Author: Dr. R.C. Sproul
Illustrator: Justin Gerard
Genre: Picture Book
Recommended Ages: 8 and Older
Prime Audiences: Children Beginning to Come into a Greater Understanding of the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ; Children Inquiring about God and Jesus Christ
Publisher: Reformation Trust
Publication Year: 2008
"Daddy, why does medicine taste so bad if it's going to make us well?" That's the question Ella Ruth has for her father, a question Grandpa answers with a story when he comes to visit later that afternoon. It's a story about the King of Life. It's about his subjects who disobey him and drink from a fountain that turns their hearts to stone. And it's about the King's son, the Prince, who drinks from a different fountain, a fountain of poison, so that the subjects whom the King of Life so loves can love him again in return.
Written by the late Dr. R.C. Sproul, pastor and founder of Ligonier Ministries, and illustrated by Justin Gerard, The Prince's Poison Cup is an allegory of man's fall in the garden of Eden, God's love for fallen man whom He created, and our salvation through Jesus Christ. Pastor Sproul's story within-a-story is beautifully captured through Gerard's soft and glowing, serious and tender illustrations, as if the reader is opening and viewing a treasure. The "For Parents" section after the narrative is a helpful resource that walks through the allegorical points of the story in the form of questions answered by Scripture. This is an excellent primer for discussions about God and Jesus Christ and the Bible, one that families will treasure because it points towards the true treasure— reconciliation with God through salvation in Christ!
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