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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

Date: August 31, 2011 Authored By: John S. Oliver

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

Let Me Tell You a Bible Story John S. Oliver Summary This publication is an overview of the entire Bible as one narrative. The Holy Bible consists of 66 books. The first 39 books are the Old Testament. They give the historic background of how God the Creator revealed Himself to the children of Israel. He used patriarchs, prophets, priests, signs, wonders, rituals and more. God made promises and foretold prophesies. Many of these pointed to the coming of the messiah. The 27 books of the New Testament reveal that Jesus Christ is the promised messiah. There are many proofs described in this writing that He is the unique god-man sent from God the Father to serve as the Savior of humans. During a very short public ministry Jesus Christ, the Son of God, presented healings, miracles, parables, lessons, prophesies and the example of His sinless life. His death, burial and resurrection is at the core of the gospel message. After Jesus Christ ascended to heaven He sent the Holy Spirit who is the third member of the Trinity. Then after the Holy Spirit filled the disciples of Jesus Christ they were bold to proclaim the Good News of the gospel. They sometimes faced opposition and persecution including being beaten, jailed and killed. But they kept going by the grace of God. During the years shortly after Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit a few men became the major leaders in the group of those who were committed to follow the risen Savior. These original church leaders included Peter, James, John, Luke, Matthew, Mark and Paul. God used Luke and Paul to write most of the 27 books of the New Testament. God the Father went to great lengths over the course of many centuries to put into place many markers that pointed to the coming of the messiah. His only Son Jesus Christ is that promised One. And Jesus Christ was obedient to His heavenly Father unto death. On the third day He rose from the dead. Shortly after that He ascended into heaven. That is where Jesus is now. And He will return soon at a unknown time. Find my other writings at www.simple-lessons.org

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

In the beginning God created everything. Everything that is visible and invisible was created by God. There are accounts of creation in the books of Genesis, Job, Psalms and John. The Creator revealed Himself to the patriarchs according to the Bible. The most famous patriarchs were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Also hundreds of Bible verses are about Joseph who is an early type of Christ.) The decedents of the patriarchs became the children of Israel. For hundreds of years the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt. They cried out to God for deliverance. In due season God sent Moses to set them free. Then the exodus from Egypt was followed by the wondering in the wilderness. Moses wrote what had been the oral traditions of his people. Moses was inspired by God to write the first five books of the Bible. God raised up Joshua to conquer the land promised to Abraham. The Bible records what happened to the children of Israel in the Promised Land. There were many battles with all kinds of enemies. In due season God sent David who had a heart after God. The shepherd boy became the second king of Israel. Much of the Bile is about David and the many Psalms he wrote. David had a son named Solomon that built the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple was a place to worship the one true God. God had revealed the correct ways for Him to be worshiped to Moses. There were details given about the building, priesthood and sacrifices. The Bible has many commandments given in the name of the Lord. Some commandments have blessings for keeping them. Some commandments have curses for breaking them. These commandments covered many areas of life. These areas included personal life, civil affairs and religious ceremonies. Sometimes these commandments were referred to as the law.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

The record of the Bible reveals that the children of Israel often broke the laws of God. They did this by ignoring His clear instructions and failing to do what He wanted. The Bible warned not to get tangled up with the idolatry of those around them. The Bible says that Gods people repeatedly did what was right in their own eyes. They were given free will to make choices. Yet with each choice came consequences. The consequences of disobedience might have taken a while to manifest. But always disobedience led to painful results. The Bible reveals that in due season God sent various prophets. The prophets called the children of Israel and the king to repent. Sometimes there was genuine repentance with the fruits of changed behavior. But mostly there was a continuation of stiff necked attitudes and selfish sins. God used other nations to discipline His people. His people were punished for their disobedience. Jerusalem was conquered several times. The children of Israel were taken off into exile on several occasions. World history reveals that many other nations were conquered during the ancient times. In some cases those other nations were taken into exile. Most of the exiled nations just ceased to exist. But the Creator who was revealed in the Bible had made promises. God made promises to Abraham, David and others. Many of His promises had not been fulfilled yet. The same prophets that had called for repentance told of a coming messiah. The Bible reveals many details about the birth, life, death and ministry of the messiah. Some passages suggested He would be a suffering servant. Other passages suggested He would be a conquering king. So God made a way for the exiled children of Israel to return to Jerusalem. God had promises to keep and prophesies to fulfill.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

NEW TESTAMENT There was a long period of silence. For more than 400 years the children of Israel did not have a prophet. In due season God sent a prophet named John. John baptized people and proclaimed the coming of the One promised by God. John said Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. John 1:29 http://bible.cc/john/1-29.htm When John said this he was pointing to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had been born in Bethlehem and he grew up in Nazareth. He and his parents spent some time in Egypt to avoid the wrath of a tyrant. All of these events had been foretold hundreds of years before His birth. Jesus Christ was like an ordinary person in some ways. He ate, slept, got tired, had feelings, grew older and had other common experiences. Jesus Christ was unlike an ordinary person in some ways. He was tempted but never sinned. He loved unconditionally including those that treated Him in horrible ways. He taught as One with authority although He never had the formal training of His day. This unique god-man had the needed genealogy that lined up with dozens of verses. The sequence of His ancestors indicated Jesus Christ was the messiah foretold by God. Mary and Joseph had the linage that pointed to His extra special qualifications. Matthew 1 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/matthew/1.htm Luke 3 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/luke/3.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy_of_Jesus Mary conceived while a virgin and thus fulfilling critical scriptures. Dozens of prophesies were fulfilled by the birth, life and death on a cross of Jesus. During His lifetime Jesus Christ performed healings and miracles. Here is an article about the miracles of Jesus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracles_of_Jesus

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

The Bible records various specific healings. But on several occasions the Scripture says He stayed at a location and kept healing. Matthew 12:15 http://bible.cc/matthew/12-15.htm Matthew 15:30 http://bible.cc/matthew/15-30.htm These supernatural manifestations were signs to indicate He was the Son of God. They were ways for God the Father to give credibility to what His Son said. The common people were amazed both at His teachings and His wonders. During His brief public ministry Jesus presented many teachings. And He made prophesies about what would happen soon and in the distant future. These compact messages occupy one sentence to a few paragraphs. In some Bibles the words of Jesus appear in red ink. Often those words in red ink were the parables He presented. Here is an article about His parables. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parables_of_Jesus Untold billions of words have been preached and taught about the few words He said. Stained glass windows, painting, skits and movies have been based on His words. Untold numbers of books, commentaries and debates came from this tiny source. Jesus Christ told about His coming death and resurrection. He said that He came from God and He was going back to God His Father. He told about His return to judge. Jesus Christ called God His Father on many occasions. Jesus said before Abraham was born, I am. John 8:58 http://bible.cc/john/8-58.htm The Jewish leaders understood that was a claim that He was divine like God. In the gospel of John Jesus added a term after the words I am. Each of these communicates much about how He has chosen to reveal Himself. I am the bread of life John 6:35-4 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/john/6.htm

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

I am the light of the world John 8:12 http://bible.cc/john/8-12.htm I am the gate John 10:7-10 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/john/10.htm I am the good shepherd John 10:11-18 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/john/10.htm I am the resurrection and the life John 11:17-2 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/john/11.htm I am the way, truth and live John 14:1-7 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/john/14.htm I am the true vine John 15:1-11 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/john/15.htm When He said I am the way, the truth and the life. He followed that by no one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 http://bible.cc/john/14-6.htm Could a mere mortal make that claim? This is yet another indication that according to the Bible Jesus Christ is God! Those events occurred more than 2000 years ago. The history of the church has recorded many ways that Jesus was viewed. Over the centuries the central understanding of Jesus varied. Sometimes He as seen as only human and other times as only divine. The truth is that He is both human and divine. Some centuries He was seen mainly as the Judge on Judgment Day. Other centuries He was seen mainly as the gentle Good Shepherd. The truth is that He is both Judge and Good Shepherd. God made a way for four men to write the biographies of Jesus. These are called the gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. God made a way for other writers to provide other books in the New Testament. There are hundreds of verses in the New Testament that refer to the Old Testament. Biblical Christianity is rooted in biblical Judaism.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

Not only are there prophesies fulfilled but there are types and shadows pointing to Jesus. God gave clear instructions to Moses about the construction of the Tabernacle. God directed Moses to write down the strict guidelines for the priesthood and sacrifices. These were used by Solomon when He built the Temple in Jerusalem. God instructed His people how they needed to bring sacrifices and offerings before Him. There were a wide range of sacrifices and offerings. These processes led to the correct ways to please God. The animal sacrifices included doves, goats, bulls and lambs. Also there were gain offerings and drink offerings. Many of the sacrifices were needed to reconcile the person to God. Their sins had separated them and the blood of the animal sacrifice brought forgiveness. But this forgiveness was only temporary. The millions of animals that had been offered according to the Bible pointed to Jesus. He had lived a sinless life and that qualified Jesus to be the spotless Lamb of God. His bloody death on the cross served as the perfect atonement for human sins. There had been an invisible wall that spiritually separated humans from God. The obedience of Jesus Christ unto His death on the cross was a substitutionary sacrifice. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ three days later is proof that God was satisfied. The book of Acts tells the story of the early years of the church. In due season, Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit on His waiting disciples. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit lives inside the physical bodies of born again believers. He points the Christian to Christ and makes alive the Bible, also called the Word of God. Each Christian is sealed by the Holy Spirit in Christ spiritually. The believer is given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit. These spiritual gifts are for the building up of the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ is the Head of His body and all Christians are members one of another. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day like He said that He would. He lived on the earth in His resurrection body for 40 days. During that time He appeared to His disciples many time in various places.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

He taught them and encouraged them. Then in a pubic place He ascended into heaven. He had instructed His disciples to pray and wait. Then 50 days later the first out pouring of the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. These fully devoted followers of Christ became bold in their witness. They proclaimed the gospel message to all who would hear. At first the 27 books of the New Testament had not been written. They used the 39 books of the Old Testament. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_the_Bible The book of Acts tells of those that proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus. They preached that simple faith in Jesus Christ was enough for eternal life. It was for this that they were persecuted by the Jewish religious leaders. They were put into jail and beaten for their faith. Some were killed for boldly telling the truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They became the first martyrs. They told the Good News that eternal life was freely available. Simple child like faith in Christ alone is enough to become born again. Salvation is based on the grace of God apart from any works. There is no requirement about morality, religious ritual or other to become reborn. Note that Jesus had talked with two men on the road to Emmaus. This occurred after He rose from the dead and before He ascended to heaven. The Bible says that Jesus could use the Old Testament to show how it pointed to Him. Luke 24:27 http://bible.cc/luke/24-27.htm During that time Jesus appeared to individuals, small groups and large groups. These appearances were more proof of His resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 http://nasb.scripturetext.com/1_corinthians/15.htm The book of Acts tells of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus to Paul the apostle. He had been a devout Jew with much knowledge and commitment to keep the laws. He was zealous for what he thought was a righteous cause. He was on a campaign to persecute Christians.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

Then on the road to Damascus he had an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. He was struck blind temporarily and led to the city of Damascus. His sight was restored through answered prayer. Acts 9:1-19 http://niv.scripturetext.com/acts/9.htm The man that had been an enemy of the Christians became their champion. In due season God used Paul to take the message of salvation to the gentiles too. The gentiles was the name given to all those that were not Jews. Paul traveled expensively around the regions near Israel. Paul would arrive at a city and usually go to the Jewish meeting place called synagogue. There he would use the Old Testament plus his testimonies to proclaim the gospel. In some cites he was well received and in others they violently rejected his message. When Paul could he stayed long enough to lead many to spiritual conversion. Then of the new believers he invested his time to raise up elders. These elders became the leaders of the congregations. Paul kept moving from city to city. He went on three missionary journeys. Each journey was a large loop out of and back to his home base. There were times that Paul was put into prison for the sake of the gospel. Sometimes from his prison cell he wrote letters to the churches he had started. These letters had words of teaching, encouragement, correction and direction. The letters he wrote in prison and other letters he wrote were valued by believers. The Holy Spirit had been with Paul as he wrote them so they were full of truth from God. They had messages that could inspire and instruct those beyond the original audience. These letters gave insights into the character of God, the person of Christ and much more. There were tiny lessons about marriage, parenting, prayer, church discipline and other. The Christians found that there was much value in reading and carefully studying them. Paul often needed to defend his right as an apostle like those who walked with Jesus. There were others that wrote letters at this time. They included James, Peter, Jude, John and an unknown writer of the book of Hebrews. Luke went with Paul on most of his missionary journeys. Luke wrote a gospel account and he wrote the book of Acts. The book of Acts tells of what happened to Peter, Paul and others in the early years. The book of Acts gives the historical context for the letters of Paul and more. Those letters became treasured by Christians so much that they handmade copies.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

Those letters became treasured by Christians so much that they handmade copies. The letters that made it into the New Testament are called epistles. John the apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos for sharing faith in Christ. While he was there, God revealed much to him. He wrote a book that was named Revelation. This book tells about the End Times. There are descriptions of heaven and judgments. This reveals how the holy God who created everything will conclude things. Ultimately Jesus Christ will return to the earth. The exact date and time of His return is not known. Jesus will judge the living and the dead. The Bible teaches that those who were born again will receive resurrection bodies. These are like the body He had while on earth after He rose from the dead. There are eternal rewards for those that were faithful in their service to Him. After all this there is a new heaven and a new earth. Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. READ, HEAR AND STUDY THE BIBLE That is the end of the story of the Bible. You are invited to read, hear and study the Bible for yourself. You can buy a copy at any bookstore and many places online. There are many websites that allow you to read the Bible online. My favorite Bible research site is Biblos www.biblos.com I have begun to use BibleX http://www.biblex.com/ for interactive Bible study. You can hear an audio version online or download it here. http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/ambassador/free-audio-bible-download You can download the Bible to your cell phone at You Version www.youversion.com You can find many online Bible study aids here and related Christian materials on this site. http://valuableresourceshub.webs.com/biblestudyaids.htm Living Water http://www.livingwater.org/ will ship you a copy of the gospel of John for free. Take it with you to inspire and comfort yourself. I find it helpful to journal right after I read the Bible. And Journal Junkies www.journaljunkies.com is the site I use for that.

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Let Me Tell You a Bible Story

Here are my other online materials.

Bible Verses for Meditation
http://www.colorfulverses.org/Verses.html

Articles Simple Lessons - www.simple-lessons.org Scribd - http://www.scribd.com/TeachingLearner

Slide Shows Slide Share - http://www.slideshare.net/BrownBagHub/presentations

Websites http://jsohub.webs.com/websites.htm

Blogs http://jsohub.webs.com/blogs.htm

Mind maps http://jsohub.webs.com/mindmaps.htm

Questions http://jsohub.webs.com/questions.htm

Links to much more http://about.me/teachinglearner

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