Warren Sentinel Weekly Pulpit
The Story ContinuesReverend
Christof A. Weber
Rockland Community Church
August 30, 2012
Where did the
summer go? As always, it seems to have slipped by far too quickly.
The kids are back in school. Calendars are filling up quickly with
all the activities that school, sports, clubs, and so many other
things bring with them. We're beginning to think about plans for
Thanksgiving and Christmas … in fact, the year seems to be almost
over! Where did the summer go? Indeed, where has the year gone?
I hope everyone
reading this article had a wonderful, albeit extremely hot, summer.
I hope that you found time to spend with family and friends, to enjoy
the beauty of God's creation, and maybe even to just get some much
needed rest. And I pray that in the busy-ness of life this Fall that
you will continue to find and make opportunities for these things
too.
Earlier this year
(from January to June) the wonderful folks at Rockland Community
Church and I explored the Old Testament portion of “The Story”
together. The Story is an abridged version of the Bible that is
presented in chronological fashion. It reads a bit more like a novel
and doesn't have all of the chapter and verse numbers that can be so
off-putting to some readers.
The feedback I
received from the congregation was overwhelmingly positive. So many
people expressed how much they liked reading and studying the Bible
together in this way. We spent time in small groups, in Sunday
School, and in our worship service looking at a chapter of The Story
each week. Almost everyone kept up by reading one chapter of The
Story each week and a number of people commented that they were
reading parts of the Bible they had never read before or even heard
preached on.
All in all I think
it was an excellent experience. And so, we are continuing this
journey this Fall. During the first week of September we will begin
reading and discussing chapter 22 of The Story. Reading about Jesus'
birth in September may feel a little strange since we usually only do
that in December. But we will quickly over the coming weeks move
into his life and ministry, his death and resurrection. And then we
will be off into the story of the Early Church and almost as quickly
into the letters of Paul and others. On Sunday September 9, I will
preach a sermon based on chapter 22. For more information about the
small group, Sunday School, and preaching schedule, please visit our
website.
Even though we took
a break for the summer, I think we will be surprised to see that we
will actually be looking at the same story we thought we had finished
in June. You see, the Bible doesn't contain two separate stories,
but one story. It is the story of God's relentless pursuit to
restore humanity to right relationship with himself and with one
another.
Yes, the climax of
this story is found in Christ Jesus. And, yes, the birth, life,
ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus provide meaning to the
rest of the story. And yes, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the
birth of the Church provide for an ongoing basis for this story. But
I believe all of this, along with what we studied in the first half
of the year, is one story. It is all the greatest love story ever
told.
If you
are not involved in a local church, I invite you to join us as we
continue this journey together. You can get more information at
www.rockland.cc.
