The Family Bible Devotional, Volume 2

When I read the description of this book I thought it would be easy to understand and relatable biblical excerpts and stories. What in fact this is is scripture and activities and discussions to have about the passages. The interpretation and analysis is left up to you. This made the book difficult for me to understand as someone who benefits from the Bible being explained. The book is good it just wasn’t what I was hoping/looking for.

The subtitle describes this book well: “Stories from the Gospels to help Kids and Parents Love God and Love Others”. What the author has done is to compile a set of 50+ devotionals for parents to share with their children.

After briefly giving some brief suggestions on using the material found in the book, each of the 52 devotions follows a similar pattern:

1. A one-paragraph description of the setting for the chosen text.
2. The week’s scripture is quoted using The Message
3. Some suggested Bible study questions and provide an opportunity for each member of the family to ask their own questions
4. “A Closing Thought” summarizing the lessons that may have come from the passage
5. A “Prayer Prompt” based on the lesson is provided
6. A couple of activities are suggested to help all participants cement the lesson
7. Each lesson concludes with a brief bit of trivia taken from scripture, history, culture, etc.

Though my kids are long gone from home, this year’s collection of studies is among the best I have seen for use in family worship. It would make a great gift for a church to make to families with middle school or junior high school students. With a bit of work and patience, it might even be used with a younger family. Though not designed for a church setting, it might also be used as the basis for the weekly study with a small youth group. I can easily give this book five-stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I’m very keen on reading family devotions: a useful resource for our generation contrasting to our elders. This book is no exception: it does have all it needs to be at your family dinner table. From placing the story in its context, reading the bible passage to questions and activities and additional information (historical, geographical, cultural), this book helps parents to guide their children in the christian way.

The Family Bible Devotional, Volume 2 is a much anticipated addition to the first volume! This devotional zeros in on the four gospels of the New Testament. The book has been organized in a way that is pliable to meet the needs or capacities of families dependent on life seasons or other external factors. The devotional facilitates exploration of the depth of Jesus and his chosen disciples as he carries out his ministry on earth. Each devo provides the Scripture passage, key thoughts and insights, as well as questions to provoke discussion and spark curiosity of child and parent. Wells also offers ideas for family prayer time and activities to practice the teachings in tangible and relevant ways. This is an encouraging tool that families can utilize to bring the gospels to life within their own homes and communities as they learn and live out the ways of Jesus and his followers here and now!

Happy to see a second volume of this devotional. My family loved this devotional. It was easy for both my kids to understand and provided some wonderful discussions together.

This is a really cool really thorough study. I like how it walks you through feeling comfortable asking questions as the adult, that it makes the kids fee comfortable asking questions, and that there were specific actions to take after the study, which include Bible study. I’m excited to dig into this with kids. I think it’s really well written and thorough.

Warning- I have finished….it would take me quite long time to finish at the pace we’re going of one devotional page a day BUT I feel like we’ve done enough of them that I could give a review.

This sweet devotional about Jesus has a great format of opening up and reading quickly to your kiddos without having to plan a big talk. Each little devotional starts off with an intro about the Bible story you’re about to read and then has follow up questions about your scripture reading. The questions are thoughtful and even slow for children to ask their own questions or express their confusion with a certain part of scripture.

After the questions there are a few options for extending your study to some hands on application! I think this is super fun. It gives parents an opportunity to engage but also immediately allows the child to put what they learned into practice. There’s even a section for a little bit of further study for confused parents who might be a little more insight into what you’re reading.

My only hesitation with this book is how many different scripture translations they use. Especially using the message which I don’t approve of. I decided to only use ESV to read the scripture reading for the day and the questions didn’t match up because words they used were directly from the message. Translation matters to me so I’m struggling a bit there but just read everything ahead of time so I’m prepped!

A great tool for any family that is wanting to deepen their relationship with Christ. The devotionals are quick, which allows for you to use them in any setting. Although quick, they are comprehensive enough that you feel like you have learned something from using it.

A great family devotional! This book will help families grow in their relationships with Jesus together. Each devotional has a set up to what’s going to be read, a passage from the Bible to read using various different translations, discussion questions, closing thoughts, prayer prompts, and multiple activities. The activities can be done at the same time as the devotional or throughout the week.

I love that this is laid out in such a way that it can be read from beginning to end in order or you can jump around when your family has a topic they want/need to discuss.

There are 52 devotions so it can be completed in a year at one per week or quicker if your family time allows.

I've enjoyed reading the Family Bible Devotional on my own, as well as with my kids. I appreciate the "why's and how's' at the front of the book that gave me insight into why the author organized the book how she did. As someone who is currently focusing my kids biblical understanding on the character of God and the New Testament, this is one I'd recommend. So far, I've found that the practical questions and the activities feel do-able, not too much prep, and create thoughtful connections with my kids.

The Bible stories are all from the New Testament and focus on Jesus and His relationships with other people, including his disciples and those He heals. I enjoyed the introductory story to each devotional as well as the follow up questions. Some of the activities that were included seemed too superficial, as if the author just had to come up with something quickly to balance the book out. I did not like the version of the Bible used (The Message), although it is understandable why that would be a logical choice for a devotional that focuses on children. I also think that the author added some of her own opinion at times. For example, there is a part in which she says that the Pharisees did not hate Jesus but just wanted Him to join them in their study at the temple. I have never seen or read that in the Scripture or any commentary, so that is either a loose interpretation or just an opinion that should have been noted as such. All in all, the book does what it set out to do. It provides a resource for family time devotionals and gives suggestions for how to accomplish this and delve deeper into God’s Word. I would recommend this book for families with children up to about grade 6 or 7.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

This is the second volume, but follows the same pattern of a setup to the story, the bible story, questions to answer and activities for the family. It takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on the answers from the questions. It is appropriate for all ages to grasp.

Grateful to have this book and have been using it daily as a tool with my family. Wells did an amazing job at creating the format of this book with the scripture, talk about it, closing thought, prayer prompt, and activities. A true treasure of a book.

I’m not sure that teaching children to follow because God said so is the best way to make good people. Good people develop empathy and critical thinking skills so they discover that living in the world is not the matter of one religion but of realizing the greater good is met through empathy. We need less of people deciding to follow one book over all else.

I just reviewed The Family Bible Devotional, Volume 2 by Sarah M. Wells. #TheFamilyBibleDevotionalVolume2 and fell in love with her and the book. Devotionals are very much Bible supported, easy to read and will make you want to dig into the Bible verses. Highly recommend this book for anyone. The book will make a great gift for others.

This devotional was written to help families get together over the Bible. It provides a framework for ongoing family Bible study, with some suggestions on how to make the learning applicable for families with younger children. This is not useful for theological study, but will help create a habit of family study where questions can be explored.

Four stars for this devotional. It hits the high points well, isn’t too long so that attention wanders, and is engaging for children. The Bible version quoted is easily understood by younger children, though you can simply substitute your preferred translation for the one in the book. My thanks to Our Daily Bread Publishing via Netgalley.

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I've been reading this Bible to my 5, 8, 10, and 11 year olds. I really like it. There's a portion that sets up the Biblical account, then the verses from the Bible with questions, then a section that explains what you just read. After that, there's a prayer prompt, a couple of hands-on activities, and then a section that explains the traditions behind that account.

While all 4 kids listen (or pretend to), I think this is probably geared more toward older kids. Say, 10 and over. Of course, it's never too early to plant those seeds in the younger kids, but they don't seem to be getting a whole lot out of it. So as far as an entire family's devotional Bible, I'd say no. But older elementary and up, it's great for them.

I really loved the layout of this book. It is very easy to read scripture and talk with your kids about it. They give you questions to discuss, a prayer, and some ways to apply what you’ve learned. This is a great family devotional book.

A great addition for all homes. There are not many devotionals out for families to do together.

Sections for your family include: Setting up the story, Chapters to read, Questions to talk about, Closing thoughts, Prayer prompts, and activities.

This will be a blessing for all families.

This has been great for family time and time with God. I love it. It's become a family tradition. Highly recommend.

The portions of scripture included are all from the New Testament and the majority of the reflection questions are self-focused.
The "translations" of scripture used are mostly NLT & MSG, some NIV. The author even acknowledges and has a disclaimer as she probably knew people would take issue with the use of paraphrases over translations.
The concept is wonderful. Families participating in bible study and worship together is ideal. This book just doesn't meet what qualifications we have for family worship time.
I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is structured just like the first volume: Introductory paragraph, Bible story, and guiding questions with a pivotal question: What is confusing you? Following is a short reflection to guide your understanding a prayer prompt, activities to reinforce reading and some historical information or a fun fact to end on. It is very comprehensive.
Yet, it can be used in order, or you can go directly to a certain topic. Whichever topic may be particularly relevant to your family.

I love the way this devotional is laid out. It is divided by sections such as Jesus and Peter or Loving Our Enemies, followed by topic and verse. The reader can jump to any section or subsection. It is well-written, and the information is easy to understand. I look forward to sharing this devotional with my grandchildren.


I received an ARC from Our Daily Bread Publishing through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

The Family Bible Devotional has some great topics to discuss through a biblical lease. Love how the author takes stories from the gospels to highlight the different lessons that are covered.. Every devotion starts with a introduction into the passage of the Bible that is being covered for the day, then the Bible text and then discussion questions for after the devotion and a prayer. What I enjoyed about this devotion is the added activities that the family can choose to do to continue to further and remember the lesson learned in the devotion for the day.

Wow! Excellent resource by the author Sarah M wells, for bible lovers also Christians where all the stories in the new testament - Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are put together as easily readable and understandable for all ages. Every chapter of this book has discussion questions for meditation, closing thought, prayer prompt and activity.

Reading each chapter of this book can help us stay connected with the Gospels of Jesus, getting to know his teachings and ministry on the earth, until his death and resurrection. Activity part of this book helps us to work on how we can spend quiet times with family or alone praying, meditating the word of God, calming our spirit by trying to focus only on God.

I just reviewed The Family Bible Devotional, Volume 2 by Sarah M. Wells. Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher Our Daily Bread for the ARC Advance copy for my honest review.

I just got into devotionals not that long ago and wanted to also find a good family devotional but this was not it. I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for but I know this wasn't it. It was basically a cut and copy of other things. The scripture was taken right out of the book and then there were some questions listed about it. Something I could have definitely done on my own.

I like when there are real life examples or a story, or some sort of explanation of the scripture and this gives you none of that.

It’s easy to find family devotions, but finding one that works well, not so much. The devotions in The Family Devotion Bible Volume 2 are from the New Testament, where most devotions should come from for children; to build interest in God and particularly the life of Jesus.

The context is given, then the story and verses, the discussion, wrap up, and then a prayer. You can’t ask for much more than this if you are searching for something that will spark discussion and is already planned so you don’t have to spend your time on it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Out Daily Bread Publishing for an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this devotional and thought it was really well done. It was laid out in a easy to follow format and was filled with a lot of applicable information. I felt like as a busy mom I would be able to use this devotional as is throughout our family bible study time, but also use it as a launching point to add more depth into our study. I would recommend it to families with full schedules looking for something ready to go for family devotional time and also for families that like to dig in and have more time to study and apply the lessons.

The Family Bible Devotional, Volume 2 is a nice family devotional. It aims to teach readers to love God, love others, and impact the world. ,

Love is the only thing that can change us. A mother will put her life at risk to save her child, and an older sibling will take the blame for something a younger sibling did. These are actions of love. One is instinctual, the other learned.

If you are a fan of independent family learning and seeking to allow God to teach you, it will work for you. If you need a bit more guidance, as in testimonies that give an example of the theme being expressed, then you may not like this because aside from a paragraph that sets the scene. The story is told by reading the Word.

A plus is that there is less opportunity for pollution of the Word and a minus is that everyone may not be able to derive the story from the Word.

I am not a fan of the Message or NIV versions. I do love the ESV and NLT versions. So I used those two versions and then checked out The Message or NIV versions to see where the author was coming from.

I like the fact that there is a guide at the beginning of the book with suggestions to enhance the experience.
I would suggest for someone unused to reading the Bible that if you are confused, try reading the entire chapter so that you may get the full context of the point being made in the excerpt.

As with anything, you get out of it, what you put in.

I recommend this devotional because a family that reads and studies together, stays together.

Thank you Netgalley and Our Daily Bread Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this Devotional.

The Family Bible Devotional, Volume 2 is a comforting book that offers brief, daily readings to create calm. It is ideal for a morning coffee break. Recommended for gift giving for families who have a strong, but united religious belief.

I absolutely love this book! I've been using this to do a weekly Bible study with 3 of my kids (ages 5, 7, & 10), and it's been something that all 3 of them have been able to follow and engage with. I really like the setup section, discussion questions, and weekly challenges that accompany each text too.