Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible: 20 Immersive Stories from the Four Gospels

By Bill Johnson and Eugene Luning

Do you desire for your children or grandchildren to know, love, and follow Jesus? Are you on the hunt for the “perfect” Bible to gift the littlest loves in your life but feel overwhelmed by the options of youth Bibles available online or at your local bookstore? 

As a mom of five, I answer “yes” to above questions and am fully guilty of consumer indecisiveness! Consequently, my family owns an assortment of children’s and youth Bibles – from board books to illustrated Bibles, storybook Bibles to introductory youth Bibles, books highlighting specific Bible stories to Bibles in various translations (NIV, NLT, NIRV, ESV, and CSB) and everything in between! 

Even though my family’s Bible collection is plentiful, I feel it could never be complete because of the uniqueness of each member of my family. It’s marvelous how God’s Word can speak to different people in different ways and at different times and yet, it remains the same yesterday, today and all the days to come. 

A perfect example of this is in my recent reading of the Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible: 20 Immersive Stories from the Four Gospels by Bill Johnson and Eugene Luning. 

Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible is a beautiful resource for children ages 4-12 to discover the nature, character, and hope of Jesus. It is unlike most biblically-themed books geared towards children because it puts kids directly in the middle of twenty stories found within the four Gospels. 

By placing kids as a character in familiar and essential Gospel stories, children can experience Jesus in a personal, humanistic way which helps children understand who Jesus is, what He is like and how much He deeply loves and cares for them. 

Additionally, the Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible provides a set of questions at the end of each story that are geared towards the overall message Jesus conveys while encouraging individual application. Moreover, the illustrations, done by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell, are absolutely stunning and are as appealing to the eye as the words on the pages are to the soul. 

I recommend the Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible as a resource or a gift for any parent, grandparent, youth pastor or teacher who is seeking to introduce children to Jesus. The Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible will encourage children to cultivate a real connection with Jesus while discovering Jesus as the Son of God, both fully human and fully God. Our Living Hope. 

This imaginative, biblical encounter is sure to captivate the hearts of many as it invites children into an intimate and life-long relationship with Jesus while empowering youth to actively engage in scripture.

I read this book with my kindergarten son and he connected with the stories in a way I did not anticipate. I specifically enjoyed watching his eyes light up through the storytelling as the images appeared to come to life in his curious mind. Compared to other biblically-themed books geared towards youth, the Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible captivated my son’s interest and attention. It inspired him to ask questions, think critically, and desire learning more about the Living Word. A mama couldn’t ask for anything more 🙂

To purchase the hardcover Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible, available in both English and Spanish, click here! 

*I received this book from FrontGate Media in exchange for promotion and my honest review. 

**Disclosure: I consider and classify this book more as a “Bible story narrative” rather than a traditional children’s Bible. This book takes popular stories from the Gospels and inserts the reader into the story as a character. This unique approach has the ability to make a child feel personally connected to Jesus while revealing Jesus’ heart, character and nature as being both fully God and fully human.