I recently ran a workshop for youth on the Bible story.  I told the story from start to finish, with no comment.  Just the story.  I asked questions and tried to get them particpating, but just got vacant stares thrown back at me.

"Who did God choose to start the nation?" I asked, referring to the nation of Israel.  Vacant stares greeted me.  "What was his name?" I probed.  Vacant stares.

"Abraham.  Abraham," I said.  Vacant stares.

Reading the Bible has always been important to me.  But it wasn't until about six years ago when someone gave me a copy of The Bible Unwrapped by David Dewey that a light went on.  It has several chapters that summarise the Bible story.  All of a sudden, I worked out how it all fitted together.  I worked out the story.  It was a great moment for me.

Now, I can't read a book in the Bible without refreshing my memory of where that books sits in the grand story.  Why was it written?  Who wrote it and when?  These are important questions.  Try reading Lamentations with no context.  Yes, it still has impact.  But try reading it knowing why and when it was written, and it's more than impactful.  It's powerful.

Recent Bible Society research has shown that a lack of understanding of the Bible is a key barrier to Bible reading.  There is a general lack of understanding of the Bible story because most Christians just get tiny snippets each week at church.  They don't read it for themselves (check out our research that shows this) and so the two verse sermon they get on Sunday is their week's worth of scripture.

I also believe that there are many Christians who may only read the New Testament.  Why, because it's instructional, easier to understand and easier to apply to our lives.  But I find so much application and learning in the never ending cycle of sin, oppression, repentance and deliverance the Israelite people go through in the Old Testament.  It's so encouraging and powerful.

We're working on a Bible story resource as part of our Bible engagement strategy.  I can't wait to get it out there!  In the meantime, refresh your memory with the story here.

Stephen