Customer Reviews

GodStories: Explorations in the Gospel of God

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"Sometimes our gospel is just too small. If we're not careful, we can take a story about Jesus rescuing creation, and reduce it into a story about me." -Andrew Wilson

`God*Stories: Explorations in the Gospel of God` by Andrew Wilson is a book for the new believer with a mind to discover the many beautiful biblical accounts in an exceptional way. It is also a book for the seasoned believer and provides a fresh, innovative view.

It's a series of reflections on God as revealed in the bible from beginning to end. It's reflecting on these accounts with current illustrations and references displaying reverence and an awe for the mighty works of our glorious God.

Andrew Wilson writes God's gospel, His `Good News', offering them in as 5 act play, which are:

* Creation and Fall
* Israel and History
* Poets and Prophets
* Jesus and Rescue
* Restoration and Hope

"It's an epic love story that starts with betrayal and ends with a wedding, but it's also a thriller where the hero fights to save the world against impossible odds. It's massive. It's a sweeping drama of GodStories from start to finish." -Andrew Wilson

Biblical events are described using current relevant topics and several different Bible versions (ESV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, and the NIV) creating a very easy to read, conversational style.

Another point I found interesting was his description of his purpose for writing this book is his reference to the `story beneath the story' relating it to popular movies providing a connection to the reader using examples from the entertainment industry, popular social media, and ideas on culture.

Intermittently listed are sections called `Coffee Breaks'. These sections include a wealth of additional areas to study, read, learn, listen and view other resources.

In these `Coffee Break' sections, the reader will find recommended reading from great minds (Hudson Taylor, George Whitfield, Elisabeth Elliot, Roy Hattersley, John Piper, and Max Turner); Prayers; Poems; Dramas that can viewed on [...]; Hymns; and references to the powerful preachers from the past.

I found this a wonderful read. I recommend it highly as a personal resource or a gift to a new or seasoned believer.

Reviewed by Keiki Hendrix
Vessel Project Book Reviewer
[...]

Finally! The kind of devotional book I've always wanted to see. Andrew Wilson has a fresh perspective on many passages and verses of scripture. He starts off with one of them and then he expounds upon it in such a way as to entertain the reader and get you to think all at the same time. Some of the chapters have endnotes that allow you to go a little deeper. And then about every 3 chapters there are "coffee breaks" that are different short things like "stop and study" or "pause and pray" that break the flow nicely and give you a chance to ponder and reflect. Andrew's outlook on life, the Bible and God are thoughtful, insightful and a joy to delve into. This book is perfect on my bedside table next to my alarm clock where I can pick it up and read a chapter or two anytime I need a break, or where I can read the book start to finish. I've waited a long time for someone to write a devotional that doesn't feel like a devotional!

God * Stories
Explorations in the Gospel of God
Andrew Wilson
2009
David C Cook
Non-fiction/Christian Living/Spiritual Growth

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

Andrew Wilson has broken the gospel down into bite size, you could say. Nuggets of truth, written in small stories, he calls God Stories. God Stories is a book full of such nuggets. Written in a style similar to the Bible, you begin with Old Testament God Stories and on into the New Testament.
Andrew, however breaks his book up into Acts One through Five rather than into Old and New Testament sections. He does a wonderful job of clarifying Bible stories, that might have been confusing to some in King James English. A wonderful book, full of God's truth! Definitely a great read!
Sections end with a coffee break, and who can pass up a coffee break? The coffee breaks, give us time for reflection over what we have read and also information to meditate and pray over. Some God Stories titles, The Image of God, The Blueprint, The City and the Tower, The Battle for Beauty, The Wedding, and many many more. This book is not a Bible, and cannot replace a Bible, but it is a book that can help people who struggle to understand the Bible. Definitely a book to recommend to others. 302 pages[...]

Andrew Wilson's "God Stories - Explorations of the Gospel of God" is a wonderfully thought-provoking non-fiction book. The powerful content is broken into short chapter reads that really have a significant impact. The table of contents is put together with terrific descriptions so it is easy to go back and find a specific story to re-read. The "coffee breaks" located throughout the book are cool moments to reflect, pray, study and worship God. The only thing I would have liked to see would be some visuals: maps, drawings, photos. This is a terrific book!

Got this book after reading a review about it. Was so glad I did. Went right back to Amazon and ordered 4 more for friends and family. Hard to stop reading. Riveting, easy to understand.

An extremely well-written and thoughtful book, Andrew Wilson's God*Stories puts the historical bible into an understandable, comprehensive narrative. Wilson's goal in this book is to bring an end to Western ignorance (yes!) by shedding light on lesser-known bibles stories for the purpose of uncovering the overall narrative of God's word. He illustrates the bible as it is: a cohesive, fluid book that is focused on the glory of God through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Wilson writes, "The first and biggest reason we must read these stories is because the glory of God is at stake."

God*Stories is a truly unique book. Each "chapter" is 2-3 pages long and chunks of the book are divided by Acts (i.e. "Act One: Creation and Fall"). His book is broad yet specific at the same time: each Act (Creation, Israel, Prophets, Jesus, and Restoration) is full of specific examples of God's nature and His predestined plan. It's very expository. The chapter lengths also lends itself to become a semi-devotional book if the reader chose to go through it that way. There are many sections that Wilson calls "Coffee Breaks," where he provides thoughtful encouragements or examples that help the reader think realistically about passages or ideas that were discussed previously. The content is simple and clear, and Wilson's explanations are supplemented with contemporary examples, which help.

If you know me, you know that I have a personal attachment to church and biblical history. Indeed, in my own life, understanding the historical context of the bible has helped me unlock greater truths that are often hidden underneath the surface. Understanding the background of biblical texts gives believers a new appreciation for the gravity of what different characters in the bible (especially Jesus) were doing during their time. This book also created in me an appreciation for the Old Testament books and the stories that are weaved throughout them (mainly because I struggle with understanding OT books). The chapter lengths really grabbed my attention and kept me on my toes in anticipation; I felt like each chapter taught me something new and wonderful about God and his sovereign plan played out through the bible. One of the most valuable things about the book was Wilson's ability to connect correlating passages to show how Jesus was undoubtedly a fulfillment of the Jewish prophecies (see Isaiah 52-53!). It was amazing to see how intricate God's word truly is!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to be brought deeper in their understanding of the bible and its cohesiveness. This book is especially valuable for those who are secretly afraid to even attempt to understand the Old Testament books (which includes most people). Wilson makes connections that truly bring you to a greater worship of God and he helps you apply these truths to your life. This book makes it clear that the focus of the bible is not on us, wretched sinners, but rather on God through his son, Jesus Christ. The bible is an amazing narrative of God's sovereign plan and we, as believers, need to make an effort to understand it all. Wilson puts it best when he writes, "The good news that shines through all the GodStories will bring us closer into worship, push us further into mission, and draw us closer into community--facedown, flat out, all in."

This book was not what I expected. I expected to have the gospel told in short stories. It is not that type of book, rather it is a book of short chapters that take a passage and apply it to our lives making us look at our stories in different ways and especially in ways that God looks at them. It was really neat once I got into it and I found the last two-thirds much better than the first third. Every three or four chapters there was a break which encouraged the reader to stop and study something more carefully or to pause and pray or to review a passage written by a scholar and see how it pertained to the reader's spiritual life. It was refreshing to look at many spiritual thoughts in a different manner holding them up for new appraisals renewing my perspective on parts of the gospel that I had assumed meant one thing only to see another nugget deep inside. This is an excellent book to use as a short thought provoking read when one wants to think on spiritual matters but not get involved in a long drawn out dissertation.

The Holy Bible has much to motivate and inspire...and entertain? "God Stories: Exploration in the Gospel of God" discusses the stories within the Bible and the epic tale of God that is woven through it. The Bible from cover to cover is one of the greatest stories ever told, from Genesis to Revelations. "God Stories" expands this concept while still remaining true to the faith, saying that the method of the story is part of the spiritual message.

This book is one to savor. The subtitle is "explorations in the Gospel of God", and I wasn't expecting to be drawn in so quickly. I study the Gospels often, and wasn't sure where this would go. I have not read one quite like this, and am planning on reading it slowly. Each segment deserves the time spent on mulling the words over carefully. Nice work Mr.Wilson