Faith,
One of my favorite quotes comes from Muriel Rukeyser: “The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” So true! The stories we tell, the stories we believe, and the stories we follow direct the course of our lives and the lives of those around us. The stories we believe literally direct the actions our bodies take.
I saw this illustrated every time I stepped to the free-throw line during my high school basketball career. I was good at many things on a basketball court, but I was a 70% percent free-throw shooter at best. Why? Many would say I had bad form, but I know the real problem was the story I told myself: “You’re a horrible free-throw shooter, Kindall. You’re going to disappoint the team again. Doesn’t matter what you do. You are bad at this.” Dribble, dribble, bend the knees, don’t forget to follow through! Clunk, clunk, Ugh! “Sorry, guys!”
Thankfully, I knew then what I know now. My self-worth is not dependent upon basketball or free throws. Your worth and mine are built on far more than our successes or failures. We are children of the King – yet even children of the King wrestle with false narratives. Sunday, we’re going to pause on Genesis for a moment while we stop and take a look at the stories we tell ourselves. I pray that you will join us and bring a friend, because life’s too short to live in a story that isn’t true!
In Christ alone,
Pastor Brad
And here are some deeper dives relevant to Sunday’s message:
Identity in Christ — Tim Keller (8:35)
Image of God — The Bible Project (6:16)
Jesus and the Woman at the Well – John 4 (7:29)
**** There are no sermon notes for this week.