Living God's Word: Discovering Our Place in the Great Story of Scripture

by J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays

Living God's Word is your pathway to read the Bible as it was meant to be read: as God's Great Story. Many Christians resolve to study the Bible more fervently, but often struggle to grasp the progression of Scripture as a whole. They encounter various passages each week through unrelated readings, studies, and sermons and it all feels disconnected. But once they see the Bible as God's Great Story, they begin to understand how it all fits together and they start see how their own lives fit into what God has done and is doing in the world.

In Living God's Word, Second Edition, New Testament scholar J. Scott Duvall and Old Testament expert J. Daniel Hays help Christians consider how their lives can be integrated into the story of the Bible, thus enabling them to live faithfully in deep and important ways. Living God's Word explores the entire Bible through broad themes that trace the progression of God's redemptive plan. Each section deals with a certain portion of Scripture's story and includes:


Reading/listening preparation
Explanation
Summary
Observations about theological significance
Connections to the Great Story
Written assignments for further study
These features--combined with the authors' engaging style--make Living God's Word an ideal book for those who want to understand the Bible better, for introductory college courses, Sunday school electives, or small group study. Readers can further enhance their learning experience with the Living God's Word WORKBOOK (sold separately) which contains additional questions and exercises to help them reflect on what they are reading in Living God's Word.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Reference, Discipleship, Textbooks

368 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2012

About the author

J. Scott Duvall (PhD. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament at Ouachita Baptist University. He is the coauthor with George H. Guthrie of Biblical Greek Exegesis: A Graded Approach to Learning Intermediate and Advanced Greek and with Terry G. Carter and J. Daniel Hays of the textbook Preaching God's Word: A Hands on Approach to Preparing, Developing and Delivering the Sermon.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone who would admit they don't know much 'about' the Bible.
This is not attempting to say what the Bible means, but to provide a fuller understanding of how to read it. It is an introduction to seeing how the Bible fits into history and the best way to read it to get to know the 'people and times' of the Bible.

Used to be we called books like this a 'survey' of the Old Testament. (or New Testament) but this is so superior for anyone coming to the scriptures with little or no knowledge of what they are discovering.

Large secti0ns of the Bible are recommended for reading as you find your way around - and this is a book a person can study on their own - or in small groups..

Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very competent evangelical summary of the "grand narrative" and unity of Scripture. Worth it for the conclusion chapter which really brings it all together.

[John Alvelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Story of Scripture

Great book! I loved the Bible being explained as a story. All believers should study this book, along with the Bible. It is one of the best books I have read

[Butch Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very helpful in understanding God's story. All 66 books of the bible tell one story. "Garden to Garden "

[Clint Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview. Really good material for a Bible class!

[Blaise Batson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would love to teach my kids with this book! Survey of the Bible that gives historical context and information that is helpful to understand what is actually happening in the Bible. Loved it!

[Julia Meares · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will not find a better book to help you study the Bible.

[Chloee Livingston]

never again.

[Darren Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This provides a synoptical commentary that covers all of the Bible. So, readers gain the whole of the Biblical story, or can use certain sections to prepare for their own study.

[Moniqua S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and challenging. This book helps to guide readers through the entire Bible and helps them to see God's Truth as the story of all life.

[Rob O'Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, basic, conservative survey of the Bible. It is mostly a narrative overview, with a smattering of commonly-accepted scholarly material included. There is very little here that will spark deep discussions among Bible students (the target audience), however that really isn't the purpose of this volume.

The purpose, as is becoming the publisher's MO, is to present a uniform picture of the Story contained within the Bible. Although some of the subject headings will be different, Duvall and Hays follow suit with Fee and Stuart's How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth.

While it is admirable to present a unified paradigm for understanding the Bible, it is also problematic because it can come across as elitist, that only this paradigm counts. As I mentioned, there is little to no matters of debate in Duvall and Hays' book. Most of the chapters are short and provide only a basic overview.

Some chapters, such as the ones on the Wisdom Literature and post-exilic prophets, seem more like an afterthought than genuine scholarship (which is often the case with Evangelicals when addressing the Wisdom corpus). I was actually quite surprised at the tepid approach taken with the post-exilic prophets (Nehemiah is just about leadership; no mention of the legal nature of Malachi).

Yet, there are some good qualities here. In fact, the uniform approach is the book's strength. Scholars often get wrapped up in their research and will present a variety of views without providing any clues as how to come to an answer. Duvall and Hays cut all of that out and simply provide the reader with a clear-cut paradigm for understanding the Bible.

Additionally, there is a focus on spiritual formation and practical application. While these efforts do fall a little short of being effective, it is refreshing to see biblical scholars take an interest in connecting theology with practice.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a competent survey of the narrative of scripture. Written in clear language, it would probably work well in a Sunday School setting or perhaps a Christian high school and would be a much needed corrective to Biblical illiteracy even among Christians. Those looking for works that deal higher critical issues need to look elsewhere.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this textbook for freshmen reading material in an "Introduction to the Bible" class.