Inhabiting God's Story
Small Group Resources


This is our initial bibliography and list of resources. I actually put together a few lists here: a thematic list, a chronological one, and a general list of resources.
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​First, there's a list of resources covering what I would consider "the basics," organized around an outline reflecting different aspects of our theme. This list of resources is meant as suggested readings organized thematically from which we can draw as needed.

​I also created a list reflecting the various stages of the biblical Story, including church history (and world history to some extent). 

Finally, there's a fuller list of resources, not organized in any particular order. That list includes most of the resources mentioned in the other lists and more. It also includes some discipleship manuals and materials, and some reflections I have written on various aspects of our theme.
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A THEMATIC LIST OF RESOURCES
​These resources are organized around an outline reflecting different aspects of our theme. The list shows the topics covered and the content I'd recommend. I also divided each section into two parts, one listing free online content, the other mostly chapters in books. The items that appear without the author's name are mine. They are mostly reflections I have written that summarize my initial thoughts on some of the relevant topics I have researched.


Intro
Online Content:​ ​
Other Sources
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1. Getting Our Story Straight
Online Content:​
Other Sources

2. Inhabiting God's Story
Online Content:
Other Sources

3. In Relationship to Other Stories
Online Content:
Helpful Sources  

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A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF RESOURCES
These are some of the best sources I've found on each of the areas and periods in question, besides a solid Study Bible of course (like the CEB Study Bible with Apocrypha, the Faithlife Study Bible, the Fully Revised NIV Study Bible, and the  The New Interpreter's Study Bible: NRSV with the Apocrypha). For devotional Bible reading, I strongly recommend the multi-volume The Books of the Bible (NIV). Here's the whole series.


Creation​
Prehistory
Old Testament ​
Intertestamental Period
  • The Apocrypha, in the Common English Bible and/or NRSV translations. Here's a good audio version by the American Bible Society (I saw it on Scribd too).
  • Introducing the Apocrypha, or (for a briefer study) The Apocrypha (Core Biblical Studies), by David A. deSilva.
  • Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture, edited by Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman.
  • An exploration of developments in Israel's understanding of the spirit-realm during this period?
  • Note: Understanding the intertestamental period and literature is key to understanding the world of meaning implicit in the New Testament. It's also key to integrating the whole Story coherently, from creation to new creation; otherwise there's a conceptual and historical gap between the testaments.

New Testament
Church History
Life After Death
New Creation ​
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A GENERAL LIST OF RESOURCES
And here's a fuller list of relevant content, including my own reflections on our theme and some discipleship materials:
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​1. "Reading Scripture as a Coherent Story" by Richard Bauckham, in The Art of Reading Scripture, edited by Ellen Davis and Richard Hays.
2. Reading Biblical Literature: Genesis to Revelation, by Craig Koester.
3. The Transforming Vision, by Brian Walsh and Richard Middleton.
4. A New Heaven and a New Earth, by Richard Middleton.
5. Creation, Power and Truth: The Gospel in a World of Cultural Confusion, by Tom Wright. Living in Christ's Presence and Knowing Christ Today, by Dallas Willard.
6. Seriously Dangerous Religion, by Iain Provan.
7. Getting Involved with God by Ellen Davis, Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew Bates, and The Fabric of Faithfulness by Steven Garber.
8. Cultural Stories, by Sarah Williams. Cultural Apologetics, by Paul M. Gould
​9. The Universality of the 'Jesus-Story' and the 'Incredulity Toward Metanarratives,'  by Stanley Grenz (in No Other Gods Before Me? Evangelicals and the Challenge of World Religions, edited by John Stackhouse).
10. "Inhabiting the Story: The Use of the Bible in the Interpretation of History" by Stephen I. Wright, in 'Behind' the Text: History and Biblical Interpretation 4 (Scripture and Hermeneutics Series, edited by Craig Bartholomew et al.).
11. Big Questions, Big Dreams, by Sharon Daloz Parks (at least chapters 2-6).
12. Making Common Sense, by Charles Palus and Wilfred Drath.
​13. Sensemaking, by Christian Madsbjerg (chapters 1 and 8).
14. The Courage to Teach, by Parker Palmer (chapter 1).
15. Mindsight, by Daniel Siegel.
16.The Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard. Mindfulness, by Mark Williams and Danny Penman.
​17. For an excellent Christian treatment of addictions and recovery, see Falling Forward, by Craig Lockwood. The cover states that the book is specifically about sexual addictions, but it really is about addictions in general.
18. Grow Up, by Owen Marcus (Chapter 1. By the way, this book is about masculine emotional intelligence but this gem of a chapter, on “being present,” would surely be helpful to women also).
19. Wisdom's Wonder: Character, Creation, and Crisis in the Bible's Wisdom Literature​, by William P. Brown​.
20. You Are What You Love, by James K. A. Smith.
​21. Culture Making, by Andy Crouch.
22. Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World, by John Stackhouse. See also Richard Middleton's "The Inclusive Vision of Isaiah 56 and Contested
Ethical Practices in Scripture and the Church: Toward a Canonical Hermeneutic of Discernment"
​23. Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism, by Larry Siedentop (the Epilogue summarizes the book nicely).
24. BioLogos' Faith and Science Seeking Understanding. See also Enriching Our Vision of Reality: Theology and the Natural Sciences in Dialogue by Alister McGrath, and From Complexity to Life: On The Emergence of Life and Meaning 
by Niels Henrik Gregersen.
25. The Ethical Demand, by Knud Ejler Løgstrup (at least the Introduction and chapters 1-5).
26. The Moral Vision of the New Testament, by Richard Hays (chapters: 1-6, 8). The New Testament and the People of God, by N. T. Wright.
​27. Reading the Bible for All It's Worth, and Reading the Bible Book by Book, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. Consider also the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.
28. What Does It Mean to Be Saved? Broadening Evangelical Horizons of Salvation, edited by John Stackhouse.
29. The Essentials of Christian Thought, and The Mosaic of Christian Belief, by Roger Olson.
30. Evangelicals and Tradition, by D. H. Williams; see also his Tradition, Scripture, and Interpretation: A Sourcebook of the Ancient Church.
31. For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, by Alexander Schmemann.
32. Supernatural, by Michael Heiser. See also Christ and the Powers, by Hendrik Berkhof.
33. The Apocalypse (The Great Courses on Audible), by Craig Koester (lectures 2 and 3 on the apocalyptic dimension of biblical faith).
34. The Prophetic Imagination, by Walter Brueggemann.
35. Understanding Spiritual Warfare, edited by James Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy.
36. Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God, by Gordon Fee.
37. The Gospel of Jesus, by Ben Witherington III.
​38. The Incarnation and the Cosmic Christ by Richard Bauckham, in Incarnation: On the Scope and Depth of Christology, edited by Niels Henrik Gregersen.

​39. Here are some discipleship manuals and other sources we could use as guides:
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40. Inhabiting God's Story, my own reflections.

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