Abraham's Sacrifice

When Isaac became a young boy, God spoke to Abraham and commanded him to take his son to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice to God. This was God’s test of Abraham’s faith. Abraham loved his son very much, but did not hesitate to follow God’s words for he was a man whose faith in God was strong. As Abraham and his son reached the place where the sacrifice was to be performed, Isaac said to his father, “Father, where is the lamb that is to be sacrificed?” Abraham replied, “My son, God will provide the lamb”.

Abraham laid his son on the sacrificial place ready to be sacrificed for God. As Abraham was taking out his knife, his hands were trembling. He was about to sacrifice his son when heard the voice of God saying, “Abraham, Stop! Do not hurt your son. You have proven your faith and shown how much you love Me by willing to sacrifice your son for Me. Therefore, I shall bless you and your family, and through you, I shall bless all the nations on earth”. God also provided a lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham went home along with his son, and their hearts full of love and faith.

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Story of David and Goliath

David was a shepherd boy who spent most of his time in the fields with the lambs and the sheep. He always wondered about the God who created this lovely world. Prophet Samuel had sent for him and anointed his head with oil. This was the sign that God had chosen David to be the future king of Israel. David had returned to the hills near Bethlehem to take care of his father’s sheep.

At that time, the Israelites were still at war with their old enemies, the Philistines. One day when David was in the hills, one of the king’s servants came to fetch him. The servant asked David to bring his harp and go to the king. King Saul who was ill and unhappy wanted to hear David play the harp. David played the harp for the sad king who was comforted by the music. The king regained his strength and went to his army. The armies of the Israelites and the Philistines were on opposite sides of the hill, and both armies were ready for battle. Each day the Philistines sent their champion, Goliath, who was fully armed and gigantic in size, to shout across the valley “Choose a man, and if he were able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall serve us.”

The Israelites trembled as they heard the voice of Goliath. Nobody was brave or strong enough to fight with this giant Philistine. One day, David came to the Israelites’ camp to see his brothers. He heard the words of Goliath. He was amazed that the Israelites were all afraid. “I will go and fight with this Philistine” David said. When the king knew about David’s intention, he said “You are not able to fight for you are a youth, and the Philistine is a man of war”. David replied “The lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear when I kept my father’s sheep, will deliver me.” The king said “Go, then, and the Lord shall be with you.” Unarmed, except for his staff, his shepherd’s sling and a few stones, David went to confront the giant.

Goliath was angry when he saw that the Israelites sent a shepherd boy to meet him. “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks and stones?” Goliath shouted. “Today the Lord will deliver you into my hands and all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” David replied. David ran fearlessly towards the Philistine giant, he slipped one of the stones into his sling, and skillfully flung it so that it hit Goliath in the forehead, who fell to the ground. When the Philistine army saw that their champion is dead, they fled the battle. The Israelites won the battle and David whom God had chosen to be the future king of Israel was the hero of the people of Israel.

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Story of Moses

The Israelites who are descendants of Jacob lived in Egypt. These people, also known as “the children of Israel’, became large in numbers which made the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, very worried. Fearing that one day they would turn against him, Pharaoh made the Israelites work for him as slaves. Pharaoh also ordered that every new-born Israelite baby boy be thrown into the River Nile. There was a man and his wife who had three children, Aaron, Miriam, and their baby brother. When the baby brother was born, his mother hid him to save his life. The baby was growing and his mother could not keep on hiding him anymore. She decided to leave him on the bank of the River Nile where the king’s daughter comes to bathe.

When the princess of Egypt came to the bank of the River Nile she found the baby in the cradle and realized that he was a Hebrew child. She decided to take the adorable baby and raise him as her own. Just before the princess left, the baby’s sister, Merriam, who was hiding in the bushes, came out of the bushes and asked the princess ‘Shall I go and bring a Hebrew woman to take care of the baby for you?’. The princess agreed, and Merriam went to fetch her mother. The mother was very happy and grateful to God because she was going to be close to her child. The baby whom the princess named Moses lived in the palace and was treated as if he were her son.

When Moses grew up, he found out that he was an Israelite. He was angry at the cruelty and the brutality with which his people were treated. One day Moses saw old men and children being whipped and beaten by the Egyptians to work harder. This made him lose his temper and beat one of the Egyptians “taskmasters” to death. When Pharaoh heard this, he ordered that Moses must be killed! Moses however, fled Egypt to the land of Midian.

One day as Moses was walking, he saw a burning bush. When he got closer, he heard the voice of God. “I am the God of Israel, I have seen the sorrows of my people and I have heard their cry, and I will send you to bring my people out of Egypt.” Moses obeyed God, and went along with his brother Aaron to Egypt to set his people free and lead them out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

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Birth of Jesus Christ

The virgin Mary lived in the city of Nazareth. One day when she was alone, Angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her, “Don’t be afraid. God has chosen you. You shall have a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of God”. Mary was very happy with the news given to her by the angel.

Joseph the carpenter and his wife Mary went on a journey. When they arrived at Bethlehem in the evening, Joseph wanted to find a comfortable place for his wife Mary who needed to rest and who was awaiting the birth of her promised Son. The only place they found was a stable with camels, donkeys and sheep. It was a quite night. Soon after midnight, Jesus was born under the clear sky of Bethlehem.

After His birth, the angels were singing in the sky, which was lit by the light of heaven. Nearby there was a group of shepherds. An angel appeared to them and announced to them the birth of Jesus Christ. The angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you great news. Today was born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”, and the angel showed the shepherds where the newborn baby was. The shepherds rushed to the stable to see the newborn baby. After seeing Him, the shepherds left the stable. They praised God and told everybody what they saw on this first Christmas morning.

Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem to present baby Jesus to God in the Temple. As they were there, they were approached by an old man, who was known to be always watching and praying for the coming of the Messiah. The old man whose name was Simeon, took baby Jesus in his arms. As he looked at the baby’s face he knew at once that his prayers were answered. He said, “Oh Lord, my eyes have seen your salvation”.

A few months later, three old men came to Jerusalem with their servants. The old men were asking, “Where is he who was born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the East and have come here to worship him “. Herod the king of Judea was troubled by these events and brought the three wise men to his palace. He asked them about the star the have seen and about the King they were looking for. The three wise men who spent many years studying the stars explained to King Herod about the star which they saw, and that it means the birth of the King of the Jews.

King Herod ordered the three old men to go to Bethlehem and bring him baby Jesus, King of the Jews. “Go to Bethlehem and bring me the child so that I can also worship him”. King Herod’s intention was however not to worship but to kill baby Jesus. The three men went to Bethlehem and found baby Jesus. They kneeled before the child and offered gifts to him. When they left Bethlehem, they did not go back to Jerusalem because god warned them in a dream about king Herod’s bad intention. King Herod was very angry so he ordered that every baby boy in Bethlehem should be killed. God spoke to Joseph in a dream that night and told him to take Mary and the child to Egypt where it is safe. At dawn, Joseph and Mary along with baby Jesus left Bethlehem and went south towards Egypt.

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