Randy Frazee - The Story Adult Curriculum Participants Guide: Getting to the Heart of Gods Story

B EFORE THE RISE OF THE PRINTING PRESS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY , stories were passed down orally. The older people in a community shared the important stories of their history all the principles and values of life woven within these gripping narratives. They shared these stories with each other, and with the next generation. It was a part of their culture their lives.

For the past few centuries, though, our communication primarily has been written people sitting alone with a book open on their lap.

Now, however, with the explosive rise of technology (TV, movies, You-Tube, and other visual communication tools), the world is returning to pictures and stories. We are once again becoming an oral culture. Indeed, many people learn best by hearing and telling stories.

With this in mind, we desire to capture this ancient/modern form of oral communication and weave it into your experience of The Story. To accomplish this, we have come up with five icons to help as you hear and tell the story. These simple pictures will put an image in your mind to help you remember the movements of Gods story. They will also help as you tell your own story. Here are the images and the portion, or movement, of The Story that they represent:

PICTURE	PORTION OF THE STORY	PORTION OF THE BIBLE
	The Story of the Garden	Genesis 1 11
	The Story of Israel	Genesis 12 Malachi
	The Story of Jesus	Matthew John (Gospels)
	The Story of the Church	Acts Jude
	The Story of a New Garden	Revelation

Over our thirty-one-week journey through The Story, the final question of each Video Discussion will focus on one or more of these five movements, as indicated by the icon(s). Each one captures the Upper Story of Gods work and also points to Gods desire to encounter us in the Lower Story. Each session of your small group gathering will provide a brief time for your group to grow in your understanding of Gods story as well as helping you learn to articulate his story and your own journey of faith. Please dont skip this important part of the study.

Our prayer is that each person who walks through the thirty-one sessions of The Story Adult Curriculum Participants Guide will be able to do three things.

1. Identify the five movements listed on the previous page and how they shape The Story.

2. Articulate a short statement that captures the heart of each of the five sections of The Story (see below).

3. Connect the themes of Gods story with your personal story. This will release you to naturally tell your story of faith in a way that intertwines with Gods story.

Here are the five movements of The Story. As you become familiar with the themes and reflect on how they connect to Gods story, they will help you articulate your own story of faith.

MOVEMENT 1: The Story of the Garden (Genesis 1 11)

In the Upper Story, God creates the Lower Story. His vision is to come down and be with us in a beautiful garden. The first two people reject Gods vision and are escorted from paradise. Their decision introduces sin into the human race and keeps us from community with God. At this moment God gives a promise and launches a plan to get us back. The rest of the Bible is Gods story of how he kept that promise and made it possible for us to enter a loving relationship with him