God Is Here. Lisa Tawn Bergren. Illustrated by Greg Stobbs. 2023. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book; children's book]
First sentence: "Mama, where is God?"
God is Here is a picture book for Christian parents to share with little ones. (Well, I think it goes beyond "little ones." I think it can be read aloud, shared, with a wide range of ages. It is a picture book--not a board book. There is a moderate amount of text per page. Not heavy. Not light--moderate.) It teaches the doctrine of God's omnipresence. God is EVERYWHERE all the time. God is on heaven and earth. God is with us from birth to death--on earth. We will spend eternity with God in heaven. Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever God is with us. No matter what--all situations, all circumstances.
It does contain a full gospel presentation. (Well, a full-ish gospel presentation. It doesn't come right out and define what sin in and why we need a Savior, so parents might want to paint a bigger picture of what God is saving us from.)
Here's the text:
"Another name for Jesus is Immanuel," Mama whispered. "It means 'God is with us.' God sent his Son to live with us, to show us how much he loves us." "That was nice of him," the girl said. "It was the nicest, best thing anybody could've ever done for us," Mama said with a nod. "But then Jesus died?" "He did--to save us. Because he lived and died for us, he'll always be in our hearts." "Whew," the girl said. "You can't get closer than that."
As this theological discussion is taking place, the girl and her mother are being the "hands and feet" of the Lord as they go about their lives in the city. They are shown being "the light of the world" and the "city on a hill." The illustrations reveal faith in action. The text is doctrinally substantive. For example, in not so many words, the conversation is had where is God when bad things happen.
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