The Bible: A Guided Tour
By John Halford and Michael D. Morrison
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About this ebook
A brief introduction to major sections of the Bible, with a summary chapter explaining the larger story that ties it all together. Introductory chapters by the late John Halford; overview chapter by Michael D. Morrison, PhD, who also edited the book.
John Halford
John Halford worked many years as a pastor and editor at Grace Communion International. He died October 21, 2014.
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Book preview
The Bible - John Halford
The Bible: A Guided Tour
By John Halford and Michael D. Morrison
Copyright 2015 Grace Communion International
Published by Grace Communion International
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
The NIV
and New International Version
are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Photographs by Barry Stahl, except Bibles under a lamp, taken by G.A. Belluche, Jr. Illustrations by Ken Tunell; maps by Bruce Hedges. Copyright Grace Communion International.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Breaking the Ice
Chapter 2: The Beginning
Chapter 3: Chosen People, Promised Land
Chapter 4: Words of Wisdom and Praise
Chapter 5: Hear Today, or Gone Tomorrow
Chapter 6: Jesus the Messiah
Chapter 7: Apostles and Epistles
Chapter 8: How Beethoven Helped Me Understand the Bible
Chapter 9: The Divine Drama
About the Authors
About the Publisher
Grace Communion Seminary
Ambassador College of Christian Ministry
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Introduction
Most Americans have a Bible, but many have never read it. Perhaps they started to read it, but gave up after reading a few chapters.
Why? Maybe because the Bible seems to be such an intimidating book. It even looks difficult to read, with its hundreds of pages of small type and old-fashioned, hard-to-understand language. This makes it seem dignified, but imposing and not very user-friendly.
This booklet is designed to help you explore the Bible and see for yourself what it is like, what it is about and how you can learn to use it.
Ironically, many people respect the Bible even if they aren’t religious. Some feel more obliged to tell the truth if they’ve sworn on a Bible. Some are reluctant to ever throw away a Bible.
The Bible is still a best-seller. Millions of copies are distributed every year in hundreds of different languages. It’s a book we keep but don’t read, one we often quote but don’t understand, one we say we love but don’t really like.
It may be the Good Book,
but what is it good for?
Even many religious people know only a few famous passages, like the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer
and the Sermon on the Mount.
They have only a vague idea of what the rest of the Bible is about. They may know some of the stories, like the one about Noah and the Ark, or Abraham sacrificing Isaac, or Samson and Delilah, or David and Goliath. They’ve heard of Moses, Elijah, Paul and the scribes and Pharisees. But where — and how — do they all fit together? Or do they?
This booklet is designed to help you explore the Bible and see for yourself what it is like, what it is about and how you can learn to use it.
How do you begin to discover what it is all about?
A good way to feel at home in unfamiliar territory is to take a guided tour. The guide can show you around, answer questions and point out interesting things along the way. You soon get an overview that helps put everything in perspective.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
back to table of contents
Chapter 1: Breaking the Ice — Getting Started With the Bible
Let’s go through the Bible together from start to finish. There is a lot of territory to cover, but we’ll move quickly, since the goal is to give you an overview of the book. We’ll pause from time to time during this tour to explain some things you might not otherwise understand. (If our tour is a bit too basic for you at times, please bear with us. Some people on this tour may be opening the Bible for the first time in their lives.)
We can’t explain everything, of course. The Bible is a big book, and its pages invite a lifetime of study. But this quick, introductory tour will help you see how the Bible fits together and how its basic themes are developed. When we’re finished, these hundreds of pages won’t seem quite so mysterious. We hope this tour will whet your appetite to come back and explore more thoroughly.
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