Tracing Redemption’s Storyline

There is nothing as beautiful as the redemption story found in the Bible.

Still, it’s possible to know the accounts and stories and characters of the Bible without understanding how these move God’s story from Creation to Fall to Rescue to Restoration. As Colin Smith says in Unlocking the Bible Story:

“Many people know stories from the Bible but do not know the story of the Bible. That’s like having a handful of pearls with no string to link them together.”

Unless we can place the accounts from the Bible into the overarching plot line, we will miss the beauty of God’s story. And if we can’t see the purpose in what’s already happened, we will certainly be stumped in finding the purpose in what’s happening right now in our own lives. We need God’s plot line to anchor us when life plunges us into uncharted territory.

That’s why we developed The Story ESV Bible in partnership with Crossway. Full-page introductions to each book of the Bible show how it contributes to the overall storyline. Introduction contributors include David Platt, Darrin Patrick, Burk Parsons, and J. D. Greear. We believe these introductions will be the string that will link together the elements of God’s story.

Our ability to trust God’s redemptive purposes for our own lives is directly connected to our ability to see God’s plan unfolding in history and as recorded in the Bible. When we know God’s story, it changes everything: who we are, what we want, and how we live.

How has knowing God’s story changed you?