Synopsis:
Come on, admit it: You haven't been reading your Bible. It's so…long. Honestly, it's intimidating. What you need is an overview. Something that will pull it all together.

Like Storylines.

It's like having a chat with your best friend, who also happens to be a Bible scholar. Or in this case, Andy and Mike.

They'll tell you there are six overarching themes in the Bible: Jesus, Covenant, Presence, Kingdom, Salvation and Worship, each revealing a way of understanding Scripture that makes it live and breathe, relevant to your life today. Grasp these Big Ideas, and you'll see this amazing book a new light. You'll see how each theme develops and how it relates to the whole. Mike and Andy also include a summary of the Bible and discuss how it came to be in its present form.

So find a cozy place and get comfortable. Grab your Bible, too. Once you understand the storylines, you won't be able to put it down.

Making Sense of the Bible
What is the Bible about? How do I make sense of it? That's often the question posed by new Christians. If we were honest, many of us who have been Christians for many years often have trouble explaining the throughline of the Bible. How do the Old Testament stories relate to the New Testament? Why should the Jews have believed Jesus? What does it mean that Paul says we are all children of Abraham, and why were they still talking about circumcision hundreds of years after God commanded it?

Our knowledge of the Bible is often isolated to what we hear preached about on Sunday mornings, or what we may get from a Beth Moore teaching series. Rarely does anyone explain how all the parts relate to the whole.

That's why this little book is invaluable. It's not a deep theological treatise, but an explanation of how it all fits together.

Invaluable Guide to the Bible
Andy and Mike draw upon their own experiences as teachers and pastors to craft the different storylines of the Bible. They take the scripture and show how different themes flow through from beginning to end. This is not an in-depth study, but it does give a starting point for an in-depth study. At the end of each chapter is what they call a "paper chase," or verses for further study to explain the storyline even more.

Simple enough for new Christians to grasp and thorough enough for "old" Christians to appreciate, this book is an invaluable addition to any library, and the humor with which it's written makes it an easy read and brings a bit of lightness to something we usually approach with trepidation.

If we can learn to look at the Bible as a whole, maybe we'll better understand our place in God's story and why it is such an exciting one.

Courtesy of a national publicist, Angela read a review copy of Storylines.

About the Authors:
Andy Croft has a first-class degree in theology from Cambridge University and is associate director of Soul Survivor Ministries. He spends much of his time exploring the Bible with young people. Mike Pilavachi is the founder and public face of the UK's biggest Christian youth even, Soul Survivor, and senior pastor of the Soul Survivor church in Watford, North Lond. He is a popular international speaker and author of several books.