The Real Story: Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible

by Edward Sri, Curtis Martin

Do you know the real story of the Bible? What do Adam and Eve, Moses, David, Jesus and the Apostles have to do with my life?

In The Real Story , Edward Sri and Curtis Martin break open the Word to examine how all these pieces fit together into one cohesive narrative a story of how, little by little, God has drawn His people into closer union with Himself, culminating in the coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His Church.

Through a closer study of the key characters and events in the larger biblical narrative, Sri and Martin show that the Bible ultimately isn't a collection of disjointed stories, but an epic saga of God's infinite love for us and His perfect plan for our salvation since the beginning of time.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Theology, Faith, Christianity, Nonfiction, Spirituality

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Dr. Edward Sri is a nationally-known speaker on Scripture and Catholicism and the author of several best-selling books. Besides teaching at the Augustine Institute, Sri is a visiting professor at Benedictine College and a contributor to the popular apologetics series, Catholic for a Reason. Sri is also a founding leader with Curtis Martin of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students).

He also is the creator and host of a new 18-part video series on the Catholic faith for parish adult faith formation called Symbolon (Augustine Institute), and he serves the general editor of a Opening the Word: Journey through the Sunday Readings (Augustine Institute).

Dr. Sri leads pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy Land for lay people each year.

He resides with his wife Elizabeth and their six children in Littleton, Colorado.

Education
STD, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome)
STL, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome)
MA, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Reviews

[Reagan Dricken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stuff; good big picture book but don’t expect to not come away with questions. I assume it’s meant to be accessible to everyone regardless of prior biblical knowledge, so maybe that’s why Sri only did bare-bones stuff.

[Emma Devine · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve done or led the story of salvation bstud this book probably won’t be very new to you. I actually wish I’d read it before leading the study. Great little handbook for someone trying to make sense of the Old Testament, since that is 95% of the content. Overall would recommend

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the Bible. Though it is short, it is rich and packed with connections from the old to the new covenants. It is a great way to get a sense of the story of salvation. I suggest all Christians pick this book up to read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ stars

This book explains the main story in the Bible (both from old and new testaments) in 160 pages or less. I absolotly loved how it conects everything from Adam and Eve to Jesus's time and then to our very present day. Just AMAZING! I just devoured it. My only complain is that I want more details, not that there wasn't enough. But as a lover of biblical history and theology, my hunger for more knowlage only increased!

This is difenetly a must read. It was easy and smooth and I think it could be read at any age from 16 to 100+!

[Rene Stehlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book - super digestable and I now understand all the lineages and how all the major bible stories are connected to each other. Should I have known this already through my 8 years of Catholic school? Probably. But it’s never too late!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good, easy-to-read overview of The Story behind the stories of the Bible. If the Bible confuses you or seems a jumble of unrelated stories, this would be a perfect short book that would give you a framework for seeing what is the point of the whole thing. Of course, it's the answer to every question that matters: Jesus!

[Ted Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be REQUIRED READING before any Christian gets Confirmed. Tells the narrative story line of the Bible. Very readable.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great intro to or refresher on the big picture narrative of the greatest love story ever told: the Bible.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know what my expectations were, but this book really went way above and beyond them. In retrospect, my awareness of the Biblical story and God's covenants with his people appeared sort of chopped up. Now I can see the continuity of the story and God's faithfulness to his promises from Adam to Noah to Abraham and Moses and Joshua to David to Jesus. And the story continues to this day. This book has given me a much broader perspective on mankind through the ages, as well as given me a peace about today. I have such a profound respect for the ancestors of my faith, particularly the Jewish roots. I digested this "big picture" story in a few short days, as it was really accessible and easy to read. I'm so grateful that this book found its way into my hands.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful & easy to read, The Real Story was a perfect companion to my current Bible study, but would also have been an invaluable resource some years earlier, before I was as familiar with the Sacred Scriptures as I am now.

I know Dr. Sri's work from the Symbolon video-based study & have had the privilege of seeing Mr. Martin speak live on stage. I must do myself the favor of investigating further their other written works.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like a novel. Many of us have heard the stories of the Bible like Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Samson and more. Not to leave out Peter and the apostles, Paul and of course Jesus Christ. Individually they are inspiring. But this book pulls out to a 30,000 feet view so you can see they were ALL part of God's plan building up to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection to bring all humanity back to God.

[Matt Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing false in this book, but it skims over the New Testament. It focuses on Genesis quite a bit in telling the story of salvation history, but I found the condensing of the New Testament into 13 pages of a 146 page book to be not ideal. I would still recommend this, especially if you have not participated in the FOCUS Salvation History Bible Study.

[Lauren Wolcott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent representation of the books of the Bible as they tell the story of Christianity.

This is accessible to most everyone although not written simplistically.

Strongly recommend for this looking to learn more about Catholicism and the Bible and for those heading into confirmation or just wanting continued education and a refresher.

[Annie Nassis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straightforward and easy to read book connecting the Old Testament covenant and how is was fulfilled in Jesus’ life as told in the New Testament. This was a good book study for our newly formed small group at church.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for 8th-grade book group. Informative content but dry. Well-explained but my attention drifted often. I would refer back to it before reading or studying portions of scripture. And I like the overview.

[Renee Torina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic history of the Old Testament and how it weaves the story of Jesus. This book is very educational, spiritual and gives the reader insight into how the Old Testament prepares us for Jesus.

[Bradleya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really helpful for understanding the context and trajectory of God’s plan for our salvation. There are many references to passages in the Old and New Testament that showed me meaning in events and interactions of people I otherwise would have missed.

[Krysta Ann Orscheln · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource to use when studying the Old Testament of the Bible!! Highly recommend!!

[Keenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear and concise examination of the central story of the Bible, offering some good insights while still remaining more broadly focused.

[Annie Fogleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!! Wow!! So great. I learned so much - and I already knew a lot! Just incredible how it all connects. Very well done, Dr. Sri!

[Jodi Santini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read & understand. A great supplement to the Bible scripture readings our church has been doing.

[Espresso · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the better studies for our women's group. Very insightful. I recommend it.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spark Notes for the entire Bible.
Surprisingly well-done in 143 pages.

[Jenny Hubert]

DNF. I actually got pretty far because I wanted to learn more about the bible. But I lost interest about 2/3 of the way through. So close!

[Mark Otieno · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Christian book to ever read to get the clear truth about the world.

[Zach de Walsingham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Graeme Goldsworthy, an Anglican, has a better intro to this topic in his book “According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible”.

[Kasey Bujana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great summary of the whole Bible with some fun little insights throughout on some Bible stories. Great book for those who don’t know salvation history

[Patrick Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book packs a punch and fantastically ties the covenants of the Old Testament to the New. However, it is more of an overview book and could definitely dive deeper without being to long.

[Sheila Griffin]

This book is an attempt to explain the stories of the Bible. I found it uninspiring and biased.

[Cynthia Meidinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book . It gives an overview of the most important covenant relationships of the Bible, leading up to Jesus' fulfillment of God's original plan. It has some really great insights, especially for such a short, easy-to-read book.