring it to me. And then I will bless you.”
Now, Rebekah just happened to hear all of this from the other room (the walls of tents aren’t very thick!).
As soon as Esau left, Rebekah took Jacob by the arm and said to him, “Your father has sent Esau away to hunt. When Esau gets back, he is going to fix your father’s favorite dinner, and your father is going to give him his blessing.
“Quick! Do what I say! Go out into the fields and bring me two young goats, and I will make your father’s favorite dinner from them. Bring it to him, and your father will think you are Esau, and he will bless you instead.”
Click here to read more. Story #19
Jacob and Esau and the Very Expensive Bowl of Soup
Do you ever fight with brothers or sisters?
Nah! I’m sure you don’t... too much!
Here’s the story of two brothers who were fighting with each other even before they were born! It led to much trouble and unhappiness - but then, fighting always does.
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. Many years went by, and still they didn’t have any children. And so Isaac prayed to God, “Oh Lord, please look with favor on my wife Rebekah, and bless us with children.”
God heard Isaac's prayer (of course, God hears every prayer!), and he answered it. When Isaac was 60 years old, Rebekah became pregnant - and not with just one child, but with twins!
But before they were even born, Rebekah could feel them kicking and fighting inside her.
“Why is this happening?” she called out.
And God answered her,
“The two children inside you
will become the fathers of two nations.
Just like the two are fighting with each other now,
the two nations will struggle with each other.
One will be stronger than the other.
and the older will serve the younger.”
Soon it came time for the children to be born.
Click here to read more.
Story #18
God Will Provide the Lamb
What was God doing?
He just asked Abraham to do a very hard thing.
Sometimes it is hard to know why God does the things he does. We may never know. But we know two things.
God loves us.
And God is good.
God loves us more than we will probably ever know. And there is not even the smallest smidge of bad in him. God cannot do anything mean or evil. God could no more do anything evil than a banana could ride a bicycle. It's just impossible!
So it happened that one day God came to Abraham and said, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” Abraham said.
“Abraham, I want you to take your only son, whom you love, and go to a mountain I will show you. There I want you to sacrifice your son as a burnt offering to me.”
What was God thinking? How could he ask Abraham to do such a thing?
Click here to read more. Story # 17
The Story of Sodom and Gomorrah
God loves us so much. And he has filled the world with wonderful things so we can know how good he is.
But wait a minute. Sometimes things aren’t so wonderful. People are mean to each other, and they hurt each other. Bad things happen.
But that’s not how God wants things to be.
That’s what sin does.
Sin is when we do what we want, instead of what God wants. And when we do, bad things happen. Sin ruins things. Someone always gets hurt. Maybe not right away, but someone always gets hurt sometime. And it only gets worse and worse.
But it's not God's fault, it's ours.
But bad things happen, and people think it’s God’s fault. They think God can’t be good if bad things happen. And then they can’t believe God loves us.
That’s the terrible thing about sin. It keeps people away from God.
Click here to finish this long story. Story #16
The Child of The Promise
Sarai was old.
One day Abraham was sitting by the door of his tent. He looked up and saw three men standing in the hot sun. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to greet them. He bowed to the ground and said, “Please honor me with your presence. I am here to serve you. Let me get you some water to refresh yourselves. Rest here beneath these trees and I will bring you some food.”
The three men replied, “Thank you. We accept your gracious offer.”
Abraham hurried back into his tent. “Quick, Sarah,” he said, “get your best flour and make some bread!” And then he ran out to his herd and picked out a fat, young calf. “Quick,” he said to his servant, “Prepare this calf for our guests!” When all was ready Abraham brought the meal out to his guests. He served them himself. He gave these three strangers the best he had to offer.
“Where is your wife Sarah?” one of the three strangers asked.
Click here to read more. Story #15
Old Abe Has a son
You laughed!
“No, I didn’t!”
“Yes, you did!”
“No, I didn’t!
“Yes, you did!” Abraham said to his wife Sarah.
She did laugh. But now she was afraid to say so, because she had laughed at something she heard God say to Abraham - and it wasn’t supposed to be a joke. Not really. But what Sarah heard God say to Abraham was so crazy and impossible, it made her laugh.
God does like to do crazy, impossible, wonderful things. And sometimes they are so crazy and impossible and wonderful they make us laugh. God must have a great sense of humor. Well, of course he does - where else would WE get OUR sense of humor?
But why did Sarah laugh?
To find that out, we’ll have to go back in this story a little bit.
Many years before, God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. Remember that starry night? Abraham was called Abram back then, and his wife was called Sarai. God told Abram that from him would come as many children as there were stars in the sky.
Click here to read more. Story #14
One Starry Night
Have you ever try to count all the stars in the sky?
Many years after the time of Noah there was a man named Abram.
Abram was a good man who owned many sheep and cattle. He lived with his wife Sarai in the land of Haran. But he had no children.
One day, God came to Abram. Whether it was in a vision, or in a dream we don't know for sure. But God did come to Abram and He said to him,
“Abram! I want you to pack up all your things and leave your home!
“I want you to go to the land I will give you. I promise that I will bless you, and make your family great. I will be with you in all you do, and because of you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Wow! That was quite a promise!
But a scary one too. It meant that Abram would have to leave the place he knew and go to a place he didn't know. He would have to trust God that everything would be okay.
But that's just what Abram did.
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Story #13
The Tower of Babel
Aren't we Wonderful?!
“Yes! Aren’t we great!”
“Splendid!”
“We are absolutely splendiferous! Why, we are SO wonderful, let’s build a magnificent city to show just how wonderful we are!”
Oh, oh. The people who came after Noah were at it again. How quickly they forgot that everything they had came from God. And God is far, far more wonderful than they were.
But still, they said one to another, “Let’s build a glorious city to ourselves. And in that city, let’s build a tower that reaches into heaven!”
“Splendid idea!”
“Top rate!”
“Excellent!”
And so they all agreed.
And, the thing was, they COULD all agree, because in the time after the flood, everyone spoke the same language.
They all could work together. And when you work together, you can do almost anything. (But that can be dangerous too, when you don’t do the right thing.)
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Story #12
The Rainbow and the Promise
Noah did a strange thing.
At least it would seem very strange to us today.
The ark was safely on dry ground again. A few minutes before, it was filled with growling, barking, honking, purring animals. Now the door was wide open and the giant boat sat on a mountain top, all empty and quiet.
All the animals had rushed out the door to fill the earth again.
So what was Noah doing?
He was picking up rocks.
He was so thankful to be alive, he was going to build an altar to God. So Noah piled up the rocks to build a fire on them. Then he took the best of some special animals he had kept aside, killed them, and burned them on the altar. This was a sacrifice Noah offered to God to thank him for saving his life.
It might seem like a strange thing to do.
Click here to read more. Story #11
Anybody Got Any Dramamine?
Noah and his family waited in the ark.
Up and down, and up and down, they tossed on the waves.
Everywhere they looked, they saw nothing but water.
For 150 days the ark tossed on those waves.
That’s longer than a whole summer vacation. A lot longer. Only this couldn’t have been much of a vacation.
What do you suppose they did all day? There wasn’t cable TV to watch. No portable CD players to listen to. No video games to play. Maybe that’s when Shuffleboard and “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” were invented.
I’ll bet the donkey wasn’t too happy about that.
Click here to read more. Story #10
The Great Flood
Noah looked up
The sky was turning gray, and Noah thought to himself, “It looks like rain.”
And so, with one, big last push, he got that reluctant elephant up into the ark.
Whew! 100 years is a long time to work on one job!
Noah sat down by the door of the ark and wiped the sweat from his forehead. At last he was finished with all that God had asked him to do. Noah was 600 years old when he did all that God asked him to.
Seven days went by, one for each day it took to make the world God was about wash clean.
And then the flood came.
“Now it’s time for you and your family to get into the ark!” The Lord said to Noah.
Click here to read more. Story #9
One Good Man
Noah
But GOD was watching...
He saw what a terrible place the world had become.
He saw that everyone was lying, and cheating, and killing. He saw that no one cared about doing what was good and right anymore. And God knew that in their hearts all they wanted to do was evil and bad.
But... God saw one good man.
His name was Noah.
Noah still cared about God. He listened to God, and he always tried to do what God said. And God was pleased with Noah.
God said to Noah, "Noah, I have decided to put an end to this mess people have made of my world, and start all over."
So God said to Noah, "I want you to build an ark."
"What's an ark?" Noah asked.
Click here to read more. Story #8
Times Change
Old Methuselah
...finally died. It was a long, long time since the days when God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and things had changed. Everyone forgot about God.
They didn't pray to him anymore.
They didn't care about pleasing him.
All they cared about was themsleves. All they cared about was getting what they wanted when they wanted it. And after a while it didn't matter if anyone had to get hurt to get it.
And the world became a terrible place.
Click here to read more. Story #7
Old Dudes
Back in the days of Adam and Eve...
...people lived a long, LONG time.
If your grandpa lives to be a hundred years old these days, you think, "Boy - he is
really OLD!" Adam lived until he was 930 years old! Yikes! -
that's a lot of candles to have to blow out on a birthday cake!
So after Abel died and Cain had to leave home, Adam and Eve had another son named Seth.
When Seth was born, Adam was 130 years old. When Seth called Adam his "old
man," he wasn't kidding!
When Seth was 105, he had a son named Enosh.
Enosh was Adam's grandson.
When Enosh was 90 he had a son named Kenan.
Kenan was Adam's great grandson.
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Story #6
Cain and Abel-
A Story of Two Brothers
Now they were going to have to work hard for their food and their clothes. And because of their sin, so would every one who ever lives.
God loves us more than we will ever know, and his blessings are always with us. But there will always be trouble in our lives too, sometimes little, and sometimes big - because sin is in the world now.
Sin always brings trouble.
But even though Adam and Eve had sinned, God still loved them us as much as he ever did. And soon he blessed them with a baby - the first baby ever born! That must have been exciting. Of course, there wasn't a hospital to go to. And there weren't any doctors or nurses around (because they hadn't been born yet!). So God must have helped them.
They named their first baby Cain. And after that they had another baby, Cain's little brother, and they named him Abel.
Click here to read more. Story #5
A Sad Day
Adam and Eve knew better
They knew God said not to eat the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But they did it anyway. They turned away from the way God wanted them to go. They turned away from God.Adam and Eve brought sin into God's perfect world.
Sin is knowing what God wants, but doing what you want instead. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and at that moment, everything changed.
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Story #4
Big Trouble
Things were going along nicely...
...there in the perfect place that God had made for Adam and Eve. But then one perfect, warm sunny day, Eve was walking through the garden. And there, in the middle of the garden, she met the serpent.You need to know that the serpent was the one we call the devil, or sometimes we call him Satan. Satan is an angel who decided he didn't want to do what God said anymore, so God sent him out of heaven. And from that day on, Satan became God's enemy.
And since people can't see angels - or the devil - the devil appeared to Eve as a serpent. "Serpent" is another word for snake. Except this snake wasn't like the snakes we know today. He didn't crawl on the ground - yet. And somehow, he could talk.
Now, the thing is, Satan is a liar. He has always been a liar. And he is tricky too. And because he is God's enemy, he hates everything God loves, and does everything he can to ruin it.
Click here to continue the story. Story #3
Everybody Needs a Friend
Even though the garden God had made for him was the most beautiful place there could ever be, Adam was lonely. Adam needed some company. So God reached into the ground again and took some more stuff from the earth. This time he made every kind of animal and every kind of bird. He brought them all to Adam to see what he would call them.
It must have taken a long, long time to think up all those names!
Luckily, he didn't call them things like 'Foo Foo' or 'Snuggems' or 'Pooky' or anything like that. Instead, he called them 'gerbils' and 'rabbits' and 'rhinoceroses.' And he called the birds 'eagles' and 'egrets' and 'ruby throated warblers.'
Well, actually, we don't know WHAT Adam named them. He didn't speak English. But he named each kind, and that's important because people are the only ones that name things. Your dog knows what a squirrel is, but he doesn't call it a squirrel. He just barks at it! But naming things is one of the things that shows we are different from all the other creatures that God made.
Click here to continue the story.
Story #2
God's Green Thumb
Back in the day...
...when God first
made the Earth, God looked down and he saw that there was no one to take care
of it.
So God reached down into the ground and scooped up some stuff from the earth.
He took the stuff from the earth into his hands and formed it into a man. But
the man just laid there on the ground like a lump of clay. There was no life in
him. So God bent down again and breathed into the man - and the man became
alive!
Click here to continue the story. Story #1
And it Was REAL Good
In the beginning...
...God created the heavens and the earth.
Before there was anything, there was GOD.
Before there was ice cream and chocolate sauce; or popcorn and pop; or computers, VCRs and TVs; or the sun, the moon and the stars - or even space itself - God was there. There wouldn't be anything at all if God hadn't thought it all up.
But God DID think it all up.
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Story #46
The Story of Zacchaeus up a Tree
There are 2 things you should know about Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was a little man.
And Zacchaeus was a rich man.
And nobody liked him very much.
Okay, that’s three things.
Nobody liked Zacchaeus very much mostly because he got rich taking money from other people and giving it to the Romans.
Nobody liked the Romans much either. That was because they came in from another country like a bunch of big bullies. They came with all their soldiers and swords and spears and stuff and made people do things they didn’t want to do, like give them money.
That's what Zacchaeus did. He collected money for the Romans. They called it "collecting taxes." Some of the money he gave to the Romans - but lots of it he kept for himself. And that’s how he got rich.
Zacchaeus was a very rich man...
And Zacchaeus was a little man... without a lot of friends.
Click here to read more.
Story #45
Walking on Water
Jesus did an amazing thing!
While the disciples - and more than five thousand other people! - were all sitting out in the sun on a rocky hillside, Jesus took two smelly fish and five crusty loaves of bread and fed them all!
“WOW!” The disciples must have thought, “We should open a restaurant!”
Well, maybe they didn’t think that exactly! But they were amazed by the miracle they just saw Jesus do.
The crowd was still buzzing about the whole thing when Jesus took Peter by the arm and said, “You guys go on ahead to the other side of the lake. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Okay, we don’t really know what Jesus said exactly. For one thing, he was speaking in Aramaic and not English. And chances are pretty good he didn’t call the disciples ‘you guys.’ But we do know that Jesus told the disciples to get in their boat and go across the lake. He needed some time to be alone.
Well, imagine if you had crowds of people following you around everywhere you went, always wanting something from you. You’d want to get away to be alone sometimes too! But what Jesus really needed was time to pray. We all do!
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Story #44
Jesus Goes into the Catering Business
The Amazing Multiplying Meal
You won't believe it!
“It was AMAZING!” Peter said to Jesus.
Peter was one of the twelve followers Jesus had chosen to help him tell the world about God’s incredible love. Jesus called them his disciples.
There was nothing special about these guys. They weren’t the smartest in their class - they probably didn’t even GO to class. Ever. They weren’t the biggest or the strongest. They weren’t star athletes, or ruggedly handsome, or movie stars (of course, they didn’t HAVE movies stars back then. That was mostly because they didn’t have movies!)
No, these guys were just ordinary, most likely smelly most of the time, fishermen.
What made them special was being with Jesus. It’s always that way. God takes the ordinary, and makes it extraordinary!
Anyway, a few days before, Jesus had sent the twelve of them out into the nearby villages to heal the sick and to tell the good news that the Kingdom of God was near.
“We could hardly believe our eyes!” Peter said, “People came to us who were sick - and we made them well!”
I think sometimes the disciples forgot just who Jesus was.
Of course they could do what Jesus sent them to do!
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Story #43
The Power of God
Bread From Heaven - Part 2
Moses was in trouble!
BIG trouble!
God had sent him to lead his people out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land. And, until now, things were going pretty well. Pharaoh finally let Moses and his people go. The Egyptians were so glad to see them leave, they piled their wagons and carts with treasures of silver and gold. And God himself was leading the way to the Promised Land as a great cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
But now Moses was standing on the shores of the Red Sea.
Behind him was the great multitude of God’s people.
And behind THEM was the roar of Pharaoh’s army, charging at them in a thundering cloud of sand and dust.
Pharaoh had changed his mind, and he was coming to take the Israelites back into slavery in Egypt.
God's people were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh and his army!
What was Moses going to do?!
Well, God had a plan. God ALWAYS has a plan. In fact, nothing happens in this world that ISN’T part of God’s plan!
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Story #42
Jesus Feeds 5000
Let's Talk About Bread - Part 1
Bread is such wonderful stuff.
Just think of the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven... even if it is bread baking in one of those bread machines.
Bread really IS good!
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich would be pretty messy without two pieces of bread on the outside.
But for most of the time people have been wandering around here on earth, bread has been even more important than that. People have been eating bread for thousands of years.
I’d like to know who woke one morning and said,
“I’ve got a great idea!
"Let’s take some of that stuff that is growing all over the place out back - what’s it called? Wheat? Yeah, that wheat stuff. Let’s pick some of that stuff and let it dry out. Then lets take a couple of rocks and smash the wheat between the two rocks until it turns into powder. Then let’s add some water and mix it all up into.... dough.... let’s call that mixed up stuff dough. Then let’s take the dough and put it into a fire! Doesn’t that sound like a great idea!”
“Uh, uh, yeah sure... Great idea!”
Who would have thought of that?!!!
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Story #41
The Run Away Prophet Jonah
or Chicken of the Sea
I don't want to!!!
Would you ever say that to God?
Jonah did.
God said to Jonah, “Go to Ninevah!”
And Jonah said, “I don’t want to!”
Well, he didn’t exactly SAY that to God - but that's what he was thinking.
Back in Jonah’s day - this was a LONG time ago, about 800 years before Jesus was born - the greatest city in the world was Ninevah. Everyone had heard of Ninevah. And everyone knew it was an evil place.
So, God had a job for Jonah.
“Jonah,“ God called, “Get up! Go to Ninevah!“
“Tell the people there that I know all about the terrible things they are doing. They think no one can see the evil things they do. But I see!”
But Ninevah was a big, scary place, and Jonah didn’t want to go!
Besides, the Assyrians lived in Ninevah, and the Assyrians were big bullies. They were always beating up on everybody, especially Jonah's people. They deserved to get in trouble from God.
If Jonah warned the people of Ninevah, they might change their evil ways - and then God might forgive them (God is always forgiving people!) - and then they might get away with all the terrible things they have done.
That wouldn't be fair!
So, do you know what Jonah did?
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Story #40
Pack Your Bags Boys, We're going to Egypt
Joseph and his brothers were together again.
Joseph could hardly believe it! I am sure his brothers couldn’t either. Who would have ever guessed how things were going to turn out that day they sold their brother to a traveling Egyptian?
But now all was forgiven, and they were a family again.
There was just one, tiny, little problem.
Joseph lived in Egypt - and the rest of his family lived in Canaan. That wouldn’t work! Someone was going to have to move.
Well, the problem was solved when Pharaoh heard the news that Joseph and his family were back together again. He was so happy for Joseph that he said to him, “Tell your brothers to load up all their stuff and go back to Canaan. Tell them to get your father and their families and come back here and live with us! I promise that they will have the best land in all of Egypt.
“Tell them to take extra wagons with them, to carry their wives and their children when they come back. But tell them not to worry about taking all their stuff, they can have the best of everything we have here in Egypt!”
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Story #39
Joseph and the Silver Cup
And God's Saving Power
Joseph wasn't through...
....with his brothers yet. He needed to test them still.
Were they still the same mean brothers who sold their little brother just to make a few bucks? Or had they changed?
Did they still only care about themselves and what they wanted?
That's what Joseph needed to find out.
And so his brothers were waiting for the Governor of all of Egypt to come home. They had their gifts laid out. The palms of their hands were sweaty. What was going to happen next?
When Joseph walked into the room, his brothers bowed low to the floor - just like Joseph's dreams again, the ones his brothers had laughed at!
But then Joseph surprised them. He was nice to them! (His brothers still didn’t know who he really was.) He asked them how they all were, and then he asked, “And how is your father? Is he still alive?”
“Your servant our father is very much alive and well,” the brothers answered - and they bowed low to the ground again.
And then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin. Remember, Benjamin was Joseph's little brother, and he had missed his baby brother very much (even though he wasn't a baby anymore!).
Click here to read more.
Story #38
Joseph and the Hidden Sacks of Silver - Uh oh!
What is God up to?
What has God done to us?
The Sons of Jacob couldn't help but wonder - and with good reason! After all this time, they couldn't forget what they had done to their little brother all those years ago.
Before they even stopped to unload all the food they had brought home from their hot, dusty journey to Egypt, they ran in to tell their father Jacob all that had happened.
"The Governor of Egypt spoke harshly to us, and accused us of being spies!" they told him, " And now Simeon is in prison until we bring back our brother Benjamin to prove we were not lying!"
Nope. Their trip didn’t go very well.
But at least they came back with food. So they went back to their donkeys and opened their packs -
- and each one of them found a sack of silver sitting on top!
“Oh, no!” they all cried. “What will become of us now! It was bad enough when we found just ONE of our sacks of silver. Now we have ALL our money back! The Governor of Egypt will accuse us of being spies AND thieves! He will come and put us to death for sure!
"We have to go back with Benjamin right away and prove to him we are honest men!” (Which, of course, they weren’t exactly!)
Click here to read more.
Story #37
The Great Famine - Part 2
The famine was hard everywhere.
In the lands all around...
...children looked to their parents with empty stomachs and asked, “Mommy, what is there to eat?” and there was nothing but stale old crumbs.
It all happened just as Joseph said it would.
But there was food in Egypt, they had so much left over from the seven good years. But then even the cupboards in Egypt began to run bare.
And so the people cried out to Pharaoh for food.
And thanks to Joseph, and God’s plan, Pharaoh had an answer.
“Go to Joseph, and do everything he says!”
So Joseph opened his storehouses. He sold grain to anyone who came to him, and there was enough for all.
The word quickly spread that there was food in Egypt, and soon hungry people from lands far and near were coming to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.
The word even spread to the land of Canaan, to the home of Jacob and his family.
“There’s nothing to eat!”
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Story #36
The Great Famine - Part 1
No more rain.
For seven years, the rains had come. The crops grew green and strong, and there was more than enough to eat for everyone.
But then one day, the rains stopped.
Of course, no one noticed the day the rains stopped. That’s not something you notice. At first all those sunny days are great. But then after a while, the grass starts to turn a little brown, and the crops in the fields begin to shrivel a little. And then later on, the grass turns really brown, and the crops begin to wilt away.
And that’s how it was in the land of Egypt. The rains did not come, and the crops began to dry up and die.
Everywhere the land was thirsty for water. And there was none.
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Story #35
The Brothers Israel and the Trouble With Lies
Meanwhile back in the land of Canaan things were going a little differently for Joseph’s brothers.
More than ten years have gone by since they sold Joseph to those traveling traders. Joseph was just a teenager then. Remember back then, when Joseph’s brothers threw Joseph into that well?
Well, first they had planned on killing him.
But Reuben, Joseph’s oldest brother, knew that would be a terrible thing to do.
“Let’s just throw him into this well instead,” he said.
Secretly he planned to come back and pull Joseph out, and then bring him safely back home to his father. Reuben knew how much his father loved Joseph, and he knew deep inside it would break his father’s heart if anything ever happened to him.
But while Reuben was away, his brothers saw their chance to get rid of Joseph AND make some money on the deal, so they pulled Joseph from the well and sold him to those traveling Ishmaelites.
When Reuben came back to the well later that evening, he fell to his knees in the sand. “Joseph is gone!” he cried. He pounded the ground and tore at his clothes, it hurt so bad inside. “What am I going to do now?” he wailed.
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Story #34
Joseph Rules
Pharaoh...
..clapped his hand on Joseph's shoulder, “Where in all of Egypt could I find a wiser man than you!
“Surely the Spirit of God is with you!” Pharaoh said, “I will put you in charge over my house and all the land of Egypt.
“Whatever you command, it will be done!”
Wouldn’t that be fun! Whatever you asked for, someone would do. That’s why only a very WISE person should have that kind of power. Otherwise you might be commanding things like, “Bring me three dancing bears!” or “Fill my pool with butterscotch pudding!” and goofy stuff like that.
But Joseph WAS very wise. He listened to God, and only did what pleased him.
And so Pharaoh took the ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s hand. It was the ring engraved with the royal seal, the ring of authority and power. Pharaoh said, “I set you to rule over all the land. From now on, in all of Egypt only I will be greater than you!”
And then he had Joseph dressed in the finest royal robes, and he put a gold chain around his neck.
Click here to read more.
Story #33
Pharoah's Dream
Two years later.
That's a long time to be sitting in jail! I wonder if Joseph was wondering if God was REALLY with him.
But two long years went by since Joseph helped the Butler - and the Butler never said a word to Pharaoh about Joseph.
Nice guy!
But, I guess it is an easy thing to do when you are living in a magnificent palace, where there are rows and rows of stone columns as big as trees, polished marble floors, and gold statues everywhere you look.
When you have plenty of scrumptious things to eat, and all kinds of fancy stuff and cool things, it’s easy to forget about the people who don’t.
And that’s just what the Butler did. He forgot all about Joseph in chains, back there in that cold dark prison.
Click here to read more. Story #32
Good News, Bad News
The Butler told his dream first.
“In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine with three branches. All of a sudden, leaves began to grow on the branches, and then blossoms, and then grapes. When the grapes were ripe, I picked some and squeezed them into the Pharaoh’s cup and brought it to him.”
“I have good news!” Joseph said.
“Here is what your dream means. The three branches stand for three days. In three days, you will be lifted up from this cold, dark prison. You will be set free, and you will be restored to your Master’s house!”
And then Joseph added, “When you are back, serving in Pharaoh’s house, please remember me. Put in a good word for me with Pharaoh, and help me get out of prison, because I did nothing wrong.”
Now, when the Baker heard the good news about the Butler’s dream, he thought, ‘Whew! That IS good news! I can’t wait to hear what my dream means!’
And so he grabbed Joseph by the arm and said, “I had a dream too!
“In my dream, I was carrying three baskets on my head. In the top basket there were all kinds of tasty baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them.”
Click here to read more Story #31
The Butler, The Baker and the telling of things to come
Once again things did not look good for Joseph.
But, do you know what? They were.
There was something about Joseph.
He gave himself to God, and he let God lead him in everything he did. It was like the light of God's presence was there, wherever he went - even in a cold dark prison.
That's what God wants for all of us. God wants us to be the light of His presence wherever we are.
The chief jailer must have seen that in him, something maybe he couldn't even explain. But he liked Joseph right from the start. And before long, he put Joseph in charge of the whole prison.
And God was with Joseph, and blessed him in everything he did.
Time went by, and it happened that the Pharaoh's butler and his baker must have been having a bad day. Maybe the butler spilled a goblet of wine in the Pharaoh's lap. Or maybe the baker's sticky buns were too sticky.
Or maybe they offended Pharaoh much more seriously than that.
But whatever happened, Pharaoh was not pleased with them. And when Pharaoh is not pleased, believe me, NO one is pleased!
And so he had the Butler and the Baker thrown in jail.
Click here to read more. Story # 30
Ups and Downs
Joseph in the house of Potiphar.
Joseph was Jacob's little baby, and Jacob loved him very much. That was a good thing.
But then, Joseph's older brothers got jealous and were mean to him. That was a bad thing.
Jacob gave Joseph a wonderful new coat. A good thing.
But that made Joseph's brothers REALLY jealous. A bad thing again. Joseph's brothers were so jealous, they decided to kill him. A really bad thing!
But, at the last minute they decide NOT to kill him - a good thing - but to throw him into a pit instead.
Bad again!
But then Joseph's brothers decide to drag Joseph OUT of the pit, a good thing - and sell him to some traveling merchants, so he would never see his family again.
Click here to learn more. Story #29
The Pits
Bad things happen when brothers and sisters don't get along.
"Here I am!" Joseph answered his father one day.
"Go see what your brothers are up to."
"Yes, Father," Joseph said.
There is another reason why Joseph's brothers probably didn't like him very much. He always wanted to please his father - and they didn't.
But let's see what comes of that.
Joseph's 11 brothers were out in the pastures tending their sheep, and Jacob wanted to know how they were. And so he sent Joseph out to check on them. Little brothers are good at spying for their parents! And there's ANOTHER reason why sometimes they aren't liked very well by their older brothers and sisters!
But it wasn't really that Jacob was spying on his sons. He cared about all his children deeply, and he wanted to make sure they were all right. He also knew that people can get into trouble when they think that no one is watching.
And he was right.
Click here for more. Story # 28
Joseph the Dreamer
"You're Dad's favourite."
That's what Joseph's big brothers thought.
They were sure their father liked Joseph best.
In some ways they were right. Joseph was the baby of the family. And new babies aren't much good at hunting, or watching sheep. Mostly they just roll around and cry a lot, and you have to do everything for them. So, when baby Joseph came along, of course Jacob spent a lot of time with him. Well, that, and babies are just so cute!
But, Joseph's brothers didn't like it.
And they didn't like Joseph.
Click here to read more. Story # 27
A Celebration -
Samson Part 4
"How great we are!"
The Five Philistine kings said to each other. And so they put on a great feast to celebrate their victory over Samson.
They poured too much wine and ate too much food.
"Our God Dagon has given us great victory over our enemy Samson!" they prayed.
Of course, their god Dagon had nothing to do with it. There is no god Dagon at all. It was the one and only God who brought Samson to the Philistines. And it wasn't going to be a victory for them.
"Let's bring Samson out here, so we can have some fun!" the kings said, thinking they were so powerful, and Samson was blind and weak.
They made Samson stand by the columns of the great temple they were feasting in.
But Samson's hair had grown back.
Click here for more. Story # 26
Samson's Secret - Part 3
(Judges 16.4-21)
"But how?" The Five Philistine Kings were huddled together. They were getting tired of all the trouble Samson was causing. They had to find out what made him so strong.
And then they had an idea.
"Let's go to Samson's wife. Maybe she can trick him into telling the secret of his strength."
And so the Five Philistine Kings went to Delilah, Samson's wife. They promised her eleven hundred pieces of silver each if she could discover Samson's secret.
That night, Delilah snuggled up to Samson. "What makes you strong?" she asked him sweetly. "If someone wanted to tie you up, how could they do it?"
Click here to learn more. Story #25
Samson and the Lion - Part 2
Well, of course it did. It ALWAYS happens just like the angel says!
Manoah and his wife did have a son. They named him Samson.
Samson grew tall and strong - and, just as the angel commanded, they never cut his hair.
One day Samson was out walking through a grape orchard, when he thought he heard something. It sounded like a roar.
Suddenly, a lion jumped out from the vines!
The lion and Samson wrestled to the ground in a cloud of dust. Just then, the power of God filled Samson. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands.
A few days later, Samson went back to the orchard, and he found the lion's body. Bees had built a nest in it. So Samson reached in, and took out a handful of honey. Samson had a nice little snack as he walked home.
Click here to read more. Story #24
The Story of Samson
A Powerful Story of a Powerful Servant of God
(Judges 13.1-23)
They forgot about God. They forgot about doing what pleases him. They didn't want God to rule over them, and so God sent the Philistines to rule over them instead.
The Philistines made their lives miserable.
It wasn't that God didn't love his people. They needed to know what life would be like without him.
40 years went by.
And then one day, a woman was out working in the fields. She had her back to the hot sun when someone came up and touched her on the shoulder.
Maybe it was the bright sunshine, or maybe it was something else entirely, but when she looked up, she saw a man so full of light, he frightened her!
"Do not be afraid!" the man said. "I have come with good news. You are going to have a son!"
Well, this was BIG news! The woman had never been able to have children.
Click here to read more. Story #23
Baby Wars-Sons of Jacob
And one surprise.
God saw that Jacob loved Rachel more.
He also saw how it hurt Leah to be loved less (it always hurts to be loved less, so always love the best you can!).
“What troubles I have,” Leah cried herself to sleep one night. “If only I could have a baby, then Jacob would be happy, and he would love me more.”
Well, maybe Jacob loved Leah less, but God didn’t.
And so God blessed Leah, and soon she was going to have a baby.
The necessary months passed, and soon Jacob was the father of a newborn baby. It was his first child. It was a boy, and Leah named him Reuben, a name that sounded like “God has seen my trouble” in her language.
“Now Jacob will love me more,” Leah thought.
But he didn’t.
Click here to read more.
Story #22
A Love Story-Jacob and Rachel
Jacob was on the run.
He was running from his brother Esau.
Jacob had tricked his brother out of their father’s blessing, and now Esau was so angry, he wanted to kill him.
So Jacob was traveling east, to the land where his grandfather Abraham was born.
He was also hoping to choose a wife from his grandfather's family.
Early on a warm afternoon, he came to a well in the fields outside the town of Haran.
The well was just like the one that his grandfather’s servant had come to many years before, when he was looking for a wife for Isaac. It may have been the very same one.
Three flocks of sheep were lying in the fields beside the well, waiting for their shepherds to water them.
There was a large stone covering the well, and the shepherds had to wait until all the shepherds were there before they could move it.
So Jacob came up to the shepherds and said, “My friends, where are you from?”
Click here to read more.
Story #21
Jacob's Amazing Dream
Esau was not very happy with his brother Jacob, to say the least.
First, Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright for a lousy bowl of soup.
Now Jacob had stolen his Father’s last blessing. Esau vowed that he would kill his brother Jacob as soon as their father died.
“You must go!” Rebekah told Jacob. “Go away, back to your grandfather’s homeland, and stay with your Uncle Laban until your brother cools off!”
Now, it happened that Esau had married two of the young girls from the land where he and his family were now living. They were Canaanites, and they didn’t follow the God of Abraham and Isaac. They were making life miserable for Rebekah.
So Rebekah came to Isaac and said, “If Jacob marries one of these Canaanite women, I might as well be dead, I will be so miserable! Please send him to my brother’s family to find a wife there.”
It was a good excuse to have Isaac send Jacob away.
Click here to read more. Story #20
Jacob Steals the Blessing
He was bent over. The hair he had left on his head had turned white. And he could no longer see. He knew he would die soon.
And so he called his son Esau.
“Here I am,” Esau answered.
“My son, before I die, I want you to take your bow and your arrows and go out hunting. When you come back, cook the meat you have caught. Make one of your delicious meals, the kind I like so much, and bring it to me. And then I will bless you.”
Now, Rebekah just happened to hear all of this from the other room (the walls of tents aren’t very thick!).
As soon as Esau left, Rebekah took Jacob by the arm and said to him, “Your father has sent Esau away to hunt. When Esau gets back, he is going to fix your father’s favorite dinner, and your father is going to give him his blessing.
“Quick! Do what I say! Go out into the fields and bring me two young goats, and I will make your father’s favorite dinner from them. Bring it to him, and your father will think you are Esau, and he will bless you instead.”
Click here to read more. Story #19
Jacob and Esau and the Very Expensive Bowl of Soup
Do you ever fight with brothers or sisters?
Nah! I’m sure you don’t... too much!
Here’s the story of two brothers who were fighting with each other even before they were born! It led to much trouble and unhappiness - but then, fighting always does.
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. Many years went by, and still they didn’t have any children. And so Isaac prayed to God, “Oh Lord, please look with favor on my wife Rebekah, and bless us with children.”
God heard Isaac's prayer (of course, God hears every prayer!), and he answered it. When Isaac was 60 years old, Rebekah became pregnant - and not with just one child, but with twins!
But before they were even born, Rebekah could feel them kicking and fighting inside her.
“Why is this happening?” she called out.
And God answered her,
“The two children inside you
will become the fathers of two nations.
Just like the two are fighting with each other now,
the two nations will struggle with each other.
One will be stronger than the other.
and the older will serve the younger.”
Soon it came time for the children to be born.
Click here to read more.
Story #18
God Will Provide the Lamb
What was God doing?
He just asked Abraham to do a very hard thing.
Sometimes it is hard to know why God does the things he does. We may never know. But we know two things.
God loves us.
And God is good.
God loves us more than we will probably ever know. And there is not even the smallest smidge of bad in him. God cannot do anything mean or evil. God could no more do anything evil than a banana could ride a bicycle. It's just impossible!
So it happened that one day God came to Abraham and said, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” Abraham said.
“Abraham, I want you to take your only son, whom you love, and go to a mountain I will show you. There I want you to sacrifice your son as a burnt offering to me.”
What was God thinking? How could he ask Abraham to do such a thing?
Click here to read more. Story # 17
The Story of Sodom and Gomorrah
God loves us so much. And he has filled the world with wonderful things so we can know how good he is.
But wait a minute. Sometimes things aren’t so wonderful. People are mean to each other, and they hurt each other. Bad things happen.
But that’s not how God wants things to be.
That’s what sin does.
Sin is when we do what we want, instead of what God wants. And when we do, bad things happen. Sin ruins things. Someone always gets hurt. Maybe not right away, but someone always gets hurt sometime. And it only gets worse and worse.
But it's not God's fault, it's ours.
But bad things happen, and people think it’s God’s fault. They think God can’t be good if bad things happen. And then they can’t believe God loves us.
That’s the terrible thing about sin. It keeps people away from God.
Click here to finish this long story. Story #16
The Child of The Promise
Sarai was old.
One day Abraham was sitting by the door of his tent. He looked up and saw three men standing in the hot sun. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to greet them. He bowed to the ground and said, “Please honor me with your presence. I am here to serve you. Let me get you some water to refresh yourselves. Rest here beneath these trees and I will bring you some food.”
The three men replied, “Thank you. We accept your gracious offer.”
Abraham hurried back into his tent. “Quick, Sarah,” he said, “get your best flour and make some bread!” And then he ran out to his herd and picked out a fat, young calf. “Quick,” he said to his servant, “Prepare this calf for our guests!” When all was ready Abraham brought the meal out to his guests. He served them himself. He gave these three strangers the best he had to offer.
“Where is your wife Sarah?” one of the three strangers asked.
Click here to read more. Story #15
Old Abe Has a son
You laughed!
“No, I didn’t!”
“Yes, you did!”
“No, I didn’t!
“Yes, you did!” Abraham said to his wife Sarah.
She did laugh. But now she was afraid to say so, because she had laughed at something she heard God say to Abraham - and it wasn’t supposed to be a joke. Not really. But what Sarah heard God say to Abraham was so crazy and impossible, it made her laugh.
God does like to do crazy, impossible, wonderful things. And sometimes they are so crazy and impossible and wonderful they make us laugh. God must have a great sense of humor. Well, of course he does - where else would WE get OUR sense of humor?
But why did Sarah laugh?
To find that out, we’ll have to go back in this story a little bit.
Many years before, God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. Remember that starry night? Abraham was called Abram back then, and his wife was called Sarai. God told Abram that from him would come as many children as there were stars in the sky.
Click here to read more. Story #14
One Starry Night
Have you ever try to count all the stars in the sky?
Many years after the time of Noah there was a man named Abram.
Abram was a good man who owned many sheep and cattle. He lived with his wife Sarai in the land of Haran. But he had no children.
One day, God came to Abram. Whether it was in a vision, or in a dream we don't know for sure. But God did come to Abram and He said to him,
“Abram! I want you to pack up all your things and leave your home!
“I want you to go to the land I will give you. I promise that I will bless you, and make your family great. I will be with you in all you do, and because of you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Wow! That was quite a promise!
But a scary one too. It meant that Abram would have to leave the place he knew and go to a place he didn't know. He would have to trust God that everything would be okay.
But that's just what Abram did.
Click here to read more.
Story #13
The Tower of Babel
Aren't we Wonderful?!
“Yes! Aren’t we great!”
“Splendid!”
“We are absolutely splendiferous! Why, we are SO wonderful, let’s build a magnificent city to show just how wonderful we are!”
Oh, oh. The people who came after Noah were at it again. How quickly they forgot that everything they had came from God. And God is far, far more wonderful than they were.
But still, they said one to another, “Let’s build a glorious city to ourselves. And in that city, let’s build a tower that reaches into heaven!”
“Splendid idea!”
“Top rate!”
“Excellent!”
And so they all agreed.
And, the thing was, they COULD all agree, because in the time after the flood, everyone spoke the same language.
They all could work together. And when you work together, you can do almost anything. (But that can be dangerous too, when you don’t do the right thing.)
Click here to read more.
Story #12
The Rainbow and the Promise
Noah did a strange thing.
At least it would seem very strange to us today.
The ark was safely on dry ground again. A few minutes before, it was filled with growling, barking, honking, purring animals. Now the door was wide open and the giant boat sat on a mountain top, all empty and quiet.
All the animals had rushed out the door to fill the earth again.
So what was Noah doing?
He was picking up rocks.
He was so thankful to be alive, he was going to build an altar to God. So Noah piled up the rocks to build a fire on them. Then he took the best of some special animals he had kept aside, killed them, and burned them on the altar. This was a sacrifice Noah offered to God to thank him for saving his life.
It might seem like a strange thing to do.
Click here to read more. Story #11
Anybody Got Any Dramamine?
Noah and his family waited in the ark.
Up and down, and up and down, they tossed on the waves.
Everywhere they looked, they saw nothing but water.
For 150 days the ark tossed on those waves.
That’s longer than a whole summer vacation. A lot longer. Only this couldn’t have been much of a vacation.
What do you suppose they did all day? There wasn’t cable TV to watch. No portable CD players to listen to. No video games to play. Maybe that’s when Shuffleboard and “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” were invented.
I’ll bet the donkey wasn’t too happy about that.
Click here to read more. Story #10
The Great Flood
Noah looked up
The sky was turning gray, and Noah thought to himself, “It looks like rain.”
And so, with one, big last push, he got that reluctant elephant up into the ark.
Whew! 100 years is a long time to work on one job!
Noah sat down by the door of the ark and wiped the sweat from his forehead. At last he was finished with all that God had asked him to do. Noah was 600 years old when he did all that God asked him to.
Seven days went by, one for each day it took to make the world God was about wash clean.
And then the flood came.
“Now it’s time for you and your family to get into the ark!” The Lord said to Noah.
Click here to read more. Story #9
One Good Man
Noah
But GOD was watching...
He saw what a terrible place the world had become.
He saw that everyone was lying, and cheating, and killing. He saw that no one cared about doing what was good and right anymore. And God knew that in their hearts all they wanted to do was evil and bad.
But... God saw one good man.
His name was Noah.
Noah still cared about God. He listened to God, and he always tried to do what God said. And God was pleased with Noah.
God said to Noah, "Noah, I have decided to put an end to this mess people have made of my world, and start all over."
So God said to Noah, "I want you to build an ark."
"What's an ark?" Noah asked.
Click here to read more. Story #8
Times Change
Old Methuselah
...finally died. It was a long, long time since the days when God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and things had changed. Everyone forgot about God.
They didn't pray to him anymore.
They didn't care about pleasing him.
All they cared about was themsleves. All they cared about was getting what they wanted when they wanted it. And after a while it didn't matter if anyone had to get hurt to get it.
And the world became a terrible place.
Click here to read more. Story #7
Old Dudes
Back in the days of Adam and Eve...
...people lived a long, LONG time.
If your grandpa lives to be a hundred years old these days, you think, "Boy - he is
really OLD!" Adam lived until he was 930 years old! Yikes! -
that's a lot of candles to have to blow out on a birthday cake!
So after Abel died and Cain had to leave home, Adam and Eve had another son named Seth.
When Seth was born, Adam was 130 years old. When Seth called Adam his "old
man," he wasn't kidding!
When Seth was 105, he had a son named Enosh.
Enosh was Adam's grandson.
When Enosh was 90 he had a son named Kenan.
Kenan was Adam's great grandson.
Click here to read more.
Story #6
Cain and Abel-
A Story of Two Brothers
Now they were going to have to work hard for their food and their clothes. And because of their sin, so would every one who ever lives.
God loves us more than we will ever know, and his blessings are always with us. But there will always be trouble in our lives too, sometimes little, and sometimes big - because sin is in the world now.
Sin always brings trouble.
But even though Adam and Eve had sinned, God still loved them us as much as he ever did. And soon he blessed them with a baby - the first baby ever born! That must have been exciting. Of course, there wasn't a hospital to go to. And there weren't any doctors or nurses around (because they hadn't been born yet!). So God must have helped them.
They named their first baby Cain. And after that they had another baby, Cain's little brother, and they named him Abel.
Click here to read more. Story #5
A Sad Day
Adam and Eve knew better
They knew God said not to eat the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But they did it anyway. They turned away from the way God wanted them to go. They turned away from God.Adam and Eve brought sin into God's perfect world.
Sin is knowing what God wants, but doing what you want instead. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and at that moment, everything changed.
Click here to read more.
Story #4
Big Trouble
Things were going along nicely...
...there in the perfect place that God had made for Adam and Eve. But then one perfect, warm sunny day, Eve was walking through the garden. And there, in the middle of the garden, she met the serpent.You need to know that the serpent was the one we call the devil, or sometimes we call him Satan. Satan is an angel who decided he didn't want to do what God said anymore, so God sent him out of heaven. And from that day on, Satan became God's enemy.
And since people can't see angels - or the devil - the devil appeared to Eve as a serpent. "Serpent" is another word for snake. Except this snake wasn't like the snakes we know today. He didn't crawl on the ground - yet. And somehow, he could talk.
Now, the thing is, Satan is a liar. He has always been a liar. And he is tricky too. And because he is God's enemy, he hates everything God loves, and does everything he can to ruin it.
Click here to continue the story. Story #3
Everybody Needs a Friend
Even though the garden God had made for him was the most beautiful place there could ever be, Adam was lonely. Adam needed some company. So God reached into the ground again and took some more stuff from the earth. This time he made every kind of animal and every kind of bird. He brought them all to Adam to see what he would call them.
It must have taken a long, long time to think up all those names!
Luckily, he didn't call them things like 'Foo Foo' or 'Snuggems' or 'Pooky' or anything like that. Instead, he called them 'gerbils' and 'rabbits' and 'rhinoceroses.' And he called the birds 'eagles' and 'egrets' and 'ruby throated warblers.'
Well, actually, we don't know WHAT Adam named them. He didn't speak English. But he named each kind, and that's important because people are the only ones that name things. Your dog knows what a squirrel is, but he doesn't call it a squirrel. He just barks at it! But naming things is one of the things that shows we are different from all the other creatures that God made.
Click here to continue the story.
Story #2
God's Green Thumb
Back in the day...
...when God first
made the Earth, God looked down and he saw that there was no one to take care
of it.
So God reached down into the ground and scooped up some stuff from the earth.
He took the stuff from the earth into his hands and formed it into a man. But
the man just laid there on the ground like a lump of clay. There was no life in
him. So God bent down again and breathed into the man - and the man became
alive!
Click here to continue the story. Story #1
And it Was REAL Good
In the beginning...
...God created the heavens and the earth.
Before there was anything, there was GOD.
Before there was ice cream and chocolate sauce; or popcorn and pop; or computers, VCRs and TVs; or the sun, the moon and the stars - or even space itself - God was there. There wouldn't be anything at all if God hadn't thought it all up.
But God DID think it all up.
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