Bible Stories for the Young
Green triangles are narrated and fully illustrated and will have simple animation added along the way. Yellow triangles have narration, but the illustrations aren't done yet. Videos with red triangles are planned. New and updated videos will be added very often.
To download, right-click the download button above and select "Save Link As" or "Download Linked File"
Can you remember people who wanted or got God’s blessing? Job, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David. A blessing meant a lot to those people, didn’t it?
Well, one day many people came to see Jesus. And Jesus climbed up onto the mountainside and began to teach them all about what God is like and how to be like Him.
He said, “Blessed are the people who aren’t big stuff because Heaven’s Kingdom belongs to them.
“Blessed are the people who cry because they will be happy later.
“Blessed are the people who are gentle and humble, because they will get the earth as a gift.
“Blessed are the people who are hungry and thirsty to do what God says is Right, for they will be filled up full.
“Blessed are the people who are merciful to others, for God will be merciful to them.
“Blessed are the people who have pure hearts without garbage, for they will SEE God.
“Blessed are the people who are peacemakers, for they will be called God’s Children.
“Blessed are the people who get hurt for choosing to do what is Right, because Heaven’s Kingdom belongs to them.
“Blessed are you when people call you mean names or hurt you or tell lies about you because you love Me. Celebrate and be happy when that happens because you have a BIG reward in Heaven waiting for you. That’s how stubborn people treated all the prophets from long ago, too, don’t you remember?”
Do you notice the pattern in all these things Jesus is saying? He’s saying it’s okay if you’re sad or hungry or have some owies in this life right now — because it’s the forever life to come that really matters. Whatever hard things happen here, they’re nothing compared to the goodness of the stuff to come. So don’t worry about your owies on earth. No big deal.
Jesus continued, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth. There’s no need to do that. Down here moths eat clothes, rust destroys metal, and thieves break in and steal stuff. So, instead, store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven because those treasures will last forever and ever.”
Later Jesus told them about how there was once a rich man who dressed in fancy, beautiful purple clothes and he lived luxuriously every day. He had everything he wanted in this life.
And at the same time there was a poor man named Lazarus who laid by the rich man’s gate. Lazarus was covered with painful sores that the dogs would come and lick! The poor man also didn’t have much food. He longed just to be able to eat the scraps that fell off the rich man’s table. But the rich man never helped the poor man.
The rich man had a wonderful and comfortable life on earth, huh? And the poor man didn’t.
But when they died, it was the exact opposite. The poor man Lazarus got picked up by angels and carried to go hang out with Abraham. Now Lazarus was happy and comfortable.
But once the rich man died and was buried, he was miserable and in pain and heat. As he watched the happy Lazarus, the rich man asked Abraham if Lazarus could just bring him over one lick of cold water to make him feel better. But Abraham said, “Nope, not possible.” Abraham explained that they were now in the forever life and there was a big chasm that no one could cross.
The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to tell his brothers about the forever life, but Abraham said, “No, they can listen to Moses and the Prophets if they really care.”
But the rich man said, “No, they need someone to go back from the dead and tell them how serious this is.”
But Abraham said, “No, they don’t. If they won’t believe Moses and the Prophets, then they won’t listen to anyone who goes back either.”
The choices we make in our life here decide what our forever life will be. And once we’re done on earth and living the forever life — there are no more chances to change those choices.
So can you see that a few years of uncomfortableness or pain or owies in this short, temporary life is really okay? Because if we make the right choices now, then we’ll have forever and ever and ever with Jesus in happiness. So a little (or even a lot) of pain in this life, just doesn’t even matter when you think of it that way!
And, of course, if you have times where you find yourself with plenty of food or money or happiness… that’s okay. Just share it! In fact, you can find some ways to make yourself a little uncomfortable, so that others can be more comfortable. That sounds like a Jesus way of living, doesn’t it?