Hello everyone. I’m Michelle Anthony. Welcome to family ministry conversations. Today’s topic is God’s grand redemptive narrative or for kids—the Big God Story.
That’s what it is. It’s the big story about God’s redemption throughout all of history, and it continues to this day. When we teach God’s Word in family ministry, we want to capture the entire story and we want to make sure that God is at the center of that.
And who better to need the gospel of Jesus Christ than our families in our local churches? Every single family needs the redemption that God offers, and we can find ourselves in this story.
Learning Our Role in The Big God Story
That’s the beautiful part about this. When we present God’s Word as one big story with one main character, then you and I become supporting actors and actresses. And children get to find their place in His big story. Parents get to find their parts.
When God gives us a part in His story, He redeems us. And then as we play our part, we participate in the redemption of others.
It’s a Call to Lifelong Discipleship
When we create a ministry value around God’s grand redemptive narrative and we help kids and parents find their place in His big story, we’re also calling them to a life of discipleship to discover their part in His story and then to play it obediently in the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, this idea of God’s grand redemptive narrative is important not only for their own personal discipleship but also as being part of the big faith community. As we travel through God’s grand redemptive narrative throughout Scripture, we see that time after time after time that God is not looking for perfect people to play a part.
He is looking for people who have willing hearts. And as they play their parts, He redeems them, and He showers His grace upon them. And this is the same grace that we need to live in proximity with one another in the faith community but as well as in our families.
Chronological Teaching Helps Kids
So even teaching Scripture chronologically helps kids and their families identify with the storyline that’s being told. Because if you think about it, the way that we traditionally have taught children’s ministry curriculum is through isolated stories.
And then we somehow hope that they fit them all together and understand why, all of a sudden, the plot line is happening in Persia with Esther or why there are captives in Babylon.
If we understand the story in its entirety, then we can understand the redemption that’s at the heart of that and the God Who is at the center of it all.