Barnyard Bible Stories

Barnyard Bible Stories Daily Bible stories for children with daily devotionals for adults. Nita Morris and Anne Graham - Illustrators, Julie Clift - Editor, Douglas Graham - Author.

Doug Graham is a preacher at the Riverside Church of Christ in Burlington, Ok.

06/24/2026

A Sermon Snip

There was a family of donkeys that lived on a farm between the towns of Byron and Burlington . There was a mom and a dad...
06/23/2026

There was a family of donkeys that lived on a farm between the towns of Byron and Burlington . There was a mom and a dad. The mom’s name was Gertrude and the dad’s name was Horace. There
were three young donkeys named Mary, Scott and Sam. There was also Grandma and Grandpa, their names were Raymond and Doris. Finally, there was also an orphan donkey that lived with them, his
name was Oliver.

In the morning Sam watched as a lady drove up in a black car. She stopped her car and walked up to Farmer Smith’s house. Sam looked puzzled while the woman asked all kinds of questions. Sam thought she was the nosiest lady he had ever met. Later that day at supper, Sam told his dad, “I met the nosiest
woman I had ever seen”.

“Why do you say that?” asked Horace.

“She asked Farmer Smith about a hundred questions,” said Sam.

“Oh, she’s with the Census Department. It’s her job to find out those questions,” said Horace.

“It just seems nosy to me,” said Sam.

“There have been censuses for a long time. Even in Bible times. Mary and Joseph had to go to the city of Joseph’s family because Caesar Augustus had called for a census. Joseph was from the family of David , so he went to the city of David called Bethlehem.
When they got there, there weren’t any rooms to rent so they ended up staying in a barn. While they were staying in the barn, it became time for Mary to have her baby. After her baby was born, she put
cloths around him and laid him in a box they used to feed animals. Because of the census, Jesus was born in a barn at the city of Bethlehem. By God’s providence, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Back in
the Old Testament it was prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It says, ‘But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, are the smallest town in Judah. Your family is almost too small to count, But the ‘Ruler of Israel’ will come from you for Me” (Micah 5:2) God used the census to cause the Word to be fulfilled and Jesus to be born in Bethlehem,” said Horace.

Song: Silent Night
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:4
Question: What city was Jesus born in? (Bethlehem)

06/23/2026

There Is Darkness But There Is A Lot Of Light Too

Exaggeration is a normal part of storytelling and alive and well in coffee shops and even some church buildings. Christianity has a certain degree of natural fatalism. The scriptures reveal that the world will degenerate until God puts a stop to it and brings about the end of the world and judgment. If we are not careful, this belief can create a blindness and even a predisposition to exaggerating the negative. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”. (Matthew 5:7) Have you ever made an effort to notice merciful people? They are all around us. Extraordinary people who make the world better because they have a notable kindness. It amazes me that the medical field seems to be full of them. In my experience, nurses, nurse’s assistants and even the cleaning staff are unusually kind. Our culture seems to rejoice when people fall. People seem to celebrate when celebrities self-destruct and professional athletes give in to addiction. The problem is that although the tabloids cover self-destruction in detail, they rarely cover celebrities who overcome addiction. The truth is that there are many people who overcome self-destruction. Coffee shop gossip may discus failures in detail but their coverage becomes less intense at any sign of success. Jesus said, “…there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”. (Luke 15:7) If we notice good people around us, we will more accurately see God working in our world. If we notice all the people overcoming evil, we will be more able to overcome evil in our life. Don’t blind your eyes to all the good things in our world. Those are the things that show God’s hand.

By Douglas Graham

06/23/2026

Find A Flaw And A Victory

Story 321. On Saturday Scott got in trouble. He had got caught eating an oatmeal cookie that Gertrude had made for the ...
06/22/2026

Story 321. On Saturday Scott got in trouble. He had got caught eating an oatmeal cookie that Gertrude had made for the lady donkeys that were coming over to visit. Gertrude told him he had to stay in
the house all day and couldn’t go out to play. Scott hated staying inside and after that he wouldn’t even hardly look at his mom. He pouted all day. After the ladies went home, Gertrude sat down with Scott.

“Scott, I just want you to know pouting doesn’t work with me. You’re welcome to keep on doing it, but I like to know your punishment is upsetting to you. I want it to be, but I also want you to know that pouting isn’t pretty and you just make yourself
look bad. You’re acting like Jonah. He preached to the people in Nineveh and they listened. Because they listened, God decided not to destroy the city. This made Jonah very upset with God. He
wanted God to destroy the city. Jonah was so sad that he told God that he wanted to die. That was when Jonah went outside of the city and pouted. He just sat there. After a while God made a plant
grown up beside Jonah and it gave Jonah shade and it wasn’t as hot. Jonah was happy about the plant, but God also made a worm go and chew on the plant and it fell down. God then told Jonah, ‘Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?’ Jonah an-
swered, ‘I have good reason to be angry, even to death’. (Jonah 3:9) God said, ‘You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up
overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and their left hand, as well as many animals?’ (Jonah 3:10-11) Pouting
wasn’t pretty when Jonah did it and I want you to know it is ugly when you do it too,” said Gertrude.

Song: The Gospel Chariot
Scripture Reading: Jonah 4:8
Question: What died that made Jonah said? (A plant)

06/22/2026

Potential
It is hard to measure potential. What someone is does not necessarily define what they will be. Also rates of change are not constant. People can have drastic change in a short amount of time. A spring that is compressed has potential energy. When the spring is released it has kinetic energy. People all have potential and it is impossible to predict to what extent that potential will be realized. A core tenant of Christianity is that people can and do change. What they are is not necessarily what they will be. Believers cannot evaluate people by what they are. What they are does not reflect what they can become. People with significant struggles may overcome their struggles and accomplish remarkable good. People that struggle should not believe that they will always struggle. Christ has the power to facilitate remarkable change and through Him we can overcome our difficulties. The letter to the Hebrews tells us, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” (Hebrews 12:1-2) Look at everyone with the understanding that they have the potential to make the world better. Realize that within yourself there is the potential to be better. Jesus can help with that.
By Douglas Graham

06/22/2026

Adam Names The Animals

Story 320. In the morning, Oliver walked by the goat pen. Tina the goat came out and started picking on Oliver.“Why in t...
06/21/2026

Story 320. In the morning, Oliver walked by the goat pen. Tina the goat came out and started picking on Oliver.

“Why in the world did we need another funny looking Donkey?” said Tina.

Tina went on and on picking on Oliver until he told her, “You are mean and hateful. Stop saying those things. You are hurting my feelings,” said Oliver.

Sam and Scott watched to see what Tina would do, but she didn’t do what they thought. She looked ashamed and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Later that day the donkeys got together to have supper. Sam said, “Dad I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears. Tina apologized. It was amazing”.

“I’m not surprised, sometimes people change. Remember Jonah. He didn’t want to preach to Nineveh, but after he was swallowed by a big fish he did it anyway. He told them, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown’. (Jonah 3:4) The strange
thing was that the people of Nineveh believed Jonah. They stopped eating because they were so sad and they also put on sackcloth clothes. Even the King was sad that they were not following God. The King said, ‘But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that
each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish’. (Jonah 3:8-9) God saw that they were sorry and that they changed, so God de-
cided not to destroy Nineveh,” said Horace.

Song: The Lord’s Army
Scripture Reading: Jonah 3:2-3
Question: Did the people of Nineveh try to do better, when Jonah told them that God was going to destroy the city? (Yes, even the King)

06/21/2026

Sojourners

It is relatively easy to travel now. The Eisenhower’s Interstate System has blasted through granite and forests to make traveling across our country easier than in the past. It wasn’t always that easy. In generations past vacationers would have been considered explorers and journeys across the country would have been treacherous. Even in the not so distant past, two lane roads and less than direct paths would have easily doubled our travel time.

Traveling back from a trip is very different from the journey there. Going to a destination we are exited about the new sights, sounds and smells that we would soon encounter. On the way back, we want to be home. We miss our beds and our pets. However, Burlington is not really our home. Our time in Burlington will not represent even a measurable percentage of our existence. Kind David said, “For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow…”. (I Chronicles 29:15) Truly, we are on a journey and our destination lies beyond this world. Our destination is wonderful, but our navigation must be done purposely and carefully. We cannot get to Heaven by accident. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”. (Matthew 7:13-14) Remember to enjoy the journey but make sure you do not stray from your destination.

By Douglas Graham

Story 319. Oliver was playing in one of Farmer Smith’s granaries when the door blew shut and locked. Now when the door w...
06/20/2026

Story 319. Oliver was playing in one of Farmer Smith’s granaries when the door blew shut and locked. Now when the door was opened there was enough light to see easily but when the door closed the inside of the granary was completely dark. Oliver went over to the door and tried to open it, but there was no use. The latch was on the outside and when the door shut, it fell down and latched.

“Help me, Help me,” Oliver yelled.

Oliver was scared of the dark and being trapped in a dark granary was scary. Oliver yelled and yelled until his voice was just about to quit working and that was when Oliver prayed. He asked God for help. It was just about at the point when Oliver said amen, that Farmer Smith opened the door to the Granary. He happened to be needing some grain to feed with.

“How did you get stuck in here? Well, out you go,” Farmer Smith said as he backed away from the door and let Oliver run by.

Oliver ran straight to the donkey barn. He told Horace everything that happened and how he yelled
and yelled but nobody came. He also told how soon as he finished praying, here came Farmer Smith.

“You sure are blessed today Oliver. Farmer Smith doesn’t feed out of that granary very often. I am proud of you for praying when you were scared. That is what God tells us to do. Do you remember the story of Jonah? Imagine how scary it was in the stomach of that big fish. Do you know what Jonah did? He prayed too. He prayed from the belly of a big fish. Jonah said, ‘I called out of my distress to
the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice…’ (Jonah 2:2-3) When Jonah was finished praying the fish spit Jonah out on dry land. God heard Jonah’s
prayer,” said Horace.

“I didn’t like being stuck in a dark place, but how terrible would it be to be stuck in a fish’s belly,” said Oliver.

“I imagine it smelled pretty bad,” said Horace.

Song: The Wise Man
Scripture Reading: Jonah 2:10
Question: Did God hear Jonah’s prayer? (Yes, and the fish spit him up.)

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Burlington, OK
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