The Stories We Tell
THE STORIES WE TELL
(narrative is a design feature)
The Stories We Tell
THE STORIES WE TELL
(narrative is a design feature)
synopsis
We love story. We are story telling creatures. We use story for entertainment, for learning and use it all the time in our communication. It’s why Jesus used story so much in His teaching. Our leaders of culture understand this, and use story - like all good communicators - to get their message across.
In America today, we are readily offered two narratives - a right leaning one and a left leaning one (and of course everything in between). The trouble is, as a church it seems like we frequently forget to look up and consider heaven’s perspective.
In this session, we investigate where stories come from, why they are so important and how they can trip us up. With examples from the riots at our nation’s Capitol and the recent inauguration this is a word to help us pay attention to how we listen.
Video
Slides
Prophets Who Prophesy
PROPHETS WHO PROPHESY
(and what do we do when they get it wrong?)
Prophets Who Prophesy
PROPHETS WHO PROPHESY
(and what do we do when they get it wrong?)
synopsis
Many people missed what God was doing through Jesus because what He was doing didn’t fit into their narrative of what the Messiah should do. There’s a danger that the same thing is happening today: Christians in America are missing what God is doing because what He is doing doesn’t fit into their story.
There were so many prophecies regarding Trump’s second term. And yet today, Joe Biden is the President of the United States of America. What went wrong? Who’s to blame? How are we to respond? What can we learn?
This session explores how the Messianic prophecies - though true - didn’t help people see the Messiah because their narrative got in the way. What if our narratives are keeping us from seeing what Heaven is doing today?
Video
Slides
Now What?
NOW WHAT?
(how then shall we live?)
Now What?
NOW WHAT?
(how then shall we live?)
synopsis
We have a new President. So now what? How are we going to spend the next four years? And what does the Bible say about how to respond to our governmental leaders?
The problem of a government we might not pick isn’t new. Both the Old and New Testament are filled with examples of leaders who wouldn’t be our first choice but were put there by God. How are we to live under a government we didn’t vote for?
This session explores how the Apostles would have us treat our leaders, what Jesus modeled for us and the tension of living in honor with leaders that promote policies that oppose the Kingdom of God.
Video
Slides
Q&A
Q&A
(but what about…?)
Q&A
Q&A
(but what about…?)
synopsis
What does Romans 13 mean for the founding of America? What about the prophets who say, “Keep believing: Trump will be president!”? Is Biden a demon and ready to destroy America?
These are just some of the questions that were submitted in response to the previous three sessions. Questions are important and often reveal the strength of the storytelling in our lives.
In this session, we spend time looking for answers about America’s founding, false prophets, prophetic protocol, theological implications of this past season and how to live out our spirituality in a practical way.
Video
Slides
Additional Resources
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
(further reading to fuel your research)
Additional Resources
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
(further reading to fuel your research)
synopsis
I found the following resources incredibly helpful while preparing this series of messages. I hope they prove helpful as you seek clarity in the midst of chaos.
resources
Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning by Wayne Grudem
I’m huge fan of Professor Grudem’s work but Chapter 16 proved to be exceptionally helpful, especially in getting a fast track on American civics (of which I am new to).
Accordance Timeline Expanded Edition
If you are an Accordance user, I’d really recommend the timeline module. It gives a graphical representation of a timeline with major world events and I found it very helpful placing biblical passages in their proper historical context.
Policies, Persons, and Paths to Ruin: Pondering the Implications of the 2020 Election by John Piper
As I tweeted when I first read the article, this is classic Piper: thoughtful and sobering. Don’t miss his previous article which is also incredibly helpful (irrespective of who is in office).
The Roman Empire During the Time of Jesus (Background of Luke’s Gospel) by Kurt Willems
This was a very helpful read to shore up my understanding of historical and political context for Luke’s gospel (and in a broader sense Israel vs. Rome while Jesus was on earth). My last line from Session 2 is a quote from Kurt’s work.
Building Bridges | Of Prophets & Presidents - a podcast from Global Awakening
Buckle up butter cup - the first two episodes of this podcast were very enlightening and incredibly helpful with regard to “what went wrong” regarding the prophecies regarding President Trump’s second term. Kris Vallotton and Dr. Kim Maas both share behind the scenes of what went wrong in their prophecies (I shared a clip of Kris’s interview in Session 4). If you like long, thoughtful conversations with big thinkers, I highly recommend these episodes to you. Part 2 is an interview with Dr. Mark Chironna who does a fantastic job describing the dangers of Christian Nationalism (and breaks down what that is and why it’s different than patriotism).
What Is Christian Nationalism? by Paul D. Miller
A great primer on the differences between nationalism, patriotism and Christianity.
The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States of America
I read both as part of my preparation for Session 4.
The Christian Prophets Who Say Trump is Coming Again by Julia Duin
Truth be told, I didn’t read this article until after I finished all my prep work but it’s a great primer for those who are not Americans or are not part of a charismatic stream. It’s a concise summary of what happened and will get you up to speed pretty quickly.