At The Journey we desire to live a different kind of way, showing to the world our allegiance to Jesus and what life in His Kingdom looks like. Too often we define being a Jesus follower by where we attend church or what we are against BUT Jesus says “it is by your fruit you recognize who my disciples are”, it is about how we live.
This Sunday we talked about the first of our everyday rhythms, Story-Formed.
Every person on the planet is living their life inside of and in light of a larger story shaped by the country they live in, the cultures surrounding them, the family they were raised in, the worldview they believe… Until they understand all of this in light of the Redemptive Story of God, they will give themselves to lesser stories that do not work.
A story is just a person that wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. And we are all telling stories.
But stories aren’t neutral. The stories we hear change the way we see life. Stories teach us what is worth pursuing, what is worth living for, what is worth sacrificing for. If we are a person that wants a BMW and is willing to work overtime to get it, than the moral of the story we are teaching the world is work hard and some day you’ll get a BMW. It’s not a bad story, but it’s not a good one, either.
As a Christ follower we are a story-formed people who are living our lives based upon and within an incredible story. All of our beliefs, identity and actions are all connected to the dominant story. This is why we need to know it and we are to talk about it when we sit, stand, walk along the way, eat, lie down, etc…
In this case, the Good News is that God sent his Son to redeem the world and create a new humanity. Eventually the whole world will be renewed. Death, decay, injustice, and suffering will all be removed. God is saving a people and sending them out for His Mission so that Christ will be glorified in all things.
The Church has been saved BY God’s work FOR God’s work (Ephesians 1, 2:10,14-22; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Revelation 21).
The Gospel is not just about my individual happiness or God’s plan for my life. It is about God’s Glory and His plan for the world.
There is a movement afoot. God is doing something and we have been called to His purposes. The people of God are participating within God’s redemptive plan by being a display people offering a foretaste of what the future will be like under God’s rule. This is an amazing story I am living within!
(Jeremiah 29; Matthew 5:3-16; Luke 6:20-36; 1 Peter 2:9-12).
We are like a trailer to a movie…giving a foretaste of the kingdom fully consummated by Jesus that makes people long for the future redemption of all things under Jesus as King…the difference is that unlike a movie trailer we are often a poor reflection of a far better future.
How is your story connected to the larger story of God? OR Are you living the worlds story of success?
What are some next steps your Missional Community should take in order to be a Story-formed people?
What is Storyline? from Donald Miller on Vimeo.
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