Narrative

10 posts

Do You Tell Stories?

If you are interested in your children living a life of faith, you need to tell stories! The Psalmist wants God’s people to vividly remember the great deeds of God in redemptive history. Then, he pledges that his children will hear these stories: We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. (Psalm 78) “We will not hide these truths from our children.” This is an important step towards raising children who will live for God. You do this by intimately knowing the rich biblical narratives that tell of the faithfulness of God to his people. Learn the context of […]

Fighting Peer Pressure

The narrative of King Jehoshaphat and King Ahab in 2 Chronicles 18 provides insight into the dynamics of peer pressure. When you or your children yield to peer pressure you are, in effect, dividing your loyalties between God and man. This double-mindedness simply does not work. It results in decision making that is foolish. Many sins that young people become entangled with begin when they yield to peer pressure. This story of King Jehoshaphat demonstrates that young people are not the only ones susceptible to this problem. Jehoshaphat should have realized that forming an alliance with Ahab was extremely unwise, even stupid! When Jehoshaphat declared allegiance to Ahab he became more concerned with pleasing Ahab than pleasing God. To illustrate […]

Out of Darkness

Ruth lived in a land of darkness.  In some ways her world was not unlike ours. Babies were sacrificed in order to gain personal well-being. Moab was a godless country.  Despair reigned instead of hope.    The one bright spot in Ruth’s life was her mother-in-law, Naomi.  There is irony here. Naomi had lost her husband and two sons as a result of her husband’s ill-advised plan to find a better life in Moab. Yet, even in Naomi’s bitterness and sadness, she still retained her faith in the Lord of Hosts. This faith was observed by Ruth and began to grow within her.  Ruth embraced Naomi’s God, the God of Israel, as her own God with these famous words:   […]

Redemptive Thrillers

How familiar are you with God’s redemptive thrillers?   Perhaps this is not a category of biblical literature that is familiar to you. If this is true, you are missing out on something special. These thrillers actually do exist! They are found in the compelling narratives of the Old Testament.   Psalm 78 urges parents and the church not to hide the truth of God from your children. If these narratives are not presented with the drama and action with which the Holy Spirit wrote them, then God’s truth is hidden.   You must learn the context of the great stories presented in Scripture. Are you filled with wonder and awe at how God, throughout the Bible, rescued his people […]

Stories for Life

Man was made for stories. We remember stories. We laugh at stories. We cry over stories. We are motivated by stories. Why? Because God made us to love stories. The legacy of a culture is told by narratives, not by encyclopedias. Even in a culture as bent on moving away from God as our current one is, there are still biblical stories etched into the minds of people in our culture. These biblical narratives transcend ideological barriers. The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, the Christmas Story, and others speak of a God who may not be as easily dismissed as cultural elitists believe. While these narratives are often marred and confused in the culture, they still remain, and they still […]

The Value of Biblical Narratives

Man was made for stories. We remember stories. We laugh at stories. We cry over stories. We are motivated by stories. Why? Because God made us to love stories. The legacy of a culture is told by narratives, not by encyclopedias. Even in a culture as bent on moving away from God as our current one is, there are still biblical stories etched into the minds of people in our culture. These biblical narratives transcend ideological barriers. The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, the Christmas Story, and others speak of a God who may not be as easily dismissed as cultural elitists believe. While these narratives are often marred and confused in the culture, they still remain, and they still bring conviction […]

Biblical Narratives and Your Children

Man was made for stories. We remember stories. We laugh at stories. We cry over stories. We are motivated by stories. Why? Because God made us to love stories. The legacy of a culture is told by narratives, not by encyclopedias. Even in a culture as bent on moving away from God as our current one is, there are still biblical stories etched into the minds of people in our culture. These biblical narratives transcend ideological barriers. The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, the Christmas Story, and others speak of a God who may not be as easily dismissed as cultural elitists believe. While these narratives are often marred and confused in the culture, they still remain, and they still […]

Jehoshaphat and Peer Pressure part 2

The narrative of King Jehoshaphat and King Ahab in 2 Chronicles 18 provides insight into the dynamics of peer pressure. When you or your children yield to peer pressure you are, in effect, dividing your loyalties between God and man. This double-mindedness simply does not work. It results in decision making that is not sound. Many sins that young people become entangled with begin when they yield to peer pressure. The story of King Jehoshaphat demonstrates that young people are not the only ones susceptible to this problem. As we noted in the last post, Jehoshaphat should have realized that forming an alliance with Ahab was extremely unwise, but in the face of the feast given to honor him, Jehoshaphat […]

Jehoshaphat and Peer Pressure part 1

One of the more remarkable examples of peer pressure or fear of man found in the Bible is the story of Jehoshaphat and King Ahab in 2 Chronicles 18. The Spirit is God was gracious to provide such a clear and vivid account of the dynamics of peer pressure. There is much you can use in the chapter to teach your children about this all too common tendency of making the opinion of others more important than the opinion of God.

Hope and Switch Defeated

The world is continually attempting to deceive people by promising that what it offers is truly satisfying. Then, when the promise is believed and the offer is accepted, the hope quickly turns to  bitterness and disappointment. This tactic is what I referred to in an earlier post as “hope and switch.” Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, fell prey to the world’s offer of provision. He doubted God’s covenant and struck out on his own. But the book of Ruth gives an example of one who did not fall for the world’s deceptive ploy. Ruth was still a young woman when she came to Israel with her mother-in-law, yet she was devoted to Naomi and served her, in spite of Naomi’s bitterness. She […]