Written by: Omar Hill

Illustrated by: Martha Inman Addis

tat e publ i s hi ng
CH I L D R E N S D I V I S I O N

Jesus, My Friend
Copyright 2015 by Omar Hill. All rights reserved.
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The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of Tate Publishing, LLC.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, descriptions, entities, and incidents included in the story are products of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual
persons, events, and entities is entirely coincidental.
Published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC
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Tate Publishing is committed to excellence in the publishing industry. The company reflects the philosophy established by the founders, based on Psalm 68:11,
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Book design copyright 2015 by Tate Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Cover and interior by Ralph Lim
Illustrations by Martha Addis
Published in the United States of America
ISBN: 978-1-68142-885-7
1. Juvenile Fiction / Religious / General
15.07.10

Acknowledgments
I want to thank the Holy Spirit. I prayed for your guidance in writing a book and you delivered.
This book is yours and I leave the ministering to you.
I also want to thank my mom. I admire the passion she God and the things he says in
his Word. This instilled a desire to read and do what the Bible says from a young age. You have
been supportive and caring. Thank you, I love you so much.
Thank you, River Church of Tampa Bay, a special word of thanks to my pastors. It is
because of you my faith has grown to the next level, especially the Childrens Church. Thank you,
Granny Dawn, Micheal Puder, and a special thanks to Warren and Terry Thomas. Both of you
have imparted so much into my life. I love you both for giving me such a wonderful opportunity.
Thank you, Tate Publishing. You have guided me through all the steps of making a book.
Courtney Disney, Kirk Callaway, Wellah Mingo, Michelle Ybanez, and Stan Perl.
Mike Griffithsa great friend who makes almost as many jokes as I do.
Last but not least, I would like to thank Jennifer Stephens. You are an amazing person,
and you have my thanks for saying the right words at the right time.

It was raining outside, so I could not go out and play. So I decided

to make a book, this book!
So I got all the things I needed. I got my paper and some
crayons and thought I was ready.
But I did not know what to write about. No matter how much
I thought about it, I just did not know.

So I went to see my daddy and said, Daddy, I am making a

book, but I do not know what it should be about!
Rubbing his chin, Daddy said, Lets make this book be
about Jesus.
Why Jesus? I asked.
Because Jesus was sent to do something very special for us,
Daddy replied.
Patting the seat next to him, I moved to sit down as Daddy
began to explain.
Jesus did something very special for usbut to know how
special it was, we have to start at the beginning.
7

In the beginning, God created everything on the planet, even

the earth itself.
He made birds in the sky and fish in the water.
He also made everything in the middle of the sky and the
earth, like trees and cows.

After making everything, God made a man named Adam and

placed him in a garden named Eden.
Adams job was to make sure everything in the garden was
well. He took care of it with his wife, Eve.
They took care of the trees and made sure everything was okay.
But one day, Adam and Eve did something God told them
not to do. That is called sin.

11

Sin is something you are not supposed to do, Daddy explained.

Like when I jump on my bed? I asked.

13

When you do that, what happens next? Daddy asked.

I get in trouble and have to be in time-out. I dont like that
at all!
I do not like it either, Daddy agreed, adding, And that is
what happened to Adam and Eve once they sinned. They were sent
out of Eden.

15

But what does this have to do with Jesus? I asked.

Everything. Because when someone does something wrong,
they have to make it right.
Like when you lost your best friends toy dinosaur and gave
him one of your own, Daddy explained.

17

So what was the price for sin? I asked.

That was the big problem. No matter what man did, he could
not make things right, Daddy said softly as he explained.
So God sent Jesus. People did not really know God, so he
taught them about him.

19

He healed those who were sick.

He made the blind see.
He made sure they were not hungry.

21

Why did he do all that? I asked.

Because God loves us, and he showed it by sending Jesus to
take care of his people.
And we are all Gods people. Then Jesus did the most important
thing of all, Daddy said softly.

23

He paid for our sins? I asked, unsure.

He did. The Bible says the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus.
It also says whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved. That is all of us. All we have to do is say we know Jesus died
for our sins because we could not pay the price, Daddy explained.

25

But that wasnt everything! I quickly added.

Jesus did not just die. He lived again after three days.

27

I learned that in Sunday school, and that was not the only
thing I learned.
I learned how to pray and that praying was just talking to God.
The most important prayer was asking God to forgive me of
my sins.

29

Out loud, I said,

Dear Jesus, come into my heart.
I believed you died on the cross for my sins
and rose again on the third day for me.
Because of that, my sins are gone.

31

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