Publisher Description

A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story.The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike.Each volume employs three main, easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story:

• LISTEN to the Story: Includes complete NIV text with references to other texts at work in each passage, encouraging the reader to hear it within the Bible's grand story.
• EXPLAIN the Story: Explores and illuminates each text as embedded in its canonical and historical setting.
• LIVE the Story: Reflects on how each text can be lived today and includes contemporary stories and illustrations to aid preachers, teachers, and students.

 —Genesis—The book of Genesis is, as the name implies, a book of beginnings: the beginning of the cosmos, the beginning of humanity, the beginning of Israel, a prequel to the main story of the Pentateuch. In narrative terms a beginning leads to a middle and to an end. The book, in other words, is ultimately not to be read isolated from the rest of the Pentateuch, the Old Testament, or finally the Christian canon as a whole.Edited by Scot McKnight and Tremper Longman III, and written by a number of top-notch theologians, The Story of God Bible Commentary series will bring relevant, balanced, and clear-minded theological insight to any biblical education or ministry.

Author Biography

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies and the chair of the Religious Studies department at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife, Alice. He is the Old Testament editor for the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary and has authored many articles and books on the Psalms and other Old Testament books.

Table of Contents

Structure of each pericope:1.Listen to the Story (printed NIV text)2.Interpret the Story (commentary)i.Writing level comparable to that of the NIVAC with pastors as main audienceii.Exposition of the textiii.Interaction with the best historical research (OT context and church tradition)3.Live the Story (suggestive discussion of how to live the text today)i.a place for the author to wrestle with the question How do we live this text in out world?ii.less application, more struggleiii.not meant to be exhaustive, this section will only offer a few examples or trajectories toward answering the above questioniv.a reflection on the text in the light of the coming of Christ (in the spirit of Luke 24:25-27, 44-49)

Review

An extremely valuable and long overdue series that includes comment on the cultural context of the text, careful exegesis, and guidance on reading the whole Bible as a unity that testifies to Christ as our Savior and Lord. * Graeme Goldsworthy, author of According to Plan *
Getting a story is about more than merely enjoying it. It means hearing it, understanding it, and above all, being impacted by it. This commentary series hopes that its readers not only hear and understand the story, but are impacted by it to live in as Christian a way as possible. The editors and contributors set that table very well and open up the biblical story in ways that move us to act with sensitivity and understanding. That makes hearing the story as these authors tell it well worth the time. Well done. * Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary *
I love The Story of God Bible Commentary series. It makes the text sing, and helps us hear the story afresh. * John Ortberg, Senior Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church *
I'm a storyteller. Through writing and speaking I talk and teach about understanding the Story of God throughout Scripture and about letting God reveal more of his story as I live it out. Thus I am thrilled to have a commentary series based on the Story of God---a commentary that helps me to Listen to the Story, that Explains the Story, and then encourages me to probe how to Live the Story. A perfect tool for helping every follower of Jesus to walk in the story that God is writing for them. * Judy Douglass, Director of Women's Resources, Cru *
In this promising new series of commentaries, believing biblical scholars bring not only their expertise but their own commitment to Jesus and insights into today's culture to the Scriptures. The result is a commentary series that is anchored in the text but lives and breathes in the world of today's church with its variegated pattern of socioeconomic, ethnic, and national diversity. Pastors, Bible study leaders, and Christians of all types who are looking for a substantive and practical guide through the Scriptures will find these volumes helpful. * Frank Thielman, Beeson Divinity School *
Pastors and lay people will welcome this new series, which seeks to make the message of the Scriptures clear and to guide readers in appropriating biblical texts for life today. * Daniel I. Block, Wheaton College and Graduate School *
The Bible is the story of God and his dealings with humanity from creation to new creation. The Bible is made up more of stories than of any other literary genre. Even the psalms, proverbs, prophecies, letters, and the Apocalypse make complete sense only when set in the context of the grand narrative of the entire Bible. This commentary series breaks new ground by taking all these observations seriously. It asks commentators to listen to the text, to explain the text, and to live the text. Some of the material in these sections overlaps with introduction, detailed textual analysis, and application, respectively, but only some. The most riveting and valuable part of the commentaries are the stories that can appear in any of these sections, from any part of the globe and any part of church history, illustrating the text in any of these areas. Ideal for preaching and teaching. * Craig L. Blomberg, Denver Seminary *
The Story of God Bible Commentary series invites readers to probe how the message of the text relates to our situations today. Engagingly readable, it not only explores the biblical text but offers a range of applications and interesting illustrations. * Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary *

Long Description

A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is idea for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and all who want to understand the Bible in today's world. SGBC is organized into three easy-to-use sections, designed to help readers live out God's story: Listen to the Story; Explain the Story; and Live the Story. Praise for SGBC: "The easy-to-use format and practical guidance brings God's grand story to modern-day life so anyone can understand how it applies today."--Andy Stanley "Opens up the biblical story in ways that move us to act."--Darrell L. Bock "It makes the text sing and helps us hear the story afresh."--John Ortberg "This commentary breaks new ground."--Craig L. Blomberg

Review Quote

An extremely valuable and long overdue series that includes comment on the cultural context of the text, careful exegesis, and guidance on reading the whole Bible as a unity that testifies to Christ as our Savior and Lord.

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