Six overarching themes that flow throughout Scripture—Jesus, Covenant, Presence, Kingdom, Salvation, Worship—demystify the Bible and make it fun to read. Let's face it—folks don't spend as much time reading their Bibles these days. It's complex and can be hard to understand. Pastors and youth leaders are concerned about low biblical literacy levels in their churches and groups. Reading this book is like having a chat with your best friend ... who also happens to be a Bible scholar. In this case, Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft. With a thorough discussion of each of the six themes, as well as a summary of the Bible and a discussion of how it came to be in its present form, readers of all ages will read the Bible with new eyes!
I can vividly remember a Christmas morning growing up when my parents read us the story of Jesus' birth from Luke before we were allowed to open presents. I knew that was Christmas but it had no connection to me and I really wanted to open presents. The authors teach how to look throughout the entire Bible and to find God's storylines, how they connect to us, now. From Old Testament to New, it's not just nice Sunday School stories to forget but the way in which God demonstrates who He is. The authors do a good job of being readable without being shallow. The footnotes and questions for each chapter are really good too.
This book really has impacted me! Its changed my view of the Bible and made me excited to delve into it! It was funny and very informative which is a great balance to have in a book like this. Its very inspiring and I love how much scripture was in it and how they used examples was brilliant!
Storylines is a book which 'traces the threads that run through the Bible'. It goes into detail about 4 different topics that recur throughout the Old & New testament: Covenant, Kingdom, Presence, Salvation and Worship. It also has a beginning chapter named: 'The Bible in 20 pages' , and a final chapter named: 'The What, Why and How of the Bible'.
I really enjoyed reading Storylines, I gained lots of knowledge about the history of the Bible, the time and reason (and other source information) many of the books were written, and about the prophecies/themes in the old testament the Jesus fulfilled. An example would be Genesis 22:2 when God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham 'saddled his donkey' to travel with them to Moriah. What I never realised was that the region of Moriah is where Jerusalem was built hundreds of years later. **And Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem! Father, son, and donkey!** There were many other things similar to this that I had never noticed before.
Each thread traced the theme throughout the Bible and related it to Jesus/fulfilment. It also added context to the books of the Bible it was quoting the help the reader understand it. I found it really helpful to dive into certain themes but in context so that a full image could be conjured.
I mostly enjoyed reading the last chapter, which talks about how the Bible came to be the Bible, how we should view/read the Bible, and helpful principles for tough passages. I learned a lot about all these topics, and feel more equipped to interpret the Bible properly.
The only thing I disliked about this book was the style of writing. The language was very easy to read, almost childish, which made me feel as if it was aimed at teenagers. However, a teenager most likely wouldn't be interested in the topics discussed in Storylines, so I can't really understand who this book is aimed at. The language did make it an easy read though...
Highly recommend it for those wanting to learn more about how to interpret the Bible, and more about Bible themes.
I love finding themes that run from Genesis to Revelation when I read through the Bible, so when I saw this book, I knew I would love it!
The authors take us through different “storylines” or themes that really give such a great understanding of the big picture of the Bible. The writing style is easy to understand and even funny in some parts as the authors poke fun at each other. 😂
The appendices are both very valuable and include a summary of the main story of the Bible as well as information like how the 66 Books were chosen to be part of the Bible’s canon.
As a believer, this book solidified some of my understanding of the themes of Scripture. As a Sunday school teacher, this will be a wonderful resource to refer to as I prepare lessons!
Highly recommended to both those new to the Bible and long-time believers. We can all always grow in our understanding of Scripture!
A fabulous, fresh look at the main storylines running through the Bible. So much thought has gone into explaining the beauty of our amazing Word of God - it cannot fail to whet your appetite for more. (This is not a criticism as just for me, personally, the only reason I didn’t give this book five stars was because sometimes the casual, chatty, slightly informal use of language occasionally grated on me a bit. This is not a reflection on the quality of the contents, just a personal preference.)
Mr. Croft and Mr. Pilavachi give an inspiring and comprehensive view of many of the major themes in the Bible. If you want a quick overview, see Appendix A, The Bible in 20 Pages
Minor errors found in text: p. 15, unjust of killing his friend / unjust killing of his friend ; p. 31, try and send them / try to send them ; p. 103, By doing, this Jesus / By doing this, Jesus / p. 135, try and come up / try to come up ; p. 158, playing symbols, harps / playing cymbals, harps .
I’m sure I’ve read this before but it wasn’t on my goodreads. Overall, quite helpful in tracing themes throughout the old and new testaments, and seeing how things work together. Some of the jokes seem a little off which grated a little. Not sure I’ll be reading a third time.
This was a solid walk through the key themes of the Bible, which I enjoyed. Though in places perhaps there were hints that all was not as in seemed within the lives of the writers.
Storylines is a refreshing look at the Bible and the story of God's love that weaves it's way through from beginning to end. Andy and Mike explain the Bible in an overview of six stories. Their humor was fun and enjoyable and made the book feel like a relaxing conversation with friends. I appreciated the fresh look at what these six story lines mean to us here and now and how these two men use examples we can relate to in order to make it come alive in our own minds.
I would have rated this book with five stars if it hadn't been for one red flag on page 23 where it reads as if baptism plays a part in our actual salvation. It is only one sentence, but still I believe one needs to exercise discernment in reading and hence I will recommend this book but with this caution. However, the rest of the book is wonderful and gives many examples that make the Bible come to life. In fact, I also have marked several pages that grabbed my attention and helped clarify in my mind a Biblical truth.
This book is frank on matters and because of that I recommend this to only adults and older teens. While it's directness is not meant for younger readers, it will most likely help you understand the Bible in ways you have not before. Storylines is a cool glass of lemonade on a warm summer day!
BOOK OVERVIEW:
Across our nation, thousands upon thousands of people, especially young people, are biblically illiterate. Many give up trying to read the Bible at all—confused and intimidated by its length and complexity. In their new book, Storylines: Exploring the Themes of the Bible (David C Cook, March 2010), Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft address this issue head on by providing readers with the keys to unlocking their understanding.
Intended for beginners, rather than biblical scholars, Storylines explores the six main themes of the Bible—Jesus, Covenant, (Divine) Presence, Kingdom, Salvation, and Worship—and takes an exciting journey into the “big pictures” of Scripture. On the way, readers will also uncover amazing truths about the Person to whom all Scriptures ultimately point.
“We believe the six majors motifs we investigate in Storylines are the strong cords that will bind together readers’ understanding of Scripture, helping them grasp the central ideas before delving into the details,” say authors Pilavachi and Croft, leaders of the U.K.’s biggest Christian youth event, Soul Survivor. “We hope the book we’ve written will make a massive impact on readers’ lives; we know that it has deeply affected ours!”
Storylines is topped and tailed by an overview of Scripture’s content—a concise summary of the Bible in 20 pages!—and a brief history of how the Bible came to be in its present form. In between, each chapter focuses on one “thread” and closes with a “paperchase” that summarizes how that particular theme develops through Scripture. Throughout the book, readers will encounter Old Testament characters and events who anticipate the fullness that came in Christ and is being worked out in the world through the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church.
With a youth-friendly style, Storylines is a handy and much needed resource for pastors and youth leaders concerned about low biblical literacy levels in their churches and groups. Older Christians will also find it lively and refreshing as they, too, trace the threads that run through the Bible. The future sequel to Storylines, Lifelines, will be a journey through big ideas in Scripture—biblical values and life management issues such as generosity, sexual morality, and anxiety—to equip readers for living.
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This review copy was provided courtesy of The B&B Media Group.
Summary: Excellent book! Perfect for teens and adults that are growing in their faith. The authors introduce us to the books of the Bible, cover the basics for interpreting scripture, and take us on a journey though the Bible covering six essential threads: Jesus, Covenant, Presence of God, Kingdom of God, Salvation, and Worship. I was amazed and how skillfully they made complex theological concepts really simple to understand.
Chapter 2 – The Jesus Thread Andy & Mike follow the Jesus thread through the Old Testament. It was fascinating to see it weave through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, and the Major/Minor prophets. The typology and recapitulation is incredible.
Chapter 3 – The Covenant Thread Andy & Mike first talk about the "Peace Treaty". It's an ancient near east ceremony to "cut a deal" or to make a covenant. This covenant was customarily initiated by a conquering king who would usually outline the terms in three sections: 1. The benefits, 2. The obligations, 3. The penalties. God begins the covenant with his people starting in Genesis 12 with Abraham. God renews this covenant with Moses on Mount Sinai. And again, God repeats his promises to King David. Time after time, God's people keep messing things up and God has to keep renewing it.
Second, Andy & Mike talk about the "The Marriage". When God brought Israel out of Egypt he declared, "I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God." Throughout the rest of the Bible, the imagery begins to look more and more like a marriage. The prophet Hosea was told to marry an adulterous woman and love her no matter what she did. She was unfaithful, yet Hosea remained faithful. God said to Hosea, "I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one', I will say to those called, 'Not my people', 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God'” Another prophet, Ezekiel, began to prophecy about how God raised up Israel, married her, and loved her unconditionally. Yet, Israel prostituted herself, and God remained faithful.
Finally, Andy & Mike talk about the "The Will". This is where they unpack the "New Covenant". God didn't water down any of the original obligations or penalties of the previous covenant. If he did, he would cease to be a Holy God. Rather, he made the new second covenant with himself! Jesus fulfilled all the obligations of the original covenant AND paid the penalties due to us because of our disobedience to the original covenant! What's left? The benefits!!! We call that grace.
I was really expecting a chapter by chapter description of the Bible, but got something much more valuable than just facts. They present some basic information about the old and new testament but make it connect and help you realize what is there. Storylines gave me enough information to dig into my Bible without getting lost.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Appendix A - The Bible in 20 pages. It was a fantastic overview for someone like myself who knows the stories, but not necessarily in order. I am not a Bible student of any means other than just learning it with God's help, so seeing it without the whole text-bookish value was a bonus for me. As well, the way it was presented is fantastic for new Christians who want to understand the Bible better and see the whole picture.
Storylines is:
Intended for beginners, rather than biblical scholars, Storylines explores the six main themes of the Bible-- Jesus, Covenant, (Divine) Presence, Kingdom, Salvation, and worship--takes an exciting journey into the "big pictures" of Scripture.
Now as I've gone through Storylines, I have tears in my eyes and feel my heart rejoicing with the understanding and connection that Andy and Mike present in here. It's filled in some of the gaps of my understanding of the Bible. It was sorta like someone said to me "Helllllllllllooooo you know this! See the connection!" I totally got it! So thank you! Even someone who has loved the Lord for a long time can find joy in this book!
I totally recommend this amazing study on the Bible for those of us who are in need a more complete picture. It's meant for the average person who wants to understand more and dig a little deeper in the bible to learn the relational side of the story!
What I really enjoyed about "Storylines" was the very casual, layman approach to understanding the Bible that makes this both an entertaining and informative book about the major themes that are found throughout the Bible.
Filled with personal ancedotes, discussion questions at the end, a "paperchase" after each chapter that provides specific verses to further explore the biblical themes that are shared, several appendixes that provide even more in depth information from how the Bible was brought together, discussion of verse to verse studies and character studies, I was really impressed at both how informative and just really entertaining "Storylines" is.
More than just a "handbook", I particularly enjoy the personal ancedotes that the authors shared and the light conversational style that "Storylines" is written in, really just shows that there is so much to the Bible that is offered.
Although the themes are lightly touched on, this is does not take away from the reading, but instead, the authors touch on topics such as sin, and grace, and our Father's prescence to name a few that had me really glued to each page, andfinding myself surprised for a "small" book of 208 pages, that they manage to share so much about not just the "Bible itself" but each storyline that it is broken down into such as, what they called, "The Jesus Storyline", for example.
I highly recommend this refreshing and casual, but, in depth look at the Bible and find yourself looking at the Bible in not only a new way, but at the same time reminded of God's everlasting message that is found through His word.
I write this review fresh from reading a 1-star review which complained that the book was 'patronising'...words fail me.
The first thing to say is that this book is not intended to be a purely academic, formal study of the Bible. I read it first 8 years ago as a fairly new, teenage Christian and loved it! The book reads like a Mike Pilavachi preach with the usual mix of self-deprecating (and indeed self-elevating!) tongue-in-cheek humour whilst at the same time unlocking some of the Bible's key threads. I have finished reading now partly to prepare a study for a youth group, but I found it incredibly helpful for myself! The aforementioned reviewer described this work as 'patronising' and 'hopefully intended for someone much younger than me', and yet I have found in my ten years as a Christian that the most powerful truths are most often those which in my weaker moments I can feel that I've graduated beyond. This book brings many of those 'simple' yet beautiful truths out and I can only heartily recommend it!
An incredible book! Accessibly written without being condescending. The chapter titled “The Bible in 20 Pages” is not meant to be all encompassing, but it gives a new (and old) Christian a way to quickly place events they read or hear preached about in the meta-narrative of the Word. It then follows some major themes from the OT through to the New. Worship, Jesus, Covenant, Salvation, Presence, and Kingdom are all briefly yet satisfyingly examined. The final chapter explains how the bible was collected and canonised. It is an incredible resource for new Christians and connected a few things that I had never noticed before. I’ve read it twice and I’ll read it again. Great gift, great tool. I would love to go through the book with new Christians. The only thing I would change is to put the last chapter (on the origin and canonisation of scripture) first, but this is minor, and there are reasons to keep it at the end.
I would recommend this book to youth who are just discovering God´s Word and will benefit from the study of the important themes found in this book. The authors write in a way that is very conversational and makes religious terms and themes understandable and fun. I liked looking at the Word through the lens of the themes they take you through and feel like overall it is an enriching, quick read.