So What's The Story (12/29/2011)

Warren Sentinel Weekly Pulpit

So What's The Story?
Reverend Christof A. Weber

Rockland Community Church

December 29, 2011

The Story is an abridged version of the Bible. It was produced to help people who have wanted to read through the Bible but have struggled and/or failed to do so. There are any number of reasons this happens. For one, the Bible is unlike most books we read in that most Bibles have not only chapter numbers, but also verse numbers. This can be distracting to someone who is not used to it. So The Story does not use verse numbers. Before you decry this as “heresy,” consider that verse numbers were not added to the New Testament until the mid-16^th Century. And unlike the Bible itself, The Story is presented in chronological order. This too can make it easier to read.

The Story is not a substitute for the Bible. Rather, it is just one way to engage the Bible. Each of The Story's 31 chapters contain portions of the Bible. For example, Chapter 1 contains the first eight chapters of Genesis. But other chapters contain a greater number of smaller excerpts in order to cover more ground. Chapter introductions or transitions that do not come from the Bible itself are printed in italics so that the reader is aware of what she is reading. An index is also provided for each chapter so you can refer directly to your Bible of choice for comparison purposes or further reading.

The reason I'm writing about this is that on January 15, 2012 we will begin a church-wide study at Rockland Community Church of “The Story.” We will read and study just one chapter of The Story each week. There are a number of ways we will do this.

On Mondays, we will have a brown bag lunch together and listen to a professionally produced audio recording of that week's chapter. Don't like to read? No problem. Just bring your lunch and listen with us.

On Tuesday nights we will have a small group study at church that will focus on Randy Frazee's book, The Heart of The Story.

On Thursday nights we will have a home based small group study that will use a DVD based curriculum and a workbook.

On Sundays, we will discuss the week's chapter of The Story in all of our Sunday School classes. The Adult Sunday School class will use the same materials as the Thursday night group. Classes for children and teens will use age-specific materials to journey right along with us. And during our worship service, the sermon will then wrap up our study of that week's chapter.

It may sound like a lot – and it is – but participants can choose how and when to engage. And we are going to spread this journey out over the whole year rather than try to do it in 31 consecutive weeks. We will take a break for Easter Sunday and will then take a longer break from The Story for the summer months before resuming in the Fall.

If you do not have a church home, I invite you to join us on Sunday mornings and at other times during the week as we journey through The Story. While I hope my sermons will be particularly helpful on this journey, I encourage you (whether you are attending in person or listening online) to get involved in one of our small groups. More information can be found at www.rockland.cc/thestory.html.