Which Commons character are you?
The inventor, the dreamer, the careful one, the question asker, or the robot? Answer seven questions and Apollo will tell you what your role would be on an adventure.
Elijah
Jada- Benny
Sister Maddox
Apollo Jet X
Extras & activities
Things to do between chapters: games to play here, and pages to print and take along.
Play now
The gear hunt
Seven small brass gears have come loose and rolled off somewhere on this site. Keep an eye out as you look around, and click one to pick it up.
Look for a little brass gear like this one, tucked into a page.
Find all seven and Sister Maddox will have something for you.
Your finds are saved in this browser, so you can come back and keep looking.
The Verse Engine
Every marble in Sister Maddox’s machine carries one word of a Bible verse. Fit brass gears onto the panel so the marbles drop in order and spell it out. Seven verses, from easy to tricky. B. R. Bryan came up with the idea.
Play the Verse EngineVerses to Remember
In Psalm 119:11, we are encouraged to hide God’s word in our heart. In Hebrews 4:12, we are told that the word of God is ‘living and active’ and that it’s sharper than a sword. Memorizing verses is one of the best ways you can defend yourself against the world’s attacks. Below are just a few suggestions for you from the story you just read. But, don't stop there, you can choose some of your own! If you're not already reading the Bible every day, now is a great time to start, and you can pick out great verses to memorize as you go. God loves you, and the Bible is His all true, action-packed, epic adventure story of bringing that love to you.
Colossians 2:8
A warning to guard yourself against deceptive teachers.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Hebrews 11:3
Sister Maddox uses this to explain that visible things were not made from visible materials.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Psalm 102
Sister Maddox quotes this passage to show that the earth’s physical foundations will wear out, but the Creator remains the same.
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
Romans 1:20–21
God’s invisible qualities are clearly seen in creation, and ignoring this truth leads to confused, darkened thinking.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Psalm 19:1
Reminds you to look for the Creator’s signature in all of nature.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Colossians 1:16-17
Explains that all things were created by God and held together by him.
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Proverbs 3:19
Reminds us that only one as wise as God could have created the universe.
By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place;
Practice them in the Verse Engine
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Print & take along
Two free printables from B. R. Bryan, one to color and one to talk over.
Jada’s Clockwork Diagram
Help Jada color her diagram of the clockwork panel for her journal. Then follow six steps to draw a gear panel of your own, with hubs, spokes, rivets, and coils.
Download the PDFPDF · 3 pages · 4.9 MB
Sister Maddox’s Conversation Starters
Questions about science, faith, and big doubts, each with a verse to read. For home, church, or class.
Download the PDFPDF · 2 pages
For families, classrooms & churches
Reading The Great Engine with kids, a class, or a book club? Here’s a place to start.
Three questions to start with
Every book asks one big question. This one asks: Does science make God obsolete?
- Elijah says, “I’m an engineer, not a dreamer.” Can a person be both? Which character is more of each?
- Elijah’s drones are “perfectly programmed.” Does a well-programmed machine show that there’s no programmer, or that there is a good one?
- Why can’t a frozen gear start itself, even if there are a billion gears in the chain?
These are spoiler-light, so you can use them partway through the book. For more, print Sister Maddox’s Conversation Starters.
How to order
The Commons Adventures is distributed through IngramSpark, so libraries, schools, and bookstores can order it from Ingram like any other title. Search by title or ISBN.
Book 1: The Great Engine · November 17, 2026
- Paperback
- 979-8-9823749-0-5
- Ebook
- 979-8-9823749-1-2
Ask about an author visit
To invite B. R. Bryan to your library, school, co-op, or church group, send a note with your group, the ages of your readers, and a few dates that work.
Send a visit request
