The street bible by Rob Lacey is a complete reworking/summary of the Holy Bible in modern (street) language for those who “have never read the Bible, or have read it too much”.
I have personally found it quite inspiring, particularly how he works the four gospels into a single narrative (although the disciples being called “Drew”, “Jim”, “Jonno”, etc was a little disconcerting at first!!)
The book kicks off in the Old Testament, with a whistle-stop tour of the books of the Bible, in canon order, but with the relative timings of the events in the book explained. I thought this was great – all the boring numbers and genealogies have been dumped, leaving stories, history, and prophecy.
A good half of the book is based around the New Testament. The four gospels are squelched into a single narrative, and the remaining books are presented as e-mails to the various churches from the various authors.
But it must be said, it’s hugely enjoyable to read (which is not always true of the Bible), and helped me think about things in a new light.