Living in The Story: A Year to Read the Bible and Ponder God’s Story of Love and Grace
Ebook
Overview
What kind of book is the Bible? Is it a rulebook or a guidebook for moral living? Is it a history book or a book filled with fascinating (and sometimes fantastic) stories? Did humans write the Bible or did God somehow speak a perfect message that the authors transcribed? Many people have asked these questions about the nature of this beautiful, odd, comforting, disturbing book the church calls its “Holy Scripture.” Charlotte Vaughan Coyle shares her own journey to make sense of the Bible in this read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year project. She discovered that the crucial work of asking hard questions and even arguing with the Bible revealed the Scriptures to be a symphony of polyphonic voices, a work of art that paints an alternative vision of reality, a complex novel-like story unavoidably embedded in its own culture and time, and yet able to give witness to the God beyond history who has acted (and continues to act) within history. With the heart of a pastor and the passion of a preacher, Rev. Coyle invites seekers and students (both churched and un-churched) to strap on their scuba gear and join her for a deeper dive beneath the surface of this immense, colorful, mysterious world of the Bible.
“I’m in the middle of planning a big family trip to Yellowstone
National Park. It’s daunting! The place is beautiful, I know, but
it’s big and it’s hard to know where to start. It’s the same with
the Bible. That’s why a guide like Charlotte Coyle is so helpful.
In Living in The Story, she gives us a guided tour of this
amazing library, helping us see its beauty, history, and mystery
too.”
—Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith after Doubt: Why Your Beliefs
Stopped Working and What to Do about It
“We rarely hold books in our hands anymore, let alone in our
hearts. Living in The Story is a way to grasp the scope and
breadth of the Bible in a new and profound way.”
—Edd Eason, Assistant Vice President of Housing, CitySquare,
Dallas
“With helpful commentary on weekly readings from across the Old and
New Testaments, Charlotte Coyle invites us to fresh and faithful
encounters with the God who is still speaking. These chapters will
open the hearts and minds of both experienced and beginning readers
of Scripture.”
—D. Newell Williams, President and Professor of Church History,
Brite Divinity School
“If you’ve ever wanted to explore the Bible more deeply and
consistently, you will find that Living in The Story is
written just for you. Charlotte Coyle provides a map for reading
the Bible through in a year. . . . Her inclusive approach
to texts enables the reader to track how important ideas develop
through time, and her incisive weekly commentary provides
thoughtful reflection about how the Bible speaks, and how God’s
activity continues, for us today. This book is well worth your
time, even if you decide to turn one year into two or three!”
—Mark G. Toulouse, author of God in Public: Four Ways
American Christianity and Public Life Relate
“In Living in The Story, Charlotte Coyle’s fresh approach to
biblical revelations and teachings ties together stories and
lessons from one end of the Bible to the other. As a rookie
theologian participating in some of her classes, I have appreciated
her explanation of the themes that prevail throughout Scripture and
the recognition of the very human characters who lived the story
back then. By using readings from the Old Testament, Psalms,
Gospels, and New Testament in each chapter of her book, Coyle
clarifies what ‘reading backwards’ meant for the New Testament
writers and for us. This book offers much to new biblical explorers
and seasoned theologians.”
—Mary Walker Clark, author of Landing in My Present: A Father, a
Daughter, and the Singular Himalayan Journey that Reunited
Them
“Living in The Story is the prayerful work of a
Christian pastor. Beginning with faith that the one God whom Israel
and the church confess has truly spoken in and through the
Bible and will truly speak again, she has written a
guidebook to this strange new world of the Bible. This guidebook
knocks, seeks, and asks the immense questions implicit and explicit
in the Bible from its first to last words: Who is God? and Who are
we? The glimmerings of answers to these questions appear only when
we begin to hear the Bible as a whole, a story told over centuries
by many voices, a grand cosmic story that draws each of our little
stories into the Story. This guidebook is a lover’s poem from a
pastor’s heart.”
—Jerry Coyle, Attorney-at-Law, Theologian at Heart, Proud
Husband
“Living in The Story adopts a highly creative,
integrated methodology for engaging Bible study across the entire
landscape of Scripture. For the beginner set out to come to grips
with the formidable assignment of at last reading the intimidating
book so long avoided, to the more experienced student of the text
and its sometimes seemingly contradictory worldviews, Living in
The Story provides a refreshing, practical approach to growth
in biblical study and understanding. Perfect for private, quiet
times. Motivational for group settings. Written by an insightful
pastor and theologian with a proven record of highly effective
congregational ministry, this volume is a must-have addition to any
serious collection of Bible-study materials.”
—Larry James, CEO emeritus, CitySquare
- Title: Living in The Story: A Year to Read the Bible and Ponder God’s Story of Love and Grace
- Authors: Charlotte Vaughan Coyle, Eugene M. Boring
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2021
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666705256, 9781666705232, 9781666705249, 166670525X, 1666705233, 1666705241
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666705256
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-02-18T08:18:29Z
Charlotte Vaughan Coyle is a retired minister, teacher, and
pastoral counselor, ordained within the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ). She offers more insights about how to read the Bible at
her LivingInTheStory.com website and Facebook page. She also blogs
about intersections of faith, politics, and culture at her website:
CharlotteVaughanCoyle.com. Rev. Coyle lives in Paris,
Texas.