Joy! Kids Bible Softcover - English

This colourfully illustrated Joy! Kids Bible has been created especially for Joy! Kids. Each story is accompanied by a prayer to help children connect with God. There is also a Christian value that reinforces the story. This book helps children be Joy! Kids. A Joy! Kid celebrates the joy of Jesus by living a joy-filled life.

Guidelines for parents and caregivers Joy! Kids has been compiled with your child’s developmental phases and unique temperament in mind.

It helps with faith building, vocabulary, as well as reading skills and emotional development.

For a complete guide for parents refer to pages 108-109.

Unique temperament

Faith building

Vocabulary

Speech

Reading skills

Listening skills

Suggestions for enjoying this book with your child: • read the Bible Story, • talk about the story and Christian value with your child, • say the prayer together.

The closer you and your child grow to God, the closer you will grow to each other.

Kids celebrating Jesus

Developmental phases

Kid

s celebrating Jesus

ISBN: 978-1-92059-367-4

www.christianmediapublishing.com

Written by Ewald van Rensburg Illustrations by Lilani Brits

To my Joy! Kid: ______________________ With love from: _____________________

Kid

s celeb

AN IMPRINT OF

CHRISTIAN MEDIA PUBLISHING

su s e J g n i t ra

Note to parents and caregivers

We hope you will enjoy reading these stories to your child. The Bible stories have been retold in words that small children can easily understand, while remaining faithful to the message of scripture. Throughout, our aim has been to help children develop a strong and loving relationship with God. The words and pictures further emphasize Biblical values.

You can use the pictures to stimulate discussions about God and faith. At the end of each story, you will find a prayer and a value or message to share with your child.

Look out for the animal friends who appear in the Bible stories. One of them will help the child to remember the message or value of the story. There is also a question that you can use to help your child recall some of the detail from the story.

This book of Bible stories is so much more than a story book. Use it to teach children the joy and meaning of being a Christian, and what Jesus can mean in their lives.

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Contents 1. Noah trusts God 8 2. Moses in the basket 12 3. The ten plagues 16 4. The walls of Jericho 20 5. David becomes king 24 6. David and Goliath 28 7. David and Jonathan 32 8. A young boy becomes king 36 9. The wise men 40 10. Jesus is baptised 44 11. Jesus and the devil 48 12. Jesus calls His disciples 52 13. Jesus looks after us 56 14. Jesus loves little children very much 60 15. Jesus tells stories 64 16. The shepherd and his flock 68 17. Lazarus 72 18. Jesus calms the storm 76 19. Bartimaeus 80 20. Jesus walks on water!

84 21. Jesus walks with two friends 88 22. A story about fishing 92 23. Peter, John and a crippled man 96 24. Paul 100 25. Jesus is coming back 104 Guidelines for parents and caregivers 108 7

1. Noah trusts God (Genesis 8-9)

It had been raining for a long, long time.

The whole world was like one big sea.

But Noah, his family and all the animals

they had collected were safe inside the ark.

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God had promised to save them.

When God promises to do something, you can trust Him to keep His promise.

One day God sent a strong wind to dry up the water.

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At last Noah, his family and all the animals could safely leave the ark.

That day God made the first rainbow.

It was His way of promising Noah that He would never make so much water pour down on the earth again.

Come, let’s pray together Lord, thank You for keeping Your promises. Amen

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Every time you see a rainbow, remember you can always trust God.

Can you name the colours of the rainbow?

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2. Moses in the basket (Exodus 2)

The cruel Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, wanted to kill all the Jewish baby boys.

Moses’ mother and sister, Miriam, were very scared that Pharaoh would kill Moses too. They put him in a basket and let it float off down the river.

Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby Moses crying in the reeds by the river bank. She felt sorry for him. Miriam told her she knew someone who could look after him.

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Miriam quickly brought her mother to Pharaoh’s daughter. God let Moses’ own mother bring him up happily in Pharaoh’s palace!

Come, let’s pray together Lord, thank You for looking after me every day. Amen

God always wants what’s best for His people.

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What was the name of Moses’ sister?

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3. The ten plagues (Exodus 6-13)

God sent Moses back to Egypt to ask the cruel Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt. If Pharaoh refused, God would make bad things (plagues) happen to the Egyptians, but not to the Israelites.

Pharaoh said “No!” to Moses. So, bad things started happening to the Egyptians.

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Jumping frogs and stinging flies were all over the place. There was darkness for three days, and lots of other things.

Nothing bad happened to Moses and the other Israelites though! Wow!

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After ten bad things had happened, Pharaoh said to Moses, “I’ve had enough. You can all go!”

Can you count all the frogs on page 17?

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Come, let’s pray together Lord, thank You for keeping me safe. Amen

You can depend on the Lord because He always protects His children.

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4. The walls of Jericho (Joshua 6)

The city of Jericho had a high, thick wall around it so that enemies couldn’t get in.

God promised Joshua that the Israelites would take over Jericho. He explained His plan to Joshua.

The Israelites did exactly what God told them to do. Every day, for six days, they walked right around Jericho. On the seventh day they walked around the city seven times.

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Then the priests blew their ram horns and everyone else shouted as loudly as they could!

Suddenly the walls of Jericho collapsed.

The Israelites won, as God had promised they would.

Come, let’s pray together Lord, no one else is as strong as You are. Amen

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There is no one else like our God in the whole wide world.

How many days did the Israelites walk around Jericho?

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5. David becomes king (1 Samuel 16)

Saul was a bad king because he didn’t want to obey God. So God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to choose one of Jesse’s sons to be the new king.

Samuel went to Jesse’s house and asked to see his sons, but God didn’t choose any of them to be king. Samuel asked Jesse, “Do you have any more sons?”

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“I do. David, my youngest son is out looking after the sheep,” answered Jesse. Samuel said “Please go and fetch him.”

When David walked into the house God told Samuel to choose David to be the new king.

Come, let’s pray together Lord, thank You that You choose me too, even though I am still so young. Amen

God thinks you are just as special as David, and He loves you very much.

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What did David do before God made him king?

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6. David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17)

Goliath was a giant. When he fought someone he always won. All the Israelites were very scared of him.

David came to the battlefield to bring food for his brothers. He saw Goliath and said to the Israelites, “Don’t be so scared of Goliath. God is a lot bigger and stronger than he is. I will fight him.”

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Goliath roared with laughter when he heard that a boy wanted to fight him.

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David shot a stone at the giant from his slingshot. The stone hit Goliath between the eyes and the giant fell down dead!

Come, let’s pray together Lord, when You are with me I am not scared of anything. Amen

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God helped little David to beat the huge Goliath!

What was the name of giant that David killed?

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7. David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 20)

After he killed Goliath, David went to live with King Saul. All the Israelites liked David a lot because he had beaten Goliath, and also because he wrote beautiful songs. Saul was very jealous of David.

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A wonderful thing happened, David and Saul’s son, Jonathan, became best friends.

They played together every day and loved each other very much.

Jonathan heard that his father, Saul, wanted to kill David. So he helped David escape from Saul.

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Come, let’s pray together Lord, thank You for all my friends.

Amen

Friends always help each other.

What is your best friend’s name?

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8. A young boy becomes king (2 Kings 22-23)

Long ago people didn’t have a Bible like we do today. The Israelites forgot what the Scriptures said, so they were doing a lot of bad things. This made God very sad.

Josiah became the new king when he was only eight years old. He loved God very much.

One day he asked some people to clean the temple. They found the Word of God under a pile of things. Someone read the Word of God to Josiah. He promised God that the Israelites would always obey God’s Word.

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Come, let’s pray together Lord, I love to hear stories from the Bible. Thank You for Your Word.

Amen

Remember to read your Bible every day.

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What is your favourite Bible story?

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9. The wise men (Matthew 2:1-23)

Some wise men rode on camels from a faraway land. They were following a bright star. This star told them that a special King had been born to the world.

The bright star led the wise men to Bethlehem. It stopped above a house, and there they found God’s Son, Jesus, with His mother, Mary.

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The wise men gave Jesus lovely, expensive presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Then they went back home feeling very happy because they had seen Jesus, the King of the world, at last.

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, You are the greatest King in the world. Amen

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Remember to give your best to Jesus every day, just like the wise men did.

In which town was Jesus born?

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10. Jesus is baptised (Matthew 3)

God sent John the Baptist to tell the people that Jesus was coming. John also told them they had to love God. One day John was standing in the river telling a crowd of people that God’s special One was coming soon.

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Suddenly John noticed Jesus standing in the crowd. He was so excited. He told everyone that Jesus was God’s special One! Jesus walked into the river so that John could baptise Him.

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Then God spoke from heaven and everyone heard Him say: “This is My Son and I love Him very much. You must listen to Him and obey Him!” Come, let’s pray together Jesus, I will always listen to You and obey You. Amen

God also says to you: “You are My child and I love you very much!”

What did John do to Jesus in the river?

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11. Jesus and the devil (Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13)

One day, Jesus went into the desert to be alone.

The devil, who always tries to make people do bad things, came to talk to Jesus. He tried to make Jesus do a lot of bad things, but Jesus didn’t listen to the devil. He told the devil that it’s always better to listen to God. So the devil left Jesus alone, because he knew Jesus was much better, stronger and wiser than him.

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You are stronger and wiser than the devil is. Amen

Jesus is always on your side and He will protect you from the devil.

What did the devil learn about Jesus?

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12. Jesus calls His disciples (Matthew 4:18-22 and John 1:43-51)

One day, while Peter and his brother, Andrew, were fishing, Jesus came to talk to them.

Jesus said to them “Come with Me. I need you to help Me teach people how to love God.” Philip lived in the same town as Peter and Andrew. Jesus also said to him, “Come with Me.” Philip told his friend Nathanael about Jesus, and Jesus invited Nathanael to be in His team also.

Soon there were twelve people in Jesus’ team. From then on they went everywhere with Him. We call them His disciples.

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that I am one of Your disciples too. Amen

A disciple is someone who loves Jesus, obeys Him and wants to help other people.

How many disciples did Jesus choose to be on His team?

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13. Jesus looks after us (Matthew 6:25-34)

One day Jesus was telling His disciples and a crowd of other people how God’s people should live.

He saw some birds flying in the sky and asked the people, “Do you see those birds flying up there?” Everyone looked up and nodded their heads. “Our Father God looks after all the birds. He gives them food to eat. Remember God loves you, His children, even more than those birds. So you must never be worried.

He will give you everything you need.”

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You for always giving me everything I need. Amen

God looks after the grass, the flowers and the birds.

He also looks after you.

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What do you want to thank Jesus for today?

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14. Jesus loves little children very much (Mark 10:13-16) One day, a group of mothers brought their children to see Jesus. They wanted Jesus to bless their children.

Jesus’ disciples shouted at them to leave Him alone. But Jesus told His disciples not to chase the mothers and children away. His followers should have known by then that Jesus loved children very much.

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Then all the children laughed and ran up to Jesus. He hugged them, stroked their hair, put His hands on their heads and told them they were special.

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You have a special place in Your heart for children. Amen

Children like you are very special to Jesus. He loves you very much.

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What did Jesus do when the children ran up to Him?

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15. Jesus tells stories (Luke 10:25-37)

Jesus was a very good storyteller.

One day, He told a crowd of people this story: “A man was walking along a dangerous road by himself.

Bad people were waiting to rob him.

They hit him over the head, stole all his things and ran away.

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Then a priest came walking along the road. He saw that the man was badly hurt, but he didn’t stop to help him.

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Later someone else from the church came along and also walked past without helping the man.

At last a good man came along and stopped to help the man who was hurt.

He lifted the man onto his donkey and took him to a place where he would be cared for.”

How do you think you can help other people?

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, help me to always help other people. Amen Jesus wants us to help people who are in trouble.

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16. The shepherd and his flock (Luke 15:3-7 and John 10:1-15)

One day Jesus told a crowd of people: “I am like a good shepherd. A good shepherd knows the names of all his sheep. The sheep know his voice.

When he calls, the sheep come running to him.”

Another time Jesus told the people this lovely story: “There was a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.

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One day, one of the sheep went missing.

The shepherd left all the other sheep and hurried to look for the missing one.

When he found the sheep, he was so happy that he threw a party.”

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You always look after me so well.

Amen

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Jesus knows you by name.

How many sheep are there on page 69?

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17. Lazarus (John 11:1-44)

Jesus’ friends, Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus, lived in a small village called Bethany, near Jerusalem.

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One day Lazarus became very sick.

Martha and Mary sent someone to tell Jesus.

Sadly Jesus arrived at their house too late. Lazarus had died four days earlier.

Jesus saw how sad Martha and Mary were. He started crying too, because He also loved Lazarus.

Jesus went with the sisters to Lazarus’ grave. He started crying again, and said “Lazarus, come out!”

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Then Lazarus came walking out of his grave! Everyone was so happy to see him alive again.

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You comfort me when I am sad. Amen

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How many days was Lazarus dead before Jesus came?

It’s okay to cry when you’re feeling sad.

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18. Jesus calms the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

One day, Jesus was sailing in a boat with His disciples. Jesus was very tired so He fell asleep.

Suddenly there was a big storm.

The sea became very rough.

The disciples were very scared because huge waves were hitting their boat. They woke Jesus up. He saw how scared they were.

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Jesus told the storm to stop, and it calmed down at once. Then He said to His disciples: “You must not be scared, because I am here to help you.”

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You always help me to calm down when I’m feeling scared. Amen

No one is as strong as Jesus.

Even storms obey Him.

Name the things people are scared of?

When you are scared what do you do?

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19. Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52)

Life can be very hard for blind people, because they can’t see anything.

Bartimaeus was born blind. From the time he was a little boy, all he could do was sit by the roadside and beg.

One day he heard Jesus coming towards him. He shouted, “Jesus, please help me!”

The people told him to be quiet, but he shouted louder. Jesus came up to him and helped him.

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All at once, blind Bartimaeus could see!

He was very happy! From that day on he travelled everywhere with Jesus.

Name the blind man that Jesus healed?

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, I want to help blind people know how much You love them.

Amen Today Jesus helps blind people by giving them guide dogs and a special Bible that they can read.

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20. Jesus walks on water!

(Mark 6:45-51)

After Jesus had fed the big crowd with the fish and the bread that the little boy gave Him, He wanted to go and pray alone. So His disciples rowed off in their boat across the lake.

The wind started to blow very hard.

The disciples were struggling to keep the boat from sinking.

Suddenly they saw Jesus walking across the rough sea towards them! He had come to help them.

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They got a big fright because they thought He was a ghost!

Jesus said to them, “Don’t be scared.

It’s Me, Jesus!”

As He climbed into the boat, the wind stopped blowing.

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What happened when Jesus climbed into the boat?

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, You are always with me.

You help me to stop feeling scared.

Amen Jesus will always help you because He loves you.

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21. Jesus walks with two friends (Luke 24:13-35)

Two of Jesus’ friends were walking to their village, Emmaus. They were talking about Jesus’ death. A man came along and started walking with them. It was Jesus.

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The men didn’t recognise Him because they were so sad that Jesus had died. Jesus talked to them about the Scriptures.

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When they got home they invited Him to have supper with them.

As He broke the bread and thanked God for it, they saw it was Jesus!

Then Jesus went away.

The two friends rushed to tell the other disciples: “Jesus is alive! We saw Him with our own eyes!”

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, I’m so glad You are alive.

Thank You for telling me about it in the Bible. Amen Jesus has beaten death.

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What did the two men tell the other disciples?

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22. A story about fishing (John 21:1-13)

Peter and the other disciples had been out fishing in their boat all night – but they couldn’t catch any fish. When they rowed back in their empty boat, Jesus was waiting for them on the shore.

They didn’t recognise Him.

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He said to them, “Throw your nets out again!” This time they caught a lot of fish. Then John shouted, “It’s Jesus!” and Peter dived into the sea and swam quickly to the shore.

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When the disciples reached the shore, Jesus had already made a breakfast of fish and bread for them. Then He sat down and ate with them.

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What did Peter do when he saw Jesus on the shore?

Come, let’s pray together Jesus, You are very good to me.

Amen

Jesus always knows what’s best for us.

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23. Peter, John and a crippled man (Acts 3:1-26) One day, Peter and John saw a crippled man begging near the temple.

He asked them for some money.

Peter said to him, “Look at us.”

The man looked at them because he hoped they were going to give him something. “I have no money, but I will give you what I have. In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk!” said Peter.

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At once the man stood up and began walking. He jumped up and down because he was so happy! He couldn’t stop saying thank You to God. Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You use me to help other people every day.

Amen

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What did the lame man say to God after he was healed?

Children of God always help people in trouble.

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24. Paul (Acts 9:1-19)

There was a man named Paul who was very cruel to the people who loved Jesus. Because of this they were very scared of him.

One day, Paul was travelling to a big city called Damascus. Suddenly a bright light shone on him. He was so scared, he fell down on the ground.

Then Jesus spoke to Paul and told him he had to stop being so cruel to Jesus’ followers.

After that Paul loved Jesus and told everyone about Him.

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, thank You that You make people stop doing bad things so that they can love You. Amen Remember to tell everyone how wonderful Jesus is.

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What did Paul do after he met Jesus?

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25. Jesus is coming back (Revelation 21)

At the moment Jesus lives in a wonderful place called Heaven, but one day He will come back. He made this promise to us; and Jesus always keeps His promises.

When He comes back, Jesus will make everything on earth brand new. It’s going to be the best place ever. The trees will have fruit all year round and it will always be summertime. We will be very happy and no one will be sad again.

The most wonderful news is that we will be with Jesus forever and ever. This is something to look forward to!

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Remember, when Jesus promises something, He always keeps His promises.

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Come, let’s pray together Jesus, I’m so glad that You are coming back one day to make the whole world brand new.

Amen How would you describe heaven?

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Guidelines for parents and caregivers

Temperament

Every child is unique – yet there are certain characteristics shared by all human beings that can be divided into four temperaments.

• Routine children: thrive in a situation where there are definite rules, a steady routine, and responsibilities.

• Action children: prefer living in the moment and enjoy doing things.

• Why children: like to solve problems creatively, even if it means doing it differently from the known way.

• Imaginative, people-oriented children: live according to their vivid imaginations and values.

For more information regarding the temperaments visit the CMP website www.christianmediapublishing.com.

Development

CMP books take the different developmental phases of children into account.

Our aim is to assist parents and caregivers to intellectually and emotionally stimulate children to ensure maximum growth in these areas. For more information, visit the CMP website www.christianmediapublishing.com.

Faith

The formation of faith is indeed unique to each child. There are however general characteristics that apply to all children. There are three main ways that children develop faith: • Parents regularly reading the Bible, telling Bible and other faith-based stories, praying together, and doing faith building activities with their children (such as the ones found in this book).

• Children ask questions – parents need to take these questions seriously and answer them according to the child’s level of understanding.

• Children follow the example of those caring for them.

Emotional Intelligence

We experience emotions long before we learn the language to be able to express how we are feeling. Therefore, it is important that children are taught to verbalise what they are feeling. Use the illustrations accompanying the stories and ask your child how they think the people or animals in the picture feel. This helps them become aware of their own emotions as well as those of others. It provides a learning opportunity where the child can learn appropriate words to express how they are feeling.

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Reading

A wonderful world opens for your child when they start learning to read. Enjoy every moment of this exciting adventure with your child. Let them sit on your lap where they can be comfortable and feel safe and secure. Open the book holding it so that you can both see the pages. Read clearly and with enthusiasm. As you know, you can read the same story over and over. Point out where you are reading with your finger as you go along. This will help your child to begin to see the relationship between letters, sounds, words and their meaning. Encourage your child’s attempts at reading – even if it sounds like gibberish.

Listening Skills

Listening is an important learning and development skill. You can help develop this skill in your child by encouraging them to listen attentively, and understand what they are hearing. Let them look at the illustrations and then use their imagination to tell the story back to you in their own words. You can also encourage them to do this by asking questions relating to the story. Yet another way is to leave out words from a story the child knows well and let them fill in the missing words.

Vocabulary

Use every opportunity to build your child’s vocabulary – it is a lifelong gift that you are giving to them. Start with everyday objects and people in the illustrations in books. Point at the picture, say the word, form a short sentence using the word. Repeat it again and then let your child say the word. Try to use the word in another context – if there is a tent in the picture you are looking at then say: we sleep in a tent when we go camping.

Speech Formation

Right from the word go build your child’s vocabulary – words are the building blocks of speech. Continually name objects around you, pointing them out, make sure your child looks at your mouth, feeling your lips and throat as you pronounce the words. As your child grows, gently increase the difficulty of the words used to stretch your child’s understanding. Strongly encourage your child’s first attempts at speaking. Help your child to pronounce the sounds and words. At this stage accuracy is not as important as trying.

Numeracy Skills

It is important for your child to develop numeracy skills. Play simple games such as: “How many ducks are there in the picture? If we add two more ducks how many are there now? Then if three fly away? (Use your fingers to illustrate this) How many are left?” They also need to recognise the shape of numbers – cut large numbers from cardboard – let your child play with these – place the numbers in order forming a line from one to ten.

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Kid

s celebrating Jesus

© All rights reserved Christian Media Publishing P.O. Box 3228, Matieland Post Office, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa www.christianmediapublishing.com Author: Ewald van Rensburg Illustrations, Design & Layout: Lilani Brits Publishing Project Manager: Noeline N Neumann Reg No 2010/008573/07 No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means – electronically or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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First edition, 2013 8 7 6 5 4

ISBN 978-1-920593-67-4

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This colourfully illustrated Joy! Kids Bible has been created especially for Joy! Kids. Each story is accompanied by a prayer to help children connect with God. There is also a Christian value that reinforces the story. This book helps children be Joy! Kids. A Joy! Kid celebrates the joy of Jesus by living a joy-filled life.

Guidelines for parents and caregivers Joy! Kids has been compiled with your child’s developmental phases and unique temperament in mind.

It helps with faith building, vocabulary, as well as reading skills and emotional development.

For a complete guide for parents refer to pages 108-109.

Unique temperament

Faith building

Vocabulary

Speech

Reading skills

Listening skills

Suggestions for enjoying this book with your child: • read the Bible Story, • talk about the story and Christian value with your child, • say the prayer together.

The closer you and your child grow to God, the closer you will grow to each other.

Kids celebrating Jesus

Developmental phases

Kid

s celebrating Jesus

ISBN: 978-1-92059-367-4

www.christianmediapublishing.com

Written by Ewald van Rensburg Illustrations by Lilani Brits