A Narrative Preaching Story

The Pattern of the Kingdom

The Eternal Love Story – Part 2

We have started the series, introducing how important it is for Christians to know and understand God’s Big story.

The first unit in Vaughan Robert’s God’s Big Picture is “The Pattern of the Kingdom” which summaries the creation story in Genesis 1 and the origin of humanity in Genesis 2.

As I listened to Robert’s summary video, I could see the main points which are to be emphasised and taught in this unit.

  1. God is the Eternal King who created a pattern for His Kingdom.
  2. The Pattern of His Kingdom is broken into three parts:
    a. We are God’s People
    b. We are living in God’s Place
    c. We have been given a Purpose and a Promise to live under God’s rule and blessing

So, starting with this structure, I designed a message which emphasised that humanity’s origin story is important because it sets the pattern for our existence, giving us:

  1. We are God’s People in God’s Place
  2. We have been given a Purpose
  3. We have been given a Promise

I also wanted to emphasis the importance of the Sabbath motif as the literary and theological promise of God’s establishment of his awaited Kingdom.

It did not take long to rewrite the creation story, from the perspective of God telling his story to the angels. A plethora of free illustrations were available.

The Eternal King telling the story of the very beginning.

The angels sat enthralled as God’s masterpiece unfolds.

However, determining the most appropriate title was not so easy. Some of my early ideas were:

  • The Eternal King’s Magnificent Garden City
  • The Eternal King’s Majestic Garden
  • The Eternal King’s Original Design
  • Humanity’s Original Majestic Home
  • The Eternal King Creates A Perfect Home

With every story I wanted to emphasis what the felt concern or dilemma was, which the Gospel story answered.

As I reflected, I wanted to emphasise the importance of knowing one’s origin story. I read online that whenever the plot of a superhero movie is designed, the origin story is the most critical aspect. Here are some of the quotes:

“Origin stories are foundational because they address questions deeply meaningful to the society that shares them – revealing their central worldview and the framework for the self-identity of the culture and individual in a universal context.

They reveal who we are in the context of the world, and reveal and real priorities, prejudices and define the regard humans are to have for humans and nature.”

“Origin stories are like maps that help us place ourselves, and our families navigate our world and provide us with intellectual and ethical anchors.”

“Origin stories cause us to look into the future and ask how the story will continue? What do we need to do now to prepare for this future?”

Each of these quotes, convinced me of how important it is for us to know, and be confident of, God’s version of humanity’s origin.

However, this still left me to determine the introductory story – the story which raised the felt concern or dilemma.

In the next blog, I articulate the questions I used to help me determine how to develop the plot of the story which introduces: The Eternal King’s Original Garden Design. Read more>>

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