The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden
Did you know that all the stories in the Bible tie into one big, overarching story — The Biggest Story? It’s the story of God’s love for his children, even though they have rejected him over and over again. It’s the story of God’s promise to his people to one day send the Snake Crusher to rescue them from their sin and fix their broken relationship with Him.
The Biggest Story, by Kevin DeYoung, is not a typical Bible storybook that chronicles the lives of all our favorite Bible heroes. Rather, it takes us on a whirlwind journey through the Bible, as if we were skipping across the tops of mountain peaks or taking a picture of the Bible from 3,000 feet in the air.
DeYoung does an excellent job of telling “the biggest story” of the Bible — the story of redemption — while reminding us of God’s promises to Adam, Noah, Abraham and David. He doesn’t retell each individual Bible story, but instead weaves a story-ribbon of redemption throughout the entire Bible.
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TITLE: The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher brings us back to the Garden
AUTHOR: Kevin DeYoung
ILLUSTRATOR: Don Clark
THEME: God’s plan to rescue his people from sin and to bring us back to a perfect relationship with him.
OVERVIEW: The Biggest Story is God’s story – the story of how God’s people were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and banished from God’s presence because of their choice to disobey; how God continued to pursue a relationship with his people; how God kept his promises to Adam, Noah, Abraham, David and the prophets; and how God sent the “Snake Crusher” to defeat the evil Serpent and bring us back into his holy presence.
SUMMARY:
Chapter 1 – In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were tricked by the serpent. God promised that one day he would send the “Snake Crusher” to conquer the serpent.
Chapter 2 – Sin continued to get worse: Cain killed Abel, God destroyed the earth with a flood, and the people were scattered at the Tower of Babel.
Chapter 3 – God promised to bless Abraham and his family and make them into a great nation. Abraham had a son named Isaac, who had a son named Jacob, who had 12 sons. Even though this family had plenty of problems, God was faithful to keep his promise to Abraham.
Chapter 4 – God used Moses to deliver the family of Jacob (the Israelites) from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land.
Chapter 5 – God gave special commandments to help protect his people. If they obeyed, they would be blessed, and if they disobeyed they would be punished. But the people did not listen to God.
Chapter 6 – Israel demanded a king. First Saul, then David, then Solomon. God promised King David that he would have an everlasting kingdom and that the Snake Crusher would reign on David’s throne. Even the kings God appointed did not follow God’s plan, and so God split the kingdom in two.
Chapter 7 – Even though the Israelites forgot about God, God did not forget about his people. He sent prophets to warn them and urge them to turn back to him. But they continued to disobey.
Chapter 8 – Jesus, the Snake Crusher, finally arrives on the scene. He is described as “the new Adam, the child of Abraham, the son of David.” DeYoung doesn’t go into a lot of detail about individual events in Jesus’ life, but he does a great job of explaining the significance of Jesus’ coming and how He is the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
“The Chosen one of God was chosen by God to die… the One destined to crush the serpent would be crushed himself…. Our story is the story of God doing what we can’t, in order to make up for us doing what we shouldn’t.”
Chapter 9 – The Snake Crusher didn’t stay dead! He ascended to heaven, sat down at the right hand of God, and sent the Holy Spirit to earth to be our helper.
Chapter 10 – “The Biggest Story” isn’t finished yet! The Snake Crusher is coming back to make all things new, to wipe away every tear, to defeat sin once and for all.
ILLUSTRATIONS: Don Clark used bright, vibrant colors to illustrate The Biggest Story. His drawings are geometric and somewhat abstract. The pictures are very appealing to children.
SPECIAL FEATURES: There is a “Note to Parents” section in the back explaining the purpose and goal of the book.
RECOMMENDATION: I highly recommend this book! DeYoung does an excellent job of telling “the biggest story” of the Bible — the story of God’s plan of redemption.
RESERVATIONS: DeYoung uses poetic language, including many allusions and parallelisms that may be difficult for young children (under the age of 5 or 6) to understand. Parents who are familiar with well-known Bible stories will be able to explain the references to younger children. Also, this book tells a beautiful story, but you won’t find any discussion questions or application for your family Bible time.
NUMBER OF PAGES: 127
NUMBER OF CHAPTERS: 10
AGE RANGE: 5-11 years old
PUBLISHER: Crossway
PUBLISHING DATE: 2015
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON:
“The Bible is full of exciting stories that fill children with awe and wonder. But kids need to know how all those classic stories connect to Scripture’s overarching message about God’s glorious plan to redeem his rebellious people.
“In The Biggest Story, Kevin DeYoung―a best-selling author and father of six―leads kids and parents alike on an exciting journey through the Bible, connecting the dots from the garden of Eden to Christ’s death on the cross to the new heaven and new earth.
“With powerful illustrations by award-winning artist Don Clark, this imaginative retelling of the Bible’s core message―how the Snake Crusher brings us back to the garden―will draw children into the biblical story, teaching them that God’s promises are even bigger and better than we think.”
OTHER WORKS BY KEVIN DEYOUNG:
The Biggest Story ABC – Board Book
Do you struggle to spend time in God’s Word with your family? Do you want to connect with your kids while helping them to engage more deeply with the Bible?
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