The Bible Story Handbook

How do Sunday school teachers lead children through the stories of Cain and Abel or Judas’s betrayal in a way that reflects the authority of Scripture? Sunday school curricula often glosses over difficult lessons or focuses too much on characters in Bible stories, neglecting God’s self-revelation in Scripture. John and Kim Walton have created this handbook for 175 Bible stories to assist teachers and parents in knowing what each story teaches and how to present it in a God-centered way. As they work their way through the Bible, the Waltons examine seven elements in each story: focus, theme, application, place in the Bible, interpretational issues, historical and cultural background, and age-group appropriateness. The Bible Story Handbook includes introductory articles on why we teach the Bible, right and wrong ways to use the Bible, and ends with a two-year teaching plan. Every parent and Sunday school teacher will find this unique resource to be invaluable in teaching children to know and love God.

Assists Sunday school teachers and parents to teach Bible stories in such a way that the authoritative teaching of Scripture shines forth. Each of the 175 lessons includes story focus and application, historical background, interpretational issues, and more.

The Bible appears to be a book of many great stories, but it is actually one story--the divinely woven account of God's plan for humankind. "Discovering God's Story" is an approachable, illustrated Bible handbook written in chronological order.

The benefits we gain from God’s Word multiply significantly as we see how the Lord worked in the lives of His people. Their examples help guide us in very practical ways, enabling us to live the Christian life more effectively and successfully. The 50 biographical sketches in this book both instruct and encourage readers by looking at... the key facts about each Bible character’s life major events and crises and how God worked through them special qualities worth emulating life lessons for everyday living and spiritual growth As readers discover the ways God has worked through His people in the past, they’ll become much better equipped for what God wants to do through them today. This is an outstanding resource for small group leaders, Bible study teachers, and personal time in God’s Word.

Adventure Awaits! When an archaeologist on an expedition in the Holy Land disappears, his four children are willing to try anything to find him. Dragging his assistant along, they join an offbeat tour group run by two zany guides whose mission, it turns out, is to lead kids from all over the world on a life-changing quest for truth. Soon the group is visiting ancient cities, exploring important geographical sites, and traveling back in time to experience biblical events firsthand—with the help of some Really Smart Phones (RSPs), a bunch of camels, jet skis, ATVs, hang gliders, and other wacky modes of transportation. Along the way, the children look for clues to their father’s whereabouts and learn facts about ancient Bible times, the people, the culture, and witness important historical events, like the parting of the Red Sea, the building and filling of Noah’s ark, and the crucifixion of Jesus. As they continue searching and their father is not to be found, the kids are tempted to give up. But finishing this crazy tour may just be the key to finding their father—and learning what life is all about! The Adventure Bible Handbook is the newest addition to the Adventure Bible family of titles. The Adventure Bible is the #1 Bible for kids, packed with fun features that lead kids on an exciting journey through God’s Word and help build on their relationship with God. Visit www.AdventureBible.com for games and activities.

"With vivid illustrations and kid-friendly explanations, The Action Bible Handbook gives you deeper insight into both familiar and challenging Bible words and names. Over 700 'whos, ' 'wheres, ' and 'whats' make it interesting and understandable."--Amazon.com.

In recent decades, reception history has become an increasingly important and controversial topic of discussion in biblical studies. Rather than attempting to recover the original meaning of biblical texts, reception history focuses on exploring the history of interpretation. In doing so it locates the dominant historical-critical scholarly paradigm within the history of interpretation, rather than over and above it. At the same time, the breadth of material and hermeneutical issues that reception history engages with questions any narrow understanding of the history of the Bible and its effects on faith communities. The challenge that reception history faces is to explore tradition without either reducing its meaning to what faith communities think is important, or merely offering anthologies of interesting historical interpretations. This major new handbook addresses these matters by presenting reception history as an enterprise (not a method) that questions and understands tradition afresh. The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible consciously allows for the interplay of the traditional and the new through a two-part structure. Part I comprises a set of essays surveying the outline, form, and content of twelve key biblical books that have been influential in the history of interpretation. Part II offers a series of in-depth case studies of the interpretation of particular key biblical passages or books with due regard for the specificity of their social, cultural or aesthetic context. These case studies span two millennia of interpretation by readers with widely differing perspectives. Some are at the level of a group response (from Gnostic readings of Genesis, to Post-Holocaust Jewish interpretations of Job); others examine individual approaches to texts (such as Augustine and Pelagius on Romans, or Gandhi on the Sermon on the Mount). Several chapters examine historical moments, such as the 1860 debate over Genesis and evolution, while others look to wider themes such as non-violence or millenarianism. Further chapters study in detail the works of popular figures who have used the Bible to provide inspiration for their creativity, from Dante and Handel, to Bob Dylan and Dan Brown.