How God Changes People: Conversion Stories from the Bible by Carine Mackenzie

How God Changes People is a wonderful story book of conversion stories from the Bible.

I want to thank Christian Focus Publications for providing me with a copy of How God Changes People in return for my honest opinion.

In the new 48-page picture book How God Changes People: Conversion Stories from the Bible (Christian Focus Publications, 2012), Carine Mackenzie explains to children how biblical figures came to follow Christ. Carine Mackenzie is the author of more than 150 books, many written about the Bible specifically for children. Natascia Ugliano illustrates the book with whimsical oil pastel paintings.

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God Changes People is faithful to the biblical stories it retells, outlining the events in straightforward, interesting language, using paraphrased dialogue.

The first spread of the book explains how we are converted–by turning from a life of disobedience and trusting in Jesus by God’s grace. Our conversion is accompanied by sorrow over our sin and faith in Christ. God’s Spirit then works in our hearts. At the end of the book, Mrs. Mackenzie explains: “It is important to realise that we are sinners and that Jesus Christ died to save sinners. Believing that, is the turning point in a person’s life. This is conversion.”

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I am so excited to report this book comes from a confessional theology rather than a decisional theology. There are no instances of the ‘salvation prayer’–just an explanation of how Christ changes our lives, and what that looks like.

The stories told include conversions before and after the resurrection of Christ. We read the stories of: Nathanael, Andrew, James and John, Matthew, Nicodemus, The Samaritan Woman, Peter (his conversion), Zacchaeus, Peter (his denial of Christ), The Thief on the Cross, Peter (his restoration), Pentecost, The Ethiopean Official, Saul (this story covers two spreads), Paul (Saul’s new life!), Cornelius, Lydia, The Philippian Jailer, and Timothy. fter the stories, there is a brief section addressing God’s work in you (or the child you are reading to).

The end of each story has a sentence or two of application or explanation. For example, after the story of James and John, we read: “James and John faced difficulties too in their Christian life, but they persevered in the faith until the end.” At the end of Cornelius’ story, Mrs. Mackenzie writes: “Jesus has followers all over the world. He has commanded all men everywhere to repent.”

Each story is self-contained, with a title and Scripture reference on a 2-page spread. I appreciate that, as the text takes a full page. It’s nice to be able to read just a story or three at a time. Christian Focus recommends the book for 5-11 year olds.

You can find How God Changes People at

Amazon: How God Changes People: Conversion stories from the Bible
Christian Book: How God Changes People

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