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What Is the Gospel?
God has some good news for you and it's called the Gospel. "What's the Gospel?" you say. It's the good news that even though we sin and have disobeyed God, we can have life and joy as part of God's kingdom.
You see I don't deserve God's goodness, but he reached down and rescued me even when my sin had made me his enemy.
This book explains what the Gospel is - not just parts of it.
You see I don't deserve God's goodness, but he reached down and rescued me even when my sin had made me his enemy.
This book explains what the Gospel is - not just parts of it.
16 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
About the author
Mandy Groce
5 booksMandy Groce was born in West Point, New York and travelled throughout her childhood as the daughter of a United States Marine. Mandy is a wife, mother and part-time illustrator who occasionally writes stories for her children and others. Her illustrated colouring pages are available at ministry-to-children.com. She enjoys art, running and reading. Her desire is to use her writing to honour God and serve Him well. Mandy resides in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband and four children.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 12, 2022
A short and sweet explanation of the Gospel.
April 18, 2017
A great and super simple presentation of the gospel. We read this together almost everyday during family worship before reading the Bible.
5 stars
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3rd (documented) read-through update:
I'm taking off a star for three reasons.
1. The scope of this gospel is far too narrow.
2. Wording-wise, it has the kid-friendly nature and whimsicalness of a Sproul kids book, and that's not a compliment.
3. I don't like a certain trend with all the books in this series. A kid will ask their mother a spiritual question and the mother advises the child to ask the father instead. 🤨
5 stars
--------------
3rd (documented) read-through update:
I'm taking off a star for three reasons.
1. The scope of this gospel is far too narrow.
2. Wording-wise, it has the kid-friendly nature and whimsicalness of a Sproul kids book, and that's not a compliment.
3. I don't like a certain trend with all the books in this series. A kid will ask their mother a spiritual question and the mother advises the child to ask the father instead. 🤨
February 22, 2021
Things I like about this book:
modeling higher-level thinking as a narrative. And would be a great conversational book one on one.
the illustrations- Mandy Grace is a good illustrator.
Concepts related to the gospel mentioned, but not really defined, more implied- sin, God's kingdom, gift, Good News- "the full story of Jesus saving us from our sin....", Jesus is our King, eternal life, God's grace and goodness, relationship with God, and being made right with God.
Symbols it uses and repeats- Crown-King Jesus, Three crosses, and a heart. Make it a book to build and teach from.
Things I wonder about this book:
will the story form of the main character trying to figure out the gospel's appeal more than a factual account?
is there enough information to bring the gospel to a child or is it too implied?
is this book really geared to preschoolers? probably pre-K. Maybe older. Word choice is more advanced. It has a lot of words on each page.
modeling higher-level thinking as a narrative. And would be a great conversational book one on one.
the illustrations- Mandy Grace is a good illustrator.
Concepts related to the gospel mentioned, but not really defined, more implied- sin, God's kingdom, gift, Good News- "the full story of Jesus saving us from our sin....", Jesus is our King, eternal life, God's grace and goodness, relationship with God, and being made right with God.
Symbols it uses and repeats- Crown-King Jesus, Three crosses, and a heart. Make it a book to build and teach from.
Things I wonder about this book:
will the story form of the main character trying to figure out the gospel's appeal more than a factual account?
is there enough information to bring the gospel to a child or is it too implied?
is this book really geared to preschoolers? probably pre-K. Maybe older. Word choice is more advanced. It has a lot of words on each page.
April 24, 2021
It’s okay.
May 17, 2013
From the SojournKids website:
God has some good news for you, and it’s called the gospel. What’s the gospel you say? It’s the good news that even though we sin and have disobeyed God, we can have life and joy as part of God’s kingdom. You see, I don’t deserve God’s goodness, but he reached down and rescued me even when my sin had made me his enemy. The gospel is the message of God’s kingdom accomplished through God’s cross by God’s grace!
What is the Gospel? by Mandy Groce teaches children the message of God’s kingdom accomplished through God’s cross by God’s grace. This whole gospel is given to us as one beautiful mosaic. Our hope is that this little book will help children to see this from their earliest years.
Like the other books in this series, What is the Gospel? clearly communicates Biblical truths in a simple way for young children. Although this book is not written in rhyme like the former two books, it is still written in an engaging way for kids as they listen to a little boy ask his family the question, "What is the Gospel?". Various family members contribute a piece of the puzzle, and finally, his dad brings the picture together for him.
What is the Gospel? is unique in it's three-fold presentation of the Gospel. As the Family Pastor of Sojourn Community Church explains, some people emphasize the cross, while others emphasize God's grace, and others still, emphasize God's kingdom. This book shows how all three are interconnected. The cross is where we see God's grace displayed most clearly.
"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8).
At a mere 16 pages, What is the Gospel? is a short introduction to the subject for very young children, ages 2-6. It should be noted that, while this book is enjoyable to read with young children and does contain Biblical language, it is a very limited introduction and contains no Scripture references in the text for children. I think this is a shame because...
"...the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart"
(Hebrews 4:12).
It would have been helpful to include appropriate Scripture verses throughout the text. That being said, I think What is the Gospel? could be a helpful starting point for some families. A concise, yet thorough, follow up might be something like The Gospel for Children by John B. Leuzarder.
Of The Gospel for Children, the folks at Grace and Truth Books write:
"This is an outstanding summary of the gospel for children, covering with great thoroughness the topics of: Who is God? What is man? What is sin? Who is Jesus Christ - all with memorable, colorful art (no pictures attempt to depict the face of Jesus) and very well-done theological explanations that children 4-8 can understand very well. Some have called this the young child's first Systematic Theology and we agree!"
It is for the above reasons and more that The Gospel for Children would make an excellent follow up to What is the Gospel?. The Gospel for Children contains the Scripture proofs lacking in What is the Gospel? while What is the Gospel? contains the engaging storyline lacking in The Gospel for Children. They complement each other well, and I commend them both to you if you are looking for a way to clearly communicate the truth of the Gospel to young children.
*Many thanks to Christian Focus Publications for sending me a copy of What is the Gospel? in exchange for my honest opinion!
God has some good news for you, and it’s called the gospel. What’s the gospel you say? It’s the good news that even though we sin and have disobeyed God, we can have life and joy as part of God’s kingdom. You see, I don’t deserve God’s goodness, but he reached down and rescued me even when my sin had made me his enemy. The gospel is the message of God’s kingdom accomplished through God’s cross by God’s grace!
What is the Gospel? by Mandy Groce teaches children the message of God’s kingdom accomplished through God’s cross by God’s grace. This whole gospel is given to us as one beautiful mosaic. Our hope is that this little book will help children to see this from their earliest years.
Like the other books in this series, What is the Gospel? clearly communicates Biblical truths in a simple way for young children. Although this book is not written in rhyme like the former two books, it is still written in an engaging way for kids as they listen to a little boy ask his family the question, "What is the Gospel?". Various family members contribute a piece of the puzzle, and finally, his dad brings the picture together for him.
What is the Gospel? is unique in it's three-fold presentation of the Gospel. As the Family Pastor of Sojourn Community Church explains, some people emphasize the cross, while others emphasize God's grace, and others still, emphasize God's kingdom. This book shows how all three are interconnected. The cross is where we see God's grace displayed most clearly.
"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8).
At a mere 16 pages, What is the Gospel? is a short introduction to the subject for very young children, ages 2-6. It should be noted that, while this book is enjoyable to read with young children and does contain Biblical language, it is a very limited introduction and contains no Scripture references in the text for children. I think this is a shame because...
"...the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart"
(Hebrews 4:12).
It would have been helpful to include appropriate Scripture verses throughout the text. That being said, I think What is the Gospel? could be a helpful starting point for some families. A concise, yet thorough, follow up might be something like The Gospel for Children by John B. Leuzarder.
Of The Gospel for Children, the folks at Grace and Truth Books write:
"This is an outstanding summary of the gospel for children, covering with great thoroughness the topics of: Who is God? What is man? What is sin? Who is Jesus Christ - all with memorable, colorful art (no pictures attempt to depict the face of Jesus) and very well-done theological explanations that children 4-8 can understand very well. Some have called this the young child's first Systematic Theology and we agree!"
It is for the above reasons and more that The Gospel for Children would make an excellent follow up to What is the Gospel?. The Gospel for Children contains the Scripture proofs lacking in What is the Gospel? while What is the Gospel? contains the engaging storyline lacking in The Gospel for Children. They complement each other well, and I commend them both to you if you are looking for a way to clearly communicate the truth of the Gospel to young children.
*Many thanks to Christian Focus Publications for sending me a copy of What is the Gospel? in exchange for my honest opinion!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews