God’s Glory & Bible Story

Here is an understatement for you. Yeshua was a masterful storyteller. He wove into His stories the things of God that He wanted to teach. His stories moved people from the things they were familiar with to discovering what He wanted them to know. Telling great stories is something that all those who follow Jesus can learn to do.

Learning to use the Bible story in your discipling activities will reap huge benefits in the lives of those you disciple if your stories are rooted in the Word of God and move people towards life practices that truly glorify Him. This blog offers some practical suggestions for using stories as a disciple maker who imitates the Master.

Use The Bible – There are no better stories to tell than the ones already recorded for us in the Bible. They illustrate and illuminate God’s revelation of Himself.  Get a firm grasp on the big themes of the Bible. For your discipling activity select biblical accounts that illustrate those themes. Always emphasize that what is recorded in the Bible is true. Unless we are told otherwise, the stories recorded in the Bible really happened! When you tell them, speak with personal confidence in their authenticity. Your belief will be caught by those you are discipling. Your belief will become theirs!

Know Your Subject – All good stories have important truths to teach. When using stories, be sure to teach biblical truths concerning the life of a believer in Jesus. Most people have very short attention spans. Stories can lengthen a student’s attention by getting through the door of mental laziness and engaging their imagination. Once you have gained access to a disciple’s imagination, be ready to teach powerfully on the subjects Jesus’ disciples need to understand to live in a way that glorifies God.

Let God Be The Hero – Let me be honest. There are times that I get so caught up in my own teaching that people stop listening to God, because they are watching me. When this happens, ministry is not occurring. If it is all about me, it is not about Him. In your discipling it is essential that your teaching presentations be engaging. However, there is a delicate balance between making the most of creative communication techniques and stealing the spotlight from the One who deserves it. The Bible is His story. Let Him be the hero of every episode!

Expect God To Use You – When you get out of the way and allow the Holy Spirit to use what you have been prepared for, you can expect that there will be fruit from your labor. A disciple is known by the fruit God brings from his or her life. Just as the branches naturally produce grapes because of their place in a grape vine, so it will be with your own discipling ministry. Learn to use the story of the Bible against the backdrop of the witness of your own life. The people you disciple will learn to do the same with those God places in their life. In that way you will share in the fruit of their life, one generation after another.

Use Bible Stories To Build Bible Memory – If you have been reading this blog, you know that we have been discussing the four things a disciple commits to when following their rabbi. Disciples memorize the words of their teacher. Of course, as Jesus’ disciples we are to be committed to following Him alone. The Bible contains the very Word of God and we should memorize it. However, most believers find it very difficult to consistently memorize the Scriptures. Using the stories of the Bible in our discipling activity could lead to dramatically increased success in the Scripture memory activity of those you disciple. Most Scripture memory programs are built around memorizing a passage here and another passage there. Many people who memorize Scripture have a verse or two memorized from places all over the Bible, but what connects them? I was taught by one of the men who discipled me that “a text apart from its context is merely pretext.” By allowing the story line of the Bible to provide the context of the passages you are encouraging them to memorize, you will give them hooks that will increase their level of memorization success. Help your disciples memorize more Scripture effectively by providing the context of the Bible’s stories.

Have Fun – With just a little bit of preparatory effort you will learn that by using the power of stories, you will be released to begin enjoying ministry to others. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John make it clear that Yeshua loved His sheep and enjoyed being in their presence. Find a good audio recording of the Gospels and listen to Jesus tell stories. Try to imagine Him teaching the crowds on a hillside or talking with His friends as they walked down a road together. You may envision a twinkle in His eye as He speaks to you from the Bible today. I don’t think it is too far of a stretch to say that Jesus had fun in some of His ministry work. Imitate Him and you will too!

I Love To Tell the Story!

In 1866, Arabella Hankey penned the words of a song that sums up the sentiment of this blog edition.

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love;
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true,
It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.

Refrain:
I love to tell the story,
twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, more wonderful it seems
Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams;
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me,
And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.

I love to tell the story, ’tis pleasant to repeat,
What seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet;
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest;
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

If you have used stories successfully in your own disciple making ministry, please share a testimony below.

On a final note, let me introduce you to Rob Styler. Rob is one of the best storytellers I have ever met. He is the founder of 2nd Adam and Director of Missions for CJF Ministries.