Theology–the study of God–is so very important.
For Christian parents, it is especially important to convey to our children what the Bible says about God, and about the life of a Christian. Since the time of Martin Luther, Protestants have used catechisms to teach these truths to children. (Roman Catholics later adopted the technique.)
While valuable, catechisms and rote memorization can sometimes seem dry.
Selah Helms and Susan Kahler, both pastor’s wives and homeschool history instructors, have written three books for 8-12 year olds to help teach theology to middle grade kids in an engaging manner while still including easy-to-remember doctrinal questions and answers. The Big Bible Answers series (Christian Focus 4 Kids, 2017) includes The Starry Messenger, The Greatest Day Ever, and The Bottomless Dinner Basket.
The Structure of Big Bible Answers
Each book in the Big Bible Answers series has two or three units. Each unit has several sections, and each section has two chapters that pertain to the focus. The first chapter of each section tells a Bible story, and the second section tells a story from Christian history.
The beginning of each section has several catechism questions to memorize. These questions and answers are taken from Reformation Today Trust’s A Catechism for Boys and Girls. There is then a brief paragraph explaining the theme for the section, and connecting that theme to the two stories.
After each story, there are one or two related passages from the Bible, and several discussion questions.
The Starry Messenger ~ Units and Sections
Unit 1: God
- God the Glorious Creator
- Glorifying God
- One God, Three Persons
- God’s Attributes
- God Revealed in Scripture
Unit 2: The Fall
- Eternal Human Souls
- The Fall of Man
- Disbelieving God
- Inherited Sin Nature
Unit 3: The Atonement
- Regeneration
- Covenant of Grace
- Christ’s Atonement
- Justification and Sanctification
- Christ Obeyed and Suffered
The Greatest Day Ever ~ Units and Sections
Unit 4: Our Response to the Gospel
- Repentance and Belief
- The Holy Spirit
- Those Before Christ
- Jesus is Prophet, Priest, King
Unit 5: The Ten Commandments
- God’s Moral Law
- Sum of the Commandments
- Love God with All Your Heart
- The Lord’s Day
- Love Others
- The Purpose of the Law
The Bottomless Dinner Basket ~ Units and Sections
Unit 6: Prayer
- What Prayer Is
- Your Kingdom Come
- Our Daily Bread
- Forgiveness and Righteousness
Unit 7: God’s Good Gifts
- God’s Word in the Church
- Baptism
- The Lord’s Supper
Unit 8: Eternity
- Christ’s Resurrection and Return
- Heaven and Hell
What I Loved About Big Bible Answers
I love the structure of this series, I love that it incorporates a solid catechism with wonderfully written biblical stories and true accounts of history, I love that there are related Scripture passages, and I love the discussion questions to help parents really interact with their kids.
Purchase Big Bible Answers
I want to thank Christian Focus Publications for providing me with copies of The Starry Messenger, The Greatest Day Ever, and The Bottomless Dinner Basket in return for my honest review.
Christian Book: The Starry Messenger AND The Greatest Day Ever AND The Bottomless Dinner Basket
Learn more about the Who What Why series and get your FREE Abolition Lapbooks here.
Bible Resources for Your Kids
Learn More HereLearn More HereLearn More HereLearn More HereLearn More HereLearn More Here
Christian Biographies for Kids | Christian History for Kids | Theology for Kids
Christian History Matters for Our Kids.
History matters. Now, more than ever, we see how important it is for our children to know and understand history and the Bible.
Here’s why:
- God is the sovereign ruler of all things. It’s important for our kids to see his hand in the history of nations and in the lives of both peasants and kings.
- Christian history is the story of our family history. Our kids get to see how people who love Jesus follow him.
- Understanding history can help our kids learn historic and biblical theology. They learn what the Bible says and what that means for us. They also see when the study of Scripture has taken important turns that have changed the Church.
- Reading Christian biographies and history can be a wonderful way for kids to think outside their own time and culture. God’s Church spans centuries and includes people from every nation.
- Christian biographies help kids consider their own faith, walk with Jesus, and the impact their witness may one day have on others–and on history.
Grab the autographed Reformation Family Bundle!
Books Make Great Gifts!
More Thinking Kids Posts You’ll Love!
Join the newsletter
Get the Family Prayer Box Project FREE!
Teach your children to pray with this fun project that includes 7 printable sets!
I’m always looking for ways to explain these topics to my family and these look great!
Can’t wait to read these with my children! Thank you or the opportunity to win!
Love the Christian Foundation of the series 💚
Awesome give away!
The books are appealing to everyone and a great learning tool. Thanks for the giveaway.
Marion
This would be perfect for my niece and nephew!
My kids would love these books.
Oh my goodness, I would love to win these for my boys!
You always have the greatest giveaways, such cool books. My son will be turning 5 on 2/17 so these would be great!!
My son loves to read. I like the combination of Bible accounts and historical biographies to demonstrate the lessons. Thanks for the giveaway. Christian Focus books are great.
I like that this series seems geared to truly engaging children’s minds and that it is focused and very structured.
Thanks for sharing another great resource.
Sounds like a great set!
Looks like great materials to aid in quality conversion with my children.
We love books with deeper meaning, and I am so glad when others can recommend great ones.
These look like a great way to teach and explain to my children the hard topics!
They look like amazing tools for teaching our children more about our God. Thanks for the opportunity!!
They look like a great tool to help me answer my daughter’s questions! Plus,I just really would love to have more Bible related books!
These look wonderful!
This looks to be another great resource to use with my children
I believe any bible supporting curriculum will only benefit our children’s learning abilities and foster a better understanding of the Word. Thanks for this wonderful giveaway!
I like how things are broken into units – not trying to cover all topics at once.
I would love to utilize this material with my 7 amazing kiddos within our homeschooling curriculum. This material is so important, and it looks highly indepth and just what our little ones need when nurturing and enriching their love and their relationship with Jesus our Savior.
I think kids and I would love these books as read aloud time.
I like that it can teach my family more about the stories of the bible in a way that all of us will understand.
Hope we get a chance to read these! They look great!
I love adding books to our library and for us to read that direct my children back to God.
Perfect books for my son’s age level! He has so many questions and loves to read.
These books look like they will appeal to my boys and keep them engaged in learning. Theology sounds overwhelming – these books make it seem like we can handle studying it together.
My daughter is an avid reader & I’d love for her to read these truth-filled books!
I like the creative way it helps kids find answers to their questions.
My 6 yo is a fount of theology questions, these would definitely be helpful in answering his curious mind.
Looks like a great way to give information to many ages.
These books would be a great way to explain our faith and God. It would
be great to win the set!
These look like a super cute way to share bible stories with children!
This interests me as it is another format for children to learn in. My dd loves to read, but she struggles with applying what she’s read, so this would be a great series to use to work on that.
I’m interested in seeing how they bring all these elements together.
Seems like a novel way to interact with our kids on such important topics!
I love how it connects Bible accounts and real life accounts with the catechism questions and answers, making it relevant to kids. I can’t wait to see these in person!
We are always looking for great Christian books. Thanks for all of your reviews.
this is the perfect answer for what are we doing for bible study for next school year! Love that it incorprates bible and reading as a homeschool mom!
I like how it introduces catechism!
Very thankful for your reviews and recommendations as well as the giveaways! I am very interested in these !
I have 2 granddaughters that these would be perfect as gifts to give!!! I am always looking for ways to keep the conversation going since they follow one faith and I another. Although we are all Christian, our beliefs are a little different so books are a perfect way to not engage my son-in-law in a battle of truths.
Definitely going to check these books out! Does “The Bottomless Dinner Basket” cover baptism from credo or paedo perspective?
On the catechism questions, it says: “We have omitted the questions and answers regarding the mode and method of baptism, in order that the book may be used by believers of both credo – baptist and paedo – baptist persuasions. Parents are encouraged to use a larger catechism to explain baptism to their children.”
The two stories are of Philip and the Ethiopian official, and the baptism of former Hindu Krishna Pal in Serampore, India by missionary William Carey.
Perfect for my granddaughter!
I love the benefits of catechism and stories are such a great way to teach!
I like that these are done in units & provides a solid foundation for kids! These look wonderful!!
What appeals to me most is the diversity — of subject and of ages directed at. We have kids, grands & greats of all ages, and the more of them we can include, the better!
How could you not want these? My husband and I are always on the lookout for helpful and engaging resources to introduce Biblical concepts and thought patterns to our children! And Danika’s links and suggestions have been so solid theologically that I find myself always coming away encouraged!
Thank you, Cassie. What a kind thing to say!
When God put’s in on someones heart to share more of Him I’m all ears:) These books will certainly help our fairly new budding Christian family (only 4 years). Thanks for sharing and caring.
Wow, these look like really good books!
I love the Bible story & the Bible history story; & the catechism & theme to tie it all together!
I love that the series combines meaningful theology with good stories.
Using stories to teach big truths is exactly what Jesus did. I think they could be a big help to our family.
I love how you teach your kids theology through snuggle time reading on the couch.
This is a great way for my boys to align their thoughts and actions with Christ. They both have a heart for Him yet when teachings are through discussions I see them getting restless, however by reading stories like this it will be refreshing to them while also rooting them to stand firm in their faith. Thank you for the opportunity.
This looks helpful for teaching things I don’t even remember to ask and instruct on.
These sound really cool!
The biggest appeal of these books are the doors they open for conversation. They provide an opening for me to discuss things that are foundational to our faith, and to remind them that it is ok to ask questions. Thank you for the giveaway!
These look great! Thanks for sharing!
I love how they break down and engage the kiddos with stories fro. The Bible.
These look like a great Christian resource. Would love to have these.
I love the homeschool history teachers came up with this great way to engage my kids!
I like that is bring everything back around to God always
The fact that the books are Christian resources and teach Biblical truths or ideas appeals to me. The books will spark interesting conversations and possibly answer hard-to-discuss topics in an age appropriate way. My daughter would LOVE to read these books. Thank you for the opportunity.
I love the idea of using stories both biblical historical to teach Biblical truths to kids! My son and daughter love learning through stories.
I am wanting to start homeschooling my children and work with a Christian base and get away from all of these government based standards and teach my children more about God and the Bible.
Thanks for another awesome giveaway! We are a family of five : 13 down to almost 4! We are always on the look out for great resources for our family to learn and grow spiritually.
Stories sink in information like nothing else does. This series looks amazing!
I think my granddaughters would like reading these. They will make learning about the Bible fun.
These look fantastic! Thank you for doing a giveaway with these resources.
As an evangelical other than at home, our kids don’t get much theology training. I’ve never heard of these books but am super excited about what they teach! Thank you for sharing!
Would love to use to teach Christian foundations to my children
I’m always looking for good literature to point my children to.
I think these will be a great devotional study for my kids!! Thank-you for having a giveaway for this series!
Always looking for new, fun ways to teach my kids about the Bible!
I would love a couple books to hand to my kids and just let them read knowing they will gain insight into our faith. I want them to “own their faith”.
Ugh, by the time I get down here I’ve forgotten the question. I like the books, they look cool. Something relevant.
Haha, Ticia!
Thank you for reviewing these and having giveaway! Esp relevant as we remember the 500th anniversiary of the Reformation.
These sound awesome. I work with kids ast church. My son all would enjoy them
My oldest daughter loves to read and I would love to be able to give her more truth to read.
Love that it’s geared for younger kids and uses stories. I have a 5 and a 2.5 yr old we would get a ton of use from this.
As a homeschool mom I am ALWAYS looking for great read alouds. These look like they fit the bill!
Awesome giveaway! I can’t keep books on the shelf my son loves to read so much. These would be perfect for him.
Theology in story format with questions and explanations to make sure kids really “got” the point is a huge win in my eyes. These books sound great!
My son devours books. I am always on the lookout for Christian books (or books that present a Christian worldview), because I want him to read things that will grow his mind and spirit.
This sounds like a great giveaway. I just started teaching a Sunday School class and these would be great for that. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.
Wow! We always have a read aloud time at bedtime for my older elementary kids. These seems to be the perfect series for it!
My oldest son would love these!
I have been looking for something like this for my children
I love that it makes difficult topics accessible to kids and promotes open conversation.
It is so important to teach theology to our kids. These books look so good! I would love to read them with my kids!
I have wanted a way to teach catechism to our kids and these sound like a great way for our older son. The fact that the books covers it with true stories/examples makes it more meaningful and thought provoking.
My daughter loves reading the Bible or devotionals, and this would be a great way to help explain things in a way she would understand it better.