Traditional Bible favorites and faith stories from children show kids that God’s love reaches all the way around the globe! God's Love for You Bible Storybook teaches favorite Bible stories followed by real stories of people sharing God’s love. Kids will see how they can learn from and help people all over the world. This book will help raise up a generation of generous, global Christians who are active in their communities and their world. This Bible storybook is beautifully illustrated by Martina Peluso in bright, whimsical displays. Carolyn Larsen, author of The Little Girl’s Bible Storybook , assisted writing the Bible stories. World Vision ® CEO Richard Stearns and his wife, Reneé, present stories about children they’ve met through World Vision, what life is like in their corner of the world, and how God is working through their lives. Also features fun facts about each child’s home country. Proceeds of this book will be donated to World Vision. Meets national education standards. Richard Stearns went from success to significance when he left the corporate world behind to become president of World Vision U.S. in 1998. After 20 years as the longest-serving CEO of the Christian relief and development organization, he plans to retire in January 2019. Stearns holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His professional career included leadership roles at Gillette, Parker Brothers Games, The Franklin Mint, and Lenox Inc., where he became president and chief executive officer in 1995. Stearns brought corporate best practices to World Vision, where he inspired a culture of outcome-focused management. His lasting legacy is his leadership in calling on the Church in America to respond to some of the greatest needs of our time, notably the HIV and AIDS pandemic and the global refugee crisis. Stearns and his wife, Reneé, have five children and five grandchildren and live in Bellevue, Washington. God's Love For You By RICHARD STEARNS, RENEÉ STEARNS, Martina Peluso Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2011 Biblica Inc. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4003-2187-2 Contents Old Testament, New Testament, CHAPTER 1 Old Testament God's Wonderful Creation Plan Based on GENESIS 1 In the beginning, there was no earth, no sky, no land, no plants or animals or people. But God was there. And He had an amazing plan for a world filled with beautiful blue skies and tall green plants and cuddly, funny animals, and—most important—you! God spoke four powerful words—"Let there be light!"—and creation began. Light burst through the darkness! God called the light day, and He called the darkness night. This was the first day, and God was pleased with His work. On the second day of creation, God separated the land and the sky and made an earth that was ready to receive life. On the third day, He made rugged mountains, green fields, and deep blue oceans. He filled the land with plants—tall trees, juicy fruit and veggie bushes, and big, beautiful flowers. God saw that everything He had made was good. On the fourth day of creation, God filled the sky with lights. He made the moon and twinkling stars to light the night sky and the bright sun to light the day. God was happy with what He had made. On the fifth day, God made millions of fish and creatures that live in the water, such as octopuses and sea urchins. He made colorful birds to fly across the sky. God was pleased with this part of His creation too. The sixth day was very special! God made the animals that live on land. From the tiniest baby bunny to the biggest elephant, from soft lambs to roaring lions, God made them all! And then God made His most important creation ... God's wonderful plan was to make a beautiful world for people to enjoy. He was very happy with everything He had made. God Made People to Be Like Him Based on GENESIS 1–2 The final part of God's creation was the most amazing. God said, "Let Us make people in Our own image." He took dust from the ground and shaped it into the first man. Then God blew breath into the man, and he became the first living, breathing human! God named him Adam, and He knew His creation was very good! Then, on the seventh day, God rested. God had made a beautiful garden for Adam to live in and called it Eden. God said that Adam could eat the yummy fruit from any of the trees in the garden. There was only one tree Adam had to leave alone. God told him not to eat from the tree in the center of the garden—the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God said, "If you eat fruit from that tree, you will die." Then God gave Adam a really fun job. Adam got to name all the animals! Whatever Adam called each creature, that became its name. "You shall be a bear. You are a butterfly. I'll call you an elephant. And you? You look like an orangutan!" God wanted Adam to find a helper and friend for himself, so Adam paid attention as he named the animals