Contents and Outline

Contents and Outline

Introduction: On the Move with God

All through the Bible, people are on the move. The first humans migrate eastwards from Eden. At Babel, God scatters humankind across the planet. He calls Abram to go to a land his family will one day inherit. Jacob and his family flee to Egypt; centuries later, God leads His fledgling nation Israel to the Promised Land. A thousand years on, and most of God’s rebellious people are marched to Babylonia; a remnant trek home to rebuild their land. Around 500 years pass; then Jesus the Messiah travels through Judea, Galilee and beyond, teaching and healing. And now, by His command, the Church is to go and “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). But beyond all these journeys is one great journey that begins at Creation and ends in the glorious New Heaven and Earth. In this series we journey through the great ‘mountain-peaks’ of the Bible story. And when we see how faithfully and purposefully God has dealt with His people through history, we can trust Him to do the same for us. Click HERE to view the Introduction.

A Short Guided Tour of the Bible

The Bible is a whole library of books. It contains 66 different books, written by around 40 different people over a period of around 1,500 years. Who wrote them, and when? And what do they tell us? Click HERE to view the Short Guided Tour of the Bible.

Part 1: “In the Beginning”

We outline the four ‘acts’ of God’s great story told in the Bible. And we see how God created everything, as recorded in Genesis 1:1‐31. Click HERE to view Part 1.

Part 2: In God’s Garden

We look at Genesis 2:4‐25. We see how God created the first man and woman, and how they were to relate to each other as man and wife. And we look at humanity’s first home―the garden of Eden. Click HERE to view Part 2.

Mount Huangshan, China. God declared His creation to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Part 3: “It Was Very Good”

What does creation tells us about God? How should we think about the created world we live in? And why did God create? Click HERE to view Part 3.

Part 4: In God’s Image

God created mankind “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). What does this mean? And what did God put us on Earth to do? Click HERE to view Part 4.

Part 5: Peril in Paradise

Adam and Eve were to guard the garden of Eden―to ensure nothing and no‐one got in to spoil the garden, or to harm them. But someone did get in. Who was that, and what happened? Click HERE to view Part 5.

Part 6: Mutiny

Eve is gazing at “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9,17), pondering what the crafty snake told her. Will she trust God? Or will she believe the snake’s tempting words? And what will the consequences of her decision be? Click HERE to view Part 6.

Part 7: East of Eden

We see sin spiralling out of control until all hope seems lost. But we also see God’s grace “outrunning the avalanche of sin”. And in the midst of a sin‐soaked society, God has his people. They may be few; but they are there, lights in a darkening world. Click HERE to view Part 7.

Part 8: Cleansing and Covenant

Evil floods the Earth, and it breaks God’s heart. In judgment―but also in supreme mercy―God steps in and vows to send a great flood. What will become of the human race? Click HERE to view Part 8.

Part 9: Blessing to the Nations

The human race is once more destined for ruin. So God scatters them across the Earth. Then He calls Abram and promises that through him, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Click HERE to view Part 9.

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Pack train outside the Damascus gate, Jerusalem (hand-coloured photograph taken around 1919). A scene that may be very similar to that when Abram and his family departed from his home city, Ur.

Part 10: Our Faithful Father Abraham

God promises Abram, “I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth” (Genesis 13:15‐16). Abram was an old man when he left Haran. Years pass; still he has no child. And his wife is barren, and too old to have a baby anyway. However will God fulfil His promise? Click HERE to view Part 10.

Part 11 Help! How Can I Understand the Old Testament?

We’re now nearly halfway through Genesis, and beginning to travel more swiftly through the Old Testament. But reading the Old Testament can be a challenge. How can we understand it? Click HERE to view Part 11.

Part 12: From Canaan to Egypt

We follow the story of Abraham’s family―son Isaac, grandson Jacob and great-grandson Joseph. Abraham’s family end up, not in the Promised Land, but in Egypt. Click HERE to view Part 12.

Part 13: From Prosperity to Slavery

The fledgling nation of Israel flourishes in Egypt. But then “a new king . . . came to power in Egypt” (Exodus 1:8 NIV). God’s people enter a time of trouble; prosperity gives way to slavery. But our gracious God responds to His people’s distress. Click HERE to view Part 13.

Part 14: Set Free!

Pharaoh resolutely refuses to let God’s people leave Egypt. So God unleashes the last and most terrible plague upon him and the Egyptians. And God rescues His people from Egypt through the Red Sea. Click HERE to view Part 14.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Pharaoh’s army engulfed by the Red Sea, painted by Frederick Arthur Bridgman. God rescued His people from Egypt by taking them through the Red Sea, an event called the Exodus. This was the key event in the history of God’s people, Israel. And, as we see on our journey, the Exodus points forward to the salvation Jesus has provided for us.

Part 15: A Wedding in the Wilderness

God has rescued His people, and launched them on their journey to the Promised Land. But, first, He leads them to Mount Sinai. There He makes a covenant with them. What happens there is like a wedding―a wedding in the wilderness! Click HERE to view Part 15.

Part 16: God’s Holy Dwelling Place

After making the covenant with His people, God prepares to live among them. He says to Moses, “let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). This sanctuary is a special tent called the Tabernacle. In this part, we explore this wonderful tent. Click HERE to view Part 16.

Image © Steve Creitz at ProphecyArt.com

An artist’s impression of the Tabernacle at night, with the pillar of fire―a visible token of God’s presence―above it.

Part 17: God’s Blueprint for Blessing

In Part 15, we saw how God made a covenant with His people at Mount Sinai. God vowed to bless His people. They’d be His “treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5). And His people vowed to love, serve and obey Him. God shows them how to do this by giving them His Law. His Law was His love‐gift to His people, His blueprint for blessing. Click HERE to view Part 17.

Part 18: Brought Near by the Blood

In His Law, God describes in some detail various sacrifices He commands His people to offer. Many of these sacrifices were animals. And so we enter a world of butchery and blood and burning carcases. But why all the death? Why all the blood? And how do these sacrifices point us to Jesus our Saviour? Click HERE to view Part 18.

Part 19: God’s Holy Calendar

God appoints special days and weeks and years for His people―“the appointed feasts of the LORD” (Leviticus 23:2). They include the Sabbath days and years, the Year of Jubilee, and the seven annual festivals. Why does God appoint these special times? And what do they tell us about His wonderful plan of salvation? Click HERE to view Part 19.

Part 20: Wilderness Wilfulness

We pick up the story at Exodus 32:1. Moses and Joshua are on Mount Sinai receiving God’s plans for the Tabernacle and the priests. The people are waiting below. But, at this pivotal moment in their history, things go terribly wrong. What happens? How does God respond? And how does He get His people back on track to enter the land He’s promised them? Click HERE to view Part 20.

Part 21: Poised for Conquest

Because of Israel’s faithlessness, God has decreed that all but two of their warriors―who should have defeated the Canaanites―will die in the wilderness. Only faithful Caleb and Joshua will enter the land. And so, for 38 years, Israel wanders in the wilderness. Can this rebellious and faithless nation ever conquer the land and bring God’s blessing to the world? But God has promised it will happen! Click HERE to view Part 21.

Part 22: Conquest and Corruption

God’s people begin to conquer the Promised Land. The campaign begins so well. But then things go tragically wrong. Click HERE to view Part 22.

Part 23: A Tale of Two Kings

Israel’s elders ask Samuel to appoint a king to judge them “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). God responds by giving them King Saul. But he disobeys God. So God appoints another king―David. God says, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22). We look briefly at the life of David. And we look at the wonderful covenant that God makes with him. It’s another step in God’s plan of salvation for us and for the world. Click HERE to view Part 23.

Part 24: “A House for My Name”

Israel is now a nation at peace, free from enemy oppression. Now it’s time for God’s Temple to be built. In this part, we look at this magnificent building. And God placed Israel in the Promised Land for a reason. They are a missional people. Click HERE to view Part 24.

Part 25: Downfall and Division

Solomon has succeeded his father David as king of Israel. But, once again, things go tragically wrong. In response, God divides the nation into two. The northern kingdom, named Israel, has no godly kings at all; in the end, God causes it to be swallowed up by the Assyrian empire. The southern kingdom, Judah, does have some godly kings. But, repeatedly, they do what is evil. Eventually they reach the point of no return, and God has to judge them. Click HERE to view Part 25.

Part 26: Exile and Return

The northern kingdom of Israel is now just a part of the Assyrian empire. Judah becomes part of the Babylonian empire; most of the nation is exiled to Babylonia. But this isn’t the end for God’s people. Once again, we see God’s grace “outrunning the avalanche of sin” . Decades later, the Persians take over the Babylonian empire. Cyrus, the Persian king, encourages God’s people to go home and rebuild the Temple. And so a remnant of the Jews return home and settle in the Promised land. They rebuild God’s house, and the city of Jerusalem. Click HERE to view Part 26.

Part 27: Praise, Prayer, and Prophecy

We explore the Book of Psalms―a treasury of Spirit‐inspired praises, prayers, and prophecies. It was the song book and prayer book of Jesus and His disciples. It’s our song book and prayer book. And the Book of Psalms plays a key role in the Bible story. It takes us from King David to the final King of David’s dynasty, Jesus the Messiah. Click HERE to view Part 27.

Image from The Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

In Psalm 23―the most well-known Psalm in the Bible―we read, “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3 NIV). This photograph (taken between 1900 and 1920) is from a set illustrating this Psalm.

Part 28: Wisdom for our Way

We explore the Bible’s ‘wisdom literature’―the Books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. In these four books, God gives us His wisdom to help us to think and to live wisely in this world. Click HERE to view Part 28.

Part 29: God’s Ambassadors

Our God is a speaking God. Throughout the Bible we see Him speaking to His people through His prophets. In this part, we look at the ‘writing prophets’, authors of the books of Isaiah through to the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi. And we see how they remind God’s people of what God had shown them in His Law―how to love Him and how to love other people. Click HERE to view Part 29.

Part 30: Visions of Glory

Alongside their rebukes and warnings both to God’s people and to the nations around, God’s ‘writing prophets’―Isaiah to Malachi―unveil an astounding vision of future salvation and glory. Click HERE to view Part 30.

Part 31: Preparing for our Saviour’s Coming

We look at the astonishing and wonderful way that God prepared His people and the world for the coming of His Son, and for the worldwide mission of His Church. Click HERE to view Part 31.

Part 32: Immanuel, God With Us

We begin the New Testament story. The long-awaited Messiah, Jesus, is born; a new and wonderful chapter opens in the drama of God’s plan of salvation for us and for our world. We look at our Saviour’s birth and earliest years, and the birth of His forerunner, John the Baptist. Click HERE to view Part 32.

Part 33: Jesus, Our Messiah

We look at the four different Gospels, biographies of Jesus written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We explore why Jesus came to Earth. And we tell the story of his baptism and temptation, which open the way for His public ministry. Click HERE to view Part 33.

Part 34: The Kingdom of God is Near

We look at Jesus’s public ministry―His miracles and His teaching. He goes through the Promised Land, releasing people from guilt, disease, death and demons. And He teaches with authority; He begins “The time has come, . . .The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15 NIV). Click HERE to view Part 34.

Photo courtesy of LUMO Project and made available by FreeFreeBibleimages

From among His many followers, Jesus chooses 12 ordinary men to be His special disciples―to be with Him, to learn from Him, and to begin to share in His teaching and healing ministry.

Part 35: The Road to the Cross

Around 30 months into Jesus’s ministry there’s a turning point. He begins to tell His disciples about His suffering, death and resurrection. And He shows them―and us―what it really means to follow Him. Opposition to Jesus comes to a climax; the final plot to kill Him is triggered into action by Judas’s betrayal. Click HERE to view Part 35.

Part 36: “The New Covenant in My Blood”

On the evening before His crucifixion, Jesus eats a Passover meal with His disciples. Later that night, we find Jesus in a garden, “greatly distressed and troubled” (Mark 14:33). These scenes throw new light on what His death and resurrection will achieve for us. Click HERE to view Part 36.

Part 37: The Crossing Point of History

We see Jesus put on trial, condemned, flogged, crucified, and buried. To worldly eyes, this looks like a humiliating, tragic failure. It is, in fact, the crowning achievement of Jesus’s earthly life. Click HERE to view Part 37.

Part 38: “The Firstborn from the Dead”

Jesus’s body lies in the tomb. But death’s decay cannot touch Him. In that tomb something quite new and staggeringly wonderful takes place: Jesus rises from death. A new day dawns in the history of this world. Click HERE to view Part 38.

Photo courtesy of the LUMO Project and made available by FreeFreeBibleimages

Two of Jesus’ disciples, Peter and John, entered Jesus’ tomb, and find it empty. “Simon Peter . . . went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed” (John 20:6-8). A still from a video produced by the LUMO Project.

Part 39: The Promised Spirit Comes

Ten days after Jesus’s ascension, God launches a new phase in His plan of salvation. The Father and the Son pour out the Holy Spirit on the disciples. We call this ‘The Day of Pentecost’. The Church springs into being; the good news about Jesus Christ begins to be proclaimed in the power of the Spirit. Click HERE to view Part 39.

Part 40: The Gospel Advances

The gospel begins its journey out to the whole world. But alongside blessing comes persecution. Yet even that spurs believers to go out preaching the gospel. It’s not too long before the great city of Antioch, rather than Jerusalem, becomes the hub of gospel outreach. Click HERE to view Part 40.

Part 41: From Antioch to Rome

The apostle Paul is God’s missionary theologian. We follow his life on the move, tirelessly preaching and teaching, church planting, spearheading the advance of the gospel and the Church, all the way to Rome. Click HERE to view Part 41.

Part 42: The Way Home to God

We begin to look at the remaining books of the New Testament―from Romans to Revelation. And we look at how Jesus’s sacrificial death and His resurrection reverse all the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin. Click HERE to view Part 42.

Part 43: A New Life in Christ

When someone becomes a Christian, they become a new person with a new identity, a new character, and a new destiny. So what actually happens? In this part we look at everything Jesus achieved for us on the Cross, and at the new life He brings us into as believers. Click HERE to view Part 43.

Part 44: Unity and Community

As Christians, we’re members of Christ’s body, the Church. We can think of the Church as the community of the Kingdom of God. In this part, we explore what this means for us. Click HERE to view Part 44.

Part 45: God’s New Humanity

God has called humanity to be His prophets, priests, and kings. We trace this theme through the Bible storyline. And we see how Jesus is our unique Prophet, Priest and King. Through Him humanity’s original calling is now being fulfilled in us, the Church. In Christ, we are God’s prophetic people, and His “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Click HERE to view Part 45.

Part 46: Gifted for Service

God enables us all to serve Him and other people by giving us spiritual gifts. We look at each of these gifts, and how they’re used in the church. Click HERE to view Part 46.

Part 47: Soldiers of Christ

By His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan and his forces. But this world still “lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19); Satan still prowls around, “seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We believers are soldiers of Christ. We are at war; a spiritual battle is raging. What’s our enemy like? How can we be protected from him? And how do we fight? Click HERE to view Part 47.

Part 48: Lampstands in a Darkened World

What became of the churches planted by Paul and others? Jesus Himself gives us an insight in His letters to seven churches in Asia Minor, written toward the end of the first century AD. Click HERE to view Part 48.

Part 49: The Clash of the Kingdoms

Satan’s dark kingdom clashes with God’s Kingdom in the ‘war of the worlds’―a spiritual war that involves us. As this war comes to its climax, a mysterious figure appears―a figure the Bible calls ‘the Antichrist’. This is what we’ll be looking at in this part of our series. Click HERE to view Part 49.

Part 50: Coming with the Clouds of Heaven

At the end of this age, Jesus will return to Earth. The “appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” is “our blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). How does He come? And what happens at His coming? Click HERE to view Part 50.

Paul writes, “. . . the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, . . . and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 NIV).

Part 51: A New Heaven and Earth

In Revelation 21:1-22:5, we see “a new heaven and a new earth” . John writes, “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:2). This is God’s city, New Jerusalem, who is none other than the beautiful Bride of Christ. This is our eternal home, where we’ll live in the presence of God for all eternity. We explore God’s renewed world and this wonderful city. Click HERE to view Part 51.

Part 52: A New Chapter Begins

The Kingdom of God has come in all its glory. Our journey has ended, but God’s great story hasn’t. It’s actually begun a new chapter. As C.S. Lewis wrote at the conclusion of his Narnia series: “But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” What will life on the New Earth be like for us? What will we be doing? We explore these questions in our final part. We also look back to see how God fulfils all the wonderful promises He gave His Old Testament people. He does this through Jesus Christ: “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Click HERE to view Part 52.

CREDITS ► Text copyright © 2025 Robert Gordon Betts ► Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Anglicized English Standard Version copyright © 2002 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. ► Scripture quotations marked ‘NIV’ are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicised edition). Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). UK trademark number 1448790.