Starting this January, Ohio City United Methodist Church, will begin an incredible journey through the Bible. Each week the congregation will be encouraged to read one chapter from The Story in preparation for a sermon on that topic. This will not only allow our congregation to grow together, but it will also deepen our understanding of how the entire Bible fits together into one cohesive story. The Bible that we will be using is called, The Story, and it is available in the church office for $10.00 ($6.00 off the retail price). I would really encourage each family to purchase a copy of this Bible as it is not only easy to read, but it contains the life giving truth of the Bible. For more information please see, Pastor Derek.
Too boring. Too religious. Too irrelevant. Too long. Perhaps you have similar reasons for not reading the Bible. But The Story is different. The Story offers an exciting alternative to a traditional Bible. It allows you to follow the story of the Bible in its own words.
And what a story! The Bible is filled with stories of love, war, birth, death, and miracles. There’s poetry, culture, history and theology. It’s a suspense novel, a book of sociology, a history lesson – all woven around, eternal conflict: good versus evil. This story offers a glimpse of people in a different time and place who are yet very much like us today. The Story opens a door to truth that can be found nowhere else. A door for which every person is consciously or unconsciously searching. A door that leads to freedom, hope and God himself!
As you read The Story, you will encounter not only the story of humankind but also the story of who God is and what he has done for us – for you. This story makes the insistent claim that a loving God has sought you and provided a way of redemption – a way for you to enter a relationship with him.
The Story is the actual, God-breathed words of the Bible. Each chapter was thoughtfully and carefully excerpted and then placed in chronological order. Transitions were written to smooth over places of omitted text (transitions appear in italic). The texts were chosen to retain the overall flow of the narrative, so that when you read this story, you will get a sense of the “big picture” of the Bible. Line spaces were added when text was omitted, and a chart at the back of the book will let you know, according to book and chapter, what texts were included.
Our goal was to make the Bible read smoothly and easily, so that you can read it just like you would read a novel. But The Story you’re reading is not any ordinary story. You are reading a story that has the power to change who you are, what you think and how you view life. You are exposing yourself to deep, transforming truth. Boring and irrelevant? Not a chance. So sit back and enjoy the truest, greatest story ever written.
