"The Power of Story"
“As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ (Acts 22:6-8 NLT)
As Paul begins to share the gospel with the angry crowd gathered here, he doesn't begin with Scripture. Not to say that Scripture is not essential to the declaration of the gospel. Surely it is. But Paul begins with himself. He wants to give his message some context. He shares what happened to him before he shares the gospel. He shows the effect of the gospel before he shares the message of the gospel. This is the power of story.
People need to hear the gospel. We need to share with them what the Bible has to say about Jesus & how he can change their life. But we also need to share our story of life-change. Ours may not be as dramatic as Paul's & may not include a road to Damascus vision but that doesn't make it any more life changing.
Life change gives a context for the gospel. Baptism even paints this picture. Baptism says, "This is what happened to Jesus & this is what has happened to me." The gospel is about what Jesus has done AND how it has changed our individual lives forever.
So what is our story? How can we tell about how Jesus on the inside has made a difference on the outside? We can't share our story if we don't know it.
Mark 5 tells about how one man's story affected a whole region. If God can use one demon-possessed man to expand his kingdom, what can he do with our story?
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