This book is meant to be read with an open Bible beside it. The Story of Faith, One Book at a Time offers a companion for that reading, helping us approach each biblical book with a clearer sense of its message and its place in God’s unfolding story. This first volume takes us from Genesis through Malachi. Along the way, we will listen to the Old Testament’s accounts, instructions, songs, wisdom, and prophetic words with the attention they deserve.
Reading one book at a time gives us room to notice what we might otherwise pass over. We can follow an account beyond its most familiar scene, hear a prayer in the midst of suffering, or consider why a prophet’s warning mattered to the people who first received it. As those books become more familiar, their connections become clearer too. A promise made to Abraham continues to shape the story generations later. The experiences of exile help us hear the longing for restoration. Each book contributes something we need to hear.
The Old Testament deserves that patient attention because through it God makes Himself known. Its words teach us to worship, bring our grief before Him, and reckon honestly with the ways we resist His will. They also prepare us to recognize the meaning of Jesus’ coming. The promises and hopes we encounter here help us understand His saving work and His reign. We will read with that fulfillment in view while listening carefully to what each book communicated within its own setting.
Two opening chapters provide our bearings. The Introduction to the Bible considers Scripture as a whole and how we can read it responsibly. The Introduction to the Old Testament brings us closer to the world and movement of the books in this volume. The chapters that follow give each biblical book its own attention, considering its setting, the way its message develops, its major themes, and its place in the larger story. We will also consider how it points toward King Jesus and how its teaching reaches into our lives.
We can use these chapters at a pace that allows us to listen. Reading them in order will help us follow the connections from Genesis onward. We can also turn to a chapter when beginning a particular biblical book or returning to one we have found difficult. Some books may call for a slower pace than others. There is no need to hurry past a question simply to reach the next chapter.
The most helpful practice is to read the biblical text itself alongside the chapter that introduces it. When a passage or key verse receives attention here, we can open our Bibles and read what comes before and after it. Then we can return to the larger book and notice how that passage belongs within its message. These overviews give us a starting point for further reading. Scripture will always have more to teach us than any survey can contain.
The questions near the end of each chapter give us a place to pause. We may want to write down a response, talk through it with others, or carry it into prayer. Sometimes we will recognize a responsibility we have neglected or a reason to keep trusting God through uncertainty. At other times, we may need to continue studying before an answer becomes clear. We can be honest about what we understand and what we still need to learn, allowing what we read to shape our next faithful choice.
As we begin, we can come with reverence for God’s word and willingness to be taught. Whether these books are familiar or we are opening some of them for the first time, there is good reason to give them our attention. The God whose faithfulness we encounter in these pages calls us to trust Him and live under the reign of King Jesus. Let us open our Bibles and begin that reading together, one book at a time.
For further study and reflection, we can continue at TuesdaysWithTony.com. There we can read Scripture and explore reading plans, search my writings by topic or Bible reference, and find devotional readings and videos to accompany our study. The journal gives us a place to record our reflections and work through questions we want to keep exploring. I hope these resources encourage us to keep opening Scripture and growing in our allegiance to King Jesus.