They way to insure that God’s Happy Ending for the world (the ultimate “win”) would happen was for the Messiah to lose his life. The Old Testament prophesied it and Jesus experienced it. His death freed his people from sin and brought them back to God. And the final shocking plot-twist was that Jesus was…
Jesus was born into a nation eagerly waiting for the Messiah who would rescue His people and make God’s restorative rule on earth a reality. His mission was simple: to announce God’s kingdom, to give a preview of what life in God’s kingdom would look like, and to explain God’s kingdom to people who misunderstood…
Knowing God’s rules didn’t help Israel obey them. Instead, the nation sank into the deep darkness of rebellion against God, resulting in punishment and a near-failure in her mission to bring God’s blessings to the world. God responded with an ultimate solution, the Messiah: God’s chosen rescuer who would make everything right.
Religion tells us that if we just follow God’s rules, we can repair our broken relationship with Him. The Story tells us something different: before God gives us rules, He wants to rescue us from our sin. After rescuing us, God gives us His rules so that we can show the world was God is…
God chose to start cleaning up the mess we had made of His world by picking an unlikely candidate (Abram) and giving him several amazing promises, including a nation that God would use to rescue the whole world. All He asked in return was that Abram trust Him enough to follow Him. God still asks…
Humanity has been masterfully deceived and made the horrifying decision to distrust God and decide for ourselves what is good and bad. Now our relationships are broken and our responsibility is resisted. We need a rescue desperately!
How a story begins matters, doesn’t it?