The Good King's Feast
“If you are looking for a helpful teaching tool to explain the Lord's Supper or to provide a launching point to engage your children in good gospel conversation, this book is for you. Elizabeth Harwell's carefully crafted and wonderfully Christ-focused storytelling together with Laura Pennebaker's colorful artwork guarantee that this book will be cherished for years to come. Every church library and every Christian family with young children will want a copy of this book!”
Guy M. Richard, Executive Director and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta
What are people saying about the book?
Using lovely imagery and clear, simple language, Elizabeth Harwell manages to capture the profound grace of the gospel in her explanation of the eucharist. This book will be enjoyed by children and their adults alike as they read through the story of God's good feast, from Passover to communion to the wedding feast of the Lamb. It draws readers into the the sacred and subtle goodness of the bread and wine, encouraging participation in the Lord's supper with reverence and thanksgiving. Five out of five stars!
—Danielle Hitchen, Catechesis Books Founder & Author
Once again, Elizabeth Harwell has given the church an incredible resource in The Good King's Feast. It is no easy task to trace the storyline of the Lord's Supper from the Old Testament into the New Testament in a brief and beautiful way, but Harwell does this wonderfully. Parents will love reading this with their children, and will love Jesus more as they read this with their children. This is a discipleship resource that meets a real need and that our churches will be thankful to have. I look forward to putting it in the hands of our people and having it stir our affection for the Good King and remind us of his affection for us.
—Ben Griffith, RUF Minister / Samford University
This volume is quintessential Elizabeth Harwell! The Lord has gifted her with pure genius when it comes to presenting robust theological topics to children. She never speaks down to children or over their heads, but has a unique ability to speak directly to the heart of her audience. The Good King's Feast ties together the profound story of God's rescue of His children from physical and spiritual slavery and will surely help pastors, teachers, and parents develop the vocabulary and theological depth to teach children the simple wonder of the Lord's Supper.
—Chris Ammen, Founder, Kaleidoscope Kids’ Bibles, www.readkaleidoscope.com
Elizabeth has written a beautiful children’s book diving deep into the heart of communion, and why Jesus ordained this sacrament for the nurturing of the church—and including our littlest ones too! This book will help your children understand how to eat in remembrance, comfort and hope and apply its grace to their souls!
—Eleanor Brindle, Church of England Youth Minister
I hope and pray this book ends up in the hands of every parent at our church. What a beautiful tool for families to use in discipling and teaching their children about the communion table and all the meaning that is wrapped up in it! The Good King's Feast points our children to the history, the promise, the story, the rescue, the strengthening, the family, and the celebration found in a meal of hope given to us by our God.
—Sarah Merrick, Director of Children’s Discipleship at Perimeter Church / Johns Creek, GA
Few people can simplify rich theological concepts and biblical stories and yet still retain their wonder and beauty like Elizabeth Harwell. The Good King’s Feast does just that in providing a beautiful introduction and invitation into the heart of the Christian story, to the Lord’s Table. In this book, those who are young and old, new to the faith of seasoned in it can taste and see anew the Table that shapes and sustains the Christian life, and that this “Table is as long as all of history and as wide as the world, and because of the work of Jesus, there is an invitation for you.”
—Rev. Robert Cunningham, Vicar of Church of the Good Shepherd/ Charlottesville, VA
The text of the story moves effortlessly from Old Testament to the New Testament, offering the reader a strong Biblical understanding of the Lord’s Supper in the context of feasting and God’s work with his chosen people. The open, airy watercolor paintings underscore the open and engaging text. Reading this book will give people, adults as well as children, rich appreciation of the weight of Holy Communion and its place in the Great Story of the Bible. I look forward to sharing this book with friends and their little ones.
—Zack Owens, Assistant Pastor of Children and Families at Redeemer Church / Jackson, MS
The text of the story moves effortlessly from Old Testament to the New Testament, offering the reader a strong Biblical understanding of the Lord’s Supper in the context of feasting and God’s work with his chosen people. The open, airy watercolor paintings underscore the open and engaging text. Reading this book will give people, adults as well as children, rich appreciation of the weight of Holy Communion and its place in the Great Story of the Bible. I look forward to sharing this book with friends and their little ones.
—Leslie Bustard, co-editor to Wild Things and Castles in the Sky: A Guide to Choosing the Best Books for Children
With content as captivating as its wonder evoking watercolor illustrations, "The Good King's Feast" not only makes a meaningful gift for the occasion of a child's first communion, but it well may be the invitation that wets their appetite for the meal itself. In gentle and accessible words, Elizabeth Harwell faithfully tells the Story of Scripture through meals, giving you the language to invite your children to feast with you on the riches of God's grace. This book is sure kindle your own affection for Christ and renew your gratitude for his table. And my prayer is that it may also cause a hunger that leads your child to pull up a chair beside you.
—Abbey Wedgeworth, author of Held: 31 Biblical Meditations on God’s Comfort and Care in the Sorrow of Miscarriage
In Deuteronomy 6:7, parents are instructed to share the word of the Lord with their kids as they sit, as they walk, as they lay down at night, and as they get up in the morning. Several verses later, parents are told that there will come a day in which their kids will inquire as to the meaning of these words they've heard and these rituals they've enacted. When that moment comes, moms and dads are to be ready! I can't imagine a resource that will be of more help to parents as they try to meet that moment than the book you're holding in your hands. Written with beauty, clarity, and theological sensitivity, 'The Good King's Feast' is an indispensable gift to the Good King's church as it goes about its calling to pass down the history of redemption to the next generation. Take and read!
—Dustin Messer, Pastor for Faith Formation, All Saints Dallas / Dallas, TX