The Most Important Stories of the Bible

The Most Important Stories of the Bible by Christopher D. Hudson and Stan Campbell

Written in understandable English, this book is exactly what the title implies. It covers seventy five Bible stories putting the most important and meaningful events in a nutshell for the average reader.

Whether you are familiar with these stories, or are new to the scriptures, this is a “one size fits all” summation of the most powerful Biblical happenings.

Each chapter begins with a title or introduction, followed by the story and an “essential truth,” or explanation of what the story meant as God’s message to us all.

I recommend this book for people who’d like to read Bible stories in a simplified way and in chronological order. Bible study groups would also appreciate this wonderful book for new comers and seasoned Bible readers alike.

Here we have 75 stories from the Bible in simple English, staying faithful to the original story. the author points out in the introduction that these are left 'as per the original' without aiming to interpret or explain whether any particular story is meant to be taken literally or as an allegory, for example. However, there is a helpful introduction to each of the stories to put them into context both historically and in relation to the larger biblical story of God's interaction with his creation - including human beings. There is then an 'essential truth', helping the reader to perhaps put aside more difficult or in-depth questions about whether the story is a literal historical account but rather understand and appreciate what the story meant as God’s self-revelation to the Hebrews originally and later to the Graeco-Roman empire and subsequently to 21st-century human beings.

I think this book does a great job of helping us understand biblical events chronologically but also not just as 'stories' in their own right but how they fit into the grander over-arching story of God's self-revelation to us, as mentioned. In this way it helps us understand what is perhaps the most important question of what God is like, appreciating that in those early days (bronze age), people's understanding of God was very limited and yet God found ways to give them hints of what he was like and we can see how their understanding developed and deepened over the centuries until finally God was able to reveal his nature fully in the person of Jesus Christ.

I think this is a great book, the Bible stories thoughtfully presented with just enough change in the text from the originals to illuminate, without trying to give us a theological study. I've studied theology and biblical studies that go into great depth about these stories, but I'd still happily use this book to present some of these stories in a simplified way that makes sense to modern readers.

Very good. Lots to be learned from it. Easy to read and understand. Lots of people could benefit from reading more on the bible

This was a different way to read through some stories in the Bible. I’m one of those people who looks at things with a cautious eye when reading through things based on scripture especially when it’s interpreted and not exact scripture.

I liked how each story was in chronological order and shared the scripture it was take from. Each one began with “The Story Continues...” then has “The Essential Story” followed by “The Essential Truth”

The authors have done a great job with this book presenting essential accounts in the Bible. This book is written in a readable, understandable, and interesting way. This would be an excellent beginning”Bible survey” book for new believers. I can also seeing it being used in a junior high through adult Sunday school or small group class. There are many different ways this book could be utilized, including reading it on your own to strengthen your own base of knowledge.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Most Important Stories of the Bible is a great resource if you are new to the Bible or if you just want a general overview of it. The book is broken down into the different stories, starting with creation and covering everything from Joseph to Gideon to Isaiah, the birth, life and death of Jesus all the way to John’s visions in Revelation. Each story begins with a section titled “The Story Continues…” which is somewhat of a background to the story itself. Then there is “The Essential Story,” which is a condensed version of the story. Finally, each story ends with an “Essential Truth,” which is the moral of the story.

While I don’t think this replaces reading your Bible, it is a great resource, especially to use as you read the chapters in the Bible.

The Most Important Stories of the Bible is a collection of 75 key stories from the Bible. Each story has a title, the Bible verse reference, the story itself, and an essential truth to be gleaned from the story. The book includes stories from creation, the patriarchs, Moses, Ruth, Samuel, Daniel and the lion's den, the prophets, parables of Jesus, the crucifixion, resurrection, stories of Paul, to the visions of John that became the book of Revelation. That is only a small sample of the stories that you will find in this book. This book would be a good resource for a new Christian, as well as a refresher for the seasoned Christian.

When reading the bible, the context of a particular story is essential to delving into the meaning of a passage. However, most people don’t read through canon from Genesis through to Revelation and remember the entire storyline of scripture. For those that require a survey of the story line of the scriptures by looking at pericopes to provide both a slight recap on the narrative development from the previous section, the story itself and finally a truth derived from the story. When looking at a book such as this one, I personally think of content focusing more on the Old Testament than the New. The brevity of the book restricts the number of stories that are able to be included within the section covering the Old Testament which means that the stories included, on the whole, are ones that would generally be covered to the detriment of stories that lead to a fuller understanding of the Old Testament canon. For example, the table of contents only includes one entry for each of the Major Prophets, and scarcely mentions the Minor Prophets. Although this is biased towards the common stories that established church members will have heard, this does not invalidate its use for new believers or those that are established. When thinking about the New Testament, elements that complicate the storyline and make that the section less enjoyable to read specifically the in depth description of Paul’s missionary journeys are not included in the book. Overall the book doesn’t presuppose any information and thus it is appropriate for new believers.
I was provided a digital copy of the book through NetGalley, but all thoughts included are my own.

If you're expecting a fictionalized account of the bible like I did, then this book isn't for you. It narrates the stories in the bible from the beginning to the very end in a timeline. Its pretty cut and dry, but gives an account of the bible. I didn't care for it myself, because it is so dry, but I probably will refer to it as a reference.

This compilation of important stories from the Bible will help new Christians or seeking pilgrims in their search to understand the scope and sequence of the Bible. Easy to read with short takeaways at the end of each story.

The book is short, and the chapters only a couple of pages long. Therefore, it was easy to sit down and take a few minutes to breeze through the book. I read it over the course of a couple of days and greatly enjoyed how one chapter flowed into the next - complete with a timeline, a paragraph about how the two accounts connected to each other, and a thought to ponder at the end of each segment. (Some of which I agreed with, some I didn't...)

It was a bit confusing to me trying to figure out who the book was designed for - a Christian who understood the Bible? A new Christian trying to figure out what the Bible was all about? An unbeliever? There were times when I felt like the wording was a bit confusing for someone unfamiliar with the Bible, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing because hopefully, that would make them find an actual Bible to dig around in and get answers.

This is a collection of 75 biblical main stories from Genesis to Revelation. The author does an excellent job presenting a detailed summary of the stories chosen. This book could be a helpful tool for teachers or devotionals.