The Biggest Story Family Devotional

by Kevin DeYoung (editor), Douglas Sean O'Donnell, Don Clark (illustrator)

104 Fun Family Devotionals, Built on the Bible Stories That Inspired Kevin DeYoung’s Biggest Story Bible Storybook

The Bible is a BIG book about the BIGGEST story. Each page tells about the God who created the world, acted in history, and continues to act in the present. These kid-friendly devotions, based on Bible stories as retold by Kevin DeYoung, give parents and children hundreds of easy, memorable opportunities to experience God’s story together.

The Biggest Story Family Devotional features 104 Bible stories. Each story includes a brief Big Picture introduction and a Gospel Connection summary to help children understand and apply Scripture. A QR code on each story page links to an animated video retelling that parents and children can watch together. The 104 stories each include 5 individual Bible readings (520 in all) that families can complete whenever they choose―during dinner, before bed, one per day, or several at a time. Each reading has family discussion questions, a prayer, and space for notes.

With The Biggest Story Family Devotional, families will encounter real stories from Genesis to Revelation and learn how they unite to tell the big story of God’s love for them.

Easy-to-Use Devotional: Includes hundreds of readings with family discussion questions, engaging Scripture summaries, links to animated videos, and more
Memorable Retellings of 104 Biblical Stories: This devotional helps kids ages 6–12 learn the unified story of the Bible
Part of the Biggest Story Suite: Featuring The Biggest Story Bible Storybook; The Biggest Story ABC; The Biggest Story Curriculum, and other exciting resources that bring the Bible to life

432 pages, Hardcover

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

Kevin DeYoung is the Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church (RCA) in East Lansing, Michigan, right across the street from Michigan State University.

Reviews

[Paris (parismaereads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the questions in this devotional and how it lines up to the chapters in The Biggest Story Bible Storybook! My children are still little (5, 3, and 1) but I’ve been able to prompt discussion with the help of a question or two from this devotional to add more depth into our Bible reading time.

If you don’t have the storybook Bible that’s okay! This devotional also has a QR code on each devotional to scan and you can watch the story come to life via a video on your smart phone that follows the chapter in the storybook bible.

Will be a trusted and well used resource for us as our children age and grow.

[Dr. David Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family worship is heralded is an important aspect of the Christian family. Yet children are sometimes left behind in a cloud of theological “dust,” as grown-ups wax eloquent and share their deep insight. The Biggest Story Family Devotional is the perfect cure for families looking for a blend of theology, life application, and gospel-focused reality.

The Biggest Family Devotional introduces readers to an overview of the Bible which is broken down into seven parts, including:

Part 1: The Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy)

Part 2: History (Joshua - Esther)

Part 3: Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon)

Part 4: The Prophets (Isaiah - Malachi)

Part 5: The Gospels (Matthew - John)

Part 6: Acts and Epistles (Acts - Jude)

Part 7: Revelation

Each part includes a series of studies that are comprised of an overview of the biblical text, short readings, and questions designed for meaningful discussion. The end of every student includes a gospel connection that helps children understand how Jesus fits into the drama of Scripture, redeems his people of their sin, and will one day make all things new!

Also included in each study is a short video that can be accessed using a convenient QR code via cell phone. These videos are professionally produced and are sure to draw the attention of young and old readers alike. My wife showed one of the videos to a group of 6-8-year-olds at church, who were totally captivated and engaged. These children were primed and ready to discuss the biblical passage with great eagerness.

The artwork by Don Clark is absolutely riveting. This gifted artist is being greatly used by God to warm the affections of children as they learn about God’s redemptive purposes.

Soli Deo gloria!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Ellie (elliehojreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This devotional is so great! The illustrations are stunning. There are options for kiddos of all ages! Our oldest is two but as he grows there are more challenging questions and more depth to prompt discussion. I love the accessibility for all ages. The videos paired with it are so helpful as well.

I love the flexibility this devotional allows as you can make it as long/short as you want. Thankful for this resource to teach my family the truths of scripture!

Thank you to Crossway for the gifted copy!

[Michael Philliber · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The highest compliment I can give this book is that I had to ask my children for a break because they didn’t want me to stop reading! The Biggest Story Family Devotional has kept our family devotions fresh, and I look forward to spending this time with my children together with the Lord.

With 104 devotionals focused on exciting Bible stories, this book has been perfect for my kids, ages 3-5. They absolutely love it! Each story includes child-friendly discussion questions, and I’ve been able to easily adapt the material for our family.


The Snake and the Snake Crusher

What I appreciate most is how the book presents the story of the Bible as a battle — with a snake and a snake crusher. My boys especially responded to this powerful narrative, as it brought the Bible to life in a way they had never experienced before.

The full-color illustrations by Don Clark are stunning, and my daughter loves flipping through the pages to find her favorite story, Daniel in the Lion's Den. I even broke from our usual chronological reading because she was so eager for us to read it!


Wonderful and Engaging
A unique feature of this book is the accompanying video for each devotion. These short, high-quality videos with motion graphics, music, and storytelling have been a hit with my kids, who love watching them on repeat.

The Biggest Story Family Devotional is a wonderful and engaging way for families to connect with God’s Word.


I received a media copy of The Biggest Story Family Devotional and this is my honest review.

[Emily Waits (emilylovesreading_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

{Thank you to @crosswaybooks for my gifted copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.}

We enjoy The Biggest Story Bible in our home as one of our discipleship tools that we use to engage our children. I was thrilled when I learned that a devotional would be released to go along!

The Biggest Story Family Devotional is full of beautiful illustrations, just as you would expect. Not only is this devotional beautiful, it is rich and very practical.

One of my favorite things about this devotional is that it includes QR codes right inside the text for each devotional page. When you use the QR code, it brings you right to an animated retelling of the story. Such a fun and unique feature! (Is this the future?!) My kids thought it was such a thrill to use my iPad and watch together.

Each devotional entry has a variety of activities and could be easily adjusted to minister to both younger and older children. Activities for each entry include: 5 individual Bible readings, prayers, introduction to the passage, discussion questions, gospel connections, and lots of space for notes.

I can’t wait to complete this devotional with my little family.

We’ve done lots of family devotionals and I can already tell that this one is special. I highly recommend The Biggest Story Family Devotional!

Keep a lookout for a giveaway featuring this title soon on my bookstagram page, @emilylovesreading_!

[Zorina Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite discipleing resources is The Biggest Story Curriculum and the Biggest Story Storybook Bible by Kevin Deyoung. This new family devotional takes the best of both and uses it to make it easy for families to study the Bible together. Each lesson starts with a big picture to help you show your children how it all connects. There are Scripture readings along with corresponding questions and then at the end, Gospel connections and prayer. I love how this is set up to be very flexible for all sorts of families and ages. If you have younger children, you can go through it slower. All you need in addition to this devotional is a Bible. The Storybook Bible is great to have, but not necessary as you can watch the story together online by scanning the QR codes in the devotional.

This devotional helps take the guess work out of family worship time, gives us portions of Scripture to read and the tools to help us as parents teach it to our children and ask good questions. What I love about this too is it shows the gospel connections in EVERY Bible story! It helps  us as parents to point our children to Jesus Christ in every story because the Bible is about Jesus. This devotional is also so beautifully bound. It is sure to become a family heirloom to pass to the next generation. And my oldest is only 3 and he absolutely loves it. He is pretty captivated by the illustrations and stories. Highly reccomend this!

Thanks @crosswaybooks for a copy for my honest thoughts!

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the pictures and the corresponding videos in this, but the devotions and questions I found to be pretty bland unfortunately. The Biggest Story Bible Storybook, which my kids loved, and on which this is based, is excellent! So I was disappointed that this was not on par with it.

[Charles Sager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great devotional for families. Be aware c2v