For many, the Bible can seem a bit intimidating and – at times – hard to understand. With this reality in mind, Jo welcomes author Stan Guthrie to the show. He offers valuable assistance through his book  . He unpacks the Scripture with wisdom and clarity gained from one verse representing each book. From Genesis to Revelation – we summarize the foundation of God’s big story together on this latest edition of Connecting Faith.

Stan explains the approach he took in the book and the story behind wanting to pursue this effort. Stan stresses that this book is not meant to replace the bible in any way, it’s purpose is to supplement our journey through the Bible.

We hear that, despite the different human instruments God used to pen his word, the Holy Spirit is really the cohesive author of the entirety of the Bible. He constructed His Word for our guidance and encouragement no matter our circumstances.

Jo asks why it is that there are four separate gospels presenting Jesus in different ways. Stan explains how Matthew, Mark, Luke & John’s different perspectives of Jesus help us see the entire picture of who He is – using the analogy of the different perspectives of a diamond describing its whole.

We unpack some of the most fascinating of the Old Testament books as well: Esther and Job. Using historical context, Stan expands on how remarkable and unlikely was Esther’s story. Then he drills down on Job’s encounters with his friends, who encouraged Job to acknowledge that he’d somehow done something wrong to incur what appeared to be God’s wrath and judgement.

We discover anew that pivotal moments in life come to each of us – where we need to choose God’s path or our own.

“God can use us in His great story if we join our story to His.”

Jo asks Stan a really tough question: can he choose a favorite or most personally impactful of all these representative verses he’s selected? He mentions Romans 1:16 as a passage that sums up the Bible’s message eloquently:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Highlight: On wisdom

The essence of the Bible