Six great interactive Bible stories for children.
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 program has story-centered games for fun reinforcement!
Special Note!After 24 years of pushing the Sunday Software nut uphill, I have stopped sales at this site and DONATED all my Bible software and games to www.rotation.org and updated and posted all my software guides there. Rotation.org also has all my software lesson plans.
Certain portions of sundaysoftware.com may no longer be available. Learn more about our story (and closing).
A HUGE thank you to those who have been with us on this wonderful journey.
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.
- Then, play a game to get the days right and reveal more questions to ponder.
In addition to seeing and hearing the “In the Beginning…” story, Awesome software explains in a kid-friendly way the profound vocabulary and imagery of 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.
At the end of each day, clickable “pop-ups” appear. These explain keywords and concepts.
Screenshot of Gabby’s Creation Power Poem Activity
Gabby narrates an introduction to this activity, then students select their choice of keywords
taken from Genesis 1 to create their own Genesis poem.
Press “play” and Gabby speaks their poem out loud for all to hear.
Story of Creation also includes a “Days of Creation” scramble game.
Adam and Eve
Kids enjoy our spirited and humorous retelling of the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Clicking on our animated & narrated study notes helps 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 working through the story, students reflect on “This Story and You,” then craft an apology to God using the Gabby Talker game. What could Adam and Eve have said to God when he caught them sinning?
Is the story “true” ?
Our study notes and approach to this story don’t take the kids into a lesson about the “historicity” of the story. Rather, we look at the greater truth the story was meant to express.
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 story’s presentation is one of the stars of Awesome Bible Stories. We tell the whole story of Jacob & Esau, including Laban, Rachel and Leah. After the story, there are 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. We are the people who wrestle with God. We receive his blessing and reconcile with each other.
Faithfully telling the story in a fun, kid-friendly and memorable way is a hallmark of Awesome Bible Stories.
God tells Jacob to take his wives and kids and go back to Esau.
After the story….
“Jake vs The Midnight Mauler”
is a reinforcing story quiz “disguised” as a fun two player
SUMO wrestling contest between Jacob and God.
In Jacob and Esau’s version of “Gabby Talker,” students craft apologies
that Jacob and Esau should have made to 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.
Esther’s story is truly a wonderful drama with great content.
Perhaps this software was made for “just such a time as this.”
Haman vs Mordecai is a “Connect 4-style game reward for being such great students.
Zaccheus
- Interactive Story
- Zappin’ Zaccheus Game
- How Do You Measure Up? (reflection and discussion activity)
Enjoy the warmly told and uniquely animated story from Zaccheus’ point of view. Hear and see narrated study notes that reveal the meaning of this story about a little man with the big heart. 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.
Pictured above: One of the narrated study questions that pops up during the story.
The animated storytelling ends with suggested follow-up questions.
After the story, play the story reinforcing Zaccheus Zappin’ arcade game
to see how much you remember from the story.
The “right answer” screen after one of the questions in the “Zappin Zach” game.
Finish your lesson by playing the life-application activity: “How do you measure up.”
Kids select responses to a series of “spiritual growth” questions. A total score and ‘title’ is shown afterwards, which leads to discussion.
Parable of the Talents
–the servant who buried his master’s gift.
This parable has a lot of challenging vocabulary words and unfamiliar imagery for kids:
“talents,” “invested,” “slave,” “outer darkness,” “gnashing of teeth” -to mention a few.
We’ve designed the storytelling to help unpack all those and help kids see their life application. As the parable is narrated and animated, it pauses at SEVERAL key places for students to select from one of four possible word-substitutions: A, B, C, and D. “A” is the one in scripture. “B,C, and D” options are helpful and sometimes funny synonyms.
After selecting the word option, they hear the parable continue with their chosen word-explanation for that verse. Sneakily, the word-option selections also mean that your students can play through the story MANY TIMES without hearing it the same way twice!
Key imagery, concepts, and vocab are also explained in pop-ups.
FOLLOWING THE PARABLE….
Students reflect on its meaning by playing the onscreen STEWARDSHIP GAME 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. And in 3 of the stories, he also hosts a special interactive Reflection Activity we call “Gabby Talker.”
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. Gabby Talker offers “starter” suggestions/questions, but you are certainly able to come up with your own.
In Adam & Eve’s story, Gabby Talker (as seen in the graphic above) is full of words of Confession and Forgiveness for your kids to reconstruct what Adam and Eve COULD have said to God. In Jacob & Esau, Gabby Talker’s word choices focus on how to say “I’m sorry.” The kids drag the words into the green boxes and then play them back for all to hear.
The combinations are endless, and the kids really enjoy hearing Gabby give voice to their comments, poems, apologies and advice.
Be sure to read our tech note about how to make this program fill more of your computer screen.
Age Range: K* through age 13. Younger kids love Awesome Bible Stories 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.
Awesome Outline and Teaching Guide (also included in the download)
Student Handouts for 5 of the stories – these optional resources can be used to guide students through the software, help them record and remember content, and function as discussion helps. (Only Zaccheus doesn’t have a handout.)
Lessons at Rotation.org that use this software:
- Zaccheus
- (WT) Purim: The Story of Esther ~ Computer Workshop
- (WT) Jacob & Esau ~ Computer Lesson
- (WT) Adam and Eve ~ Computer Lesson
- Creation Story software lesson
- Parable of the Talents lesson idea
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 software, we are more interested in having them learn the primary MEANING of Genesis 1, –which is about WHO and WHAT, and not about HOW. Genesis 1 teaches us that God is the wonderful and powerful Creator who gives us life. A secondary goal in our retelling is to help the kids understand the powerful and inspiring poetry of Genesis 1, and know what certain words and phrases mean. That’s why the Gabby Talker reflection activity has them creating a “Creation Power Poem,” …which Gabby can then speak out loud.
Here is an excerpt of what Gabby says when he introduces the Genesis 1 Bible story presentation:
“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 Story, we again do not DERAIL the INTENT of SCRIPTURE by introducing an argument about whether or not Adam had a belly button -i.e. the question of evolution (though you’re welcome to do it!). Instead, we focus on what the original story focuses on: SIN, -what it is, -and how God reacts to it, and what we’re supposed to do when we commit 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!)