My
First Communion
Bible Mari o n Th o mas Ill u s t rat ed by Pao l a Bert o l ini Grudina
This book belongs to
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Contents In the beginning 10 An imperfect world 12 Brothers at war 14 Noah’s ark 16 A flood and a rainbow 18 Abraham trusts God 20 God keeps his promises 22 A wife for Isaac 24 A father’s blessing 26 Jacob’s ladder 28 Jacob’s favorite son 30 A new home in Egypt 32 Moses and the princess 34 A burning bush 36 Plagues in Egypt 38 The King says “Go!“ 40 A path across the sea 42 Ten rules for life 44 Spies in the land 46 Walls come tumbling down 48
Deborah’s victory 50 Gideon trusts God 52 Samson and the lion 54 Samson the strong man 56 The boy who listened 58 The very first king 60 God chooses David 62 A giant called Goliath 64 David trusts God 66 Wise King Solomon 68 A gift for God 70 Elijah and the ravens 72 The kind widow 74 God heals Naaman 76 Jonah runs away 78 Dry bones 80 The blazing fiery furnace 82 Thrown to the lions 84 Brick by brick 86
Peace in all the world 88 A baby in a manger 90 Following a star 92 Gifts for the baby king 94 Jesus is baptized 96 First friends and helpers 98 Jesus goes to a wedding 100 The hole in the roof 102 The soldier’s servant 104 The storm on the lake 106 Jesus the teacher 108 The woman who couldn’t stand up 110 Caring and sharing 112 Jairus’ little girl 114 The good Samaritan 116 The good shepherd 118 The lost-and-found son 120 One grateful man 122
The blind beggar 124 The man with no friends 126 Jesus rides a donkey 128 The widow’s gift 130 Love one another 132 The last supper 134 Praying in the moonlight 136 Peter is ashamed 138 “Crucify him!“ 140 Death on a cross 142 An empty tomb 144 Walking with Jesus 146 A surprise for Thomas 148 Breakfast at sunrise 150 More than silver or gold 152 The man in the chariot 154 A changed life 156
In the beginning Genesis 1
Right at the very beginning, God was there. God spoke into the cold, deep darkness, and said, “Let there be light!“ God created the light, and the day, and the night; God brought the water together into seas, and shaped the world into mountains and valleys, soil, and sand. God made tall trees, fruit trees, flowers, and leaves to
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grow on the land. God made the sun shine, and the moon and stars shimmer. God made fish dart in the water, and birds fly in the sky. God made bees and butterflies, mice and monkeys, lions, bears, and giraffe, and every kind of wonderful creature; and God made man and woman, who felt, and thought, and loved just as God did. God’s world was good; it was very good.
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An imperfect world Genesis 3
Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden. They were God’s friends, and they were happy. God gave them everything they needed. There was only one tree God told them to stay away from.
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Then one day Eve heard a hissing in her ear. “Did God really tell you not to eat the fruit on that tree?“ Eve looked at the green, leafy tree. Eve saw the ripe, juicy fruit. Eve picked it, and smelled it. She bit into it, and enjoyed it. It tasted good. Then Adam shared it with her. Then Adam and Eve both felt very guilty. When God came to walk with them in the garden, they were ashamed, and hid from him. God knew his perfect world was no longer perfect. He knew he could not trust his friends any more.
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Brothers at war Genesis 4:1-12
Adam and Eve did not live in the beautiful garden any more. They had two sons, Cain and Abel. The brothers grew up to be farmers. Cain worked hard to grow corn to eat. Abel reared sheep and goats. At harvest time Abel offered the best of his flock to God to thank him for taking care of him. Cain did the same with the corn he had grown. But God saw what was in their hearts. Cain knew that God liked Abel’s gift more—and he was jealous, and angry. “Be careful, Cain,“ God said to him. “Anger is a dangerous thing. Don’t let it control you.“ But Cain was very angry, so angry that he attacked his brother—and killed him.
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“Where is your brother?“ God asked. “Am I his keeper?“ replied Cain. God knew what had happened. He knew that Cain had done a terrible thing.
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Noah’s ark Genesis 6:9 - 7:5
Time passed, and terrible things happened everywhere. There were more people like Cain who stole, and hurt, and killed—and not many who loved, and were kind, and remembered how good God was. There was only Noah. “There’s going to be a big flood,“ said God. “Noah, build a boat—a huge boat called an ark.“
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So Noah built an ark, big enough for his family; big enough for two of every kind of animal and bird that God had made. And the people round about just laughed at him for listening to God at all.
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A flood and a rainbow Genesis 6:9-22
When Noah’s ark was ready, the animals came to him, two by two by two. Then the door was closed tightly shut. The rain began to fall in large, wet drops. The rain fell hour after hour, and day after day. It rained until the streams became rivers, and the rivers became seas. It rained until there was nothing left to see but water, water, everywhere. But Noah’s ark floated, and everyone inside was safe. Time passed, a long time passed; the rain stopped, and slowly,
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slowly, the water went down, and Noah opened the door. The birds flew free, animals hurried and scurried. A beautiful rainbow arched across the sky, and Noah thanked God for keeping his family and all the animals safe. Now it was time to start all over again.
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