Will bless your faith: "The Family of Jesus" by Karen Kingsbury

about the book....

America’s favorite inspirational novelist offers a fictional view of six of the family members of Jesus, all anchored by Scriptural truth, creating a life-changing and unprecedented emotional connection to the Bible.

Through The Family of Jesus, readers will develop an emotional connection to the family members of Jesus, learning about their lives and falling in love with Scripture along the way. Bible studies and devotionals abound, and in churches everywhere people gather to seek a deeper understanding of God’s word and its application to their lives. But too often these studies engage only the analytic approach to Bible learning.

In The Family of Jesus, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist Karen Kingsbury will make you laugh, cry, and ultimately care more deeply about the Bible by helping you grasp the truths in Scripture not just with your mind, but with your heart. The characters in these short stories were among those closest to Jesus—Mary, Joseph, Jesus’ brother James, John the Baptist, Zechariah, and Elizabeth. Each has a compelling tale to tell. Kingsbury intersperses fictional, emotionally gripping details anchored in Scripture with historical and theological insights and questions that will guide soul-searching and reflection.

The Family of Jesus not only provides a deeper understanding of the relatives of our Savior, but also helps readers acquire tools that will draw them closer to Christ, to the Scriptures, and to each other. 

my review....

Get to know the family of Jesus in a whole new way with the first installment of Karen Kingsbury's "Life Changing Bible Study" series. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I cracked open the cover of "The Family of Jesus", but I greatly enjoyed getting to know the familiar Bible characters of Joseph, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Elizabeth, James and Mary in a whole new way. Kingsbury has done a great job at getting into the hearts and minds of these men and women in scripture, giving me a greater appreciation for who they are. Although of course the stories she has written are fictional, they are true to the Biblical facts as much as is possible and they breathe with an authentic air that reflects the culture of the time. I also really enjoyed the studies that accompany each story, allowing me to delve deeper into God's word by providing scripture references to look up and questions that challenged my own walk with God  I found myself pondering whether I am bold like John the Baptist in sharing my faith, no matter the cost. And for the first time I thought about the type of father Joseph was to Jesus, and why God chose him of all earthly fathers, to raise his very son. Am I that type of father? Although I worked through the devotional studies on my own, they also seem well suited to sparking conversation in a group setting as well. I appreciate that the author has satisfied my love of fictional stories while also providing me with the opportunity to stop and really think about those family members who were in Jesus' life and what we can learn by their examples.

I encourage you to grab a copy of Kingsbury's "The Family of Jesus", a wonderful combination of fictionalized accounts and devotional studies. If you are like me, your walk with God will truly be blessed. 4 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of the publisher, Howard Books (Simon & Schuster Canada), for the purposes of this unbiased review.

about the author...

#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s favorite inspirational novelist, with more than 20 million copies of her award-winning books in print. Karen has written more than fifty novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists. She lives in Tennessee with her husband Don and their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their daughter Kelsey is married to Christian artist Kyle Kupecky.

Buy the Book