Cruisin' In the Classics!
What are the essentials of the Christian faith? Certainly the answer to that question begins with the gospel of Jesus Christ and centers upon his work on the cross. That is how we are made right with God, by grace and grace alone! From there, I think we’d have to talk about theology and doctrine (what we believe as Christians…think about affirmations like the Apostle’s Creed) and ethical standards (how we are called to behave as Christians). We’d have to include spiritual practices like prayer, worship, and Scripture reading for sure. From there, I think I’d start talking about the big stories of some of the heroes of the Bible. There’s Jesus, obviously, but also Peter, John, and Paul (just to name a few) in the New Testament. And hundreds of years prior to them, we find the stories of the heroes of Israel, the original covenant community of God.
This Summer, we’re going to look at seven of the classic stories of the Bible that help form the roots of our faith. We’ll begin with the “birth story” of Israel (Father Abraham), and we’ll consider the covenant that God made with him and with his Grandson, Jacob, which formed the context in which Jesus, and eventually the Church, was born. Then will look at some big stories from the lives of Moses, David, Elijah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. As we hear and consider these great stories, I pray that God will teach or remind us of what true faithfulness to our Lord looks like—then and now...because, to be sure, our faithfulness in response to God’s faithfulness has always been and will always be an essential of our faith!