Retold bySmriti Bansal

Illustrated & Designed byCreative Concepts, New Delhi

For Children

100BIBLE STORIES

ContentsThe Old TestamentIn the Beginning 9The First Mother and Father 12The Fall 14Cain and Abel 16Noah and his Ark 18The Sign of the Rainbow 20The Tower of Babel 22The Story of Abraham 25Sodom and Gomorrah 28Abraham and Isaac 30

ISBN 978-81-8022-142-2

2011 Priority Publicationse-mail : ds_bookmaster@yahoo.co.in

www.dspublishersindia.com

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published 2011

Illustrated & Designed by Creative Concepts

The Call of Samuel 68Samuel Chooses a King 70Samuel Chooses David 73David and His Harp 76David and Goliath 78David in Hiding 80David the King 82Jerusalem, City of God 83David and Absalom 84Solomons Dream 86Solomon the Wise 89The Temple of Solomon 92Solomon in All His Glory 94Solomon Turns Away from God 96Elijah in the Desert 98Elijah and the Prophets of Baal 100

Isaac and Rebecca 32Jacobs Dream 34Josephs Wonderful Coat 36Joseph Becomes a Slave 38Joseph in Prison 41Joseph and the Ruler of Egypt 44Joseph Sees His Family Again 46Baby Moses 48God Calls Moses 50Moses the Leader 52The First Passover 54Escape from Pharaoh 57Moses the Law Giver 60Joshua the Leader 62The Call of Gideon 64The Story of Ruth 66

The New TestamentThe New Covenant 138The Romans 138A Son for Elizabeth 140Mary is Chosen 142Mary Visits Elizabeth 144The Birth of John 145The Birth of Jesus 146The Shepherds Visit Jesus 148The Three Wise Men 150Joseph Returns to Nazareth 153Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem 156John the Baptist 158Jesus is Baptised 160Jesus is Not Tempted 162

Elijah the Champion of God 102Elisha and the Lady from Shunem 105Elisha and the Syrian General 108Isaiah Saves Jerusalem 110Isaiahs Warning 112Josiah and the Discovery in the Temple 114Exiles in Babylon 116Nehemiah Rebuilds Jerusalem 118Jeremiah 121Jeremiah in Prison 124Daniel in the Lions Den 126Hosea 128Amos the Shepherd 129The Story of Jonah 130Micah 132

Jesus Visits Nazareth 164The Special Fishermen 166The Light of the World 169How to Pray 172The Kingdom of Heaven 174The Paralysed Man Walks 176The Tax Collectors 178The Centurions Faith 180A Woman Gets Healed 182Jairus Daughter 185The Loaves and the Fish 188Jesus Walks on Water 190The Good Neighbour 192The Blind Man Sees 194The Lost Sheep 196The Lost Coin is Found 198The Lost Son Returns 201The Two Brothers 204Jesus, the Son of God 206Jesus, the Friend of Children 208Using Our Talents Well 210Judas Plans to Betray 212Jesus Enters Jerusalem 214The Last Supper 217Jesus is Taken Away 220The Crucification 222Mary Sees Jesus 224Jesus Appears to His Disciples 226The Ascension 228

In the Beginning

The World wasnt always as it is today. Many years ago there was just water and darkness, and there was the Almighty God.

God made light and called it day, he then made darkness to separate it from light and he called it night. He made the sky and the heaven above it. And with his power, he raised the dry land out of the dark waters. He named the land, earth and the water, sea. He then made plants and trees to cover up the earth.

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He put the lights in the sky, the sun started to rise and brighten the day and the moon and stars took their place during the night.

God filled the earth with all sorts of creatures. He made birds, fishes and animals to live and fill up the sky, the earth and the sea.

God was pleased with his creation but he felt that something was missing. He made men and women. He made them just like him, to be his friends, to take care of his creation.

God had finally finished making the heaven and the earth, so he went to rest and looked down from the heaven pleased that everything was going well.

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Adam called her Eve and loved her dearly.

Hence, Adam and Eve were the first father and mother of all those on the earth.

The First Mother and Father

After God had made the earth, he made man. He moulded him out of the wet mud and breathed life into him.

He called him Adam.He made a beautiful garden for Adam and filled it

with all sorts of trees and flowers. In the middle of the garden stood the tree of knowledge. God told Adam that he could help himself to any fruit in the garden but he must not touch the one from the tree of knowledge.

Adam started getting lonely. God noticed that Adam needed a friend. So he made animals, birds and fish out of the soil but none of them proved to be a suitable companion for Adam.

Finally, God decided to make Adam a female companion. He put him in deep slumber, and out of Adams rib, he made a woman.

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When God came, Adam and Eve ran behind the trees to hide themselves, as they were ashamed.

God seeing this, said, What have you done? I told you not to eat the fruit from that tree!

Adam exclaimed, Its not my fault! Eve gave it to me!Eve said, Well, it is not mine either. The snake

tricked me into having it!God was angry that they had disobeyed them, so he

banished them from the garden. From that day on, Adam would have to hunt for food to live and things would not be easy anymore.

As for the snake, God cursed him that the woman and the snake will always be enemies. And one day, her child will crush his head, when he would strike his heel.

The Fall

Of all the animals God had made, the serpent was the most cunning. One day it went up to Eve and asked her, Dear Eve, is it true that you cannot touch the fruit from the tree of knowledge?

Yes, we can eat fruit of any other tree but that one. God says that if we touch it, we will die!

Thats foolishness. God has lied to you! The fruit from the tree will give you wondrous knowledge.

But why would he lie to us? asked Eve, astonished.He does not want you to become wise like him. I

say you eat it! the cunning snake replied.So Eve took some fruit from the tree and ate it. She

then took some for Adam. As soon as they both had the fruit, they realised that they were naked. So they took some leaves and woved them together to cover themselves.

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When Cain returned, God, sensing that something was wrong, asked him, Cain, where is Abel?

Cain lied, I do not know. Obviously I cant be expected to look after him all the time!

You lie Cain. You have killed Abel. His blood cries out to me in protest. I cannot forgive you! You have sinned! From this day you will be a restless wanderer and no land will give you food, God said.

Cain knew that if he left, his life would become difficult and he would be constantly in danger. So he pleaded and begged God to forgive him and to not be so harsh. But God did not relent.

However, God placed a special mark on Cain to ensure that no one would harm him. And so Cain left and wandered off to live in a land to the east of Eden.

Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel.Abel was a shepherd; he looked after flocks of sheep while Cain was a farmer, working on the land to produce crops.

One day, both the sons decided to make an offering to God. Cain offered his best produce, while Abel gave the best sheep in his flock.

God was more pleased with Abels gift and did not even accept Cains offering.

Cain was deeply disappointed and was also angry and jealous of Abel.

God warned Cain that there was sin in is heart, which was ready to pounce like a wild animal. But Cain took no notice, instead he made a plan to kill his brother Abel.

He invited Abel to go for a walk and when they reached a lonely place, he attacked him and killed him.

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God called upon Noah and said to him, I am going to cause a mighty flood to rid all life from earth. I want you to build a strong ark with pitch, to make it waterproof, and fill it with two of every kind of animal. This way I can start again. Take your family into the ark and keep them safe. You have pleased me.

Noah did just as God had instructed him. He made a strong ark and filled it with all sorts of animals and took his family inside. As he shut the doors of the ark, the great storms came.

Noah and his Ark

God had created Adam and Eve so that their children and their families could fill up the earth. He wanted them to be kind and caring people, but soon God realised that that was not so.

The descendants of Adam and Eve were wicked and had sin and greed in their hearts. This made God very sad and he decided to rid the earth of all such creatures and start afresh.

But there was one man who had made God happy. He was loyal to God and was a kind and caring man. His name was Noah.

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Noah left his ark on a piece of dry land and immediately made an altar for God, to thank him for saving him and his family.

God appeared and said to him, You are to fill the earth with your descendants. Take care of the trees the plants and the animals. If you will be loyal and good then I will always be your God.

He then promised Noah that there never will be another flood that will destroy life on earth and that there will be a time to sow and to harvest. There will be cold and heat and day and night just like before.

He said to Noah, I will put my rainbow up in the heavens, as a sign to remind you and your descendants of my promise and yours.

The Sign of the Rainbow

The rain lasted for about forty days. It covered up everything, the hills, the valleys, the land and even the mountains. Every living thing drowned except Noah, his family and the animals in his ark, just as God had decided.

Eventually the rain stopped, but it would take months for the water to go down. After two months, Noah sent a raven and a dove in search of dry land, but none of them returned. He then sent out another dove. This time it returned with an olive leaf in its beak. Noah knew that the water had finally gone down and the earth would soon be dry again.

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The Tower of Babel

Over time, the descendants of Noah spread around the world and finally settled in the land of Shinar.At that time everyone spoke the same language, so

the people of Shinar decided to make a great tower which would reach the heavens, and a fine city out of bricks for themselves. They thought that by doing so, they would soon become powerful and the envy of the other people. They would no longer have to scatter in the countryside either.

One day, God decided to visit. When he saw what the people of Shinar were doing, he became very sad. The people were no longer loyal or pure hearted. They had greed and self ambition in their hearts. God knew that once the city and tower were made, there would be no end to greed, envy and scheming. There would be nothing to stop them.

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So God decided to confuse the language of all people. Hence people were no longer able to understand each other and the construction of the tower came to a stop. The tower was called the tower of babble - which had its name from the babbling sound everyone made.

The people of Shinar, once more, scattered in all directions.

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The Story of Abraham

Abraham was a rich man, who lived in the city of Ur in Mesopotamia. Abraham was a good man; he had been a loyal servant of God his whole life. He was seventy-five years old and had a wife called Sarah, but they had no children.

One day, God appeared before him.

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There, God again appeared by his side and said to him, Look around, I give this land to you and your descendants. Look up at the stars in the sky, I promise you, one day your descendants will be as many.

Abraham trusted God, but he was worried because he and his wife were too old to have children. But nothing was impossible for God; hence within a few months, they had their first son, and they called him Isaac.

God said to him, You should leave your land and go live in the land that I show you. I will bless you and your wife Sarah.

Abraham trusted God, so he soon left Ur with his wife, servants, nephew Lot and his sheep and goats. He took with him everything that belonged to him, in search of the land God had instructed him to find.

They set off towards Canaan and only stopped for water. Soon they reached the holy place of Shecham.

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Abraham spoke up again, Forgive me for my boldness my Lord, but what if there are ten good people, would you still destroy the city?

God replied, If I find ten innocent people, then I will not destroy the city.

God knew why Abraham was concerned; he also knew that apart from Lots family there were no other good people in Sodom. So he sent his angels to warn them.

Soon there was a great storm in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sky rained fire and sulphur and destroyed anything and everything.

Lots family escaped in time, so they were saved. But Lots wife turned back to take a last look at their city, so

she was turned into a pillar of salt.Sodom and Gomorrah

While Abraham had settled in Canaan, his nephew Lot, took his family to the city of Jordan, in Sodom.People, who lived in Sodom and its neighbouring

city Gomorrah, were wicked people. They lied and schemed, and had sin in their hearts. So God decided to destroy both the cities.

When Abraham got to know about this, he was very sad. His nephew Lot was living in Sodom, and he didnt want him to die. So Abraham decided to speak to God.

He asked the Lord, Lord, what if there are innocent people in Sodom, would you really like to destroy them as well? If there are fifty good people in Sodom, would you spare the city for their sake?

Yes, God replied. I would spare the city if I find fifty good people.

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