The Biggest Story Family Devotional. My Review.

 

Once, while I was stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, I had to take up a position on top of the elementary school on the air base. It was nighttime, super cold, windy, and in the freezing rain. My job was to be on the lookout for bandits who would cut the wire fence around the base, sneak in, and steal whatever they could lay their hands on to go sell on the black market. Well, thankfully those days for me are long gone, but being on the lookout for little goodies, rather than thieves, is what I enjoy doing. I’m especially on the watch for resources to aid Christian families in drawing nearer to God. So, I was pleased when Crossway allowed me to obtain and check out “The Biggest Story Family Devotional”. This 432-page clothbound hardback is put together by Crossway, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, senior VP of Bible editorial at Crossway, and illustrated by Don Clark, cofounder of Invisible Creature. It has 104 stories (52 from the Old Testament and 52 from the New) that guide moms, dads, grandparents, and kids through the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. If followed the way it’s set up, a family has two full years of Bible reading and reflection.

This devotional is designed to be used with several age groups in mind, parents with younger children; parents with older kids; and dinner table devotions. Working through these stories and reflection questions show that the designers intended to help families keep their family worship/devotional time around 10 to 20 minutes each night (or less). That’s a smart move. The format also has a few different approaches. There is a QR Code at the beginning of each story that takes readers to a short, 5-minute online summary video that is artfully animated. But if parents are low-tech (like me) they can simply use the related reading from “The Biggest Story Bible Storybook”. Then there are five daily readings from Scripture with very short reflection questions, and a “Gospel Connection” segment at the end, with a suggested prayer. It is a very easy, uncomplicated format.

The videos and devotional sections are thoughtfully put together in ways that get the point without going too far for kids. For example, in “Story 47” which covers Hosea 1-3, Hosea’s wife is simply noted as “a bad woman who would be unfaithful in their marriage” (185). The video retelling tastefully goes along with this, while visually impressing on viewers the distortedness of Gomer’s choice and actions. I’m sure inquisitive little minds will be spurred to ask questions, without getting off into the weeds.

For some folks, the one drawback will be pictures about Jesus. Such as in “Story 77: The King Comes” which is recounting our Lord’s coming to Jerusalem, the attending picture is of a man riding a donkey surrounded by a crowd waving and holding onto palm fronds. Though I personally do not consider it a violation of the second commandment, I am sensitive to those who might.

In the end, this devotional looks like a useful, and faithful, resource for families as they all draw nearer to the Lord. And if your church is using the “The Biggest Story” curriculum for Sunday School, it all works together to keep what they’re learning at church and at home on the same page and supplementing each other. A very smart idea. Douglas Sean O’Donnell introduces this work with this overarching theme: “God calls all Christians – young and old – to learn, love, and live out his holy word. The Biggest Story Family Devotional is designed to help achieve that goal.” It seems to me that this devotional hits it’s intended mark, and highly recommend the work.