living the drama NOTES ...

andy read
Andy is part of the leadership Team of River Church, based in
Maidenhead, Berkshire, where he has specific responsibilities in the
areas of teaching, training and leadership development. He is a member
of Churches Together in England’s Group for Evangelisation. Andy is
married to Lina and they have two daughters Emma (19) and Amy (17).

Aims for the Course

· Get hold of the Big Picture
· Ask some difficult questions to help us think about what we
really believe
· Get excited by Scripture

Why is the Bible important for us?

What is your view of the Bible’s authority? What sort of book is it?

· Is it a rule book?
· Should we live by ‘promise verses’?
· Is the Bible ‘true’? What do you mean by your answer?
· Does it just have helpful advice?
· What sort of literature is it?
· How can we apply the Bible to our lives?

One approach – The Five Act Play

N. T. Wright gives a very helpful model to understand the unfolding of
revelation within the canon of Scripture. Firstly, he establishes that it is God
himself who gives to Scripture its authority, and that the Bible is an
unfolding of God’s activity in different and progressive acts. He gives a
helpful analogy of a supposed newly discovered, unfinished five-act play of
Shakespeare.

· How could such a play be used?

· How does this relate to how we use the Bible?

The Nature of Narrative

All of the Bible can be seen to be either narrative in form, or arising from
narrative – story. If we look at the Bible as a whole, we see that all features
common to a gripping story are present – a dramatic opening, a tragedy, a
rescue mission, love interest, character development – and a good ending!

· Why do you think God has chosen to communicate in this way?

One Story – Many Stories

We can see the Bible as five interlocking stories – like the Olympic rings.

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NOTES ... Jesus

God World

Israel Us

• The story is GOD’S STORY – HIS-STORY – and we must

keep this perspective throughout. He has chosen to reveal
Himself to us – most perfectly in Jesus – but there are still
things we may not understand! The story starts and ends with
Him – the Alpha and Omega – not with us.

• The story is the WORLD’S STORY – the story of all of God’s

creation. We can perhaps tend to be a bit narrow in our
thinking, but God is working in all of the World. God’s heart is
for the World.

• The story is ISRAEL’S STORY. God called a people to be His

own and to model something in relationship with Him. They
were called to be a light to the World. Theology may vary as to
where things are now left with Israel – ie are the promises now
to be applied only to the new Israel (Church) – but at the very
least we can learn much from Israel’s story. We are a continuing
part of that ‘olive tree’ (Romans 10-12)

• The story is JESUS’ STORY. Jesus was not God’s afterthought

– a Plan B when other things failed. Paul makes it clear that
God’s plan is ‘In Christ’, that Jesus was before all things and that
in Him all things hold together. We must be Christocentric in
our view.

• The story is OUR STORY. Our own individual testimonies are

all part of the Big Story running through history. The Big Story
makes sense of our stories. We need to understand what has
happened in the preceding acts of the play in order that we can
live out our lives faithfully to the story so far (N.T. Wright).

Life through a Lens

Question: Does the Bible need to be interpreted or can we just
read it and let it speak for itself?

The technical word used in discussing the interpretation of the Bible is

Hermeneutics – simply means interpreting – but no one can do that in a
vacuum. We view it through lenses – eg the lens of our own experience.
Consider the story of the Rich Young Ruler, told by Jesus in Luke 18:18-23
A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No-one is good— except God alone.
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You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not
steal, do not give false testimony, honour your father and mother.’” “All these I
have kept since I was a boy,” he said.When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You NOTES ...
still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven.Then come, follow me.”When he heard this, he became very
sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

· How do you react to this story?

· With whom do you identify?

Themes and Stories

We are going to be exploring the amazing plan of God, revealed in the
Bible, through a series of major themes and human stories.

· Covenant People – Noah, Abraham and Israel

· King and Kingdom – David & Exile

· Prophetic Hope - Justice and New Covenant

· Fulfilment in Jesus – Gospels

· Paul’s Worldview – God’s plan from start to finish

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 Session Impact Form
NOTES ...
How has this session impacted my understanding?

What parts of my character and attitudes have been challenged?

What issues do I need to deal with and pray through?

What practical action / changes can I make, in consultation with my

discipler, in terms of my lifestyle / life?

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