Chp. 2: When the Last In Line Gets Chosen for the Team

The casting agent enters the room with her top picks for the show’s leading man and lady.  The new series will follow the spellbinding story of a clan that builds a powerful, world-impacting family tree.  This is the pilot, and it is crucial to make the right call on the individuals who will fall in love and launch this Kennedy-like family of influence and fame.

Producers and writers alike have waited breathlessly for this moment, the moment when who they have envisioned as the leading characters will be finally realized in an actor and actress.  But when they turn to see who has been tapped for these most special of roles, the thud of their collective jaws hitting the majestic mahogany conference table muffles their mutual groans.

There before their wide eyes, instead of the expected vibrant, young couple with gleaming white teeth and tanned and toned bodies, stand a 75-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman.  Not what they had pictured for their production.

And yet, this is what God has chosen.  His screenplay called for a couple to launch a new nation, one that would impact the entire world.  As he would say, a nation through whom “all the nations of the earth would be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

Abram and Sarai stand there, adorned perhaps by dusty old robes and crowned with wispy white hair and loosely fitting skin and as befuddled as anyone else.  God chose them to begin a nation.  An unlikely pair, especially after factoring in the fact that Sarai was barren.  How could God expect to start a nation with a woman who could not bear children?

To complicate the story line, it will be 25 more years before they actually have their child of promise.  By that time Abram and Sarai will be 100 years old and 90 years old, respectively (and their names will be changed to Abraham and Sarah).  Perhaps Social Security checks will help this special couple decorate the baby’s tent and they’ll be able take naps when the baby does.  And the rest, as they say, is history.  His story.

God picks people you and I wouldn’t necessarily select to take part in his story. In fact sometimes we are shocked who plays the starring roles in his stories.  Unlike the way we do business, he taps people, not merely because of their abilities, but for their availability.  God searches for people who are open to be used by him.  Since he uses only those who are willing to be used for his purposes, there is no doubt that it is he who is doing the the wonder- working.  Let there be no doubt, throughout history he is the one making things happen. 

That’s good news, isn’t it?  In the business world, you may not have a great pedigree.  In academics, you may not be a Rhodes Scholar.  You may not have a lot of money and you may have average looks.  But you may be sitting in a pretty good position to be a top pick for God’s work.

Chapter 1: God's Great Passion is to Be With You

Some movies start at warp speed.  Case in point: The Dark Knight Rises.  From the opening scene to the end it barely lets you breathe.  If you slip out for popcorn you were sure to miss something important.  And yet, people did. 

This disturbs me greatly since I am a movie snob.  I think the way to maximize the movie-going experience is to be in your seat at least 20 minutes early.  Never done that?  Then next time you go to a movie look around and spot the person that is in the prime seat—dead middle, eye level with the center of the screen.  That’s what 20 minutes early gets you.   Popcorn and drink in hand, nothing will move this person from their secured spot for the duration of the movie.

That’s where you need to be for God’s story.  Its opening scene also starts with a relentless pace that doesn’t let up.  The first line reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). 

Right off the bat we find the main character in the story is not you or me.  It’s God.  And the rest of The Story will unfold out of the nature and person of this character.  Just ten words in and there is enough action to leave you breathless. 

It doesn’t take long to find out what God’s great passion is.  Birds?  Nope.  Animals?  Not quite. Sun, moon or stars? Bright guess.  No, in Genesis 3:8 we find that God is walking in the Garden with Adam and Eve in the “cool of the day.” 

Sounds nice if you are in a hot, humid climate, doesn’t it?  And yet the “cool of the day” is not the focus.  God is, and he is near.  He is right with Adam and Eve.  And he is right here with us.  His simple vision for his creation was to spend time with them every day, to take a walk with them.  God’s supreme passion is to be with us. 

Some of you have lived your life with the idea that God is some angry cosmic kill-joy who sits in the heavens and watches you, waiting for you to make a mistake so he can zap you.  Or, you feel he is distant and doesn’t care or has simply forgotten you.

But from the beginning he has shown us this is not the case.  He wants to be with you.  He has not forgotten you.   In fact, this might be the perfect time for you to go for a walk.

How to Get the Most Out of The Story

Starting this Sunday August 19^th, we are going to be embarking on an exciting journey as a church.  We are going to beginning a journey towards getting to know the heart of God as revealed to us in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.  We are going to do this by reading and studying The Story together as a church.  The Story is a new type of Bible published by Zondervan.  The Story has taken the actual New International Version text of the Bible and put it into chronological order.  At certain places you will notice writing in italics, in these sections the editors have inserted paraphrase bridges that keep us up on the action but allow us to continue smoothly moving forward with The Story of the Bible.  What this means is that the The Story reads like a novel!  The Story is broken into 31 chapters and each chapter takes no longer than 30 minutes to read (I have read several of the chapters and my average time has been between 20 and 25 minutes).  What this means for you, is that if you can commit to reading The Story for 30 minutes a week, you can read the entire narrative of the Bible this year! 

This year everyone in the church will be studying the story.  We will be studying The Story from preschoolers to retirees.  Our children’s ministry will be studying The Story. Our youth ministry will be studying The Story. Our college aged folks will be studying The Story.  Our adults will be studying The Story.  As we begin I wanted to give some practical instruction that I think will help you (and your family) get the most out of this church-wide study.

Worship

The first way you can engage in the church wide study of The Story is to come consistently on Sunday mornings to worship.  Each Sunday mornings message will be based on the chapter you will be reading in The Story.  These messages will help you discover how God’s big story relates to your story; it is when we begin to zero in on this truth real change begins to take place in our lives.

Worship is about more than the message.  When you begin to talk with people at the church and see they are studying and grappling with same things you are it builds unity in our community.  It’s a real powerful thing!

Remember if you do miss a week you can always listen to the message on our website (www.chattanoogavineyard.com).  This is a great way to remain current if you have to travel during the weekend. 

Parents

Parents, remember your children will be studying The Story each week as well.  One way you can really help them learn God’s big story is to get them to church on Sunday consistently.  This will help us partner with you in helping your children get a good understanding of the over arching narrative of scripture.

Another way that you can naturally begin to be the main spiritual influence in your home is to read The Story Storybook to your children on Saturday Nights before you come to church.  This way you can be the one to introduce the Bible story of the week to your children.  Then when you come to church on Sunday we are reinforcing the lesson you’ve already begun to engage them with; they will think it’s really cool that you read them the story the night before!

Personal Devotions

The chapters are designed so that they can be read in about 30 minutes.  So 5 minutes a day 6 days a week and you’ve got your chapter read.  Now if you want to go farther than just reading I advise getting a spiral notebook and answering the devotional questions we will be sending out every week.  Taking time to reflect upon what you’ve read will really help you understand more fully what the scripture is saying and how God’s big story helps your story make sense.

To sign up for our devotionals simply sign-up on your connection card on Sunday mornings and or you can sign up on the website.

To get the most out of worship and your small groups I would advise trying to read the text before you come on Sunday Mornings for the chapter I’ll be preaching on.  So this weekend read chapter 1.  Then after hearing what I’ve shared go back to the text with the devotional questions for the week and work through them prior to your Growth Group.  If you do this you will be growing spiritually like never before.

Growth Groups

The Bible is meant to be studied in community, with other people.  When we come together and discuss what we’ve read and talk about how God is moving in our lives it really helps us grow spiritually.  We will see that God gives some pretty amazing insights to the people we go to church with.  We will also discover that God can use the insights we’ve been having as we grapple with the text of scripture to encourage our friends as well. 

That’s not all, it is as we pray for one another and develop friendships in our groups that the real life changing power of Christ is unleashed in our lives.  Growth Groups are another way that The Story can be planted deeply in our lives.

Take the Initiative
Remember no one can learn the Bible for you; to learn and engage with scripture takes effort on your part.  Don’t sit on the sidelines.  Seize the opportunity that is before you.  If you will truly engage over the next 31 weeks by the end of it you will have a great working knowledge of the entire biblical narrative.

If there is one thing I could give you as your pastor it would be a clear understanding of the story of the Bible.  Why?  Because when hard times come, and they always do, it is the life that is rooted firmly in the triune God revealed to us in scripture that finds the strength to stand and thrive.   My prayer for you this year is that you would become firmly rooted in the scriptures through our study of The Story.