Year of Story Bible Study: The Story of Jesus
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
In Acts 1:8, Jesus calls His disciples to be witnesses. To be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to witness… To tell… To share… the Story of Jesus to the ends of the earth.
Welcome to 2023: The Year of Story. Our focus this year will be on learning and telling the Story of Jesus. A story that many of us have been learning and telling our entire lives. The Gospel Story of Jesus matters, though many of our neighbors here at home and around the world, have not experienced the Good News of Jesus. Those of us who know and live the Story of Jesus have a great opportunity before us to lovingly share the Story of Jesus.
We are the followers of a crucified and risen Lord, and the work we are called to do is always centered in Jesus. And we are centered in Jesus to be sent into the world. The mission of the Northwestern Ohio Synod captures both our call to be centered in the Gospel and our call to be sent into the world. “Sent by the Crucified and Risen Jesus to Make Disciples, Equip Leaders, Strengthen Parishes, and Nurture New Communities for the Renewal of Northwestern Ohio and the World”.
Click here to access our newly released 6-session Bible Study on the Story of Jesus.
Download the study, open (or turn on) your Bible, gather with a group of friends, get outside the four walls of the congregation, to learn and share the Jesus story, to learn and share your story, and to learn and share the story of your community.
But be careful. Be very, very careful, because the Story of Jesus has the power to transform us from who we are, into the people and communities that God longs for us to be.
Blended Ecology
“…if the root is holy, then the branches also are holy”(Romans 11:16b). “that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel”(Ephesians 3:6). In the Letter to the Romans, chapter 11,...
Faith Formation at Home
Dear Friends in Christ, “Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an...
Evening Prayer
Dear Friends in Christ, Jesus said to them again,“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you”(John 20:21). When Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) was published back in 2006, I was serving as a parish pastor at St. John’s, Stony Ridge. We soon started...
It Starts with Small
Dear Friends in Christ, “And again, Jesus said,“To what should I compare the kingdom of God?It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in withthree measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (Luke 13:20-21). It doesn’t always have to be big with flashing...