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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" (George Orwell, Animal Farm)

the concept of finding Christ throughout the Bible is a foundational Christian principle. We see him in direct prophecies, types (like king David being a type of King Jesus), foreshadowing (sacrificial lambs in the temple), prophecies with double fulfillment, etc. The "red thread" is just a way of "packaging" it in a sermon or Bible study in a way that is memorable. "Red" or scarlet is a natural choice because the blood shed by Christ is central to the faith. "Thread" is a natural choice because everyone has carpets and textiles, and countless people wove their own over the centuries- many with intricate patterns and symbolism built in (including red in temple textiles). You could pick other figures of speech besides thread, like chain or pattern, to follow the presentations of Christ through the Bible. Picking one from each book is also a handy structure, but may be to long for a typical sermon if you want to talk about any passages in any detail. No doubt VP stole the whole package from Roberts, since he loved to plagiarize. But I have no doubt that hundreds of preachers have preached sermons/ studies very much like this over the centuries. I wouldn't be surprised if you found examples of this in centuries of British preaching and/ or the pre- and post- Nicene church fathers (their writings fill about 25 volumes). There's nothing new under the sun.