The Story(ies), Thread 1

The Bible is a grand narrative, taking the same themes farther and farther with every page. Once we get to Jesus, and his life, death, burial and resurrection, we find that rather than it being some strange new twist on a convoluted book, it's where the various themes have been playing out.

As we head toward Easter Sunday, we will be exploring these themes and how they braid together to form the overarching narrative. Each week, we will spend time n one particular vein, and watch how it not only plays itself out through scripture, but how it adds to the composition of our faith.

As leaders, this will stretch us. We may find that we don't grasp the themes as well as we would like to. So, to be in a position of discussion leader around concepts that we aren't comfortable with may seem like something we'd naturally want to avoid. However, instead of recoiling, embrace your role as a shepherd. Where you may not have the answers and the ability to teach, you can guide the group toward understanding and benefit from the discovery yourself. You can encourage the group to seek pursue as a team, and as individuals Don't feel the pressure to be a professor. DO feel the pressure of creating an environment where the group, yourself included, can listen to the Holy Spirit and engage their mind to comprehend more of the story than they knew yesterday, as well as the implications of that knowledge on their faith!

For week one:

You may find that the following outline is perfect for your group. You may also find that it's not. This is heavy on reading, probably 15-20 minutes worth. Assuming you deem it appropriate to create some space for the members of your group to read multiple passages like a highlight reel, it will help the group establish a thread. To best grasp the narrative, reading for themselves is most helpful...even if it feels like a lot of work. If it isn't a fit, then walking through the themes in discussion may work as well. That will take more prep work on the part of the leader so that the passages can be discussed with competence. You may also want to email these passages to the members so they can read them ahead of time if they wish to do so.

Communion together, based on the theme of curse and redemption, is recommended.

Thaw

• What has most stuck with you from the message Sunday?
• What did you learn?
• What do you sense the message has to do with your faith in the immediate? Long term?

Extended Reading

• Genesis 3:6-19
• Genesis 12:1-3
• Exodus 2:23-25
• Exodus 3:1-10
• Exodus 12:40-42
• Exodus 20:1-21
• Jeremiah 31:31-33
• Matthew 26:26-28
• John 19:1-17
• John 19:38-42
• John 20:1-16
• Revelation 21:1-5
• Revelation 22:1-6

• Thoughts?

Discuss

• How would you describe this particular theme of Scripture?
• What does it have to do with our lives today?
• God seems to be working in and through the problem of sin. What does this say about the junk we face?
• How does this affect how we pray?
• If God has a pattern of showing up in the midst of ugliness to bring salvation, why do we view our difficulties as God's absence?
• Where are we in the story?

Communion

• Take a few minutes and celebrate the One who surrendered himself to the curse on our behalf. The One who doesn't remove himself from our pain and difficulty (whether we're victims or or agents of of the pain and difficulty) but resides in the midst of it. This is an ancient meal where followers recognize that the undoable has been done for them. The curse has been addressed, and will someday be removed- all outside of our own cunning and willpower and by the very God whom we rebelled against in the first place. Grace.