The Bible tells some of the most well-known stories of all time. Many wrongly believe, however, that these stories simply teach some moral principle of how we are to live a better life now. In this series, we are looking at some of the most used (and often misused) stories of Scripture. With fresh eyes, let us see these stories the way they are meant to be seen, pointing to the person and work of Jesus.
The Bible is not a series of disconnected stories. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is one unified story leading to the person and work of Jesus. You are not the center of the story. Jesus is. When you see Jesus rightly, the most important questions of your life become answered in Him. His Story is The Story you are living in.
We live in a world today that is struggling to forgive each other. It is even hard for us believers to sometimes extend forgiveness to certain people for certain moments of their lives. Today, we look at the foundation of Stephen’s life and what brought him to a place of being able to forgive his perpetrators even as they stoned him to death.
When Jesus rose, He lit a spark that set the whole world on fire. In Acts 1 & 2, a small group of followers became the movement of God as they relied on God’s Spirit, God’s Word, and God’s people. From the first gathering to today, God is inviting humanity into this movement. When His Church relies on His means to carry out His mission, the world is set on fire.
As we continue our series, Retold, we look at Mark 6 and Jesus feeding the 5,000. In this story, Jesus is making a declaration: He alone can satisfy your soul. Jesus is the true shepherd, servant, and savior our hearts long for. He does this by giving us what we ultimately need, Himself. When we find our satisfaction in Him, we are able to go out into a hurting and hungry world to serve and bless the masses.
What if "Daniel and the Lion's Den" is less about the lions and more about the difference between Daniel and King Darius? In Daniel 6 we see that King Darius isn't just a background character, but a relatable image of our own desire to elevate ourselves to "god" status. When we compare Darius's struggle to Daniel's calm submission to the one true God, we discover an important lesson for our everyday lives.
As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the fiery furnace, they were confident that the Lord would deliver them out of the fire but EVEN IF God chose not to, they would still follow His ways only. That type of faith doesn’t just occur in the moment. It is built up with obedience over time. In this message, we look at 8 characteristics that prepared Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be faithful even in the most difficult of circumstances.
This story of David and Goliath is one of the most used and misused stories in the Bible. We see ourselves as David who must fight our own battles and figure out our own problems. We want to be the heroes of our own story, but we are not. We need a hero. The story of David points to a greater hero: Jesus. He is the true and better David who accomplishes our victory for us and shares His victory with us. When we focus on Jesus and fight from His victory, we can go from faithless to fearless.
In Exodus 20 we see God give the Ten Commandments, and Jayson Fisher shows the two purposes of the law. The Law leads us to live life as God intended and to lead us to see our inability to keep the law, and Jesus fulfilling the Law on our behalf.
Jesus’ example of washing His disciples feet is a story of deep love and humility for His people. And it’s also the expectation He has for His followers in how we are to humbly love others. If Jesus set aside His worthiness to be worshipped in order to serve in the most humblest of fashions, then so too must we set aside our political ideologies, our differences in cultural beliefs, our desire for comfort in order to serve others, especially the hurting.
