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I love, love the book series ‘Tales That Tell The Truth.’ And their latest story ‘The God Contest’ by Carl Laferton is no exception.
This book is a wonderful retelling of 1 Kings 18. You know, the one where Elijah faces off with the prophets of Ball, and in the end Yaweh proves he is the one true God.
With beautiful illustrations and whimsical text, ‘The God Contest’ brings the Bible to life, and shows how the Gospel is woven throughout the Bible.
What I Liked
First of all, I love the take-away in this story. In my limited experience, when I have seen 1 Kings 18 taught to children, it often put an emphasis on prayer and Elijah’s trust in God. Which I think can be a good take-away, but it’s even more important to ask ourselves what this story says about God. And ‘The God Contest’ does a beautiful job of keeping the focus on God and what he is doing in this story. He is declaring his power over every created thing. He is showing that he alone is worthy of our worship. The story continues by pointing littles to the Gospel of Christ, showing that Jesus is Yaheweh in the flesh. He came and showed us who Yaweh is by the way he lived and loved others. And when he died and rose again he proved his power over everything, even death. And it leaves us with a challenge: will we follow after Jesus and live lives that worship him?
Another point I love is that they used the name Yaweh. How often do you see a children’s book use this name for God? I’ve never seen in. And I just love their introduction of this name for little believers, and the way they illustrate it’s significance throughout the book.
I also love this illustration in the book showing people from history that have chosen to follow Jesus. We will totally be using this list to study a few of these people and about how they lived lives for the Kingdom of God.
What The Littles Love
Like all of the ‘Tales That Tell The Truth’ books, my littles love the illustrations. Catalina Echeverri just does a fantastic job of making eye-catching and fun depictions of the Bible stories at hand. They draw the reader in, and let them really experience the story anew. Her attention to detail and the diversity within the characters she illustrates are always valued over here.
My littles also really grasped the concept of choosing to be apart of the Kingdom of God, and it lead us to pray, asking God to guide us in choosing him and his Kingdom in our everyday.
Click Here to Get Your Own Copy of ‘The God Contest’
Update: This is not a drill! There is now a board book version of ‘The God Contest!’ Perfect for sharing the story with toddlers.
Baby Devotions 