Today we are beginning a journey through the Bible. It will not be an easy journey. And it involves a commitment from you. On the cover of this book it says, ?The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People.? We are going to look at the stories of the bible from beginning to end, seeing how they connect as one big picture?not as little stories here and there. Just like any novel, there is a beginning and an ending, all different kinds of characters-good and bad, protagonist and antagonist-and? sometimes you aren?t sure who is who, humor and sarcasm, there are epic tales, sad moments, heartbreak, love, and loss?all of these things are in the bible too. But sometimes we forgot about how these pages connect to one another and how they connect to our lives. God wants us to read the Bible as we would any other novel. ?The individual stories on its pages are connected, all entwining to communicate one overarching epic. Woven tighter than reeds in a waterproof basket, together they intersect within God?s one grand story. The purpose of this book is to ponder God?s divine design and discover our role in it. To stand beneath an image as powerful and all-encompassing as the Sistine Chapel, where we have seen images of creation, the fall, and the flood, and to see what the entire narrative from beginning to end says about us and to us as individuals?? (The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee pg. 18) and to us as a faith community.
Throughout the videos in Sunday school and in the worship, you will here the phrases ?God?s Story, Our Story? or ?Upper Story and Lower Story.? The Lower Story or Our Story reveals the here and now of daily life, the experiences and circumstances we see here on earth. Goals and fears, responsibilities and reactions. It is the place where we make money, pay bills, get sick, get tired, deal with breakups, and work through conflicts. These are the elements we care about, and as people of faith we trust God to meet our needs in this Lower Story?And God does! God meets us in each of our Lower Stories, in our stories, and helps us by offering us wisdom and guidance on getting through life with dignity and purpose. As we look at all the individual stories and individual lives in our story, it is important to realize that from God?s perspective, there is something even bigger and eternal. This is the Upper Story. As we view the Bible through this lens, we see that God has been up to something amazing from the very beginning. God has a vision, a big idea, and it is all good news for us. When we look at the Upper Story of God, we discover where we fit in, because this story was created to deliver one singular message: ?If you want to live life to the fullest and enjoy it forever, then become part of my masterpiece.? Just like in the Sistine Chapel, where each picture tells a part of the story, each life on earth tells a part of the story as well?put God in the mix and God wants each of us to be a part of that picture?part of that masterpiece?part of the story?to tell God?s Story.
So where will begin our journey? In the beginning. The beginning of our journey through the story of the Bible is like the beginning of an action-packed movie. If you miss the opening minutes of a movie with its fast-paced scenes, you will not understand the rest of the story. It is the same with the Bible?s grand Story. The Story opens with a ?big bang.? Not the ?big bang? of evolutionary theory, but the ?big bang? of the revelation of God. God is the main character of this amazing story.
I want you to open up ?The Story? Bible or grab a copy of the map. Then grab a pen from the pew. I want you to draw a tree between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to represent the Garden of Eden. I want us all to have in our heads this image and location as we talk through the stories of the Old Testament.
Listen to these words: ?In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.?? ~Genesis 1:1. It is a story that begins with the biggest thing to ever happen. And from the beginning, we are introduced to the main character of this book. God. We meet God?the God who created the heavens and the earth.
And this first chapter of creation flows in a very poetic and artistic way. There are the first 3 days. In these first three days, we learn about the places created by God.
Day 1?Light and Dark (vs. 3-5)
Day 2?Sky and Water (vs. 6-8)
Day 3?Land (vs. 9-13)
And then on the next three days, we learn that those places are filled with the things the places were created for.
Day 4?Sun and Moon/stars (vs. 14-18)
Day 5?Birds and Sea creatures (vs. 20-23)
Day 6?Animals and human beings (vs. 24-25)
God?s creation concludes with God?s core passion: human beings. The perfect and beautiful world God created was incomplete without his crowning achievement– the people God could enjoy and love and with whom there would be a relationship. Listen to these words: Then God said, ?Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ~Genesis 1: 26-27. And scripture continues saying, ?God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.? ~Genesis 1:31. I want you to hear this. I want you to walk away with this thought today?God?s core passion is you. All the beauties of the earth are secondary to you. God?s passion, desire, hope?is to be with humanity at all costs. It makes waking up each day a little easier and living in the Lower Story, Our Story, a little easier.
Then the story continues with the Fall. Adam and Eve were created with the freedom and power to choose. God walked with them in their lives. God did not force them to love. The tale of these two trees is a story about freedom and choice. God gave Adam and Eve freedom to choose whether they wanted to be with God or go at it alone. These two trees provide a way for them to accept or reject God?s divine vision. One was the tree of life, which bore fruit that when eaten would sustain forever. The other was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Listen to these words from Genesis 2:9 and 2:17. ?The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground?trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.? ??But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.? Now, we do not know the amount of time from when Adam and Eve were told this until when they actually ate from the tree of knowledge, but we do know they chose to ignore God and listen to the serpent. By doing this, sin entered into our lives. The core of this sin is selfishness. Good looks out for others; evil looks out for self. Selfishness is the root of hatred, jealously, violence, anger, lust, and greed. And now, Adam and Eve were covered in it. Everything that God had for humanity now was changing. Adam and Eve are filled with guilt because they know they did something wrong?they made the wrong choice. Instead of accepting responsibility, Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent, and now the perfect community that God created is broken. Adam and Eve were punished, asked to leave the garden, guards are placed at the Garden of Eden. This seems like a very extreme and unusual punishment?what about forgiveness? Did God overreact just a little bit? Well, the garden was a perfect place for doing life together with God; but now it was corrupted. Prior to their choice and their disobedience, the garden was a place of joy and innocence. Then for a brief moment, it was a place of fear and hiding. So in order to restore the garden to perfection, Adam and Eve had to leave. Selfishness does not have a place in a perfect community. The vision and plan changes. Now God will walk along side Adam and Eve outside the garden. And from this moment forward, the rest of the Bible is about God pursuing a relationship with us.
Then from Genesis chapter 4-9, we hear stories of sin permeating the human race. It is everywhere. And God seems a little fed up. He is ready to destroy the earth and everyone who is in it. But God wants humanity back?so God decides to start over with the best guy out there. Noah. I want you to now open up ?The Story? Bible or grab your copy of the map again. Then grab a pen from the pew. I want you to draw a boat where it says Assyria to represent Noah and where the Ark would have been built.
God chose Noah to build the ark and God tries a ?do over? with Noah and his family. After two of every kind of animal is put on a giant boat, a flood covered the earth and everything died?God was truly trying to get rid of the rest of the sin that was taking over humanity. But it didn?t work. Listen to these words from Genesis 9:20-23: ?Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father?s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.? We might not see this as a federal offense, but God realized that something was not right and the problem of sin had not been resolved. God needed to begin to come up with another plan?because God was not ready to give up on his crowing achievement?his own image?humanity?you and me. Regardless of what Adam and Eve and Noah did?regardless of anything we have done?God still wants to be with us and for us to desire to be with God. God?s Upper Story has not changed. God still wants to do life with us in a perfect, loving community of unified fellowship.
From the creation story we discover the value of all human beings. God wants to be with you. Think about that. You. God wants to personally be with you. At great cost to God, God has done everything possible to get you back. You are valuable. True, lasting self-esteem begins by believing what God says about you. God says, ?I love you, no matter what the cost.?
The Story will continue and the journey will fill in pieces along the way. The picture will continue to be painted and the novel will have many twists and turns. And you are a part of this story. It is my prayer that as we walk this journey together, you will read the chapter/scriptures prior to Sunday morning. You will learn more about God and grow deeper in faith. You will develop a stronger prayer life and devotion for the God who created the heavens and earth?and created all of us in his image. Amen