A little book about a big story

Graeme Rutherford suggests that while many people in the churches have collected over their lifetimes various bits and pieces of information about the Bible – stories, personalities, histories, teachings, psalms – often they lack a way of putting it all together in a meaningful way. He acknowledges that many Christians simply have no awareness or understanding that the Bible has an overarching storyline. His book provides what he calls a ‘clothesline’ that helps us make sense of the entire biblical narrative, arguing that such a clothesline approach is necessary if we are to accept this sacred text as having something meaningful to say to us today about how we are to live as seekers of God’s will in a complex world. He offers an overview of the Bible through six dramatic acts that form the contents of each chapter in the book: Creation, De-Creation (Fall), Israel, Messiah, Church, New Creation. In each chapter, the intention is to alert us to scholarly insight into the texts, to connect the Bible teaching with contemporary issues, and, in a general way, to ‘stretch the mind while warming the heart’.