The Power of Story
Week Three of Walk Across the Room adapted from the sermon by Bill Hybels.
Good morning, as we begin week 3 of Walk Across the Room series, we are going to start out with a little word association.
I will say a word or phrase, and then you say out loud what comes to mind. The key is to go fast.
You can’t give this a lot of thought. The idea is to capture your gut-instinct immediately after you hear what comes out of my mouth. ok?
All right, here’s the first word …
- Mona!
- How about – Super Bowl!
- Vacation!
- Diet!
- Keifer!
- President!
And for our last one – Born-again Christian!
I’m sure there were different responses to that word.
March 30, 2014
The Power of Story
Pastor Mary Scheer, Brewster Baptist Church
[vimeo 90542676 w=500&h=375]
[powerpress]
What do you think would happen if we polled a hundred people who do not consider themselves Christian, what would their response to that word would be? Out in your daily life, have you heard others responses to the word Christian? Here are some that I’ve heard:
- “Christians, they are uptight, narrow, judgmental and rigid.”
- The book, “Un-Christian, what a new generation really thinks about Christians,” says that after years of research and thousands of interviews with young people, they admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians.”[1]
- “We are not responsible for nonbelievers decisions, but we are accountable when our actions and attitudes have misrepresented a holy, and loving God and pushed people away.”[2]
I know we can’t change everyone’s view, but there are a few hundred of us here at BBC. This is one more way we make a difference where we are, and give a watching world, something good to say about Christians!
This is important, because God’s heart beats for pointing people to faith. And we are part of how God does that!
I wish that when folks heard the word Christian, they said things like,
“Hmmm … The ones I know are full of integrity.” “Christians? They’re full of compassion and kind to people!” “Christians? They are concerned for the poor. They are humble, honest and inclusive people.” “Christians? They love well.”
The study on folks who reject Christianity, said, “Christianity has become bloated with blind followers who would rather repeat slogans than actually feel true compassion and care. Christianity has become marketed and streamlined into destruction and fear mongering that has lost its own heart.”[3]
We have to be able to talk about God in ways that are clear and understandable. This is the topic for this week in our small groups.
Primarily, we’ll seek to answer two questions:
- How do we talk about God in a way that’s full of clarity and passion?
- How do we convey our personal faith stories in a way that’s humble and interesting?
To communicate like a walk-across-the-room person, we must realize that…
Stories and the words used to tell them are powerful.
The power of story and words are undeniable throughout the Bible. A few examples include.
- Psalm 119:130 says that words can actually give light. Words can give understanding to those who don’t yet understand.
- Proverbs 12:18 says that although reckless words pierce like a sword, words from the tongue of the wise can actually bring healing!
- Proverbs 16:24 says that pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Isn’t that a great image?
- Ecclesiastes 10:12 says that although a fool is consumed by his own lips, the words from a wise man’s mouth are … gracious.
When I was a young mom, one of the child psychologist books I was reading said to always talk to your children as you would a good friend. We wouldn’t yell or speak down to a friend, the same for our children.
In the same way, it would be helpful to our witness if when non-Christians heard us talk, they heard us speak words that are humble and healing, words of encouragement and grace?
There are two primary areas where words can make a huge difference in their view of us.
- The first area is how we talk about God … explaining who he is and what he has done.
- The second is how we talk about our personal experience with God.
Again as Pastor Doug said on week 1 of the series, we are not talking about going out door to door to evangelize.
We are talking about being comfortable talking with our family and friends, and the people around us in our every day lives.
Let’s start with God.
We must realize that God has a story, a powerful story, we must learn to tell it well.
What would you say if someone came to you today and asked you why you believe in God and what difference it has made in your life?
I did have someone ask me that question when I was a young mom.
I was taking a class in Koine Greek at a church.
There was a guy in the class who was not a believer, but was interested in the language.
One night he invited Dave and I over for supper. After a bunch of small talk, he came out and asked me why I believed in God, and what I believed about him.
He said the stories in the Bible seemed boring and irrelevant.
I told him the story of Ester, and brought him to the point where her uncle says, “For such a time as this you were brought to this place,” (4:14) and how we came to dinner not knowing about his questions, yet for such a time as this, we had come to his place.
That open door can be frightening sometimes though.
There’s a tried-and-true way of explaining God’s story.
It’s called “The Bridge”—perhaps you’re familiar with it.
The Bridge is a powerful way to illustrate what God—and his Son, Jesus did for humankind.
First, we have to establish the reality of two beings: people and God.
Between people and God is a great chasm exists because of “sin.”
The dilemma people face is that we want to get to God but know we can’t just leap over the chasm.
But thankfully, God sympathized with our dilemma.
And because he loved us so much, he intervened so that we would have a means of getting close to him.
His solution was to choose his Son, Jesus, to serve as the bridge.
Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6)
In John 5:24 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life”
And there is the bridge.
If you are reading along in the Walk Across The Room book, or were at small group or Bible study last week, you may remember the story Bill Hybels shared about his friend Dave.
Even after Bill and Dave had built up a relationship, Dave had not yet put his trust in Christ. It took a long time and after years of friendship, Bill said, he shared the Bridge story one more time. He acted on the inward nudging of the Spirit to share the bridge one more time.
He trusted God with the outcome, knowing that God could use a simple illustration to lodge an idea into his friend’s mind and heart. The seeds of the word worked in Dave’s heart and he placed his trust in Christ.
It doesn’t matter which illustration we use, just so we have something we are comfortable using, to help us explain who God is and what he has done.
Then, when the time comes that someone sitting across from us poses the question, we are ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us. (1Pet. 3:15)
And we do so with words that are humble, healing and grace-filled words.
We must realize that You have a story to tell. Learn to tell it well.
Not only does God have a story, but we have a story as well. And it’s our job is to learn to tell it well!
We all have our own version of what God has done for us. Some folks have a dramatic story and others have a more subtle story of grace.
Sometimes people will tell me they don’t feel like they have a good story because they’ve been in church their whole lives and don’t have a dramatic story. That’s ok, it’s just a matter of thinking about your journey. How has your faith helped you?
If you have come into relationship with God through Jesus, then you have a wonderful, redemptive story to tell.
Here’s why that’s true, regardless how old we were when we came to faith, hopefully we are different after Christ than before.
Take the guy from Luke 5 who once had leprosy.
“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Apparently he told people since the story is in the Bible. Can you imagine what that experience must have been like for that man? What do you think he told every, single person who would listen from that point forward?! “I was a leper. But then I met Christ! And now I’m healed … totally and completely healed.”
His self-talk was probably fascinating in the hours following his encounter with Christ. “This is unbelievable! Just moments ago, my skin was so angry that it was literally … erupting. But now look at it! It’s clean. It’s smooth.
It’s healed! Everything about me was rotting, diseased … but I’ve been recreated. It’s as if I were never sick! This is unreal. Absolutely unreal!
Where did my hopelessness go? My helplessness? They vanished with my sores. Jesus fixed all of that. I have hope! I want to live! I finally feel … whole.”
Do you see a before-and-after here?
- I was sick. But now I’m well.
- I was diseased. But now I’m healthy.
- I was outcast. But now I’m accepted.
- I was defiled … tainted. But now I’m good as new.
- I was tarnished. But now I’m clean.
- I was left for dead. But now I have … a future.
Who knows which aspect of this man’s before-and-after was most compelling to him … He’d have to figure out his story for himself, right?
But here’s the point: for the vast majority of us sitting in this room, the same is true for us. Most of us do not have big dramatic stories. We have subtle journey’s of faith. We also have a before …and after. And that’s about all people need to hear;
- What were you like before you came to Christ.
- What was it like to embrace faith in him.
- And what are you like after that decision.
I was born to drug addicts who met at an AA meeting. My mother died of a heroin overdose and my father went to prison. I was placed in an orphanage. Psalm 27:10 said, when your mother and father forsake you, the Lord will take you up. Then I was adopted…twice, first by human parents who led me to the Lord, where I was adopted into his family. My life was transformed from the rejected to the acceptance, from unloved to unconditionally loved! That kind of love transforms everything, and makes all things possible.
You’ll come across some great examples of well-told faith stories in this weeks reading.
Before and After Examples:
- “I was striving … but now I’m at peace.”
- “I was self-destructive … but now I’m healthy.”
- “Guilty, but now liberated.”
- “Fear-stricken, but now confident.”
- “Despairing, but now hopeful!”
Your own before-and-after doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be simple, humble, and true.
Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
It should be this easy to tell an effective before-and-after faith story. But it’s also possible for these stories to derail. The Walk Across the Room book has some things to watch out for.
First, faith stories can derail when the story go on an on, even after the listener sends warning signals of disinterest.
Second, faith can stories derail when the story is fuzzy, wanders and never really comes to a point.
Third, faith stories can derail when they are told with too much religious language. The president of the seminary I went to warned us abut this in a class when he told a story about what happened to him one Sunday after worship. While shaking hands with folks on the way out of church that day, a woman told him that she liked the sermon except she got lost on a word he said next.
He said, what did I say? She said, you said, “and now, let’s turn to page 237 in your hymnal.” He said ok, and she said, “what’s a hymnal?”
Fourth, faith stories can derail when the listener senses the superiority card was played.
Fifth and finally, faith stories can derail if they go untold. We don’t have to be theologians and scholars, pastors or teachers. We don’t have to know a lot, just what happened to us. After Jesus healed the blind man, the Pharisees’ questioned him and said who healed you? Who is this man Jesus. The man said, I don’t know who he is, I cannot tell you about him, all I know is that once I was blind and now I see.
The best story ever told is the one that’s yours.
Here’s an exercise we can do for this week. We can practice writing your individual faith story. If you would like to work on your story and want someone to help you with it, I’m here for you. You can email it to me or come in and see me. You could also find a friend here at church to partner up with.
Just the exercise of writing it out can really help when it comes to sharing it with someone when the moment comes.
1 Corinthians 14:9 says, “If you speak in a way no can one understand, what’s the point of opening your mouth?” (MSG).
We may not be able to reverse all of the negative perceptions that are out there about Christians, but we can help on our part ensure that as far as this congregation is concerned, that we know how to tell the story of God’s love for people, and the difference he made in our lives, is the best story we will ever tell our children and our grandchildren, our friends and the people we care about.
I pray this encouragement will be blessing to you and a help for that moment when someone asks why you believe in God and wonders what difference it makes.
Let’s Pray: Dear Lord, thank you for giving us a book full of stories about who you are and your love for us. Help us as we consider our own story and learn to your story and ours well. We pray for those in our circle who may be waiting to hear about you, that you would cause their curiosity, or their moment of need to lead them to ask the question, that opens a way for a story to draw them to yourself. Bless us as a church as we grow together in our awareness of your presence and activity in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen.