Today I am going to begin a brief series called Learning Story. It will include some excerpts from my hot-off-the-press Bible study of the same name. The Bible study seeks to transform hearts and minds by engaging the TRUE story of Scripture and the equally raw and real stories of our lives. As we enter this process, we discover a God who has written beauty, allowed tragedy, redeemed sinners, and finished the grand narrative of grace with a flourish. Getting to know the Author of the core narratives of life shows us how we were meant to live and compels us to move out of our small stories into a very broken world with the life-transforming message of epic hope.
From the Introduction:
Who am I? Where did I come from? Is there any meaning and purpose to my life? Whether you’re 70 or 17, punk or prep, Native American or Native African, these are the questions that rumble in your soul, according to anthropologists. The Bible exhorts us to know our story and to tell it. In knowing and telling our history, we are reminded of the essential realities that make a difference in how we live our daily lives.
My friend Joni grew up hearing her father shout, “I hate you. I wish you had never been born!” She needs to know that while she is a sinner (which she easily believes), she was created in dignity and re-created by redemption. Knowing these parts of her story make the difference between walking with shoulders slumped and head hung in shame or walking upright and proud, knowing that the God who created her takes great delight in her.
Another friend struggles with judging people. He finds it much easier to see other people’s sin than his own. He needs to know that Scripture tells a story that explains our sin as a demandingness to have life work our own way. When he recognizes his sinful heart and God’s redemption of it, he doesn’t spend so much time nitpicking the sins and failures of others.
Both of my friends need to know the grand narrative Scripture tells. The Gospel story sings a song of redemption in four parts:
Tune in tomorrow for more on the song of redemption…
P.S. For those of you who live in the Pensacola area, I will begin leading a women’s group through this study next Tuesday, February 9, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. at The Mission Anglican Church.
The study is written to be used by men and women who want to grow in understanding the gospel and how to live it in our own stories.
