The Message of the Bible in Stories from Creation to the Kingdom Come

wordheartlifelips
“Getting the message of Scripture from the page onto hearts so it can be demonstrated in our lives and shared from our lips.” -Lon Vining, Church Planter and Missions Trainer.

OVERVIEW & PURPOSE

There are many good sets of Bible stories arranged in chronological order. In order to tell the story in ways that are clear and succinct, most of them significantly edit and paraphrase the original stories from Scripture. This approach works well for the stated goals behind the formulation and execution of those sets. 

Believing that the actual wording of Scripture convey important messages to those who will attend closely to them, I have attempted to construct story sets from passages of the Bible rather than from a paraphrase. The previous set, “Meeting Messiah” has proven the viability of such an approach in the field. Though the stories have been engaging and have inspired others to share them with friends and family, the length of the passages has prohibited members of the group from introducing the stories with a high degree of fidelity.

In order to produce the current set of stories, I looked for vignettes which could be lifted from shorter passages of scripture (less than 20 verses in most cases). These short passages still convey a coherent and satisfying message in each case. In addition, they tell the larger story of Scripture when considered together.

It is my hope that believers in Christ will use this set to lead groups of people to live out and share the message of Christ everywhere they go.

GOALS:

  1. That participants would be able to repeat the major elements of each story at the end of each session.
  2. That participants will come to an understanding of how the stories of the Bible fit together to construct the big story of redemption.
  3. For participants to commit to immediately obey any specific imperatives which the Holy Spirit might impress on them through the hearing of the story.
  4. For participants to go into their regular lives equipped and challenged to tell the story to those in their sphere of influence.

I give you, “Not with Pen and Ink.”

Old Testament

  1. The Land and Its Man – Genesis 2:4-17
  2. Bone of My Bones – Genesis 2:18-25
  3. Rude Awakening – Genesis 3:1-7
  4. Hidden – Genesis 3:8-13; 21-24
  5. Make Yourself an Ark – Genesis 6:9-22
  6. Out of the Rain – Genesis 7
  7. Dry Land – Genesis 8:1-19
  8. Never Again – Genesis 8:20-9:17
  9. Scattered – Genesis 11:1-9
  10. Crossing Over – Genesis 11:27-12:5
  11. Lot’s Lot – Genesis 13:5-18
  12. The Stars in the Sky – Genesis 15:1-6
  13. A Bloody Covenant – Genesis 15:7-21
  14. He Laughs – Genesis 21:1-7
  15. Sacrifice Your Son – Genesis 22:1-10
  16. God Will Provide – Genesis 22:11-19
  17. Pharaoh Attempts to Suppress Israel – Exodus 1
  18. The Birth of Moses – Exodus 2:1-10
  19. Moses Flees to Midian – Exodus 2:11-22
  20. God Sends Moses Back to Free Israel – Exodus 3:1-10
  21. Moses Informs Pharaoh About the Death of the Firstborn – Exodus 11
  22. The Passover – Exodus 12:21-30
  23. The Exodus – Exodus 12:31-42
  24. Arrival at Sinai – Exodus 19:1-8
  25. The Giving of the Law – Exodus 19:16-19; 20:1-21
  26. God Moves Into His Tent – Exodus 40
  27. God Makes Samuel A Prophet – 1 Samuel 3
  28. Israel Asks for a King – 1 Samuel 7:15-8:9
  29. Saul Chosen to be King – 1 Samuel 10:17-25
  30. Saul Rejected as King – 1 Samuel 13:5-14
  31. David Anointed – 1 Samuel 16:1-13
  32. God Promises to Build a House for David – 2 Samuel 7:1-17
  33. God Moves Into His House (1 Kings 6:37-38; 8:1-21)
  34. Solomon is Led Astray by His Many Wives – 1 Kings 11:1-13
  35. Nebuchadnezzar Takes Jerusalem – 2 Kings 24:8-17
  36. Daniel and His Friends Choose Faithfulness to God – Daniel 1:6-17
  37. Cyrus Sends Israel Back to the Land – Ezra 1
  38. The Temple is Rebuilt – Ezra 3

New Testament

  1. Mary Agrees to be Jesus’ Mother – Luke 1:26-38
  2. The Birth of Jesus – Matthew 1:18-25
  3. John Baptizes Jesus – Matthew 3
  4. Temptation of Christ – Matthew 4:1-11
  5. The Call of the First Disciples – John 1:35-50
  6. Jesus’ First Miracle – John 2:1-14
  7. Exorcism in the Synagogue – Mark 1:21-28
  8. Christ Forgives and Heals a Paralytic – Mark 2:1-12
  9. Party at Matthew’s House – Matthew 9:9-13
  10. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath – Luke 6:1-11
  11. Healing a Royal Official’s Son – John 4:46-54
  12. The Invalid at Bethesda – John 5:1-15
  13. Jesus Drives Out a Legion of Demons – Luke 8:26-39
  14. A Healing on the Way to a Resurrection – Luke 8:40-56
  15. The Feeding of the 5000 – John 6:1-15
  16. Walking on Water – Matthew 14:22-32
  17. The Transfiguration – Mark 9:2-13
  18. Jesus Anointed at Bethany – Mark 14:1-11
  19. The Triumphal Entry – John 12:12-19
  20. The Last Supper – Luke 22:7-22
  21. Christ in Gethsemane – Matthew 26:36-46
  22. Betrayed with a Kiss – Matthew 26:47-56
  23. Jesus on Trial Before Pilate – Mark 15:1-15
  24. Christ Crucified – Mark 15:16-39
  25. The Resurrection – Matthew 28:1-10; 16-20
  26. The Ascension – Acts 1:3-14
  27. Kingdom Come – Acts 2

 

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