Bible Study Theme: Stories

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:1-5

What a way to begin a story! I have always loved this first line in the Gospel of John. In his first sentence he uses the phrase, “the beginning”. Arche is the Greek word used here and it is literally translated, “that by which anything begins to be, the point in time when anything starts”.

So, where does your story begin? What is the origin, who is the author, and how did it all start? What does your story look like right now? How is it being told? What will be the theme of your written story? Ultimately, how will your story end?

Those are some BIG questions, and the truth is that right now all of these questions, and the answers, are being played out in what we call life.

There is a story in progress. It’s being written, being told, and being lived as we speak.

My three kids (Aaden, Ellie, and Adley) love to hear stories! Many nights before they go to bed they ask, “Daddy, can you tell us a story?” My wife and I have made up a lot of stories, with a lot of different characters, and a lot of different endings. No matter who the characters, no matter what the scene or setting, no matter what conflict and resolution, no matter what theme, plot or ending, they love our stories.

Everyone is part of a story. Maybe you love to hear or read stories or see them played out in movies or games, but the truth is that you and I live a story. Proverbs 16:9 says,

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

I love this verse! You see, so many times we try to plan out our lives and write our own story. We try to take control and be the author. But we are assured here in Proverbs that it is the Lord alone who establishes our steps.

This summer we are going to take a look at some great stories in Scripture, and discover how they play out in the bigger story of God. Each day we will set the scene, develop the characters, lay out the plot, and work through the conflicts and resolutions of different stories within Scripture.

The hope is for all of us to receive the revealed truth of these stories as we read and unpack each page of the book. Here is a brief daily outline of what we will discuss:

Monday: Campers will take look at Genesis 3 and the fall.

Tuesday: Campers will learn about Paul’s radical transformation on the road to Damascus.

Wednesday: Campers will dig into the unexpected story of Mephibosheth and see how it relates to their own.

Thursday: Campers will read about the woman at the well and her deliverance from spiritual thirst.

Friday: On the last day campers will actually have the opportunity to write out their own story. We will provide questions for them to answer to write out their story from the beginning up until now. Then we will talk about surrendering our story to God’s greater story.

From creation to the cross, to our present day, all of history is filled with stories – stories of redemption, stories of deliverance, stories of victories and defeat, stories of deception and pain, stories of joy and unexpected blessings, stories of real people and real lives.

These stories all come from the author of all stories, God. I am excited for campers to grasp the great reality of how God has invited us to be a part of His story, so that our story would tell of His great name.