“Christian theology is storied theology. It tells the grand narrative about God and God’s relationship with the world, from creation to new creation, with Jesus in the middle.” - Tom Wright
Throughout history, people have understood the world through telling stories. Stories bring framework for understanding reality, exploring what is good (and what is not), who we are, what the purpose of it all is, and where it’s all going. Contemporary society offers a noisy array of competing stories — from the polarised tribalisms of social media to the individualism of a world that invites each of us to constantly re-write our own story. The outcome is a deep sense of rootlessness and a dysfunctionality of soul.
We need to rediscover our Original Story.
The Bible gives us this original story. And yet so many assume the Bible to be nothing more than a book of rules, an interesting historical record, or a scattered collection of wisdom amidst some impenetrable random events. We so often get stuck simply because we have not seen how the whole thing weaves together into an extraordinary whole.
His:Story is a response to this deep need.
It is written for unbelievers and new believers, seasoned disciples and leaders. It is written for groups or for individuals. The aim is to immerse every participant in the comprehensive vision of reality that is found in the Bible, that finds its nexus upon history’s central figure: Jesus of Nazareth. Participants leave equipped to read the Bible with fresh vigour and understanding, and are trained to view the world with eyes that see the constant potential for the inbreaking of God into every ordinary moment.
HOW IT WORKS:
The course is made up of six session, comprised of about 45 minutes of teaching and 45 minutes for discussion. By the end of six weeks, you will be able to give a five minute overview of the story of the Bible, picking out key names, events and themes, and understanding how these all piece together.
The accompanying course booklet is an important part of the course, and contains summary notes of the entire course, Bible study tools, and the timeline overview that is used in the teaching. There is space for your own notes, questions, and insights.
For each session there is some pre-reading, and so we suggest running one session per week, leaving time for reading these key passages in between. This helps prepare for the key themes of each session, and begins to build the habit of daily reading. You’ll find the pre-reading in the course booklet.
There is a small charge for the booklet, which covers costs of printing and our basic administrative costs.
THE SIX SESSIONS
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I. CREATION
The story of a man and woman, created to rule with God, to release blessing and life to the whole planet through their creative interdependence with Him. The story of the breakdown of this core relationship, and ensuing deep pain. And the story of one man, called to father a Son of promise, who in turn would lead a people into restoring the world to its intended glory.
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II. EXODUS
The story of an enslaved nation with deep memories of divine promises. The story of a God who liberates His people, calling them into freedom and vocation, and teaching them how to steward a radically distinct culture of vibrant life in the midst of a wounded world.
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III. LAND
The story of a place, chosen to be a meeting place of heaven and earth, made holy in order that the life of God Himself could flow to all nations. The story of kings, some ruling with God’s heart and in lived interaction with Him, and many who did not. The story of a brief glimpse of glory, with a flourishing people and the nations being touched by God’s own abundant life.
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IV. EXILE
And the story of a people who rejected their God, and in turn became slaves again in a foreign nation. The story of how this exiled people with ancient promises and a distinct identity learned to live differently in their their host culture. The story of extraordinary promises of a coming King, who would restore the world to its intended glory and bring God’s people to their true Homeland.
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V. JESUS
The story of a peasant rabbi turned revolutionary, who brought to fulfilment the promises of the ages, perfected the intended vocation of humanity, and liberated a captive humanity into a people reconciled to a loving God through His death as a criminal, unleashing His world-transforming project of new creation.
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VI. CHURCH
The story of a new people of God, from every culture and language, renewed under a heavenly identity, in an extraordinary new community, with a mandate to bring the reign of God to the darkest corners of the earth. And a story of the most dazzling hope, of a coming world order of cosmic wholeness and abundant life, unto eternal ages untold.
The Author
The His:Story course was written by Chris Mitton, an Anglican church planter in Birmingham, UK. He developed the material after having his own worldview radically transformed when he discovered the single narrative of the Kingdom of God as the unifying theme of the Bible. Chris has spent twelve years developing the material, and views it as essential for contemporary apprenticeship to Jesus of Nazareth.
Chris is married to Lydia, and they have three children. He has an MA in Theology, and is at his happiest when wild camping on a mountain, baking bread, walking the family whippet, or (genuinely), reading the Bible.
INFLUENCES:
The His:Story course is not a new teaching. Rather, it collates some of the best scholarship on the Bible, drawn from theologians and pastors and Christian teachers. It has its roots in a theology of the Kingdom of God (as articulated by theologians such as George Eldon Ladd, or practitioners such as John Wimber), and has developed in interaction with multiple thinkers (including, among others, N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Lesslie Newbigin, Walter Brueggemann, C.S. Lewis, Greg Beale, John Mark Comer, Mark Sayers, Pete Hughes, and Derek Morphew). It teaches how the Scriptures can find a unified whole around the named central theme of Jesus’ ministry: “The Kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15), and articulates how this theme of the Kingdom is a unifying theme across the entire Scriptures that brings cohesion and clarity to the whole.