Love Alabaster books? Meet Mercy & Light's art books

If you could keep only one book out on your coffee table for the rest of your life, which would it be? If you love Alabaster books, here is the one we would add. In a Christian home, we think the one to keep out is the CHRIST book.

It tells the life of Jesus in art made for every scene, with the King James words beside each one, in a clothbound book made to lie open on the table. We made it, so we are biased, but every detail below is one you can check.

What are Alabaster books?

Alabaster books are Bibles from Alabaster Co: the complete text of one book of the Bible, set beside photography and clean modern design. They are made to be read through, at a size that sits well in your hands.

There are dozens of titles, from the Gospels and Psalms to Romans and Revelation, plus Journal Bibles with room for notes and devotionals such as A Beautiful Year with Jesus.

What Bible version does Alabaster use?

Alabaster uses the New Living Translation for most of its books, as of October 2026. Of the 46 Bibles in its catalog, 28 come in the NLT and 8 in the King James Version; a few also come in the ESV or NIV.

The CHRIST book uses the King James Version throughout, with every verse checked against three independent sources of the King James text.

Why keep the CHRIST book on your coffee table?

Keep the CHRIST book on your coffee table because it was made for exactly that: to stay out and be opened by whoever sits down.

Choose a book as beautiful as anything else in your home. The cover is woven book cloth with the title blind-debossed into it. Run a thumb over the title; it is pressed into the cloth.

Worth leaving out, and worth opening. It is a clothbound hardcover with a thread-sewn binding that opens flat, so it rests open at the Good Shepherd all afternoon without a hand on it.

See it from the sofa. At nearly 10 × 13 inches, a spread of the Sea of Galilee reads from across the room.

Look closely. The more than 200 illustrations were made for this book, one scene at a time, and each detail follows the words. At Cana there are six stone waterpots, because John counts six.

Come back to it. Open it on a quiet morning with your coffee, anywhere in the story, and know where you are. It follows the same order as our life of Christ told event by event.

Keep it out. Pass it down. The pages are heavyweight matte art paper, and the sewn binding is built to last. It is the book your grandchildren will pull onto their laps and ask about, with your words on the dedication page.

Our guide to how the CHRIST coffee table book is made goes through every detail you can check.

How do Alabaster and Mercy & Light compare?

Alabaster and Mercy & Light make different kinds of books. Alabaster prints whole books of the Bible to read through; Mercy & Light makes art books of the life of Jesus and the Scriptures, to keep out where people sit.

Book to book, the closest pair is Alabaster's The Gospels and the CHRIST book, since both tell the life of Jesus. Everything we say about Alabaster's books here was checked on alabasterco.com as of October 2026.

	Alabaster's The Gospels	The CHRIST book (ours)
What it is	The full text of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with photography and artwork	The life of Jesus in art, with selected King James passages
Size	7.75 by 9.75 inches	nearly 10 × 13 inches
Pictures	Photography and artwork set among the text	Illustrations made for each scene
Translation	NLT, KJV, NIV or ESV	King James Version
Binding	Cloth hardcover, perfect bound	clothbound hardcover with a thread-sewn binding that opens flat
Made for	Reading the four Gospels through	Keeping out on the coffee table, and handing down

Which one should I buy?

Choose the CHRIST book to keep one book about Jesus out in your home. Choose one of Alabaster's Bibles to read a whole book of Scripture in your translation, and keep both. The CHRIST book prints selected King James passages beside the art and is made to stay at home; for the full text to read or carry to church, Alabaster's The Gospels is a fine companion.

Book	Best for	Translation
The CHRIST book (our pick)	The coffee table, and a gift to keep	KJV
Alabaster's The Gospels	Reading the Gospels through	NLT, KJV, NIV or ESV
Alabaster's The Book of Psalms	The Psalms in your translation	NLT, ESV or KJV
Alabaster's Journal Bibles	Writing beside the text	NLT

The CHRIST book (ours): best for the coffee table

The life of Jesus in more than 200 illustrations, across about 300 pages, with the King James words beside the art. Keep it out, open it often, and one day hand it on. It is the one we would choose for our own table.

Alabaster's The Gospels: best for reading all four Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in full, in one cloth hardcover with photography. Each Gospel also comes on its own in a light softcover, easy to share with a reading group.

Alabaster's The Book of Psalms: best for the Psalms in your translation

The full text of the Psalms with photography, in the NLT, ESV or KJV.

Alabaster's Journal Bibles: best for writing in the margins

One book of the Bible with dotted-grid margins for notes and prayers, for someone who reads with a pen in hand.

For more books worth keeping on the table, see our seven Christian coffee table books about Jesus, compared, and for reading beyond the art, our books about Jesus worth reading.

Frequently asked

What is an alternative to Alabaster Bibles for a coffee table?

Our pick is CHRIST, Mercy & Light's art book of the life of Jesus: large, clothbound, made to lie open, with art for every scene beside the King James text. For the whole text, a reader's Bible in your translation is the closest alternative.

Which is better for a coffee table, Alabaster's The Gospels or the CHRIST book?

For a coffee table, choose the CHRIST book. At nearly 10 × 13 inches, with a binding that opens flat, it reads from across the room. Alabaster's The Gospels, at 7.75 by 9.75 inches as of October 2026, is sized to be held and read through.

Is an Alabaster book a full Bible?

No. As of October 2026, each Alabaster book prints one book of the Bible, or a few, in full. The CHRIST book is an art book of the life of Jesus, with selected King James passages.

Is the CHRIST book a good gift for someone who loves Alabaster?

Yes. Someone who loves beautiful Bible books will know exactly where to keep a large art book of the life of Jesus. Write a few lines on its dedication page and it becomes theirs to keep.

Does the CHRIST book use the King James Version?

Yes. Every passage in the CHRIST book is King James, and each verse was checked word for word against the King James text.

Who makes the CHRIST book?

Mercy & Light, a small American house making illustrated, clothbound art books about the life of Jesus and the Scriptures. It is a different publisher from By Mercy's Light.

Some things are worth keeping. Choose the one your family will keep opening. The CHRIST book sits with our other books in the Mercy & Light books collection.

Passages cited: John 2:6; Matthew 14