Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book

Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book

by Thomas Nelson
Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book

Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book

by Thomas Nelson

Paperback

$19.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Thursday, April 4
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

The Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book is packed with hundreds of word searches, maze games, crosswords, and fast facts. Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book will provide hours of enjoyment for everyone!

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781404108851
Publisher: Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date: 10/09/2018
Pages: 448
Product dimensions: 7.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

Read an Excerpt

Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book


By Thomas Nelson

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2015 Thomas Nelson
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7180-4178-6


CHAPTER 1

The Latin Cross

The Latin Cross is the most famous of all cross designs. Perhaps surprisingly, this symbol was not seen publicly until the reign of Constantine the Great, although Christians no doubt had used it privately prior to that time.

The cross speaks of two great truths. First, Jesus died on a simple wooden cross as the sacrifice for our sins. Second, the cross reminds us that Jesus taught us, as His followers, to take up the cross and follow Him. The cross not only represents who Jesus is to us and what He did for us but who we are to be for Him and to others.

Galatians 6:14 tells us, "God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."


THE BARBEE CROSS

The Barbée Cross has ends that are like fish hooks or barbs, hence the name of this cross design. This cross reminds us that Jesus once said to Peter and Andrew, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19).

The cross seems to push outward in all directions—north, south, east, and west—and for this reason this cross is a symbol frequently associated with worldwide or international outreaches and missionary endeavors.


QUEEN'S CARAVAN

For the Queen of Sheba, seeing was believing, and until she saw for herself, she couldn't quite believe the rumors of the wealth and wisdom of King Solomon. So she and her retinue made a great journey of over 1,000 miles from southwest Arabia (what is now Yemen) to Jerusalem to "test him with hard questions."

First Kings 10:4-5 says, "when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her." She was overwhelmed. The stories she had heard about Solomon were no exaggeration, for she said, "Indeed, the half was not told me."


TREASURED

Jewels and precious stones in ancient times, as today, were valued for their beauty and rarity. They were given as gifts, confiscated as spoils of war, and used as a means of exchange.

The ephod worn by the high priest was adorned with twelve jewels listed in Exodus 28:17-20: sardius, topaz, emerald, turquoise, sapphire, diamond, jacinth, agate, amethyst, beryl, onyx, and jasper. Each jewel represented one of the tribes of Israel. And in the New Jerusalem, there will be twelve jewels in the foundations of the walls: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst (Revelation 21:19-20).

More important, however, is the way in which God ascribes the great value of jewels to the people who obey Him: "If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5).


EPIPHANY VISIT

Matthew alone tells the story of the visit of the wise men to bring gifts to the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem. From their observation of the brightness of the star in the East, the Magi concluded that a king had been born, and they traveled to honor Him with gifts of gold, frankincensce and myrrh.

To the Magi, the birth of Jesus signified the coming of the Christ to the Gentiles. The wise men, who were Gentiles, came to worhsip the child who had been born "King of the Jews." The Jewish King Herod's response to the birth of Jesus, however, was that "he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." The visit of the Magi is observed thoughout the Western church on Epiphany, January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas.


CHARIOT RACES

Boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, foot races, and chariot races were among the sports of Bible times. Chariot racing was well known in the Greek and Roman cultures and was a favorite spectator competition.

The apostle Paul's analogy of a race in Philippians 3:13–14 is thought to refer either to a chariot race or to a foot race. In a chariot race, the driver leaned out over the chariot rail and over the back of the horse, with the reins around his body. Stretching ahead and putting his weight on the reins, he drove his horse on to the finish line. In the intensity of this competition, a look behind him could have proven disastrous.


JONAH'S JOURNEY

Although the book of Jonah, particulary Jonah's encounter with the great fish, has been viewed with skepticism by unbelievers, Jesus vouched for its truth in Matthew 12:39-41.

Jonah, a native of Galilee, was one of the earlier prophets. He is sometimes called the "reluctant missionary" since he was largely unwilling to answer God's call to go to Nineveh and warn the enemies of his country of God's coming judgment.

Johah was a mixture of strength and weakness. Obviously a convincing orator, he was something of a whiner who was more concerned with his own reputation than with what God commanded. One of the curious facts of this story is that Jonah was disappointed that the Ninevites repented! (See Johah 3:4–4:1.)


HOLY HEARTS

"May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints" (1 Thessalonians 3:12–13).

The heart is at the center of our being, where our will, attitudes, and feelings are formed. The first and second great commandments have to do with our hearts: "You shall love the Lord your God with all our heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." And, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37, 39).


AS WHITE AS SNOW

Although snow in the Middle East lands of the Bible is rare, it is mentioned in Scripture. It is called the "treasury of snow" in the book of Job (38:22), and it is under God's control, "For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'" (37:6).

Most often, snow is used to describe moral purity and righteousness. On the Mt. of Transfiguration, Jesus' clothes were described as "shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them" (Mark 9:3). But perhaps the most precious and familiar verse on snow is the promise contained in Isaiah 1 :18: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."


THE MALTESE CROSS

The Maltese Cross which is formed of four spearheads with points touching at the center, is also called the Cross of Regeneration because of its eight outer points. The number eight is associated with regeneration, in part because of the eight beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–10).

This cross is the emblem of the Knights of St. John (also called Knighths Hospitallers). The order was dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the eleventh century for the protection of European pilgrims on their way to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Turks later drove the order to the island of Malta, which was given to them by Charles V. The cross design takes its name from the name of the island. (Malta was the site of Paul's shipwreck in Acts 27:14–44.)


A DIFFERENT ROUTE

In following a star, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem in search of a new king born to the Jews. There, the religious advisors to Herod informed them that should such a king be born, he would be born in Bethlehem. Herod asked the wise men to return to him if they found a newly born king, so that he might also go and worship him.

Matthew 2:12 tells us that after the wise men had visited the young child Jesus in Bethlehem, "being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. "Herod later sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all boys under the age of two in an attempt to get rid of the rival king.


HEAVEN'S BELLS

Bells have been associated for centuries with religious use. In the Old Testament, bells were attached to the hem of the priest's robe so he could be heard as he came before God in the Holy Place in the temple. The bells were made of pure gold and alternated with pomegranates around the edge of the robe. (See Exodus 28:33-35.)

Traditionally the peal of bells is a signal to call the faithful to worship and prayer. The earliest use of bells for Christian worship dates as far back as the fifth century. Today some of the largest and most famous bells in the world are in cathedrals and church towers.


FLIGHT TO EGYPT

Matthew 2:13-18 tells us that an angel came to Joseph in a dream to warn him that Herod sought to kill the newborn king. The angel gave Joseph specific instructions to take the child and His mother to Egypt. Joseph's obedience saved Jesus from the massive slaughter of male infants in Bethlehem and surrounding districts. Herod had ordered the slaughter after his discovery that the wise men (whom he had relied on to tell him of Jesus' whereabouts) had deceived him and returned to their land by another route instead of through Jerusalem.


LOTS OF CIRCLES

Every school child knows that there was a time before Columbus when people thought the earth was flat. But had those people had access to the Scripture and read Isaiah 40:22, all doubt about the earth's shape would have been erased. "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth," it says (emphasis added). Did you ever wonder what wide knowledge of the Scripture might have meant to world history?


DESCENDING DOVE

The descent of the Holy Spirit like a dove at Jesus' baptism and the voice from heaven saying, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22) inaugurated Jesus' public ministry. Though Jesus did not need to be made righteous by baptism, He so identified with man's sin that He was baptized as an example to His followers and to equip and empower Him in ministry.

John the Baptist said he baptized with water, but Jesus is the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Through the death of the sinful man symbolized by baptism and the coming of Jesus into a person's life, one is equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life.


THE SPIES RETURN

Joshua sent two men to spy out the promised land, especially Jericho. While in Jericho, the spies lodged with Rahab, a harlot. When the king of Jericho ordered Rahab to turn the men over to his custody, she hid them and later helped them escape at night over the city wall. Once outside the city, the two spies went into the mountains and stayed there three days.

The Bible says, "The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them" (Joshua 2:22). When the pursuers returned to Jericho, the spies came out of the mountains and crossed back over the valley to where Joshua and the Israelites were encamped at a place called Acacia Grove.


STAR OF DAVID

The six-pointed star is the widely recognized symbol of Judaism and the central motif of the Israeli flag. It is for Jews what the cross is to Christians, the primary symbol of their faith. However, the origin of its use as a symbol for Judaism is not certain. For many years, the hexagram was simply a decoration and was used in Christian, Muslim, and Jewish design. It is believed to have been first officially used as a symbol for Judaism in Prague sometime between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Since then its use has increased, and it is now universally regarded as the sign of the Jewish people. In Hebrew, the name for the Star of David is Magen David.


ICHTHUS

The sign of the fish came into use as a symbol of Christ in the second century. The symbol may have derived from the acrostic IXOYE (the Greek word for fish), with the letters standing for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Or the acrostic may have come from the symbol.

The fish is sometimes used as a symbol of baptism. Tertullian writes of new Christians as being little fishes following the Fish in the second birth that occurs in the waters of baptism.

The fish is sometimes a symbol of the Eucharist. Catacomb paintings of the fourth and fifth centuries frequently include the fish symbol in combination with bread and wine.

From early times, fish—especially dried fish—took the place of meat on days of fasting. The symbol of the fish is thus sometimes associated with the separation of Christians from the world.

In recent times individuals and organizations have used the fish symbol to testify to their identification with Christ.


MAILMAN

As the children of Israel traveled through the desert for forty years, they were a mighty throng of people. Since Moses led them out of captivity in Egypt, the people brought him all their problems for judgment and resolution. This was a daunting task that would have surely led to Moses' collapse had it not been for the wise counsel of his father-in-law, Jethro. At Jethro's suggestion, Moses appointed a chain of command within the tribes that placed the resolution of tribal problems at the "local" level.

As Exodus 19:7 demonstrates, Moses was able to give and receive information from throughout the entire nation via the elders of the nation. This organization could be seen in the very setup of the encampments as they traveled. In a sense, a messenger delivering information down the line from Moses was an Israelite "mailman."


EYEWITNESSES

On their way to the tomb that Easter morning, the women wondered how they would roll away the stone so they could anoint the body of Jesus with spices and oil. Little did they realize they were soon to be eyewitnesses to the greatest event in history. The Gospel accounts differ as to who was in that early-morning group, but there is no dispute as to the significance of the event—Jesus, Son of God, was dead and is alive again! Death has been overcome!


GIANT VS. SHEPHERD

The young shepherd David was dwarfed by the Philistine giant Goliath who stood six cubits and a span (over nine feet tall). Heavily armed, Goliath jeered his enemy's choice of David to battle with him in a showdown between Philistia and Israel in the valley of Elah.

It wasn't exactly that David was the Israelites' choice, it was more that David was the only willing volunteer. In fact, David was insulted at Goliath's challenge, and he asked, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26).

What were David's fighting credentials? He told King Saul that he had slain a lion and a bear when they came after his flock of sheep. "This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them," (v. 36) he told Saul, convincing the king to let him go to battle for the army of Israel.

Besides having the tactical advantage of the long-range slingshot, David claimed the Lord gave him another advantage: "The LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's" (v. 47). After the stone flew out of David's sling, knocking Goliath to the ground, David ran over to the Philistine, drew Goliath's sword from its sheath, and cut off the giant's head.


THE TRINITY CROSS

The Trinity Cross—which honors the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is one of the most beautiful and elaborate of all cross designs. It is based on a double three-fold design—three of the three-petal fleur-delis designs on each arm of the cross.

Unscramble the words below and then place them in the grid. We've given you their common denominator as a starting point!


RELUCTANT PROPHET

When he had time to think about it in the belly of the large fish, Jonah had a change of heart. Perhaps going to Nineveh wasn't as bad as the predicament he found himself in now. Jonah cried out to God, and God heard his prayer and delivered him from the insides of that great sea animal.

The Lord gave Jonah another chance to obey Him as He said to him again, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you" (Jonah 3:2). This time, instead of fleeing from the Lord's presence, Jonah obeyed and "arose and went to Nineveh" (v. 3).

The city of Nineveh was known for its evil ways and violence (Jonah 3:8), plotting evil against the Lord (Nahum 1:11), being "full of lies" (Nahum 3:1), endless cruelty (Nahum 3:19, NIV), witchcraft and prostitution (Nahum 3:4, NIV), and exploitation (Nahum 3:16). It's no wonder Jonah was reluctant.

Jonah's decision to go to Nineveh is attributed more to his readiness to obey God than a love for the people of this wicked city. His message to the Ninevites was simple, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (Jonah 3:4). The Scripture says, "So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them" (v. 5). When God saw that they had turned from their


(Continues...)

Excerpted from Big Fun Bible Puzzle Book by Thomas Nelson. Copyright © 2015 Thomas Nelson. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews