Chp 2 Faith, Trust and Hope

It seems God’s timing rarely matches the time frame we would prefer. We’re an instant gratification society. From fast food to drive-thru everything, we don’t like to wait. Does anyone besides me get impatient if the internet is a few seconds too slow?

So, reading about Abraham and Sarah reminds me that the patience to wait on God’s timing comes through faith, trust, and hope. But better still is God’s grace for them as they struggled with impatience and took matters into their own hands.

Abraham (known as Abram at that time) was 75 years old when God told him to leave his country, his people, and father’s household, and go to a new land, where God would bless him and make him into a great nation.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8 NIV

Faith, as defined in The Story, is complete trust. True faith is much deeper than mere intellectual agreement with certain facts—it affects the desires of one’s heart. (The Story pg. 14)

In Abraham’s lower story, he didn’t know where God was taking him. He didn’t know how his obedience fit into God’s upper story, but he didn’t need to know. Abraham trusted God and wanted to be faithful, so he packed up and went.

Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. (NLT Study Bible, Tyndale)

Trusting God is knowing that what He says will happen. We might not know when or how, but we can be sure that God will always keep His promises.

Abraham trusted God, but the waiting and longing for a child had to be awful. What did Abraham think every time he saw the pain in Sarah’s eyes? How did Sarah respond when surrounded by the children of family and friends, knowing that a family was not in her future?

Years later, God told Abraham again that he would be the father of many. But Abraham still didn’t know when or how that could happen, only that he had God’s word.

At some point during the wait, I would have wavered between faith and hopelessness. I would have wanted to ask God, “How long God? I can’t do this anymore—it’s too hard. Why did you tell me I’d have descendants when it seems impossible? Why did you give me hope for a son when it’s not to be?”

Abraham said it more eloquently when the Lord came to him in a vision…

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:2-5 NIV

I can hear the compassion in God’s voice as He answers Abraham. God knew his pain and lovingly confirms that Abraham will have a son and be the father of many. And then God goes a step further and makes a covenant with Abraham—a promise that only God can keep.

When it all seemed impossible, Abraham had faith in God. He trusted God. And His hope was in God.

Abraham hoped for a son. He desperately wanted a son. Just like many of us desperately hope for or want something—a child, a spouse, maybe a change in circumstances.

But I like this definition of hope…

Hope is the confident trust with the expectation of fulfillment. (NLT Study Bible, Tyndale)

Hope in God is knowing He will be there, no matter what. Hope is knowing He will act in our best interest, according to His grand upper story. Hope is knowing that when life hurts, we’re not alone—God will never leave us.

God kept His promise to Abraham. 25 years after God first told Abraham he would be a father, Sarah had a baby boy named Issac. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90.

Abraham and Sarah couldn’t see past their lower story, just like you and I can’t see past ours. There are times when the story eventually turns out the way we want it to, as it did for Abraham and Sarah. But sometimes God has something different in mind. Through faith, trust, and hope, we have the assurance that our lower story is part of God’s upper story…fulfilled His Way and in His time.

In Christ,

Laura

Laura Rath ~ Journey in Faith

Click on the link ^ to explore Laura’s blog page.

Chapter 2: God builds a Nation (4 Perspectives)

Perspective 1- Pastor Ron

Where did we get the stereotype of a faithful follower of God?  When you think of a faithful follower more than likely you picture a very pious individual who is deeply religious.  Someone who always has a pleasant smile on their face, is never upset or angry, and oh that’s right poor.  Yep, they need to be poor barely scraping by because that shows that they are humble.

Hmmm…may I introduce you to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Abraham comes from a family that worships false gods and he has so many flocks and hired hands that he has to separate from his nephew Lot.  Isaac appears to be just as wealthy if not more so than his father and he has favorites among his sons.  Jacob deceives his father and steals the birthright from his brother and after fleeing for his life earns his own fortune from his uncle.  I almost forget when Jacob comes back to the promise land he has to give orders to his household to get rid of all the foreign gods they have been carrying around.

Wow, they do not fit the mold and neither do I.   Although in our society we may not be considered wealthy in comparison to the rest of the world we are all pretty rich.  Not sure that I am all that pious all the time and at times I don’t have a pleasant smile on my face.  My take away from Chapter two of The Story – this is God’s story and it is about what he will accomplish and not what I am capable of.  God can and does use the most unlikely people at times – including me……………including you.

Perspective 2- Jade Miller

In Chapter 2, God called his servant Abram and his wife Sarai.  God promised them that their descendants would be more numerous than the stars.  Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, meaning “Father of Many”, but in his old age, he still remained childless.

We know that Abraham was the father of what became Israel.  We’ve all been in a similar situation to Abraham, haven’t we?  Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like God can keep His promises.  We can trust in God because He doesn’t make promises that He can’t or won’t keep.

Perspective 3- Barb Miles

God pushed Abraham by offering him a covenant to be the father of many nations.  When God told him this, he was very old and he and his wife Sarah were childless.  Have you ever felt God nudge you to do something that was completely out of your comfort zone?

Once, I was asked by a man in a parking lot ticket booth what that word on my car meant.  The word was FAITH.  I told him I believed in God.  He asked what that meant.  I told him God died on the cross to forgive my sins.  I don’t know where that came from, talking to a stranger and talking about my faith.  My natural tendency is to serve God in quiet ways.  So did God push me out of my comfort zone that day?

Perspective 4- Dan Petrak

Creation,Fall,Flood- Bible Study

This begins week 1 in our journey through the story of God. Genesis is a book that has so much packed in that it could take months and years to uncover it all. Scholars have written volumes of commentaries that have endless amounts of useful material. The reason I say all of this is to let you know up front that we will not even scratch the surface of creation, fall or the flood in this study. But, I hope to give you some things to think about and discuss, making it worth your time.

Read Genesis 1

Creation’s mystery and its Maker call us to know the One in whom “we live and move and have our being,” as the Apostle Paul says in the New Testament. The opening section of Genesis introduces us to the Creator. He is the main character of this book, and all of Scripture is His story. The creation account is God centered, not creature centered. Its purpose is to glorify the Creator by magnifying him through the majesty of the created order. “God” is the subject of the first sentence (1:1) and continues as the thematic subject throughout the account. “And God said” is the recurring element that gives 1:1–2:3 cohesion as he is the primary actor. For this reason, one could use as the title of this first section the affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed, “God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.”

What do we learn about God in the first few verses of Genesis?

In verse 2 we find the condition of the earth is “a wasteland and empty” (the literal meaning) which provides a blank slate by which God directs his creation story. Since the earth is lifeless, God sets about creating it inhabitable and inhabited  in six creation days, or two parallel sets of three days each. Days three and six, which conclude each pair, are highlighted by the repetition of the phrase “And God said” (vv. 9, 11, 24, 26) and the God’s assessment “and it was good” (vv. 10, 12, 25, 31). There are eight acts of creation, one on each day except days three and six, when there are two. Day three commences a productive earth that provides vegetation for both animals and humans: “Let the land produce vegetation” (v. 11); day six describes its first habitation: “Let the land produce living creatures” (v. 24). Unlike vegetation and the animals, where the “land” is God’s intermediary, the second act of creation on day six (mankind) is achieved by God directly (vv. 26–27).

UNPRODUCTIVE BECOMES                                     UNINHABITED BECOMES
PRODUCTIVE                                                                  INHABITED

Day 1 Light and Darkness                                             Day 4 Luminaries
Day 2 Sky and Waters                                                    Day 5 Fish and Fowl
Day 3 a. Land and Seas                                                  Day 6 a. Beasts
b. Vegetation                                                                     b. Human: male and female

Why do you think God chose to deal with mankind directly instead of just calling it into existence like the rest of creation? What does this say about God? What does that say about you?

The Jewish and Christian creation story differs from all others in a multitude of ways. Creation for the Hindu, Native American, Chinese religions, the pagan religions described in the Bible, the Greeks and Romans, and many others, always has an evil and a good from the very beginning among the gods or the gods children or siblings. The gods of other religions are more like the humans of the Bible, reflecting human goodness and human evil. Only the Genesis account exalts God above his creation. Only Genesis gives humankind a central place in creation, as person’s made in God’s image who are deeply loved by him. Because of this the Bibles view of creation has always been viewed as radical and stands in conflict with the modern notion of random chance and order.

Have you ever heard of or read these other creation accounts? If so, what are the greatest differences you have identified?

Read Genesis 2

About the time you think that the story of creation is over, it seems to begin again. This is not another author, but a style that was common in early Semitic writing. The writer would tell the whole story as a summary, and then go back and tell it again, but this time with more detail. The closing verses has an important exchange. Adam takes a look at Eve and names her and is joined together with her. This sets us up for what we will find in the next chapter, because Adam was supposed to take care of Eve and protect her.

Why do you think God wanted us to have this second detailed account in chapter 2?

Read Genesis 3

This chapter is one of the most important chapters of the Bible as we seek to understand humankind. This is the section called “The Fall of man.”

As the section opens, there is no sin, death or imperfection in the world. God has given only one small commandment. Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This tree is not a magical tree that would somehow bestow great powers on the one who ate of it. It served as a tangible test of obedience.

Let’s first look at the serpent. The serpent tempts Eve in the following ways:

• He convinced her to doubt God- “Did God really say?”
• You can be just like God with one little bite.
• The fruit looked good for food, but like the apple in “Snow White” her disobedience in eating it revealed an invisible poison.
• With the tempting by the serpent, Eve decided to reject God’s direction. It made no sense to her. It was God’s way of trying to rule over her life. She was smart enough to make her own decisions.

Should Eve be blamed for the sin of mankind? She was the one the serpent was talking too. How does Adam get roped into this?

Eve has been blamed for all the sin of the world by many. Even Paul said that it was Eve who ate the fruit. However, God laid the blame on Adam. Remember when I said the closing lines of chapter 2 would be important? This is why…Adam was standing next to wife and said and did nothing. It was his job to take care of her and protect her from harm, but instead he stood by and did nothing.

How could one small mistake be the ruin of all mankind?

In what ways have you seen the curse carried out in your own life?

When Adam and Eve sinned they made a pathetic attempt to cover their shame. They discover that their own shame can only be covered by God at a high price.

Read Genesis 3:21-24 again

God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. This is the first time death had come into the world when God killed the animals that would be used to cover Adam and Eve. That covering could only come with the shedding of innocent blood. This was the basis for the sacrificial system that was used all throughout the Old Testament.

What put an end to the sacrificial system in the New Testament?

As you all know it is the Sunday school answer…Jesus. His death meant that his shed blood was necessary for the covering of your sin and mine and it all started back in Genesis.

Verse 24- God drove out the man and woman from the garden. This is both an act of judgement and of mercy. The judgement came because God cannot tolerate sin in his presence, so man had to leave. The mercy came in when God said they will most surely die…that man will not live forever under the horrible curse of sin and decay. It was both good and bad.

In what ways have you seen the grace of God in your life? 

Read Genesis 4

It would have been nice if The Fall was the end of the bad stuff…but really it was just the beginning. We turn to the next chapter and we see brother hating brother even to the point of murder. Cain and Abel are the central focus of chapter 4 as we see the sacrificial system put to use.

Why did God not “respect Cain and his offering”? Why did he respect Abel and his offering?

What sort of person was Cain? What kind of neighbor would he be?

Turn to Genesis 7,8

Time has passed and we are now roughly 1,500 years after Creation. The people are not acting any better. Sin and immorality have had their way with the people. God has had enough. God determined in his heart to destroy the entire human race…but that is not the end of the story (if it was you would not be reading this right now).

God found one man named Noah who feared him and followed all that God commanded. God told him to build an ark that would accommodate two of every unclean animal and seven of every clean animal. But God also said make room for anyone who wanted to escape judgement, but no one listened. Take a look at an artists rendition of the ark.

What brought God’s wrath upon the earth?

What does this event teach you about God’s character? About man’s character?

Why did God select Noah? How was he different from the people around him?

After the flood subsided, God set a rainbow in the clouds to be a sign of the covenant between God and the earth, that he would never send a flood again to destroy the earth. God’s promise will prove to be faithful. God shows himself to both merciful and just.

If you had been on board the ark, how would you have felt about the friends and family that you knew were outside drowning? How might this influence your view of God’s coming judgment?

After learning all of this today, in what ways has God called you to believe his word, despite the beliefs of the world around you?

Please give me some feedback on this study. Was it helpful or informative? What would you like to see that you didn’t see here. I will continue to make adjustments as we continue in this series.

The Beginning of Life

For thousands of years, people have asked in astonishment, “How could a good God allow evil to take place?” The consequences of sin can come in the form of “natural evil” including natural disasters, disease, and death. The consequences of sin can also come from intentional evil painfully perpetrated one against another. We should recognize today that nothing we see, is as it should be. As much as the creation reveals our Creator, it also reveals our depravity. Even the earth itself is cursed because of man’s sin.

Just imagine for a moment a time with no evil, no death, no pain and no tears. Is it even possible to imagine? We are surrounded with extreme evil and the thought of perfection is hard to imagine. But, the Garden of Eden was that place; a perfect place with no evil, pain, tears or death. It is only in light of the sinless garden that we can get a taste of the eternal goodness promised to us by God when Jesus returns.

The promise of God is that He will recreate the earth in the future and once again there will be a time when there is no more evil, no death, no pain and no tears.  Yet the world to come will be infinitely better than even the garden!  In it, we will no longer have an opportunity to sin, Satan will be vanquished and we will have an understanding of the graceful redemption wrought on our behalf.  In that day, God will once again dwell among us as He did with Adam and Eve.  In the meantime, believers learn to “reverse the curse” by resisting the temptations of the evil one, by representing God in the fallen world, and by striving to restore broken relationships.

From the very first story of the very first family, sin wreaks havoc on humanity.  They lived in a perfect environment and sinned anyway.  Perhaps “the fall” sounds almost accidental, as though we trip and fall head over heels into sin.  As the story makes clear, Adam and Eve deliberately chose their path and the rest of us have followed in their footsteps.  But with the first sin came God’s first act of redemption.  With each successive story—Cain and Abel, and Noah’s family—we see God’s repeated faithfulness to redeem helpless and hopeless humanity.  God is always the pursuer.  Man’s default position is always to choose sin.  As the cycle continues we are reminded that God alone is our only hope.

As we get ready to start talking about creation this week, think about the plan that God set in motion to get us back. Can you see how this is the greatest love story ever told?

Even though we don’t live in a perfect place, what is the place you like to go that reveals God’s glory to you and helps you feel close to him?

Chapter 1- Creation Perspectives

As we journey through the story together, we have asked four people to read the chapter of “The Story” ahead of time and give their perspective. Before or after you read the chapter, you can listen to and read the perspectives of the chapter. You can then add your own perspective or interact with theirs. Some perspectives will be in video format and others in written word. Please interact with these guys across at any of our multiple social sites. Enjoy!

If you have any questions about this process please comment and I will respond quickly.

Perspective 1 by Dan Petrak

Dan is a husband, father and a Math professor at DMACC and currently working on his doctorate.

Perspective 2 by Jade Miller

Jade is a 13-year-old student and recent published author.

In the first chapter of “The Story”, God creates the world and Noah builds the ark. The plot of “The Story” skips from Adam and Eve to the story of the Ark, and as we know, Noah’s Ark doesn’t occur until Chapter 6 of Genesis.

“The Story” is a streamlined version of God’s master plan for all of us here on earth. I love the new format, since I can focus on the plot of the Bible instead of the genealogies, minute details, and hard-to-understand references.

In Chapter 1, I saw that God created everything in the world to be perfect, but when things got out of hand during Noah’s time, God decided to flood the earth. Noah was spared because he was righteous and “he walked with God”.  If we walk with God by trusting him, asking for forgiveness, and having faith in His son, Jesus Christ, we too will be saved.

Perspective 3 by Barb Miles

Barb is a wife, grandmother, and a passionate volunteer. She works as an overseer of the farms her late father loved and enjoyed working with.

God gave mankind a second chance to start over, when he told Noah to gather his family and two of every living creatures in the ark.  As I was reading this chapter I thought of how many second chances I have had.  Yes, God is a God of love and forgiveness.  How many times do we need to be reminded of it?

Finally, I have always been in awe of rainbows.  I now understand that God’s rainbow is a sign from Him of His promise to me.  He is always there for me, He is always giving me second chances.

Perspective 4 by Pastor Ron

Ron is the Sr. Pastor at Gloria Dei for over 20 years. He is a Husband, father and passionate about motorcycles and antique radios.

I am not sure how many times I have read the account of creation and the fall of mankind into sin. Each time there are two details that strike me, but both of them reveal the same thing about God.

The first detail is the description of each day of creation. After each day it ends with “…and God saw that it was good.” Each day ends the same, that is, except the sixth day which ends with “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” A subtle difference? Not really. What little bit of the Hebrew language I remember comes into play in this verse. Where it is translated “very good” is actually the same word “good” repeated three times. In ancient Hebrew, you added emphasis by repeating a word. Here it is repeated three times! At the end of the sixth day it was “good, good, good!” Or it was perfect! So what happened on the sixth day? God created human beings! The world was not complete; it was not perfect until He created his crowning achievement—man.

The second detail happens after Adam and Eve sin. God calls them on the carpet and banishes them from the Garden. An easy sentence in my book. After all, God said they could do anything they wanted and eat anything they wanted, except from one tree. So, what tree do they eat from? You guessed it—the one he said not to. In my book, I would have squished the plan and tried again on mars! Anyway, after God explains the consequence of their sin, it says that “He made clothes for them.” They just ruined everything and God makes them clothes.

What do the two details reveal about God? How much he loves and cares for mankind. He didn’t just call us into existence; he formed us out of the ground and gave us the breath of life. The world was not complete without mankind and then, even though we messed everything up…he takes care of us. For me those two details reveal God’s love for us humans.

Privatized Spirituality

Most Christians are aware that our culture has been changing. Today, we are being asked in subtle ways to “privatize” our faith; to keep it in the church, or to ourselves. I have had friends on FB ask my opinion and then say, “If it has to do with religion, I don’t want to hear it.”  Hmm. What to do? Keep my faith to myself, sharing it only with those of my church or other friends that I know are Christian?

According to author Ravi Zacharias, that cannot be the answer. Here is what he has to say in his book, “Deliver Us From Evil”–

“Every thinking person knows that to imprison a sacred belief within the private realm is ultimately to fracture, if not to kill, the belief. One could no more sever belief from public expression and still live spiritually fulfilled than one could remove the heart from the body and bid the blood flow. The separation kills the life in the body. Such is the impact on privatized spirituality.”

I do not think that we are in danger of losing our belief, or having it “killed.” I think that Zacharias’ point here is that this is what Satan hopes will happen; that Satan hopes that the Church (its people) can be silenced.

Have you found yourself “privatizing” your faith for fear of ridicule or condemnation? I know that there are times when I speak of my Savior in great trepidation of what might come flying back. It’s a tough call.  I find myself thinking that if I offend someone, I must have not acted in love. Then the other half of my brain/heart reminds me that Jesus said everything in  perfect love and was crucified for his statements; that He told His followers that the time would come when it would be tough to be a Christian. Again, it is confusing.

How are you handling the current attitude toward our faith? What do you think of Zacharias’ summation of the situation? Has our culture come that far, or can we still openly share our faith without fear of a “put down”?

Thanks for reading. I hope you will share your thoughts!

sue wilson

Intro- Questions to Consider

“The Bible is like a pool, shallow enough that a little child can come and get a drink without fear of drowning. So deep that scholars can swim in it and never touch the bottom.” -Martin Luther

I have had a lot of experience going through the Bible. Through all my interaction with the Bible, several things have jumped out at me. One in particular is the fact that the Bible can be very intimidating. New and old Christians alike can be intimidated by this collection of books for several reasons:

1. People don’t know what to do with the labels applied to the Bible such as inerrant, infallible, inspired, etc.
2. People often don’t know which translation to read
3. People don’t seem to know where to start
4. People get bored by the lists of genealogies and aren’t sure why that stuff matters
5. People are confused about which parts to read literally and which to take figuratively
6. People aren’t sure which laws or teachings apply to us today (Old Testament vs New Testament)
7. People aren’t sure how to interpret various passages
8. People sometimes have doubts about its validity and relevance today
9. People are confused by “apparent” contradictions that often discourages them

For the longest time the best way people have dealt with this, is to simply not read the Bible at all and avoid any problems. But, if the Bible is a significant part of our faith then we should be reading it.

So…it’s time that we take our fear and intimidation and cast to the side and we must seek to understand the Bible together.

Over the course of 31 weeks we are going to take a deeper look at the Bible as we read through “The Story.” Let’s understand how this collection of scrolls came into our hands. Let’s take some of the mystery out of the Bible and make it a little less intimidating for people to read.

Before we start our Bible study time together next week, I want to leave you with six questions to consider whenever you are reading your Bible:

1. Is there an example to follow?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a promise to take to heart?
4. Is there a command to obey?
5. Is there a verse to memorize?
6. Is there a challenge in which to respond?

As we study the Bible together you can go back to these questions if you are ever in a place that doesn’t seem to have a purpose. As you read always keep in mind PEER.

Prepare

Expect to encounter God

Exalt

Respond

Let me know if you have any questions about this study, as it will be different from the rest of the stuff being posted on the blog. I look forward to our journey together through God’s revealed Word.

My Lower Story in God’s Upper Story

Laura Rath will be a regular contributor on this blog throughout the journey we are taking through “The Story.” Today, Laura will help us understand Upper Story and Lower Story, which are very important concepts that will be explored throughout the 31 weeks of this series. We look forward to interacting with you as we find our story together.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

This is one of my favorite verses in Scripture, but sometimes I want to ask, “God, my life doesn’t seem to be going all that well right now. Is this what you have planned for me?

Everyday life often doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why things happen, why people act the way they do, or why something doesn’t work out when I did my very best. I don’t know why some days are so difficult.

But here’s the thing…my life isn’t the complete story. It’s only a piece of God’s story.

Author and pastor Randy Frazee says to understand the Bible, we need to view it with a dual lens, one that allows us to see the Upper Story and the Lower Story. The Upper Story is God’s grand story of something larger—His eternal plans.

The Lower Story is our individual stories of everyday life—the struggles, the joys, the getting through the day-to-day. God’s Upper Story encompasses our Lower Stories.

Since the very beginning, God has wanted to be with us. That’s why He created Adam, and then Eve. He wanted to be with them every day, to share His love and joy with them, and to live with them in a perfect place—the Garden of Eden.

However, God does not force Himself on us. He wants a personal relationship with each of us, not out of obligation, but because we want to be with Him.

Enter free will.

I used to wonder why God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden to begin with. Maybe you have too. In order to want to be in a relationship with God, we have to have the freedom to choose. God gave us that freedom in the form of a tree. And when Adam and Eve ate from it, we lost the perfect relationship God created us to have with Him. Forever.

From that time on, God’s plan has been to have that relationship with us again. And He has given us that hope through His Son, Jesus Christ. The only way we could ever be with Him again was for Jesus to pay the price of our sins. Through His death and resurrection, He conquered the hold sin has over us. No longer are we slaves to our sinful nature, but through Him we have the ability to align our lives with God’s Will. And when we do, we can know without a doubt that no matter what happens in our Lower Stories, God will work it out for the good of those who love Him.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT

Throughout the Bible, God used the Lower Stories of sometimes the most unlikely people as part of His master plan. And He continues to do this today as He uses our Lower Stories, for good in His Upper Story.

In Christ,

Laura

Laura Rath ~ Journey in Faith

Click on the link ^ to explore Laura’s blog page.

What is The Story all about?

Packed in the pages of the Bible are stories – hundreds of them – written about people who teach us lessons and help us discover the mysteries of our loving and powerful God. It’s an amazing book that God carefully prepared just for us. And for the next 31 weeks, we are going to turn the Bible inside out as we read his story in a unique way.

“The Story” is an exciting church wide experience based on a book that uses the NIV translation of the Bible, presenting the scriptures in compelling narratives. The book reads like a novel and pulls the reader into a chronological progression of the colorful and assorted biblical characters and events.

As we step through the chapters together, we’ll take time in weekend worship, small group studies, children and youth education times, on social media sites and many other opportunities to unpack each week’s biblical teachings. We’ll increase our biblical literacy as we discover together how our individual stories, and the stories recorded for us in Scripture, are part of God’s greater plan for salvation. Through our reading, we’ll also uncover what it means to be a disciple of Christ and how we can engage in sharing his story with others.

We are excited to begin this process together as we read through His story. I believe this series could be a momentous time in the history of our church. I believe people will see that God’s story is their story, which will shake people from their complacency and then together we all will be stronger as we continue to see Our story unfolding right before our eyes.

You have just read our expectations for “The Story.” So, what expectations do you have as you anticipate our journey through “The Story?”

Feel free to interact with us throughout this journey in a multitude of different ways:

Website http://www.gloriadeionline.com/

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/GloriaDeiOnline

Twitter https://twitter.com/gloriadeionline

Or right here at the blog page.

Both Eyes Open

Well known atheist, speaker, documentary producer, and author, Christopher Hitchens died last year. His last book has been published and part of the description found on Amazon reads, “Throughout the course of his ordeal battling esophageal cancer, Hitchens adamantly and bravely refused the solace of religion, preferring to confront death with both eyes open.”

Those who gladly claim the name “atheist” (such as Mr Hitchens) and most unbelievers who find it necessary to belittle religion, sincerely think that religious people can’t see with “both eyes open.”  We Christians (although they would include those of any religious faith) are duped into believing the unbelievable. The Bible is nonsensical to the atheist, and he or she hopes to convince religious friends that faith is a rejection of fact, science, and common sense.

That could not be further from the truth. We follow a God who has left His Story for us. Most of it was written by first hand witnesses–especially the story of God’s Son. It is true that Christians do not walk by sight alone, but our faith is the most logical of paths. Can man save himself? No. Can the perfect God find a way of salvation and eternal life with Him? Yes. Is there evidence of His existence? St Paul said in Romans concerning the non-recognition of God:

“…what may be known of God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 [every part of nature], so that men are without excuse.”

In addition to the miraculous nature that surrounds us, we have God’s word–His Story–in which He reveals Himself and His nature to us.

Mr. Hitchens believed that he faced death with both eyes open, but they were focused on the unreal, not the real.  Christians walk toward the end of their lives with both eyes truly open. What will we see? As St. Stephen said as he died under the stones thrown by his enemies, “Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

As our pastors prepare to help us through “The Story”, I hope that you are already digging into the story of God and His love for us.

Sue Wilson