The One True Story

Yesterday was a great worship gathering for Delta.  One thing that made it so good was that we celebrated God's Story, and how our stories graciously fit into His.

Stories are something that people need.  Stories offer us hope, allow us to dream, and they expand our world.  But there is One True Story above all other stories...the story of God and his redeeming love.  With the help of my friend James Harleman, I outlined for Delta God's One True Story and how we are a part of it.

The Continuum of God’s One True Story – 11 Acts

Act 1: Creation – “In the beginning God…” Genesis 1:1 

Acts 2: Contravention – “Did God actually say…?” Genesis 3:1

Act 3: Condemnation – “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great…” Genesis 6:5

Act 4: Compassion – “The LORD came… “Fear not…I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” – Genesis 15:1

Act 5: Coming – “For unto you is born this day…a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11

Act 6: Crucifixion – “It is finished…and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30

Act 7: Conversion – “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Act 8: Commission – “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ…” – 2 Corinthians 5:20

Act 9: Convergence – “…every knee should bow…every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” – Philippians 2:10-11

Act 10: Conflagration – “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire…” – Revelation 20:10

Act 11: Conclusion – “And night will be no more…the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:5

Most people in the world are stuck somewhere in Acts 2 & 3...lost in the consequence of sin and experiencing the pain, confusion, and dysfunction that go along with it.  Acts 4-6 are a distant hope and dream for them.

Most Christians tend to get stuck on Act 7 and pray that tomorrow brings Act 11.  But the Church is called to "flex its muscles" in Acts 8 & 9, bringing God's One True Story to the culture full of lost, hurt, confused, dysfuctional, dying people.  This is exactly why Delta exists: to point people to the Hero by telling our stories of how the Hero has rescued us.

Enjoy God's One True Story.  Know that your life is a story as well, but that Jesus is the Hero & main character, not you.  See your story in His, and be sure to tell someone about it.  Someone is waiting to hear it.

Wearing my Heart on My Sleeve

If you've hung around Delta more than few weeks or have listened to more than 3-4 of my sermons, you know that I can be a pretty emotive guy - whether it's getting a little loud and sounding like an old-school bible-thumper or whether it's preaching through tears.

One of the tear moments came yesterday.  Now, just so the record's clear, I'm a dude (and a big one at that, being 6'3" and 275lbs), I watch a lot of football, eat chicken wings, enjoy an occasional red lager, and have Metallica's S&M on my iPod (and actually listen to it!).  So what's up with the crying?

Biblically, dudes like Abraham, Joseph, David, Job, Jeremiah, Paul, the Ephesian Elders, and Jesus Himself are recorded as ones who weeped over things that moved their soul or in lament over their sin or the sin of their people.  But what about me?

As I've thought about this, there are 2 main categories that consistently bring me to tears:

1) God's grace.  I don't understand it...never will.  All I do understand is how unbelievable jacked up and sinful I am, yet God in his mercy has chosen to love me and make me His child.  When I preach on texts that bring this theme up, I'm honestly thinking of the Gospel in my own life and I get overwhelmed by it.

2) People I love.  Particularly: my family, my close friends, and the people in my church.  My tears come from how deeply I care for them and how desperately I want to the Gospel to be vividly alive in their lives.  My natural personality lends me to come off as a little hard, but truth be told, my heart melts for people.

There have been times when I've taught (for a few years, actually) and tears never came.  But those were the times when I was either a) not following Jesus very closely, or b) more concerned with  projecting an image that was expected of me.  That's just not worth, because I wasn't authentic, and being authentic is really important for me.

I once heard Mike Yaconelli (former president of Youth Specialties, who is now with Jesus) say at a conference, "When you are close to Jesus, you tend to cry more." I resonated with that.  The closer I'm walking with Jesus, the more I'm in tune with his heart, the softer mine is.  This may not be true for everybody, and that's OK; but it rings true for me.

God has created you with a full range of emotions - just like He has.  If you intentionally suppress them or handle them in an inappropriate way, that could lead you to sin.  But more than anything, be comfortable with how Jesus has made you and love him with everything that you are.

Values

So we've started this new series at Delta called "V6" that's talking about our 6 Values as a church: love, family, story, feasting, blessing, and missional living.  Ideally, every evangelical church would say that they're about the "Great Commission" and "Great Commandment" (ie., making disciples & growing disciples - although whether or not they actually do that is another thing entirely).  But what makes a local church unique?  It comes down to the values they live out.

Think about it.  A lot of churches value money or attendance or a good show.  Some value history and tradition (more than biblical faithfulness, unfortunately).  Some just value survival.  But aside from theological or ecclesiastical differences, it's the values that sets a church apart.

Have you thought about your personal or family values?  What makes you unique in how you live your life?  Are your values grown out of who God is and what His Word says, or simply out of your preferences?  I encourage you to take some time to define what your main 3-6 values are and where they come from.  Compare them to God and His Word.

Want a couple verses that highlight a few of God's values?  Check these out: Hosea 6:6 (quoted a few times by Jesus) and Micah 6:8.