Six great stories on 1 great CD:
Creation ~ Adam & Eve ~ Jacob & Esau ~ Esther ~ Zaccheus ~ Parable of the Talents
Each story is faithfully retold through fun animations and narrations -that are rich with content, music, and fun sound effects. Interactivity and humor help students dig into the story, remember it, and reflect on its life application. Study notes and discussion questions pop-up where appropriate, and the CD has story-centered games for fun reinforcement!
Click the TABS below to learn more about each story.
The Story of Creation
See, hear and interact with Genesis 1: The Story of Creation presented in a dramatic and kid-friendly animation.
- Activate pop-up study notes that help kids understand the vocab and meaning of each day.
- Reflect on the power of Creation’s words and meaning through a unique “Creation Power Poem” activity hosted by “Gabby” your onscreen narrator. (See “More Graphics” below for a screenshot of “Gabby’s Creation Power Poem activity).
- Then, play a game to get the days right and reveal more questions to ponder.
Awesome CD’s Creation Story explains in a kid-friendly way the profound vocabulary and meanings found in Genesis 1. Through the story of Creation we see the power and majesty of God, as well as God’s joy and loving purpose in Creation, and our place in it. See the ‘toggle’ below on this page for more info about how we handled the Creation story.
Adam and Eve
Kids enjoy our spirited and humorous retelling of the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Animated & narrated study notes help them understand the strange and sometimes difficult concepts found in this story. God wants us to obey him, and stand up to admit our mistakes when God calls to us. And even after we are thrown out of the Garden, God goes with us!
Afterwards, student reflect on “This Story and You” then craft an apology using the Gabby Talker game to consider what Adam and Eve might have said to God had they not been so dense! After the learning, students can play the three level “Adam and Eve’s Hiding Game” with animated/narrated study notes in between each level.
The Story of Jacob and Esau
This is one of the stars of Awesome Bible Stories CD. Nearly 10 minutes of animated-narrated-interactive story PLUS learning activities and a fun game that has a story quiz embedded in it.
See Jacob win his pot of stew and receive the blessing from his father Isaac. See him tricked by Laban, and wrestle with God to receive his new name, “Israel.” Uncover the meaning behind key words and concepts, and what this story tells us about ourselves and our God.
Scene: God tells Jacob to take his wives and kids and go back to Esau.
Afterwards, play one of the most popular games we have ever included in a CD: ”Jake vs the Midnight Mauler” –a two player SUMO wrestling game between Jacob and God with story QUIZ questions in-between the rounds!
Reflection Activity: Kids work on Jacob and Esau’s apologies to each other in the Gabby Talker reflection activity. God makes his covenant with imperfect people. We are the people who wrestle with God and receive his blessing. We are to reconcile with each other.
The Story of Esther
See this amazing and often comical story retold with fun animation, sound effects, and fun voices. Over 14 minutes of interactive story animation, narration and study notes, …during which the kids can “Boo Haman” by means of a boo-button whenever Haman’s name is mentioned (a Purim tradition). Our Esther unit includes a fun 2 minute video depicting how Jewish children celebrate Purim today.
This story includes an Esther Quiz that explores the meaning of the story, and a fun “Haman vs Mordecai” game with extra study questions tucked into it.
Esther’s story is truly a wonderful drama with great content. Perhaps this CD was made for “just such a time as this!”
Zaccheus
Enjoy the warmly told and uniquely animated story from Zaccheus’ point of view. Enjoy narrated study notes that reveal the meaning of this story about a little man with the big heart. Play the Zaccheus Zappin’ arcade game to see how much you remember from the story. We all need trees to see over the crowd (Sunday School is a tree!) Each of us, regardless of our background, is welcome in Jesus’ family.
Also included is the life-application Zaccheus activity titled “How do you measure up.” Kids will rate their responses to a series of questions about their spiritual practices and Christian life to generate a score. The questions themselves become a point of discussion, as will the students scores. Below is one of the interactive screens in the “Measure up reflection. Kids “build” their stature, get a score, and discuss.
Parable of the Talents
–the servant who buried his master’s gift.
As students hear and see this unique parable unfold, they will have option to select alternate phrases for parts of the story that restate key concepts in a kid-friendly way. For example, they can select alternate ideas to the old word “talents” that make more sense to them when they hear it. (Of course, the result is to help them KNOW what a “talent” IS in their own language, but they’ll think it’s just fun). The imagery and vocab in this parable are explained in pop-ups.
To reflect on this parable, kids play an onscreen STEWARDSHIP GAME after the story for one or two players/teams. Students spin and advance, gaining or losing gold depending on the places they land. God expects us to be stewards of his blessings. This story and software teaches them how to be good stewards.
More about the “Gabby Talker” reflection activities…
Gabby is your onscreen host for several of the stories. After three of the stories, he returns in a Reflection Activity we call “Gabby Talker” . Your kids construct things for him to say in response to questions posed in the program. The pallet of words changes depending on which story you are in.
The three stories that have the talking Gabby activity are: Creation, Adam & Eve, and Jacob & Esau. In story of Creation, your students create a “Creation Power Poem” using words from Genesis as spoken by Gabby to express God’s story in their own way. Onscreen instructions and Teacher Guide notes offer many suggestions for using Gabby Talker.
MORE GRAPHICS!
“Jacob vs God” is a two-player wrestling game (our ode to the story of Jacob wrestling with God!). Bounce each other out of the ring, then answer a question correctly about the story and you’re rewarded with another round of play.
Preview some Awesome CD Media:
See the Animated Opening Menu and give it a spin!
View this video preview of Awesome Bible Stories CD:
Hear a music sample for Awesome CD titled: “Persian Fusion”.
Hear the sample narration: “Jacob’s Stew ~ Esau gets Cooked”.
Price: $27 for one. $23 each for two to four copies.
Site License Available for 5+ copies! See our online order form for site and quantity pricing details.
Age Range: K* through young teen. Younger kids love Awesome Bible Stories CD as long as they have an older person going through it with them. Older kids and young teens will appreciate it’s interactivity and sense of humor.
System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista/7/8. Minimum: 800 mhz, 512mb ram minimum, 16mb videoram minimum. Mac OS 10-10.3.
Teacher’s Outline and Guide to Awesome CD
View printable student handout for Esther’s story
View printable student handout for Creation
View printable student handout for Parable of the Talents
View printable worksheet for Adam & Eve
View printable worksheet for Jacob & Esau
How did we “handle” the theology of the Creation Story and Adam & Eve?
Our lesson objective was not to use Genesis 1 as a pulpit for our point of view -or yours, about creationism vs science. Rather, because this is a children’s CD, we are more interested in having them learn the primary lesson of Genesis 1, –that God is the wonderful and powerful Creator who made them. A secondary objective is to explain the rich poetic vocabulary found in Genesis 1, and encourage them to choose their favorite words of Creation to condense the verses down to its mostly powerful and meaningful words/images, then have Gabby speak them out loud.
In our Creation Narration, Gabby introduces Genesis 1 by saying the following:
“Is the universe an accident?
Did it come into being by itself?
Where did we come from?
And what are we doing here?
Genesis Chapter 1 is not a scientific account of how the world came to be. –It is a much deeper and more important story than that. –Genesis 1 is a powerful poem telling us God is the Creator, shaper and changer of worlds, …and of human beings. And this is how that story begins….”
In Adam and Eve, we again do not derail the intent of the scripture by arguing whether or not Adam had a belly button (though you’re welcome to do it!) or the question of evolution. Instead, we focus on THE STORY’S FOCUS: sin… what it is, and how God reacts to it.
One of the study notes does ask the the children whether or not they think Adam and Eve were real people and suggests they talk with their teacher about what they think, and what their church believes. It a discussion starter for older children and younger youth that is very appropriate. (And hopefully you’ll give an appropriate answer!)
Reviews!
We just received the Awesome Bible Stories CDs and we absolutely love them! The workshop leader , who couldn’t imagine why I was waiting for this particular CD, just called & said now she sees it was worth waiting for. Another excellent job. ~Jan Dowlin, Emmauel Episcopal Church, Rapid City S.D.
I just got the Awesome Bible Stories CD and it looks great. Keep up the good work. ~Bill White, Friends Church, Wabash IN
Awesome is awesome. Especially appreciated explanation of terms and creativity of poem with feedback reading. Terrific graphics, too. A solid package from which we’ll get much use. ~Pat Hollenberg, First Baptist Church, Appleton WI
Dear Neil, A my husband was loading Awesome CD at Church the janitor’s granddaughter was there peaking in. I immediately put her on as the first official “kid” to evaluate the material. She was in the 6th grade and loved it. Between my husband and her, the giggling was quite contagious. My husband was supposed to be just loading the material- he ended up evaluating each lesson…took me longer than I anticipated- but it was well worth it. Today my Pre-K & Kindergartner class loved it too. I have a feeling everyone will love it. Congrats on a well-made program. ~Cathy W., Trinity Lutheran, Findlay Ohio
Neil…Awesome Bible Stories CD is awesome! We spent an entire hour using the Jacob lesson and the “Midnight Wrestling Federation” game (in it). The older kids really enjoyed it. Thanks for the effort! It’s very much appreciated here. ~Dan Haertl, Peace UMC, Shoreview MN
Got my ABS (CD) today and just checked it out. Very cool!!!!! I love the graphics and music. Nice job with everything 
~Janice Allen, Peekskill NY