Great Stories of the Bible

2018 Alpine Summer Worship Series

 

Throughout this past summer we have been examining some of the most famous stories of the Bible.  Our goal was to see how these stories could help shape and grow our faith in and our relationship with God. Here are several of the takeaways that we encountered that are crucial in helping to connect our personal stories with that of God’s greater story.  They are:

 

  • Sin destroys! When we sin, we unleash destructive forces that effect everyone.
  • Just as sin unleashes destructive forces in our lives, Forgiveness unleashes healing forces.
  • Our circumstances in life do not determine how God feels or is acting towards us.
  • We take part in this great story when we know and act on God’s promises.
  • We stay connected to this great story when we trust that the Lord will provide, not what we want but what we need.
  • God allows us to live in this broken world so that we might “Get to know God.”
  • God’s promise …. You will never suffer in vain.
  • Your community (friends and family) are crucial. Choose and cultivate them wisely. When the storm comes there will not be time to develop deep relationships that you can rely on.
  • We all crave love.
  • Realize God’s desire to use us.
  • Remember the battle belongs to the Lord.
  • Sin has devastating consequences. Our abuse of power destroys both our relationships and our ability to garner trust. The loss of both cripple our faith.
  • We Honor Bathsheba by naming sin for what it is and by standing up to injustice, assault and abuse of power in all its forms.
  • God’s greater desire is to redeem people, rather than see them punished for their deeds. Both The Good News and The Offense of the Gospel is that God Forgives the worst of our sins.
  • Material Success and Safety in David’s life brings about temptations that David is not equipped to handle. This leads to devastating sins.
  • God goes with us no matter what kind of pit we fall into.
  • Our mission remains the same even when our life circumstances change abruptly.
  • Life isn’t always about you. You are not the center of the universe.
  • Prayer and fasting help shift our perspective away from self… allowing us to see God more clearly.
  • Jonah had to leave his home and have his life turned upside-down to overcome a major prejudice in order to preach in Nineveh.
  • Our concern should not be whether a man can live inside a fish, but whether the spirit of Jonah lives inside of us.

 

* * * * * * * 

 [button url=”http://www.alpinelutheran.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Summit-091018.pdf” target=”_blank” color=”blue” size=”large” border=”false” icon=”fa fa-file-pdf-o” btn_content=”Click Here to View the Full Summit”]