Sunday is my biggest day. Church day. A day to honour God, to equip believers, and to share the good news of Jesus to people who've never heard it and to people who just need to keep hearing it because we need to be reminded how good it is.
I usually preach live twice a month, and today was one of those times. Before the service one of our guys asked me about how I prepare for messages. One of the big tools we use for our messages at Lifehouse is stories. Stories from the bible, and stories from our own lives that show how Jesus has worked in us. Stories are a gift of language that God has given us. Jesus used stories ALL OF THE TIME to explain God's ways to people so that they could understand. Stories help us remember things. Stories help us connect with the message they hold, whether that's through our imagination or the relatability to our own lives. We shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of telling stories, as long as we remember which are the most important.
For a church, to teach people about God and point people to Jesus and what he has done, is doing, and can do, we have to prioritise the stories of the bible. The stories of God's inspired word for us. The stories that timelessly reveal to us God's heart, God's nature, God's plan. Because of course our stories can be powerful, but they are powerful because of what God has done. If we try to prioritise our own stories, we're soon going to realise we don't have a story for every situation. For every theme. For everything about God that we are trying to teach and preach and show to people - because we aren't God and we only have one short life to live. The guy I was chatting to noted this, and that's one of the reasons why I stick to only twice a month preaching to be honest - I know I don't have a story worth telling for each message's purpose and I don't want to get to a point of trying to squeeze one out of nothing. People can tell when you're squeezing a fruit with no juice in it.
But the Bible, it's got stories for every situation. And I mean EVERY situation. It isn't just full of inspiring, happy ending stories. It's full of tragic stories. Stories of redemption, and stories of people being stubborn in their evil and own ways and receiving their just rewards. Stories of hope, and also stories of warning. But Paul tells us, each and every story, of man and God interacting, is profitable and can be used for teaching good.
My goal as I continue to grow in my own teaching and preaching, is to continue to pull those stories out from the Bible and share them so that people can understand them and learn from them. And above that, hopefully learn how to read them and learn from them themselves too as they see how I do.
I usually preach live twice a month, and today was one of those times. Before the service one of our guys asked me about how I prepare for messages. One of the big tools we use for our messages at Lifehouse is stories. Stories from the bible, and stories from our own lives that show how Jesus has worked in us. Stories are a gift of language that God has given us. Jesus used stories ALL OF THE TIME to explain God's ways to people so that they could understand. Stories help us remember things. Stories help us connect with the message they hold, whether that's through our imagination or the relatability to our own lives. We shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of telling stories, as long as we remember which are the most important.
For a church, to teach people about God and point people to Jesus and what he has done, is doing, and can do, we have to prioritise the stories of the bible. The stories of God's inspired word for us. The stories that timelessly reveal to us God's heart, God's nature, God's plan. Because of course our stories can be powerful, but they are powerful because of what God has done. If we try to prioritise our own stories, we're soon going to realise we don't have a story for every situation. For every theme. For everything about God that we are trying to teach and preach and show to people - because we aren't God and we only have one short life to live. The guy I was chatting to noted this, and that's one of the reasons why I stick to only twice a month preaching to be honest - I know I don't have a story worth telling for each message's purpose and I don't want to get to a point of trying to squeeze one out of nothing. People can tell when you're squeezing a fruit with no juice in it.
But the Bible, it's got stories for every situation. And I mean EVERY situation. It isn't just full of inspiring, happy ending stories. It's full of tragic stories. Stories of redemption, and stories of people being stubborn in their evil and own ways and receiving their just rewards. Stories of hope, and also stories of warning. But Paul tells us, each and every story, of man and God interacting, is profitable and can be used for teaching good.
My goal as I continue to grow in my own teaching and preaching, is to continue to pull those stories out from the Bible and share them so that people can understand them and learn from them. And above that, hopefully learn how to read them and learn from them themselves too as they see how I do.