I liked this so much I bought a hard copy for my family to go through. My kids are 11-6 and this was just right for their reading levels. You're reading through the whole Bible but in bite sized pieces that are age appropriate. Thankful for this great family devotional tool that's practical and realistic for today's families.

First sentence: Deuteronomy 6 contains the text of the shema. That word literally means “hear,” and it’s the beginning of the greatest command: “Hear, O Israel: The L ord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:4–5 niv) This is the oldest fixed prayer in Judaism, and even today is recited at least twice a day by observant Jews.

The Whole Story for the Whole Family: A Year of Jesus-Centered Family Devotions is exactly what it claims to be: a devotional book for family use that is focused on telling the whole story of the Bible. The devotions take a chronological approach, a selective chronological approach. Which stories within the Bible come together to tell the WHOLE story? It doesn't focus on other types of biblical text that aren't "stories." (However, I will say that a *few* psalms make it into the devotional book because of their connection with David. Same with some of Solomon's writings (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes)). If you're looking for a book that will work through all sixty-six books of the Bible, this isn't it. If you read the daily scripture selections you'll get an overview of the Bible--hitting all the main points, main stories, main ideas. But you won't have read from every book of the Bible.

Roughly 65 to 66% of this one is focused on the Old Testament. The remaining is mainly focused on Matthew through Acts with two to four readings from Revelation. ALL THE EPISTLES--the Pauline epistles, the general epistles, no matter how long or short--are skipped entirely. For better or worse. On the one hand, few contain "stories" as such. But on the other hand, I have a hard time seeing how the WHOLE STORY of the Bible can be presented without using the epistles--they are so theologically and doctrinally rich. It's like excluding a whole food group from a healthy well-balanced diet.

The book is straightforward in its practical use. Each entry is divided into FIVE sections: show, read, explain, reflect, and pray. I'll share the first entry with you below.

Everything from Nothing

Show Distribute pen and paper, Legos, Play-Dough, or some other material to each family member. Explain that they will have two minutes to create something brand-new. It could be a new building, a new animal, a new food—anything new. Start the timer and allow the family to work. Once the work is done, allow each family member to explain what they made, commending each one for their creativity. Then explain that even though you all created new kinds of things, you all used materials to create them. You didn’t create the Legos, the paper, or the Play-Dough. Even though you made something, you didn’t make something from nothing. But that’s what God did when He created.
Read Genesis 1:1–5
Explain The Bible tells us that in the beginning, there was God, and God alone. He has always been, and He will always be. When He created, God didn’t use material that was already present; instead, He created all things just by speaking them into existence. Everywhere we look we can see evidences of God’s power, His creativity, and His love. There is no one and nothing like God who has the power to bring things into existence by His power. Every time we see a tree, a cloud, or a mountain, it’s a chance to remember the powerful God who spoke it all into existence. As the story continues, we will see that we need a powerful God to do what we could never do for ourselves.
Reflect 1. What does God’s creation show us about Him? 2. How should we respond to a God so powerful that He can create something from nothing? 3. What are some of your favorite things in the world that remind you of how powerful God is?
Pray Thank You, God, that You are powerful. Help us today, as we walk through the world You made, to remember that You are the Creator of all things.

The Whole Story for the Whole Family by Michael Kelley is one of the best family devotionals I have seen in a while. It’s set up in a way that I love that makes it super doable for families. It’s set up in a 52-week format that have 4 different devotionals that you can read each week. Each devotion has a object lesson, a scripture reference, a way to explain what you just read, discussion questions, and a prayer. It is also a devotional that touches on things that you read throughout the entire Bible-from Genesis to Revelations. I highly recommend this book and I will tell those I minister to about it. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

There may not be two other words that strike more fear in the hearts of parents than the words family devotions.

We know family time around the Bible is important. But we have questions: Can we make the time? Can we do a good job? Where would we start?

The Whole Story for the Whole Family is a good place to begin.

The book is set up to help families of school-age children explore key Bible events and passages in chronological order four times a week for one year. (But of course you could stretch this out over 18 months or two years if you’d like).

Each devotion follows the same pattern:

Show: a simple object lesson to capture attention and start conversation
Read: the reference for the day’s Scripture text
Explain: basic background and commentary on the text parents
Reflect: three questions for families to consider together
Pray: a simple prayer to close the devotion time

Throughout, the goal is to help kids understand the whole story of the Bible, build confidence in God and His Word, and create discipline and interaction around the Word that results in greater love for God.

I don’t understand the use of “Jesus-centered” in the subtitle, as most of the devotions on Old Testament passage don’t seem to include a focus on Jesus, although some do. (Parents also should be aware that none of the devotions in the book draw from the books of Leviticus or Job or any of the letters of the apostles.)

But any parent struggling to get started with family devotions or to remain consistent will find excellent help, motivation, and encouragement here.

There may not be two other words that strike more fear in the hearts of parents than the words “family devotions.”
CLICK TO TWEET

The Whole Story for the Whole Family
written by Michael Kelly
published by B&H Books (2021)
hardcover, 5.7 x 1.4 x 8.8 inches, 448 pages

Making God’s wonders known to the next generation,

– Diane

The Whole Story for the Whole family is a nice structured daily devotional to engage the whole family at once. Four days a week, Michael Kelley has provided activities, scripture, a short devotional and questions to help bring the family together around the Bible. The activities are open ended so young kids can engage and participate just as much as older children. By walking through the story of the Bible, this devotional brings the whole family together around the story of Jesus. For those really unsure how to bring family worship into their home, this devotional is a great place to start!

How many well-intentioned parents struggle to have regular family devotions with their kids? This book is not just another devotional that will end up on the shelf with a bookmark stuck between pages 25 and 26. The emphasis is not on "doing" devotions, as if that were the end goal, but in living out your devotion to God, using this book merely as a tool to increase your family's knowledge of and love for God.

The format for each day is: 1) Show, 2) Read, 3) Explain, 4) Reflect, and 5) Pray. Each brief devotion begins with "Show," a simple object lesson that draws kids into the topic. Next, the family reads a Bible passage. The readings are organized chronologically to reflect a holistic view of Scripture, with all readings pointing to Jesus. Third, a brief explanation helps to answer the question, "What does this passage mean?" Fourth, reflection questions help children to discern, "What does this passage mean for me?" The devotion closes with a prayer prompt.

What makes this devotional different? Each day's reading is designed to become a part of your family's conversation. In Deuteronomy 6, parents are challenged to teach their children about God not just in a 10-minute dinner time devotional, but throughout the day. This book provides just the spark a family may need to get those conversations started!

I have received a free advance copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. My opinions are completely my own.

The Whole Story for the Whole Family
A Year of Jesus-Centered Family Devotions
by Michael Kelley
Back of the Book: “The Whole Story for the Whole Family is the family devotional parents need to help their kids grow in their faith.
Parents are called to be the primary spiritual influence in the lives of their children. That means we, as parents, should help them know and understand the Bible so they can know love, and understand God and His Son, Jesus. But so many parents feel overwhelmed and exhausted at the thought of disciplining their children. Where to begin?
The Whole Story for the Whole Family is a step in the right direction. In an easy-to-use and simple format, this devotional guide will equip parents to start teaching their children the Bible. Rather than seeing the Bible as a mismatched collection of random stories about different characters in history, your kids can see the Bible as one story, woven throughout space and time, with one character standing at the center: Jesus. Through the use of an object lesson every day, digestible sections of Scripture, and simple discussion questions, The Whole Story for the Whole Family can help kids understand God's ongoing story and find their place in it.”
Impressions: This book was divided into daily devotions with the following components: Show (an activity to make the lesson tactile and memorable), Read (a select passage in the Bible referenced), Explain, and Reflect (questions to think on), Pray (short prayer)
Liked: This is walking your family through the whole Bible! How cool is that? All you have to do is open and read this book if you’re like me. There were activities to make the daily lessons hands-on and fun but we felt no loss at not doing them. The lessons were
Disliked: We do our family devotions in the evening so the activities were usually skipped. The idea of activities with our devotional time was a conflict for me personally because it took planning, feeling like a small Sunday school lesson. I am looking for an open and go devotional. There were also only 4 devotionals per week with the purpose to use the 5th day to take time to pray and worship. I had no problem with this as we would just keep reading, doing devotionals 7 days a week.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

Since this is one of those books that I read a bit from every night, I will review this now. I received it from NetGalley, free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I love the format. The book is broken down into sections that tell the stories of the Bible. It’s done in a linear way and starts with creation. It is simply written and easy to follow, breaking it down in ways that make me have the ability to convey it to a child. I am ready to teach my 5 year old grandson.. As a Christian that came late to the Bible, I didn’t feel capable. I think this book will definitely put me in the right direction. It gives a story, it presents a simple comparable example and then that is followed by an activity that pulls it all together. And for everyone that is so busy, it is not time intense. I think this will be a wonderful addition to collection of books.