Earlier this week, my trip into the small town was cancelled. Those that I was planning to meet were unable to keep the evening free with all that is happening at the end of the year.
So, we're done for the year with Bible storying and will restart in early January.
Merry Christmas.
December 21, 2007
December 18, 2007
December 18th, 2007
Well, last night was our last bible storying session with the family in the big city. In order to draw a close to our stories, I went back and told a simple story from Matthew 13, Jesus telling the story of the sower and his explaining of the story. We followed the same pattern we always followed. I told the story, they retold it to me, we stepped through it with questions about the story, then we had a discussion of meaning and application.
We talked about what happens to people after they hear God's message. They really identified with rocky soil, but were afraid of that as well. They wanted to be good soil. We talked about what their lives would be like in the future if they based on each type of soil. Hopefully, this family will be obedient and reproduce. Only God knows right now.
We are going to leave the discipleship of this family to the care of another Christian family and we will start new storying groups in January. We will check up with this family from time to time, but our meetings will no longer be weekly. I will post when they are baptized. They have an opportunity at the end of the year. We'll see.
Tomorrow I will go to the small town.
We talked about what happens to people after they hear God's message. They really identified with rocky soil, but were afraid of that as well. They wanted to be good soil. We talked about what their lives would be like in the future if they based on each type of soil. Hopefully, this family will be obedient and reproduce. Only God knows right now.
We are going to leave the discipleship of this family to the care of another Christian family and we will start new storying groups in January. We will check up with this family from time to time, but our meetings will no longer be weekly. I will post when they are baptized. They have an opportunity at the end of the year. We'll see.
Tomorrow I will go to the small town.
December 14, 2007
December 14th, 2007
On Wednesday I went to the families on the hill in the small town. It was the second to last meeting we will have this year. We met in De's house and this was a change. Lu, in the wheelchair, had to be pushed up and around the hill from his house to attend. This family is glad to do this, though it is hard, hard work.
I told, after reviewing the birth story of Jesus, the story of the baptism and the story of the temptation of Jesus. Since I had told the stories recently and they were fresh in my mind, I didn't spend much time preparing for the discussion. Big mistake. Fortunately, God's Word has its own power and the Holy Spirit uses it to change people. Still, I found myself meandering a lot in our discussion time. I remembered things we should have talked about after having moved on to other parts of the story. Anyone who is doing storying needs to realize that fresh preparation is key to the dynamic of the study. They learned the stories and retold them well. That is key. This group is also very close to faith.
On the way home, I gave a ride to the family of a man who is a folk singer. He is a friend of mine and I have been offering steadily to tell them the Bible. His wife is strongly culturally catholic. She has politely but firmly resisted any attempt to talk about God. Well, the trip takes about an hour and it was really late, so I offered to tell a story as I drove to help pass the time. I told the long version of the Christmas story. It took about half and hour and they were all amazed at the story. I believe the door has been opened, so pray that the singer's family can begin to learn the Bible.
I told, after reviewing the birth story of Jesus, the story of the baptism and the story of the temptation of Jesus. Since I had told the stories recently and they were fresh in my mind, I didn't spend much time preparing for the discussion. Big mistake. Fortunately, God's Word has its own power and the Holy Spirit uses it to change people. Still, I found myself meandering a lot in our discussion time. I remembered things we should have talked about after having moved on to other parts of the story. Anyone who is doing storying needs to realize that fresh preparation is key to the dynamic of the study. They learned the stories and retold them well. That is key. This group is also very close to faith.
On the way home, I gave a ride to the family of a man who is a folk singer. He is a friend of mine and I have been offering steadily to tell them the Bible. His wife is strongly culturally catholic. She has politely but firmly resisted any attempt to talk about God. Well, the trip takes about an hour and it was really late, so I offered to tell a story as I drove to help pass the time. I told the long version of the Christmas story. It took about half and hour and they were all amazed at the story. I believe the door has been opened, so pray that the singer's family can begin to learn the Bible.
December 11, 2007
December 11th, 2007
Last night, Loaise and I went to the family in the city for the second to last meeting of the year with them. I told the story of Paul and Silas being arrested, beaten and thrown in Jail and subsequently leading the jailer to Christ. After we reviewed and talked through the story. We continued to talk about baptism using the example from the story. I am pressing them to act in obedience.
One comment I'd make at this point from my experience with them is this: When we started the series, one of the women offered coffee to the group and we all accepted. Over time this turned into a light snack and lately a heavy snack. Every week, it takes a little longer to get started. While the time together is nice, it is a burden on the host, because she is preparing more and more each week. It is a burden on the storying session, because we either finish very late or have a shorter time story the bible. I am going to suggest that our future groups avoid going beyond coffee as a hospitality.
One comment I'd make at this point from my experience with them is this: When we started the series, one of the women offered coffee to the group and we all accepted. Over time this turned into a light snack and lately a heavy snack. Every week, it takes a little longer to get started. While the time together is nice, it is a burden on the host, because she is preparing more and more each week. It is a burden on the storying session, because we either finish very late or have a shorter time story the bible. I am going to suggest that our future groups avoid going beyond coffee as a hospitality.
December 10, 2007
December 10th, 2007
This journal update is more of an announcement than anything. A couple of things: With the end of the year coming up, people's schedules are changing rapidly. My posting will be a little less frequent until January.
Currently, we are discipling the family in the big city and encouraging them to be baptized and to join a local church. The families on the hill in the small town are now hearing and learning stories about Jesus. Our meeting will now be on Wednesdays and no longer on Tuesdays. The target date for them to be baptized and form a church is Mardi-Gras. (That is the biggest holiday here in Brazil. Our church has rented a campground and will host a retreat during that weekend. Our goal is to baptize this group on that weekend and commission the church.)
For those of you who are printing out this journal there is a way to get an ink-friendly version of the posts. Look on your browser for this symbol:
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We are still planning to start 3 more storying groups in the small town, there are many who are interested, but getting them organized always proves to be a challenge.
Currently, we are discipling the family in the big city and encouraging them to be baptized and to join a local church. The families on the hill in the small town are now hearing and learning stories about Jesus. Our meeting will now be on Wednesdays and no longer on Tuesdays. The target date for them to be baptized and form a church is Mardi-Gras. (That is the biggest holiday here in Brazil. Our church has rented a campground and will host a retreat during that weekend. Our goal is to baptize this group on that weekend and commission the church.)
For those of you who are printing out this journal there is a way to get an ink-friendly version of the posts. Look on your browser for this symbol:
Click on it and you will get a page of just the text of this journal without the pictures and background. This works for anyone's blog. If you can't find the symbol in your browser, click on the one in this text. It should work.
We are still planning to start 3 more storying groups in the small town, there are many who are interested, but getting them organized always proves to be a challenge.
December 5, 2007
December 5th, 2007
Yesterday, I returned to the small town and met again with the families on the hill. We did not meet with the family in the big city on Monday. They were travelling.
After having set the stage by storying through a good portion of the Old Testament, I began the story of Jesus. This was the 4th time I've told the birth story of Christ for a group, and not only was it easier to prepare, I told it in a way that was much more interesting and full of life. The more you tell a story, the more it becomes part of you.
I told the story in small parts, as it is found both in Matthew and Luke. My real goal for the night was to enable everyone who participated to be able to tell the story of the birth of Jesus well. It is getting close to Christmas time and this story is one that can be naturally told. I am going to challenge each of them to tell the story at least 5 times before Christmas. We had a lot of fun telling and repeating the story many times last night.
Our discussion roamed a bit, while they interacted with the story. A lot of questions they asked and answered had to do with the differences in the authentic biblical story and the popular versions of the Christmas story.
One other interesting exchange was this: I asked them if anyone noticed from the story anything special or miraculous about the birth of Jesus. Some mentioned the star that appeared, others the angels, someone mentioned the prophecy, but no one mentioned the virgin birth. I asked them if they thought it was special that Jesus was born of a virgin. Then it hit them. Wow! They talked about the story and agreed that this was a big miracle. I then asked '"them if Mary continued to be a virgin after the birth of Jesus. The all immediately replied "Yes!" Then one woman's eyes got big and she exclaimed "Wait, no! Remember the story. Joseph didn't have relations with Mary until after the baby was born." They all thought that was very interesting, since Mary is to them "The Virgin Mary"
I'd never really seen it before, but in Brazilian folk theology, the concept of "The Virgin Mary" is that Mary's virginity shows Mary's purity and Mary's virtue, not that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Last night, for the group, the emphasis was placed back onto Christ.
After having set the stage by storying through a good portion of the Old Testament, I began the story of Jesus. This was the 4th time I've told the birth story of Christ for a group, and not only was it easier to prepare, I told it in a way that was much more interesting and full of life. The more you tell a story, the more it becomes part of you.
I told the story in small parts, as it is found both in Matthew and Luke. My real goal for the night was to enable everyone who participated to be able to tell the story of the birth of Jesus well. It is getting close to Christmas time and this story is one that can be naturally told. I am going to challenge each of them to tell the story at least 5 times before Christmas. We had a lot of fun telling and repeating the story many times last night.
Our discussion roamed a bit, while they interacted with the story. A lot of questions they asked and answered had to do with the differences in the authentic biblical story and the popular versions of the Christmas story.
One other interesting exchange was this: I asked them if anyone noticed from the story anything special or miraculous about the birth of Jesus. Some mentioned the star that appeared, others the angels, someone mentioned the prophecy, but no one mentioned the virgin birth. I asked them if they thought it was special that Jesus was born of a virgin. Then it hit them. Wow! They talked about the story and agreed that this was a big miracle. I then asked '"them if Mary continued to be a virgin after the birth of Jesus. The all immediately replied "Yes!" Then one woman's eyes got big and she exclaimed "Wait, no! Remember the story. Joseph didn't have relations with Mary until after the baby was born." They all thought that was very interesting, since Mary is to them "The Virgin Mary"
I'd never really seen it before, but in Brazilian folk theology, the concept of "The Virgin Mary" is that Mary's virginity shows Mary's purity and Mary's virtue, not that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Last night, for the group, the emphasis was placed back onto Christ.
December 2, 2007
December 2nd, 2007
This morning I finished my sermon series on Jesus. I told as a single narrative from the moment Judas went to meet with the religious leaders to plan to deliver Jesus up to the moment that Jesus was taken up into Heaven in Acts 1.
I really enjoyed the chance to tell Bible narrative as a sermon for the past 4 weeks. I am glad to be getting a break for a while. Many of the church members asked me how I could remember such a big story and wondered if I have a super memory. I told them that I actually don't have a great memory, but that I learned the big story as a series of small stories that are only about 2-3 minutes long each. Then when it is time to tell the big story, I string the stories together as a narrative.
After the new year, I will begin a group within this church. I will help them to learn Bible stories, learn to tell them, learn to teach others to learn them and tell them, and learn how to lead people to think through the stories as they hear them, as a form of Bible study.
I really enjoyed the chance to tell Bible narrative as a sermon for the past 4 weeks. I am glad to be getting a break for a while. Many of the church members asked me how I could remember such a big story and wondered if I have a super memory. I told them that I actually don't have a great memory, but that I learned the big story as a series of small stories that are only about 2-3 minutes long each. Then when it is time to tell the big story, I string the stories together as a narrative.
After the new year, I will begin a group within this church. I will help them to learn Bible stories, learn to tell them, learn to teach others to learn them and tell them, and learn how to lead people to think through the stories as they hear them, as a form of Bible study.
November 28, 2007
November 28th, 2007
What a night last night! I went back to the small town, to the families on the hill. At first only men came. There were 5 of us, all men. This looks so different than most home Bible studies, because usually women and children are more interested. Often in this culture, religion is seen as a thing for women and kids. If a man, a head of the family, begins to seek after God, however, that's when you see real transformation take place within the family.
Well, the men arrived first. That was great. Some of the women came later. Two of them were not well, and stayed at home. Our story was from 2 Kings 22. It was the story of Josiah. He was a good king of Judah and sought to repair the temple. When the High Priest informed him that the Book of the Law was found and he heard it read to him. He cried, sought the Lord, and went about a great religious reform in the country, destroying all the idols and recommitting himself and all the people to keep God's covenant.
I told half of the story and some more people arrived, so I started again from the beginning. After telling the story, I asked the group to retell it. The first half was told without flaw, but the second half was a little confused. I stepped through the story with them and made sure everyone got it. We then began to talk about it.
I had really planed to focus the discussion on the need for God's word in our lives, but the Spirit moved in another direction. They could not stop talking about Josiah destroying all the idols, and even household gods. They discussed amongst themselves whether or not their home altars with saints on them would have been destroyed by Josiah and determined that they would have.
This group is anxious to hear about Jesus. I will tell the essential stories of Jesus, but I believe they are ready and anxious to hear, believe and repent. I won't need to take them through a very long series of stories of Jesus, like I did for the family in the big city.
Well, one other thought. The second podcast was released by Story4All. It is the continuation of my conversation with Bryan Thompson. You can listen to the interview here part 1 and here part 2. You can download a copy of the document on storying that we discuss here document.
Well, the men arrived first. That was great. Some of the women came later. Two of them were not well, and stayed at home. Our story was from 2 Kings 22. It was the story of Josiah. He was a good king of Judah and sought to repair the temple. When the High Priest informed him that the Book of the Law was found and he heard it read to him. He cried, sought the Lord, and went about a great religious reform in the country, destroying all the idols and recommitting himself and all the people to keep God's covenant.
I told half of the story and some more people arrived, so I started again from the beginning. After telling the story, I asked the group to retell it. The first half was told without flaw, but the second half was a little confused. I stepped through the story with them and made sure everyone got it. We then began to talk about it.
I had really planed to focus the discussion on the need for God's word in our lives, but the Spirit moved in another direction. They could not stop talking about Josiah destroying all the idols, and even household gods. They discussed amongst themselves whether or not their home altars with saints on them would have been destroyed by Josiah and determined that they would have.
This group is anxious to hear about Jesus. I will tell the essential stories of Jesus, but I believe they are ready and anxious to hear, believe and repent. I won't need to take them through a very long series of stories of Jesus, like I did for the family in the big city.
Well, one other thought. The second podcast was released by Story4All. It is the continuation of my conversation with Bryan Thompson. You can listen to the interview here part 1 and here part 2. You can download a copy of the document on storying that we discuss here document.
November 27, 2007
November 27th, 2007
Last night was pretty rainy again. We went to the family in the big city and had a simple, but very effective storying session. I told the story from Acts 8, of Phillip and the Ethiopian. It only takes 3 minutes to tell. After I told the story, I asked the group to retell it. One person began, but didn't get far before she began abriviating the story and jumping around. I asked if anyone else could help.
When I saw that the story was not really heard, I told it again. This time, I asked them to tell the story together as a group. One person started and got to a point were she wasn't sure what was next, so another person gave the next portion of the story. He told a part and then passed the story to another. In the end, the entire group had told a part of the story. This was the first time I'd seen total group participation in telling the story. Usually one person or maybe two tell the story.
Our post story dialogue was quite rich. After it was over, I couldn't help but think about all the times in the past I used to tell only portions of a story or used a passage with a story just to get a theological point across. There's a difference in teaching the Bible and teaching theology. Now, I can see that clearly.
This couple is thinking about baptism and also thinking about what kind of church they want to be a part of. There are some traditional local churches nearby that they are thinking about visiting. I also suggested to them the idea of beginning a church in their own home and reaching out to their own family and friends who don't know Jesus. We'll see where it goes.
When I saw that the story was not really heard, I told it again. This time, I asked them to tell the story together as a group. One person started and got to a point were she wasn't sure what was next, so another person gave the next portion of the story. He told a part and then passed the story to another. In the end, the entire group had told a part of the story. This was the first time I'd seen total group participation in telling the story. Usually one person or maybe two tell the story.
Our post story dialogue was quite rich. After it was over, I couldn't help but think about all the times in the past I used to tell only portions of a story or used a passage with a story just to get a theological point across. There's a difference in teaching the Bible and teaching theology. Now, I can see that clearly.
This couple is thinking about baptism and also thinking about what kind of church they want to be a part of. There are some traditional local churches nearby that they are thinking about visiting. I also suggested to them the idea of beginning a church in their own home and reaching out to their own family and friends who don't know Jesus. We'll see where it goes.
November 26, 2007
November 26th, 2007
Sunday, I preached the morning service again at one of the local churches here in the city. It was the second part of the life and ministry of Jesus. I told as single narrative these portions from John:
2:12 - 2:22
3:1 - 3:21
4:43 - 4:53
5:1 - 5:29
7:1 - 7:52
8:12 - 8:59
11:1 - 11:57
I think telling 30 minute stories is taking its toll on me, because it takes a long time to prepare even a 5 minute story, if you haven't told it before. Next week, I will tell the passion and resurrection story of Jesus and then I will take a break from these long sermon-length narratives.
I have had a number of great compliments from the church members. They've told me that they are learning very much and finally able to "see" Jesus. That is really what I had hoped for.
Tonight I will go to the family in the big city and tomorrow the families in the small town.
2:12 - 2:22
3:1 - 3:21
4:43 - 4:53
5:1 - 5:29
7:1 - 7:52
8:12 - 8:59
11:1 - 11:57
I think telling 30 minute stories is taking its toll on me, because it takes a long time to prepare even a 5 minute story, if you haven't told it before. Next week, I will tell the passion and resurrection story of Jesus and then I will take a break from these long sermon-length narratives.
I have had a number of great compliments from the church members. They've told me that they are learning very much and finally able to "see" Jesus. That is really what I had hoped for.
Tonight I will go to the family in the big city and tomorrow the families in the small town.
November 21, 2007
November 21st, 2007
Well, yesterday I returned to the families on the hill, in the small town. This time, even though it was raining again, nearly everyone was present. Every family was represented. After talking and learning of the recent happenings in the families (De is pregnant), I decided to tell a summary story of all the stories they've heard up to this point.
I had not planned or practiced this beforehand, but I was able to tell an abbreviated version of all the stories in order. It took only about 7 minutes. What was neat was seeing their expressions as I told the stories. There were looks of satisfaction when certain parts of stories were told. There was a lot of head shaking and smiles. Some even spoke with me at points, remembering the stories aloud.
After this review, I told the story from Numbers 13 and 14, when the people of Israel were about to enter the promised land. They sent 12 spies to see the land and its people. Only Joshua and Caleb gave favoring reports and the people rebelled against God. God punished them by not allowing them to go into the land until all the people who had seen his miracles in Egypt were dead (except the two faithful men).
This story was easily remembered and retold by the group. The key questions that led our discussion were these:
I told them that God is going to test them one day, just like he did these people. They would have to have enough faith to obey and believe that God will bless them for it.
I had not planned or practiced this beforehand, but I was able to tell an abbreviated version of all the stories in order. It took only about 7 minutes. What was neat was seeing their expressions as I told the stories. There were looks of satisfaction when certain parts of stories were told. There was a lot of head shaking and smiles. Some even spoke with me at points, remembering the stories aloud.
After this review, I told the story from Numbers 13 and 14, when the people of Israel were about to enter the promised land. They sent 12 spies to see the land and its people. Only Joshua and Caleb gave favoring reports and the people rebelled against God. God punished them by not allowing them to go into the land until all the people who had seen his miracles in Egypt were dead (except the two faithful men).
This story was easily remembered and retold by the group. The key questions that led our discussion were these:
- What did God want his people to do?
- What did they do?
- What do you think would have been different if they had chosen to act differently?
I told them that God is going to test them one day, just like he did these people. They would have to have enough faith to obey and believe that God will bless them for it.
November 20, 2007
November 20th, 2007
Last night I returned to the family in the city. Instead of telling a new story, we had a discussion about some of the previous stories and talked about the things people did when they first repented and gave their lives to God. When our discussion was over we had talked extensively about baptism and church membership. I'll tell a baptism story next week.
I did encounter a problem with my method and something I will need to correct for future groups. This family did not remember the previous stories very well. Some stories were confused with others. I will need to do a better job reviewing the stories and providing opportunities along the way for the stories to be retold many times. I do feel like I am doing a better job of this in the small town.
I had the privilege of recording a podcast (Internet radio program) with Bryan Thompson yesterday. He is in Ireland and has a ministry called story4all. Here's a link to the program. Story4All Podcast program #81 It's about 20 minutes long.
I did encounter a problem with my method and something I will need to correct for future groups. This family did not remember the previous stories very well. Some stories were confused with others. I will need to do a better job reviewing the stories and providing opportunities along the way for the stories to be retold many times. I do feel like I am doing a better job of this in the small town.
I had the privilege of recording a podcast (Internet radio program) with Bryan Thompson yesterday. He is in Ireland and has a ministry called story4all. Here's a link to the program. Story4All Podcast program #81 It's about 20 minutes long.
November 19, 2007
November 19, 2007
Yesterday, I preached again at one of the traditional churches. I began the story of the life and ministry of Jesus. I told the scripture from his birth story through to the first time people tried to kill him, shortly after he began his ministry. Next Sunday, I will continue the story through the passion and resurrection. The passion story will be somewhat reduced, because I will save some of it for the story of Peter.
Last night, an interesting thing happened. I was asked to take my mother-in-law and my niece to another city to a church, where my niece was supposed to sing. We arrived in the city and were told that it was the wrong city, so we went to the "right" city. Still wrong. As it turned out we found a church that seemed like it could be the church we were looking for. After talking with the pastor, he said that he would be glad to have my niece sing in their service, since it would be impossible to find the other church before the service was over.
Well, my niece sang, and then the pastor surprised me. "And now, the word from the Lord," he said "will be given by our guest pastor..." He signaled for me to come up to the front and preach. There I was in blue jeans and an orange t-shirt. Well, one good thing about learning the Bible in oral form, is that you can pull a Bible narrative out of your head and heart at a moment's notice. I told the story from the end of the morning sermon. It was from Luke 4, when Jesus went back to his hometown and taught in the synagogue. I posed a question to the church after telling the story. Hearts were broken and there was much repentance. God moved.
Here's the question: "Why did these people who were praising Jesus try to kill him a few minutes later?" Go read the story and see if you can answer that. If you figure out the answer, ask yourself one more question. "Why do I love Jesus?"
Last night, an interesting thing happened. I was asked to take my mother-in-law and my niece to another city to a church, where my niece was supposed to sing. We arrived in the city and were told that it was the wrong city, so we went to the "right" city. Still wrong. As it turned out we found a church that seemed like it could be the church we were looking for. After talking with the pastor, he said that he would be glad to have my niece sing in their service, since it would be impossible to find the other church before the service was over.
Well, my niece sang, and then the pastor surprised me. "And now, the word from the Lord," he said "will be given by our guest pastor..." He signaled for me to come up to the front and preach. There I was in blue jeans and an orange t-shirt. Well, one good thing about learning the Bible in oral form, is that you can pull a Bible narrative out of your head and heart at a moment's notice. I told the story from the end of the morning sermon. It was from Luke 4, when Jesus went back to his hometown and taught in the synagogue. I posed a question to the church after telling the story. Hearts were broken and there was much repentance. God moved.
Here's the question: "Why did these people who were praising Jesus try to kill him a few minutes later?" Go read the story and see if you can answer that. If you figure out the answer, ask yourself one more question. "Why do I love Jesus?"
November 14, 2007
November 14th, 2007
Last night I went back the small town to the families on the hill. It was raining pretty hard, and one family was not able to make it to the house where we met. I prepared and told the story from Leviticus 16, of the Day of Atonement and the scapegoat. This story gave a pretty good picture of the Tabernacle and the Old Testament sacrificial system.
I began by asking if anyone had heard of the expression "Bode Expiatôrio" or scapegoat. Several of them had good stories to tell about when someone got blamed or punished for someone else's action. I told them that this expression is from the Bible. This got them excited for the story, and so I told it.
After the story, I asked them to retell it. They got the basic idea of the story, but were unable to get some of the details right. I retold the story and then we began a discussion. These were some of the questions.
I told them that they were starting to see something very interesting and very important, and that I would only tell one more story from the Old Testament, before I began the story of Jesus.
We prayed and ended for the night.
I began by asking if anyone had heard of the expression "Bode Expiatôrio" or scapegoat. Several of them had good stories to tell about when someone got blamed or punished for someone else's action. I told them that this expression is from the Bible. This got them excited for the story, and so I told it.
After the story, I asked them to retell it. They got the basic idea of the story, but were unable to get some of the details right. I retold the story and then we began a discussion. These were some of the questions.
- Could anyone go into the Holy of Holies to meet with God if he wanted to?
- Why not? What would happen to someone who went in there?
- Why do you think the high priest had to offer a sacrifice and do the other things that God commanded before he could go in?
- What was the sacrifice made for the sins of the people of Israel?
- Why were there 2 goats? What happened to each of them?
- What did Aaron do with the blood of the sacrificed animal? Can you remember other stories where blood was used for something?
- What happened to the scapegoat?
I told them that they were starting to see something very interesting and very important, and that I would only tell one more story from the Old Testament, before I began the story of Jesus.
We prayed and ended for the night.
November 13, 2007
November 13th, 2007
Last night my wife and I went to the family in the big city. I was very unsure of where to go with the stories at this point, because the woman was showing a desire to believe and the man was demonstrating unbelief and rejection of the gospel message. I prepared the story of Acts 4:1-22, continuing the story that I had told the week before.
In this story, the chief priests, some of the very ones who condemned Jesus, arrested Peter and John for healing the lame man and saying it was by the power of the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. This story put belief and disbelief face to face.
After telling the story and having them tell it back to me, I asked some questions. These were the key questions.
God be praised.
In this story, the chief priests, some of the very ones who condemned Jesus, arrested Peter and John for healing the lame man and saying it was by the power of the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth. This story put belief and disbelief face to face.
After telling the story and having them tell it back to me, I asked some questions. These were the key questions.
- How had the crowd reacted to the healing of the lame man in the name of Jesus?
- What was the reaction of the chief priests when they saw the healed man and were told that it was by the power of Jesus that he had been healed?
- Why do you think the religious leaders did not believe in Jesus?
- What do you understand that Peter was saying when he said that there is salvation in no one else, that God has given no other name in heaven or earth by which we may be saved?
- Do you believe that?
God be praised.
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