Week 1 - Day 1
THE STORY
Stories
THE IMPORTANCE OF STORIES
Welcome to the first Map of Follow the Way called The Story.
Everyone loves a story. We share them at meals, read them in books, watch them at theaters and binge them online. Sometimes they’re true stories and sometimes they’re not. Many times they’re somewhere in between. But life is full of stories.
There are also big stories. These are called metanarratives or master narratives. These are the stories that try to make sense of the world and our place in it; stories that try to answer our big questions like:
Where did we come from?
Where are we headed?
Who are we?
What’s wrong with the world and me?
Is there a solution?
What’s the meaning and purpose of life?
There are many such big stories vying for our attention. And the big question of life is What story are we going to build our lives upon? What story are we going to make our own?
There are secular stories such as Marxism or Darwinism. There are stories from an eastern religious and cultural background, such as Hinduism or Buddhism. Besides Christianity, there are other monotheistic stories, like Judaism or Islam. The point is all these big stories claim to answer our big questions. They claim to give us the big picture on life.
The Christian church believes that the story of the Bible and the Good News of Jesus Christ is The Big Story that answers our big questions. And the first Map of Follow the Way will guide us through this Story.
Here’s how we outline The Story of the Bible:
Creation
Rebellion
Rescue
Mission
Return
You?
We'll travel through these six sections over eleven weeks. Here’s what you’ll need for the journey.
An Open Heart and Mind
Maybe you have no spiritual background or maybe you have decades of spiritual involvement. Either way, approach this journey with a willingness to learn. Engage with the material and the process. It will challenge you and stretch you. Above all, let it speak to you.
There may be some parts of The Story that are hard to understand or that you simply don’t like. If that’s the case, don’t bail on the process before you finish. Get through the whole Story first before you determine your final reaction to it. In other words, start with an open heart and mind and keep an open heart and mind through the whole journey.
A Guide and Some Fellow Travelers
It’s best to take this journey with others. You could work through this material on your own, but you’ll get so much more out of it if you work through it with others. Find someone to be your guide. Think of this person as a player-coach. They don’t have to be an expert in the Christian faith or have all the answers, but they should be a few steps ahead of you so they can point you in the right direction. The person who invited you to this journey may be a great person to be your guide. It’s also good to have some fellow travelers who are also seeking answers to their big questions. As you work through this material together, you’ll learn both from the Bible and each other. Three to four people is the ideal size for your group.
A Commitment to Work through the Readings
Every week there will be four readings. We’ll be using the Bible as our main text. Christians believe this is how God still speaks to us today. All Bible passages will be printed out in bold to emphasize their importance. There will be introductions to, questions from and summaries of the Bible passages. But the most important part of the daily readings are the Bible passages themselves. Be willing to listen to, learn from, reflect on and especially put into practice what the Bible is saying to you. Commit to work through these readings and record your reflections.
A Record of your Reflections, Answers and Commitments
Use pen and paper or some electronic device to record your reflections and answers and be sure to take them with you to the Weekly Huddle. Much of your Weekly Huddle conversation will be based on these responses.
A Priority to Attend the Weekly Huddles
Your group will get together once a week to discuss the readings and your reflections. You could get together in person or online or a combination of the two. Make it a priority to make these meetings because the combined rhythm of regular readings and a Weekly Huddle is key to getting the most out of this journey.
Note on Pace, Preparation and Audio Readings
If the pace of four readings a week is too fast, just slow things down. Do three or two or even just one reading a week. The purpose isn’t to race through the material, but to personally engage with the Bible, discuss your discoveries with your group and apply what you are learning to your life. So take it at whatever pace works best for you and your group. And if need be, adjust the pace as you work through the material—sometimes slowing down or other times speeding up.
If a person’s reading or concentration or language skills make it difficult for them to work through the readings on their own, you could always work through the readings together at your Weekly Huddle. Once again, do whatever it takes to engage with the lessons.
Finally, audio recordings have been included to assist with reading through the material.
Acts 8:26-35 (NLT)
As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
As we work through the Bible you will realize that the Bible isn’t just one book, but a collection of stories, histories, poems, prophecies and letters. Actually, it’s a library with two main sections: 1) The Old Testament (sometimes called the Hebrew Bible) and 2) The New Testament. These two sections can be summarized by two main words: 1) Promise and 2) Fulfillment. In the Old Testament, God promises a Rescuer. And in the New Testament, He fulfills that promise by sending His Son Jesus Christ as the Rescuer.
That’s what Philip is picking up on in Acts 8. The Ethiopian official is reading from the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah, but can’t figure it out. So Philip joins him and explains how the prophet’s words point to Jesus Christ. Like the Ethiopian official and Philip, we will be looking at the whole Story of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) and how it all finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. And as the Ethiopian official was really helped by Philip, so too it’s good to take this journey with some fellow travelers and a guide to lead the way.
As you start this spiritual journey, what do you hope to get out of it? Please record your answer to this question and be prepared to share it at your Weekly Huddle.
Congratulations! That’s the first reading. There are three more readings before your Weekly Huddle.