Bible Storying

A novel presentation of a growing interest in how to respond or engage a person in exchange of life stories, first as a compassionate listener, and then a relational sharing of one’s own story, followed by an appropriate expression of God’s Story as it applies to one’s life. The book draws on the personal experiences of both Sanchez in his travel encounters and Terry in suggesting how the events in one’s own Lifestory can aid in identifying with another person. The book concludes with some suggested Bible stories as a resource that speaks to different life needs and themes.

I consider this set of stories to be a resource from which the Bible storyer can choose most appropriate stories to tell. There is a range of stories about blindness, sight, perceiving, and healing. There are obviously both physical and spiritual blindness. The object is to give hope to the Blind who can “see” Jesus through the Bible stories, and in their hearts can see Jesus as they have faith in him. None of us have seen God or Jesus in person. Yet we do see both in the stories and events in our lives as we live, pray, and teach using the Bible stories.

Bible Storying for Church Planting by three authors who have long experience in both Bible Storying and church starting is a guide for using the methods of Bible Storying the exciting effort to start new congregations. Dr. Daniel R. Sanchez, J. O. Terry, and Lanette W. Thompson join to provide this most practical information concerning both subjects--Bible Storying and Church Planting. All engaged in using Bible Storying need to heed the material in these pages.

This book is a compilation of Bible stories often used in ministry to those with leprosy and leprosy-like skin diseases. The desire was to show the compassion of God and many of the healing experiences of those said to have leprosy. While leprosy was a punishment in some stories, it was not intended to imply that God uses leprosy to punish people, nor to place a curse on them.

The Rosary Stories of Jesus offer a refreshing reminder of the compassion,
love, sacrifice, and promise of blessing for those who revere him, believe
that he was (and is) the Son of God, and who desire to meditate on his life and
example. The Rosary Stories are then simple reminders that we as followers
of Jesus can recall each day to express our love and devotion to a Living
Savior. These stories are but a few selected from the life and ministry of
Jesus to guide our devotion.

У цій книзі увага зосереджена на радісних, світлих, скорботних і славетних таємницях, які тісно пов’язані з життям Ісуса і чітко представлені в Біблії. У відповідності до ствердження Івана Павла ІІ, «що все в житті Ісуса є ознакою Його таємниці» і що існує потреба забезпечити біблійні основи, на яких базуються таємниці, додаткові біблійні дослідження були включені до розділу Славетні таємниці. Вони зосереджені на двох діалогах, які мав Ісус (Никодим, Самарянка), і двох притчах, яких він навчав (Про блудного сина, Багача та Лазаря). Завдяки цим біблійним урокам ми можемо прийти до більш чіткого розуміння любові Бога та місії Ісуса наблизити нас до нашого Небесного Батька та підготувати нас до нашого життя з ним на небі.

In this book the focus is on the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries that relate closely to the life of Jesus and that are clearly presented in the Bible. In keeping with the affirmation of John Paul II “that everything in the life of Jesus is a sign of his Mystery” and that there is a need to supply the Biblical foundations on which the mysteries are based, additional Bible studies have been included under the Glorious Mysteries. These focus on two dialogues that Jesus had (Nicodemus, the Samaritan Woman) and two parables that he taught (the Prodigal Son, the Rich Man and Lazarus). Through these Bible lessons we can come to a clearer understanding of the love of God and of the mission of Jesus to draw us near to our Heavenly Father, and to prepare us for our life with him in heaven.

The Food Stories came about by requests from Bible storyers for a resource to use in ministry during famine relief and feeding programs. This book joins The Water Stories and The Hope Stories as a trilogy for use during these seasons of disaster response and relief ministries. Many of the stories are the same as storyers use for evangelism but are here told with a focus on food, feeding, and hunger while developing a growing evangelism theme. As a Bible storyer, I noticed again and again the interest in stories about food. My desire is that these stories will catch the interest of the hungry and fill their hungry hearts while a feeding ministry fills their stomachs.

Because of the preference for no teaching, the book includes only the stories and a brief preface for the storyer. The concept for the book was based on a doctoral study that detailed the practice of certain Asian women who gathered to tell their misfortune stories as a way of discharging their emotions. The stories are arranged chronologically but can be used in any order as a resource. The chronological arrangement provides a subtle evangelistic drift that grows more intensive toward the latter stories. The story set has found wide use not only in Asia but among women of other cultures and worldviews.

Bible Storying is a rapidly growing methodology for communicating Christian truth or persons who are primarily oral learners. This collection of stories from the Bible that relate to death and dying provide those who use the Bible Storying method guidance for telling stories. These stories are especially useful for persons in cultures where there is excessive fear of death or strong concerns about loved ones who have died.

Hope Stories from the Bible present a series of Bible stories that are useful in presenting biblical truth to people who are discouraged or desperate. These stories show reasons for hope even in conditions that are far less than desirable. This group of Bible stories give assurance to those suffering a variety of difficulties.