Our Story
“They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.” – Revelation 12:11, CSB
“Now they have conquered him through the blood of the Lamb, and through the Word to which they bore witness. They did not cherish life even in the face of death!” -Revelation 12:11, PHILLIPS
“When we start to realize how amazing God’s story is, a question naturally arises: Who am I that I should get to be a part of the greatest story ever told?” – Michelle Anthony
“You and I are characters in God’s Story, handmade by Him. Every character serves a purpose.” -Randy Alcorn
The Bible makes it clear that every time that there is a story of faith, it is completely original. God’s creative genius is endless.” -Eugene H. Peterson
“The priority of the church until Jesus returns, a mission of which the community must never lose sight, is to witness to Jesus to the end of the earth. The church exists, in major part, to extend the apostolic witness to Jesus everywhere. In fact, the church does not have a mission; it is to be missional and is a mission.” -Darrell L. Bock
Richard Flanagan, who is a novelist by trade, wrote this regarding story: “God gets the great stories. Novelists must make do with more mundane fictions.” I couldn’t agree more. For a moment, I want you to lean back and inspect your own story. As you do so, you might ask questions like this: What are the major soul shaping moments in my story? What, if any, themes emerge? How do I see God’s involvement? When do I know for sure that He stepped into my story? Here’s what I imagine you will find as you survey your personal narrative: grace and love. Here’s what I imagine you won’t find: a cliché story that would make a TV sitcom. My hunch is based on more than just my personal experience. Its based on the Author of your story. When I say that, I am not removing your choices or your free will from the equation, quite the opposite, I am giving it its full due. What I am saying, in calling God the Author of your story, is He has yet to encounter a plot twist in any human being’s story. He made each one of us and so loves us that He does not leave our lives up to chance or the sum of our choices. This is why, you can tell your story with confidence as a witness to His goodness and love. He is intimately involved in your life, even the tragic, messy and hard parts. In fact, from personal experience, I can say that He often shows out the magnificence of His authorship in those moments in particular. Bold witness to God’s saving work is not hard when we realize how deeply invested He is in making our story part of His Story. And so, this is my encouragement to you as we conclude this sermon series: tell your story. Witness to anyone and everyone of the God who saved you. Testify of His love. Declare His rescuing grace through your story to all who will listen. Who knows how God will use your story for the sake of His kingdom?
Several of you expressed interest in the video we showed just before the message, you can view it again here: http://story4.us/HLAC
For the duration of this series, there’s been a theme song in my head so here it is for you to enjoy as well: My Story