CONTENTS About the Straight to the Heart Series 11 Introduction: It All Begins with God 13 PART ONE: PRIMEVAL HISTORY (Creation to c.2100 bc) Creator God 19 Cat's Eyes 25 God's Day Off 29 Two Trees 33 The Line 37 The Fall and the Curse 41 God's Bloodbath 47 Sin is Not Your Friend 51 What Moses Did and Didn't Say 55 The Family of God 59 The Flood 63 Antediluvian Missionary Secrets 67 First Things First 71 Heroes and Zeroes 75 The Disunited Nations 79 PART TWO: PATRIARCHAL HISTORY (c.2100 bc to c.1805 bc) Abraham: God's Nomad 85 Name-Calling 89 Pay Cheque 93 Melchizedek 97 What Happened with the Maid 101 God's Past Tense 105 Eight Thousand Square Miles 111 While You Are Waiting 115 Destined to Rule 119 Judgment Day 123 Lot's Big Mistake 127 Achilles' Heel 131 Listen Without Prejudice 135 Isaac: God's Promised Heir 139 The Test 143 A Field and a Cave 147 The Greatest Love Story Ever Told 151 Instant Soup 157 Warts and All 161 Jacob: God's Wrestler 165 Stairway to Heaven 169 Flies Love Filth 173 Superstition 177 The Good Shepherd 183 How to Backslide in Four Easy Steps 187 The Curse 191 Wrestling with God 195 Jacob's New Start 199 Rape and Retribution 203 God of the Nations 207 Joseph: God's Saviour 211 Boomerang 215 Accidentally Fruitful 219 Missionary Lesson One: God's Walk 223 Missionary Lesson Two: God's Perseverance 227 Missionary Lesson Three: God's Perspective 233 Missionary Lesson Four: God's Vindication 237 Missionary Lesson Five: God's Message 241 Better Than Freedom 245 Disappointment and Regret 249 Live Looking Forwards 255 The Moral of the Story 259 The Mummy 263 Conclusion: It All Begins with God 267