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Do You know Your Story?
“I was also sick of my neighbors, as most
Parisians are. I now knew every second of the
morning routine of the family upstairs. At 7:00
am alarm goes off, boom, Madame gets out
of bed, puts on her deep-sea divers’ boots,
and stomps across my ceiling to megaphone
the kids awake. The kids drop bags of
cannonballs onto the floor, then, apparently
dragging several sledgehammers each,
stampede into the kitchen.
They grab their chunks of baguette and go and
sit in front of the TV, which is always showing
a cartoon about people who do nothing but
scream at each other and explode. Every
minute, one of the kids cartwheels (while
bouncing cannonballs) back into the kitchen
for seconds, then returns (bringing with it a
family of excitable kangaroos) to the TV.
Meanwhile the toilet is flushed, on average,
fifty times. Finally, there is a ten-minute
period of intensive yelling, and at 8:15 on the
dot they all howl and crash their way out of
the apartment to school.” (p.137)”
― Stephen Clarke, A Year in the Merde
For I have known them all already, known
them all: Have known the evenings, mornings,
afternoons, I have measured out my life with
coffee spoons;
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
BY T. S. ELIOT
Ecclesiastes 2:20-23 20 So my heart began to
despair over all my toilsome labor under the
sun. 21 For a man may do his work with
wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he
must leave all he owns to someone who has
not worked for it. This too is meaningless and
a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get
for all the toil and anxious striving with which
he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his
work is pain and grief; even at night his mind
does not rest. This too is meaningless.
What is the best time in life?
Glory days well they'll pass you by Glory days
in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
And I hope when I get old I don't sit around
thinking about it but I probably will. Yeah, just
sitting
back
trying
to
recapture
a little of the glory of, well time slips away
and leaves you with nothing mister but
boring stories of glory days.
Running out of time?
How does your view of time effect your
emotions in the story you are living?
Ecclesiastes 8:6-8 6 For there is a proper
time and procedure for every matter, though
a man's misery weighs heavily upon him. 7
Since no man knows the future, who can tell
him what is to come? 8 No man has power
over the wind to contain it; so no one has
power over the day of his death. As no one is
discharged in time of war, so wickedness will
not release those who practice it.
What is the modern story our culture
lives by today?
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel
and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that
Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon
the American continent; that Christ will reign
personally upon the earth; and, that the earth
will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal
glory.
--Tenth Article of Faith (Mormon Church)
The Modern Story:
The world came of age in the 18th century
with the advances of science, technology,
and modern democracy.
“But now that we live in the modern world…”
“It is impossible to use electric light and the
wireless and to avail ourselves of modern
medical and surgical discoveries, and at the
same time to believe in the New Testament
world of spirits and miracles”
(Rudolf Bultmann, New Testament and
Mythology, 5).
How does time fit into God’s story?
7 In him we have
Ephesians 1:7-10
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all
wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the
mystery of his will, according to his purpose,
which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the
fullness of time, to unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth.
Do you know God’s plan (story or the Gospel)?
What is the Gospel?
7 In him we have
Ephesians 1:7-10
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of our trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all
wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the
mystery of his will, according to his purpose,
which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the
fullness of time, to unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth.
The Gospel is about more than your
salvation from sin!
Christ is not a name, but a title: King/Messiah
Jesus is the Christ = Jesus is the King of Kings
Christ Jesus = King Jesus
A Royal Declaration: Jesus is King!
9 Therefore God has
Philippians 2:9-11
highly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name that is above every name, 10 so that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord [i.e., King!], to the glory of God the
Father.
Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and
said to them, "All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of
the age."
Resurrection
Authority
Discipleship
A Royal Decree:
“all that I have commanded you”
How can we see discipleship as a re-imaging
of how we see and live in the world, and not
just a collection of doctrines we check-off?
Ephesians 4:17-18 17 Now this I say and
testify in the Lord, that you must no longer
walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their
18 They are darkened in their
minds.
understanding, alienated from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them, due
to their hardness of heart.
Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore,
brothers, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewal of
your mind, that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God, what is good and
acceptable and perfect.
We need a mind transplant!
Do you know your true story?
Ephesians 2:11-12 11 Therefore remember
that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,
called "the uncircumcision" by what is called
the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by
hands- 12 remember that you were at that
time separated from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the
covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:1-3 And you were dead in the
trespasses and sins 2 in which you once
walked, following the course of this world,
following the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience- 3 among whom we all once
lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out
the desires of the body and the mind, and
were by nature children of wrath, like the rest
of mankind.
Ephesians 3:6 6 This mystery is that the
Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the
same body, and partakers of the promise in
Christ [King] Jesus through the gospel.
The Gospel: A Royal Story!
Genesis 1:31 31 And God saw everything
that he had made, and behold, it was very
good.
Genesis 3:9-10 9 But the LORD God called to
the man and said to him, "Where are you?"
10 And he said, "I heard the sound of you in
the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked, and I hid myself."
Genesis 3:15 15 I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your offspring
and her offspring; he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."
Genesis 3:17-19 ' cursed is the ground
because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all
the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it
shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the
plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your
face you shall eat bread, till you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; for you
are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Genesis 4:26 26 To Seth also a son was born,
and he called his name Enosh. At that time
people began to call upon the name of the
LORD.
5 The LORD saw that the
Genesis 6:5-7
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every intention of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually. 6 And the
LORD was sorry that he had made man on the
earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the
LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have
created from the face of the land, man and
animals and creeping things and birds of the
heavens, for I am sorry that I have made
them."
Genesis 9:26-27 26 He also said, "Blessed be
the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan
be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth,
and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let
Canaan be his servant."
Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go from your country and your kindred and
your father's house to the land that I will show
you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you and make your name
great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will
bless those who bless you, and him who
dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed."
Genesis 49:10 10 The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between
his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him
shall be the obedience of the peoples.
2 Samuel 7:12-13
I will raise up your
offspring after you, who shall come from your
body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He
shall build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of
Abraham.
Matthew 1:16 16 and Jacob the father of
Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus
was born, who is called Christ.
Romans 1:1-6 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle, set apart for the
2 which he promised
gospel of God,
beforehand through his prophets in the holy
Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was
descended from David according to the flesh 4
and was declared to be the Son of God in
power according to the Spirit of holiness by his
resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our
Lord,
5
through whom we have received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith for the sake of his name among all the
nations, 6 including you who are called to
belong to Jesus Christ,
Romans 16:20 20 The God of peace will soon
crush Satan under your feet.
Revelation 1:5-6 5 and from Jesus Christ the
faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and
the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves
us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God
and Father, to him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and the sea was
no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of
God is with man. He will dwell with them, and
they will be his people, and God himself will
be with them as their God.
4
He will wipe away every tear from their
eyes, and death shall be no more, neither
shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain
anymore, for the former things have passed
away." 5 And he who was seated on the
throne said, "Behold, I am making all things
new." Also he said, "Write this down, for
these words are trustworthy and true."
6
And he said to me, "It is done! I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring
of the water of life without payment. 7 The
one who conquers will have this heritage,
and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Psalm 96:11-13 11 Let the heavens be glad,
and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and
all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and
everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the
forest sing for joy 13 before the LORD, for he
comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He
will judge the world in righteousness, and the
peoples in his faithfulness.
8 Let the rivers clap their
Psalm 98:8-9
hands; let the hills sing for joy together 9
before the LORD, for he comes to judge the
earth. He will judge the world with
righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Romans 8:20-22 20 For the creation was
subjected to futility, not willingly, but because
of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the
creation itself will be set free from its
bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of
the glory of the children of God. 22 For we
know that the whole creation has been
groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now.
The Gospel is not a system on how to be
saved, but the declaration of Jesus as King of
Kings that results in our being saved.
Ephesians 1:19-23 according to the working
of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and seated
him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion, and above every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in the
one to come. 22 And he put all things under
his feet and gave him as head over all things
to the church, 23 which is his body, the
fullness of him who fills all in all.
Do you know your story?
You are the
Jesus who
praises to
authorities,
unseen.
princes and princesses of King
declare his love, power and
the powers, principalities,
and dominions, seen and