Book Review: "Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible: 20 Immersive Stories from the Four Gospels" by Bill Johnson

Ok, so I have to confess something. When I signed up to receive a copy of this new children’s Bible storybook in order to review it, I didn’t pay close enough attention to who authored it. So, you can perhaps imagine by surprise when it came in the mail, and I discovered that it was written by Bill Johnson, who you may know as the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. Johnson and Bethel in general have come under fire at various times in recent years for various doctrinal concerns. Because of that, I went into the reading of this children’s Bible with eyes wide open and aware and my discernment muscle activated in case there was any content within its pages that I found to actually not be biblical.

I am happy to report that I came across exactly zero areas of concern in the content of this book. In fact, it has now become a very favorite of mine, out of all the various children’s Bibles we have in our house (if you feel uncomfortable reading it because of things you have heard about Bethel, this is not my telling you you must read it; I’m merely sharing my own review)!

Here is part of its official description:

What makes the Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible different from other children’s Bibles:

While other children’s Bibles contain informative stories from the Old and New Testaments, the Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible puts kids in the middle of the action of twenty essential stories from the four Gospels. Through dynamic, first-hand storytelling, kids come face to face with the Living Word Himself, getting a clear picture of who Jesus is, what He is like, and His love for them personally.

This is a very apt description and is the very reason I loved and enjoyed this book so much. Rather than just telling you about the events of the years Jesus walked this earth, this book goes a step further and makes you feel as if you were actually there. As a mom (and Christian in general!), this is something I really appreciate and value. Too often we view the Bible as being a dry and boring textbook, and we read the stories of Jesus feeling very far removed from the situations we read about.

That is not at all the case with this children’s Bible (in fact, I actually would have enjoyed it even if I were just reading it to myself and not to my children!). This children’s Bible reads like a first-hand storytelling – each of the twenty stories begins with “Imagine if you….”, and this concept of putting yourself in the story continues throughout each one. Another powerful aspect of this is how the illustrator (as you can see in the picture above) drew some of the pictures in such a way that they, along with the words you are reading, make you feel as if Jesus is looking right at you as you are a part of the events of what is taking place.

This is a powerful resource for helping your kids to get to know the Lord better, understand what it would have been like to have lived through the events of Jesus’ life while on this earth, and discover just how much He loves and desires to save us. I always say that in order to trust God, you must truly know God and His character. I believe that this children’s Bible is a great tool for helping your children do just that.