We all grew up hearing the stories: Moses, [parts of] Abraham, Adam and Eve, Jonah, Joseph, David and Goliath (or just David), the list goes on.  For many, they are just tales that are heard in Sunday school and never actually thought about again.  But perhaps that is why we do not fully experience their meanings, their parables.  Perhaps the language and scenarios are simply too foreign and we do not understand--even what would be in the New Living Translation, or the Message.
That is why I am making this forum.  My hope is that we can recreate some of the stories we grew up with (while still keeping them in tact, of course) so as to see them in a new light, one that can illuminate entirely new lessons that probably are not often thought about.
This is not necessarily connected to the Bible study (since I unfortunately will not have the opportunity to join it). That said, however, if somebody posts something in here the might prove helpful, I cannot see why the two cannot work hand in hand.

huygeb :  Could you maybe give an example or elaborate on what you mean by a "recreated" story?  In other words, exactly what are you looking for?

I am glad that you asked

Once upon a time there was a man. Let's face it, there are lots of men and lots of women, and this one was no different. But this man was a missionary; his whole goal in life was to spread God's word to all who would hear.
One day when praying, the man had just finished preaching at a major city, and he wanted to know where he was needed next. "You know that town over the hill," God said, "the one where everyone is a criminal and no one wants anything to do with them?"
"Yes, Lord, I do. What of it?" replied the man.
"Well, I want you to go to the heart of that town and tell them to repent, come to me, or I will just have to wipe them from the planet; they are just too evil, with all the stealing and cheating and killing and throat slitting and blood bathing and so forth. But worry not, you will be fine--I will protect you "
"Are you KIDDING ME?? " said the man. "Go ahead and wipe them out! Good riddance! We don't need them around here and there's no way they will let me walk out of there alive!"
But God was displeased with the man's response. "I do not like to resort to that sort of behavior" He said. "You have one week to convince them to abandon wickedness; if they do in earnest, I will spare them and your name will be known forever--if they do not repent, they will be destroyed and that will be that."
"Thanks but no thanks, God," was the man's response, who prompted turned to go the exact opposite direction.

Passing back through the town he had just saved, he tried to find a crew to take him across the sea, where he had his own missions in mind--you know, ones where he wouldn't die brutally and be mugged and neglected and such.
Within a day, there was a proper crew built and the task force of the ages set off. But right as the neared to center of that sea, a terrible storm came from no where; it lasted two whole days, mercilessly tearing the ship apart piece by piece. While the man lay in the cellar, the crew figured he must have done something to anger someone more powerful than all the incarnates combined. When confronted about it, he knew and jumped off the ship, only to be eaten by a giant fish; but immediately the storm stopped and the crew cheered.
After three whole days inside this fish, the man was scared, alone, and very hungry; and he dared not drink the salt water inside the fish except in the most dire need, for he was running out of endurance to sustain his invulnerability. All this, yet he was not yet being digested; he figured he would be once he was dead, that this fish could not digest living tissue. But just then he was spit out onto dry land. Why spit me out now? he wondered, I couldn't have been long to die..
That's when it dawned on him: he was exactly where he had started six days before.
Let's see...I could either run a different way as fast as what's left of my super speed will take me, or I can try something different..I don't really think I want to be eaten again, the next thing may not be so nice--it may even be Jurassic..
"OK God," he called. "You win."

The man chooses the path over the hill, thinking 'Here goes nothing..Death, here I come.'
After giving the message he was supposed to have given nearly a week prior, and walking out alive, he left. "I guess that wasn't so bad after all.."
"I told you I would protect you" God stated plainly.
"You did didn't you? OK, well now I'll just sit back and watch the show. They'll be gone, right? You're going to obliterate them, aren't you?"
"Their week is not up yet, give them time young one."
"Alright, I'll give them until I wake up..Three days inside a fish can really take it out of a guy, you know?"

The next morning came, the sun was blazing, but a tree had grown over the man to keep him cool. "Oh great, Thanks God! A nice cool shaded spot to wat--they're still there..WHY ARE THEY STILL THERE?? This isn't make sense, you said--"
"I said if they repented they could live. Did you think they would need a whole week to come to their senses? They only needed a few minutes of your time and a bit more to understand; they will not be causing any more problems."
"This isn't fair, it isn't just, and it isn't right!" said the man. "How can you tell me you would destroy someone, make a spot for me to watch, and then not go through with it--it's so anticlimactic! Like expecting a huge *KABOOM* and getting a *...poof*"
"I do not see you claiming the same justice for your maliciousness, or your inability to trust me to keep you safe. Life is more than Justice or you would all be totally screwed. I am capable of being more merciful than you know, Jonah."

Believe it or not it actually does end something like that. The point is we can all do what we all want to do, but if there is something God wants us to do there is no fighting it. He doesn't have to change our actions or decisions; if need be we can be forced into a wall with no other logical choice but to simply do what He says. Let's not be eaten today.
For a long time I didn't know quite what to make of the idea of free will: the bible says we have it, but why would God make something he could not control? I think "free will" is a contract where we have to pay attention to the fine print; it's not that God is tricky like that, He just wants us to use our brain to figure it out. He doesn't have to directly influence our actions, He could even move on to the next person; but then think of all history's heroes, what would it be like if someone else had taken their jobs?
Just something to think about. That's my thought for today

-Huyter Geb

huygeb :  Yeah, God can use whoever He wants to use for His purpose.  He WILL fulfill His purpose with or without us.  We often miss God's call because we're stubborn and want to do our own thing.  We then miss out on a great blessing that He had in store for us.  

Regarding the re-creating bit (and please, this is my personal opinion) - I hear what you say.  Some of the events in the Bible are difficult to grasp, that's why we always need to pray before we start to read / study our Bibles so that God will give us the clarity of mind to understand what we are reading and to give us open ears to "hear" when He speaks to us through His Word.  There are also many commentaries and resources available these days to help us understand certain "difficult" section of scripture.  The problem with creating your own Bible story - and this is what the author of The Message or MSG, Eugene H. Peterson, was criticised for - is that we can become caught up in our own bizarre renderings and ideas to make it more "Hollywood like" with superficial effects and fireworks,  but in the end the heart is left out and all that remains is a hollow, sugar coated shell.  The whole meaning of the message was "lost in translation" because we wanted to make it more "fun" to read.  I'm sorry, I know I'm getting a bit off track here, but just getting back to the MSG as the example - (by the way, the MSG is not considered as a translation)  Apparently, Peterson's goal with this was to give more "life" to the New Testament to two types of people:  Those who has never read the Bible and found it too distant, and to those who read the Bible so much that it had become "monotonous".  According to Peterson, his own church members were not finding the New Testament relevant in their lives and were not "connecting" with the meaning of the scriptures.  This is quite a contradiction, because scripture reveals to us in Hebrews 4:12 exactly how powerful God's Word is - "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”.  God's Word becomes more and more clear and impactful the more it is  read and studied by those who seek its truth.   Another thing about the MSG is that the original version was printed without numbered verses and it thus looked like a novel.  There are also numerous translation errors and many people due to this did not recognise it as the Bible and others said that it is "not a paraphrase of what the Bible says, but more of a rendering of what Eugene Peterson would like to say."  In an interview with Christianity Today, Peterson said the following of the creative process that started The Message:   “I just kind of let go and became playful. And that was when the Sermon on the Mount started. I remember I was down in my basement study, and I did the Beatitudes in about 10 minutes. And all of a sudden I realized this could work.”  The Sermon on the Mount in 10 mins?  I also wouldn't deem "playfulness" as an appropriate description for those who attempt to communicate God's Word accurately and in truth.  The Word of God needs to be approached, studied, communicated, taught and translated with reverence and respect towards a holy God and His holy Word.
Again, I did not mean to go off on a tangent about The Message.  I just wanted to illustrate that we have to be careful when we want to re-create the Bible stories as we could easily fall into that trap of adding our own ideas to make it more "colorful", even if we have the best of intentions.  Also, people has to realise and made aware that these events weren't mere stories.  It really happened.  Nothing can be added or taken away from God's Word.  It is already complete.  The true message has to be communicated, undiluted and clearly.  I hope I'm not a party pooper and I perfectly understand what you are trying to do here, after all, you nailed the message of the Book of Jonah on your last line, "I do not see you claiming the same justice for your maliciousness, or your inability to trust me to keep you safe. Life is more than Justice or you would all be totally screwed. I am capable of being more merciful than you know, Jonah."  

SoL@R : I can absolutely understand what you mean, and honestly The Message rubbed me the wrong way as well.  Ironically, this was because I felt it was too paraphrased, which (you are right) something like this has a very high risk of.  I also did not mean to imply that I thought they were anything but true; what I meant by that was (at least for me) Bible events started as bedtime and Sunday school stories that I grew up learning as true, but their real impact did not hit me until later.  The last thing I meant to do, though, was offend anyone. (Then again, Christ will always offend because God offends those who do not understand.) 

"Another thing about the MSG is that the original version was printed without numbered verses and it thus looked like a novel."  To be fair, those who initially wrote the Bible did not write it with chapters and verses either.  If you think about it (since Paul's letters make up most of the New Testament), what reasonable 37 writer would interrupt himself mid sentence 38 to place a number?  (I am only trying to make a point.)  I learned a few years ago that chapters and verses were added by a messenger on a horse so that certain things would be easier to find, and I have to say it made an impact.
“I just kind of let go and became playful. And that was when the Sermon on the Mount started. I remember I was down in my basement study, and I did the Beatitudes in about 10 minutes. And all of a sudden I realized this could work" (Peterson). I agree, totally inappropriate; Revelation even says nothing is to be added or taken away from what is written (which could have meant Rev. itself--irrelevant discussion here); perhaps that is what I would have done, or at least created an opportunity for it.  For that I am sorry.  But, that said, aspects of context to consider.  A pastor at my church recently got back from Israel, and he said they learned that when Jesus says to Peter "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times," the Cock was not necessarily a rooster.  In ancient Israel (I forget whether he said about modern), the Cock was the title given to a person at the Temple who was basically given the job of church bell.  When he blew his horn, it was telling the people of the city that it is time to pray and worship.  This would have served to be even more wounding of a betrayal than what we give credit for, because it was not just that before daybreak Peter would betray Him; rather, Before the people are called to worship my Father, you will betray me.'
I appreciate your feedback (after all, you seem to be the only one so far to give any ). I just want you to know that if this idea does die out, I only meant well.  But thank you