A Story & a Meal to Save Your Life
Dennis Brown
A Story and a Meal to Save Your Life.
The curriculum we are using in Sunday School is taking the children through the Biblical story. They have been in Genesis and recently the story of Joseph. The curriculum is designed to show that the Bible isn’t so much a list of rules and good advice but a story where every part points to Jesus. It’s like putting together a puzzle over a long Christmas vacation that is laid out on the table, and different family members finding how the pieces go together so a single image arises. One of our children Tilly said to her Mom (in paraphrase) in almost bated breath, “What is next? How will the story end?”
Those of us who grew up in the church get overly familiar with the story. It becomes a bit dull. We might find ourselves like the little child saying after hearing the story of the three bears, “Dad, can you give me a new story.” When it comes to the Bible, there is only one story. It is ever new.
This Sunday, we look at Luke 24 where some disciples feel their hopes are dashed, the story around which they were going to build their lives has been shattered. With downcast faces, a mysterious stranger joins them. He explains to them the story that they didn’t “get.” Then they sit at a table, and he breaks bread with them and their eyes are opened to the true meaning of the story and the story teller. We want our children to “get” the story—to build their lives around this amazing story and the even more amazing person. Wouldn’t it be great if you “got” the story as well—not just the children? Come and see!
Life At Friendship:
Newcomers Luncheon. If you are new to the church in the past couple of months, you are invited to a newcomer’s welcome at Pastor Dennis’ home this Sunday, April 10 at 1:00 pm. Just gather at the main doors of the church, and we will walk together to the apartment. At the last gathering, we started a new small group from this gathering. If there is interest we may begin a new Christianity Explored group from those of you who attend.
Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? How are we to understand Islam? How can we be a community like Jesus who respond with both grace and truth? Christianity and Islam are two of the three Abrahamic faiths, and have a shared history of key figures. An Islamic caliphate was recently re-established in the Middle East by ISIS, the first serious effort at rebuilding a global political Islamic government since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the 1920’s. Come and discuss this important question and how we can reach out to our Muslim neighbors. This discussion will be led by Jason Warren this Sunday, April 10 in room 501 from 1:15 to 2:30 pm. Get your lunch and join us.
Sunday School Teacher Dinner and Appreciation. We never underestimate the value of joining us in serving our children here at Friendship. We would like to show our appreciation to all those who have served on the Children’s ministry team recently. Come join us for dinner and fun, as a way of saying thank you. We will meet at Pastor Dennis’ house, from 6:30pm. If you are serving as a teacher or assistant we would like you to join us! Thank you for serving our children and their families! An email invitation will also be sent out today.
What's the Pastor Reading? “Seriously Dangerous Religion” by Iain Provan. Somebody said that they loved the New Testament, but that they said the Old Testament was like a haunted house. They didn’t know how to enter it or make sense of it. As we mentioned we are asking the children to enter the Old Testament and find that instead of it being a “haunted house”, it is actually the story of how God decides to redeem the world by a family.
Many modern people think the Old Testament is a haunted house and that it might be even dangerous. Iain Provan is a professor of Old Testament at Regent College. He shows how the Old Testament is the story that unlocks the story of our own lives and humanity in general, that instead of it being a “dangerous” story, it is the story that brings liberation.