Welcome to The Big Picture.
Most people would like to know the Bible better. Most parents want to do a better job of being in the Bible with their kids. Most adults will tell you they have tried to read the Bible but didn't make it all the way.
We have an idea... Let's just start with the Top 100 Bible stories that you, your family, your circle, and our community need to know to have a really good understanding of the story of God's love and care for us that has been unfolding for quite some time.
We have an idea... Let's just start with the Top 100 Bible stories that you, your family, your circle, and our community need to know to have a really good understanding of the story of God's love and care for us that has been unfolding for quite some time.
BIG PICTURE READING PLAN
Each week we will read 5 stories together as a community. To download our convenient Bible insert, click the link below. We will also send them out via email, communicate them in our latest blog post, and social media.
CHALLENGE:
Read 5ooo Stories Together
What would happen if we read a ton of Bible stories out loud together this year? The challenge is to get in groups of 2 or more and read Bible stories together outside worship services and chapels. Think married couples, families, Table Groups, classes, Bible Studies, and more!
Build the Word Tower Together!
We built a huge plexiglass tower in the Welcome Center and we are filling it up with play pit balls! Each week, take a ball for each story you read together and add it to the big tower! Watch each week as we grow toward our goal. We will celebrate with a big party when we reach the 5000 story goal!
SERIES UPDATES
Set 20: The Revelation
March 11th, 2024
Revelation is the one of the most controversial books in the Bible. John relates a vision - or "revelation" - given to him by Jesus. The vision includes the chastisement of churches about their lack of faith, multiple forms of symbolism, prophecies about the fate of the Devil, and apocalyptic language that both confuses and concerns people. It remains popular as the basis for "fire and brimstone" ...
Set 19: The Apostles' Teaching
March 4th, 2024
While Paul provides a significant number of the epistles in the New Testament, we have letters from several other writers. Significantly, all of these writers were either disciples of Jesus or his brothers from Mary and Joseph, so their words carried great weight in the young churches.James: The brother of Jesus and the leader of the Jerusalem council (not the apostle James)Peter: The apostle Pete...
Set 18: Paul to the Leaders
February 26th, 2024
Some of the big questions in the early church related to leadership. How should they act? How should they lead? How do they explain or defend the Gospel during arguments with each other and the rest of the world? These are questions that modern church leaders try to answer as well! Paul's letters to the churches are a wealth of guidance to us still today as we grow in faith and work to share God's...
Set 17: Paul to the Churches
February 19th, 2024
Many sections of Paul's epistles to the churches are just as familiar as the stories of Jesus and are important sources of information about Christian living. At times, our temptation is to do exactly what the early church was doing: add requirements onto the salvation God provides to us in Jesus. Paul spends a lot of time directing people back to the Gospel and the message of grace in Christ, sal...
Set 16: The Travels of Paul
February 12th, 2024
This section of readings begins with the conversion of Saul to Paul, one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It is dramatic, detailed, and exciting, and we as Christians also love it as direct evidence of the power of Jesus in someone's life. The missionary journey are also written in a way that reminds us that the Gospel is worth struggles and risks in order to share the message with oth...
Set 15: The Church is Born
February 5th, 2024
The book of Acts details the early Christian church as the message of Jesus being the Messiah spreads from Jewish communities to the reaches of the Roman empire. The revolutionary teaching that not only was Jesus the Christ, and believing in him brought salvation, but also that this extended to Gentiles as well as Jews made being a Christian a dangerous position.This week's readings mostly focus o...
Set 14: The Cross of Christ
January 29th, 2024
We will spend four weeks studying Jesus' ministry in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). For this fourth week, we will be focusing on John."Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." - John 2...
Set 13: The Miracles of Jesus
January 22nd, 2024
We will spend four weeks studying Jesus' ministry in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). For this third week, we will be focusing on Luke.The beginning of Luke's gospel is one of the most familiar to us because of its narrative of the Christmas story. Luke 2 is especially well known for its dating of the events around Jesus' birth with the census of Caesar Augustus, the ruler who establis...
Set 12: The Teaching of Jesus
January 15th, 2024
We will spend four weeks studying Jesus' ministry in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). For this second week, we will be focusing on Mark.Mark's gospel is primarily focused on Jesus being the Son of God while showcasing both Jesus' divine and human natures. This was important in showing why Jesus was the promised Messiah. What Jesus did - especially relating to miracles - is emphasized m...
Set 11: The Living Word
January 8th, 2024
We will spend four weeks studying Jesus' ministry in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). We will focus on one book every week, starting with Matthew.Matthew's gospel is primarily focused on showing the Jewish population how Jesus is the promised Messiah. Matthew spends a lot of time making connections between the life and work of Jesus on earth to the prophesies of the Old Testament. He e...
Big Picture - Between the Testaments
January 2nd, 2024
Last Fall, we spent 10 weeks reading through the top 50 stories of the Old Testament, and we are ready to dig into the New Testament! This series is called "The Big Picture" because we have seen how God is working throughout all of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Growing in these stories will give you a good Biblical basis for how God works in the lives of His people and weaves His story of ...
Set 10: The Prophets
November 13th, 2023
This week is the last set of readings in the Old Testament! David's descendants ruled Israel for about 300 years, but at the time of the prophets, Israel had split into two kingdoms. The northern Kingdom of Israel had its capital at Samaria, and out of ten tribes the ruling tribe was Ephraim. The southern Kingdom of Judah was led by the tribe of Judah and also contained the tribe of Benjamin, and ...
Set 9: The Psalms and Proverbs
November 6th, 2023
The Psalms and Proverbs had multiple writers but were largely aligned with the times of the kings of Israel (with a few exceptions). David is the most prolific writer of psalms. The Psalms were used as hymns in Hebrew worship, and they focus on the main theological themes of the Old Testament: Monotheism (one almighty God), the sins of humanity and God's grace, God's covenantal love, the response ...
Set 8: The Fall of Israel
October 30th, 2023
1st and 2nd Kings focuses on the end of David's rule through the Babylonian exile of the Israelites. While together they cover many kings of Israel, the books spend the most time on two types: kings that have faithful interactions with God and kings that significantly deviate from God's call to serve Him as leader over Israel. 1st and 2nd Kings also spend significant time on the prophets of Israel...
Set 7: The Rise of Israel
October 23rd, 2023
Samuel is considered the last of the judges, and he is significant as the one who anoints the first two kings of Israel. Samuel's work included establishing with Saul and David that they weren't just kings, they had a heavenly ruler that still oversaw and guided the people of Israel - a Covenantal Kingship. Samuel's role as a messenger from God was to continually reminded them to repent and trust ...
Set 6: The Judges
October 16th, 2023
The book of Judges illustrates the repeat pattern of Israel after the death of Joshua:1. Forget about God and what He has done, acting outside of His laws (sin)2. Outside nations threaten or attack (oppression)3. Cry out to God for help (repentance)4. God once again rescues Israel (deliverance)Each of the nations around Israel presented an opportunity to worship false Gods and engage in activities...
Set 5: The Law and the Land
October 9th, 2023
The 10 Commandments are meant for individuals to follow to have a right relationship with God and with one another; however, it is important to remember that the commandments applied to Israel as a community as well! As the People of God, they were to love God and not worship any false idols. As a group, they were prohibited from coveting what the neighboring communities had because God would alwa...
Set 4: Moses and the Exodus
October 2nd, 2023
Redemption is a major theme in the first part of Exodus. While we know that ultimately points to Jesus, our Redeemer, Exodus records several stories where the situations produce rich imagery about how God rescues and restores us. We see this first in the care God shows Moses as an individual, rescuing him from death both at the hands of the Egyptians and from the Nile river. We also witness God's ...
Set 3: The Story of Joseph
September 25th, 2023
Joseph's story is one of the most memorable in the Bible. One reason we visit this section of Genesis often is that Joseph goes through a lot of difficult situations. Through it all, he shows great faithfulness to God's calling in his life. We are also shown the beauty of transformation in the lives of Joseph's brothers, which can be helpful in our own lives as we wrestle with relationships. In Ge...
Set 2: Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob
September 18th, 2023
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are considered the "Patriarchs" of faith because of their role in God's establishment of His covenant with the people of Israel. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all trace their historical roots back to the Patriarchs. Many times in the Bible, God is referred to as "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" as a way to remind people of His covenantal pr...