Finding Your Place in God's Great Story , livre ebook

Harvest House Publishers - Johnson Jim , Paul Basden

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103 pages

English

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By considering the Bible as one great story with eight big chapters, readers will see the narrative arc of God's Word and discover their role in it. From Genesis to Revelation, God has a story to tell: He created us so he could know and love us, and because he knew we would be unable to love and obey him perfectly, he sent his Son to die for us so we could spend eternity with him.Finding Your Place in God's Great Story introduces you to the major themes and key figures in the Bible to help you better understand the gospel message and how to apply it to your life. You will also experience the subplots that run throughout the Bible and gain a deeper appreciation of God's Word and his immeasurable love for you.There is a place for you in God's story. Discover it today.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers
Date de parution	10 janvier 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736981224
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0750€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com . The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover design by Dugan Design Group
Interior design by KUHN Design Group
Cover illustrations artinspiring (plant), juliars (phone), Anton Shaparenko (coffee cup) / Adobe Stock; all other illustrations by Devon Laird
For bulk, special sales, or ministry purchases, please call 1 (800) 547-8979.
Email: Customerservice@hhpbooks.com This logo is a federally registered trademark of the Hawkins Children s LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of this trademark.
Finding Your Place in God s Great Story
Copyright 2023 by Paul Basden and Jim Johnson
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-8121-7 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-8122-4 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022933254
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
DEDICATION
To the Preston Trail family.
It s been a privilege and joy to bring messages from God s Word to you for the past twenty years.
CONTENTS
Dedication
The Power of Story
1. God Creates
2. God Blesses
3. God Rescues
4. God Chooses
5. God Warns
6. God Saves
7. God Sends
8. God Wins
Finding Your Place
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Publisher
THE POWER OF STORY
Star Wars.
The Avengers.
Harry Potter.
Lord of the Rings.
X-Men.
Other than making a boatload of money, what do these film franchises have in common?
They all tell stories. Exciting stories. Thrilling stories. Addictive stories.
Once you get started watching, you can t stop. That s the power of a good story.
Story is all the rage these days. Authors and musicians and screenwriters all aim to craft the best stories they can so that we will read their books, listen to their songs, and watch their movies. With storytelling as a model, expert consultants can teach you how to improve your business presentations and increase your market share. 1 The power of story seems to know no end.
But story is not just something you read on a page or watch in a theater. Story is also something you live. You see, you have a story. Everyone you know has a story. Even God has a story. And that s the premise of this book.
GOD HAS A STORY
Have you ever thought about how friendships are formed? They usually start when you say to someone, Tell me about yourself. Then after listening a while, you return the favor. Along the way, you come to understand one another. When you know someone s story, you know them. When they know your story, they know you .
This is true in the spiritual realm as well. Suppose you were to ask God, Would you please tell me about yourself? God might reply, Sit down. It s going to take a while. Are you listening? Do you really want to know me? If so, here s my story. That divine story is found in only one place.
GOD S STORY IS TOLD IN THE BIBLE
When you hear the word Bible, do you start to yawn? Do you see Scripture as a set of rules to obey? A list of propositions to believe? A series of stories to learn?
Ugh!
If that s what we think, we have missed it. We have failed to realize that at its very heart the Bible tells God s story. It is the epic narrative of the Creator creating this world of the world failing to become what he intended because of human sin and evil and of God redeeming it all and eventually making it exactly as he envisioned. God has a story. It s a tale that stretches from creation to re-creation, from Genesis to Revelation, from beginning to end and even on to a new beginning that will never end.
In one sentence, God s story as revealed in the Bible is this: God created a world of humans whom he could know and love, and despite their stubbornness and rebellion, reconciled them to himself through his own sacrificial love. All the other stories in the Bible find their fulfillment in that Great Story.
GOD S STORY HAS EIGHT CHAPTERS
The Bible is filled with hundreds of stories. You can read about Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Joshua, David and Goliath, Elijah and Elisha, Ruth and Esther. And that s just the Old Testament! In the New Testament we encounter Mary and Joseph, Jesus and the Twelve, Peter and John, Herod and Pilate, Paul and Barnabas, and the list goes on.
While all are important, we have chosen to retell God s story in eight chapters. We have selected what we believe are the primary historical movements in the biblical story. The eight chapters correspond to these movements. Each chapter also focuses on a strategic character whom God uses to advance his Story. Taken together, these eight chapters tell God s Great Story. The overall story arc goes like this:
God creates (Adam and Eve)
God blesses (Abraham)
God rescues (Moses)
God chooses (David)
God warns (Hosea)
God saves (Jesus)
God sends (Paul)
God wins (John)
GOD S STORY HAS A LOT OF LITTLE STORIES AS WELL
Between the eight big stories, you will find hundreds of little stories. Some are important to the overall plotline; others, not as much. But if you are not at least familiar with their basic contours, the Big Story can seem disjointed.
So between chapters you will find what we are calling The Story Between the Story. These seven summaries will take you on a whimsical tour of the many narratives we can t tell. They highlight the people and events that will fill in the gaps of your knowledge. The style is different from chapters 1 through 8. It s more playful and lighthearted-even snarky at times. And it s that way for two reasons: First, we want the overall story arc to be complete, even if the minor narratives are merely summarized. And second, we want you to enjoy learning what otherwise could qualify as Bible trivia. A spoonful of sugar still helps the medicine go down.
GOD S STORY MAKES SENSE OF YOUR STORY
You probably know what it s like to lie in bed at night and ask, Why is my life turning out like it is? Why has my story taken all these twists and turns? You may be thinking about today s bloopers, yesterday s blow-ups, or last year s blunders. Wherever your mind goes, you want to make sense of it all.
If you re not making much progress, it may be that you re focusing only on your own life. Why not expand your vision and look at your story in light of God s story?
Seeing your life in light of God s story is the only way to make sense of your story.
So have a seat and listen up. God is about to tell you his Great Story.

1
GOD CREATES
B efore there is space or time or anything else that we categorize as part of our world, there is God. Majestic and mysterious. All in all. Nothing and nobody else.
In infinite wisdom, and out of eternal love, God decides to create a world of beauty and order. He also decides to create humans to live in that world. He will make them like himself, able to think, feel, will, relate, and create. This means that they will be free, able to choose, capable of saying yes or no to their Creator.
So he starts creating.
And the results are breathtaking. At the mention of a mere word, galaxies whirl into place, oceans fill the deep spaces, and living creatures appear to rule them all. God takes a special interest in humans, endowing them with gifts and abilities to oversee his whole creation. This is the story of creation in a nutshell.
CREATION AND GENESIS 1
When you hear God creates, what do you picture ?
Do you picture the glories of the universe?
The amazing auroras of the Northern Lights?
The sun-drenched beaches of Hawaii and Barbados?
The rugged grandeur of the Grand Canyon and the Grand Tetons?
Or do you picture the nasty arguments that have plagued the church?
The Copernican Revolution, in which Copernicus and Galileo challenged church teaching with their claim that the earth revolved around the sun, not vice versa?
The Scopes Monkey Trial, where defense attorney Clarence Darrow portrayed Christians as dunces for believing in creation?
Science textbook debates, which have politicized the issue by asking whether science is an enemy of faith or its friend?
Thankfully, the creation-science conversation is friendlier now than at any time in recent memory. Productive discussions are taking place. But as important as that is, we have a different focus. We want to tell God s Great Story. And the first chapter is all about creation.
So in a spirit of discovery and humility, we invite you to open your Bible to the opening chapters in Genesis. As you do so, remember that how you read Genesis 1 is as important as what you read there. Here s how we suggest you read these iconic chapters.
HOW TO READ GENESIS 1
Genesi