Reading the Bible as many stories woven together.

Welcome to The Bible, in stories. 

We will be breaking down each book of the Bible into easier to understand short stories. This will include scripture, insights from biblical scholars, and some personal reflections. It won’t be every line of scripture, however, but more of an overview focusing on the common themes and threads throughout scripture. Each story will stand alone, and they will also all tie together. So feel free to listen to stories at random, picking and choosing books to learn about, or listen to them all and cover the entire Bible in short manageable chunks.

Genesis - Part 1 - The Beginning

Erin Robertson

Story Narrator

Daily life can be hard, so take a breath and pray with me a daily prayer from Mother Teresa.

Christian - Prayer from Mother Teresa

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, has so many stories about incredible and incredibly important people that we will actually be taking four sessions to cover everything. This is the third session.

In the first part, we learned about creation and about the first sin. We learned about the great flood and the Tower of Babel. In the second session, we learned about Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Lot

God establishes a covenant with Abraham and promises him a family so large that the descendants can't be counted. But Abraham doesn't establish the 12 tribes of Israel, he just fathers Isaac. Let's now move from Isaac to his son Jacob.

Genesis Part 3 - 12 Tribes of Israel

Want to read the Bible, but that process feels overwhelming? Let's break it down into easy-to-listen-to sessions. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, has so many stories about incredible, and incredibly important, people, that we will be taking four sessions to cover everything. This is the first session.

By St. Francis of Assisi
Lord,
make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love with all my soul.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

Christian Prayer of Peace

The overall theme of Exodus is redemption - how God delivered the Israelites and made them His special people. As I'm sure you can imagine, redemption is not an easy process, and so we will be covering Exodus in 4 sessions. This is the first session.

In Exodus, we witness God beginning to fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The book begins in the Egyptian region called Goshen and covers approximately eighty years. The events from Exodus are foundational to the Jewish faith. They provide crucial context to help understand the entire Bible's message of redemption. The frequency of references to Exodus by various biblical writers, and even Jesus's own words, testify to its importance.

Exodus - Part 1 - Moses

St. Francis of Assisi is known for his love of nature and animals. So as spring is bringing new flowers and new babies, I thought it would be fitting to offer this praise to God written by St. Francis.
Will you pray with me?

Christian Prayer In Praise of God

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, has so many stories about incredible, and incredibly important, people. This is the second session of three.
Sin broke the perfect peace between God and humanity, and instead of enjoying the blessing God intended, humanity was burdened with the curse. However, God established His plan for redemption and blessing through covenants, first with Abraham, then with Isaac, and again with Jacob. Let's get started with a look at Abraham.


Genesis - Part 2 - Father Abraham

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, has so many stories about incredible and incredibly important people that we will be taking four sessions to cover everything. This is the final session.

Jacob and Laban have several bad interactions, and there's a lot of bad blood between them. However, they are finally able to put their differences aside and live in peace. Just in time for Jacob to run back into Esau, you know, the brother Jacob completely cheated out of his birthrights. Let's pick up reading the message version of the Bible in chapter 32.

Genesis - Part 4 - Joseph and Reunions

Leaving Egypt

The overall theme of Exodus is redemption - how God delivered the Israelites and made them his special people. As I'm sure you can imagine, redemption is not an easy process, and so we will be covering Exodus in 4 sessions. This is the second session. 

In the first session, we learned about Moses and read through the plagues sent by God to the Egyptians. The final plague is the death of every firstborn. This is the straw that breaks the pharaoh, and he orders the Israelites to leave. So let's get started on today's reading from chapter 13 of the message version of the Bible!

Exodus - Part 2 - Leaving Egypt

The overall theme of Exodus is redemption, how God delivered the Israelites and made them His special people. We will be covering Exodus in four sessions. This is the third session. 

In the first session, we learned about Moses and read through the plagues sent by God to the Egyptians. In the second session, the Israelites leave Egypt and complain about it bitterly. Now that they are on their own, they are going to need some rules to follow.

Exodus - Part 3 - The Ten Commandments

The overall theme of Exodus is redemption, how God delivered the Israelites and made them His special people. Redemption is not an easy process, and so we will be covering Exodus in four sessions. This is the final session.

Exodus - Part 4 - The Golden Calf

The tribe of Levi had been assigned to the role of priests, and since this book covers all of the offerings, festivals, sacrifices, and everything else the priests would be in charge of, the book is named after the Levites. A dominant theme in the book is the presence of God in the midst of the community. As the site of divine presence, the sacred sanctuary must be preserved from defilement by humans, whose serious wrongdoings pollute God's house. Let's look at some of the laws and a few events that take place in Leviticus by reading passages from The Message version of the Bible.

Leviticus - Laws and Priests

The book of Numbers is named because of the two lists of numbers of people it contains and it will take 2 sessions to cover. This is the first session. The central idea of Numbers is the theme of judgment and death for an old and disobedient generation. This death births the hope of a new generation who is willing to compromise rather than rebel, and to trust God to fulfill what has been promised. 

Numbers - Part 1 - From Old to New

The book of numbers is named because of the two lists of numbers of people it contains. This book will take 2 sessions to cover, and this is the second session. 
While the census is important for historical context, these lists are not really the most important aspect of this book of the Bible. The central idea of Numbers is the theme of judgment and death for an old and disobedient generation, and the birth and hope of a new generation who is willing to compromise rather than rebel, and to trust God to fulfill what has been promised. 

Numbers - Part 2 : The Next Generation

The name (Deuteronomy) comes from Greek deuteros + nomos and means a “second law” or a “copy of the law”. And that’s what this book is mostly about, a reiteration of all those laws we learned about in Numbers and Leviticus. However, it also gives a recap of the Israelites' journey, the ten commandments, and wraps up the story of Moses for us.

Deuteronomy – A Copy of The Law

The book of Joshua marks a turning point in the Old Testament story. We see the transition from desert wandering with Moses into an established land and people. This transition will take us two sessions to cover, and this is the second session.
In the last session, we looked at how victorious the people were once they had committed to following God. But we know the Israelites struggle with some defiance. Let’s continue the story by reading from the Message version of the Bible, starting in chapter 7.

Joshua - Part 2 - Rest

The book of Joshua marks a turning point in the Old Testament story. We see the transition from desert wandering with Moses into an established land and people. This transition will take us two sessions to cover, and this is the first session.
We see the glorious entry into the promised land, finally, with conquest after conquest ending in victory under the leadership of Joshua. There are a few miracles, and of course, the people are reminded to follow God’s divine commands. And when they do, they reap amazing rewards. Let’s get into this story by reading from the Message version of the Bible.