I don’t think that I could ever wrap the “Story of God” into a nutshell, so thankfully, Jesus did it for me.

Take some time to read Matthew 22:34-40 as Jesus summarizes the Law and the Prophets, which is basically everything that we have talked about in the Story up to this point in time. If your looking for an even deeper reading into the Story this week take a look at Matthew chapter 5 as Jesus confronts the religious community about their hypocrisy and need for them ditch “religion” and live out of a heart that loves God and loves people.

Perhaps no word in the English language is more watered down than “love”. It conveys an idea, but the actions behind the idea are really nebulus. Let’s consider a few questions as we gear up for our dive into God’s Story in a “Nutshell”.

What exactly does it mean to “love”? What does “love” look like?
Why is love able to sum up the “law and the prophets?” What does that mean?
What does that tell us about the law and the prophets? If they are summed up with “love” what was their purpose?

Here’s a key one:
If this is Jesus’ summation of His message, why is it that Christians are not KNOWN for their love? What are we known for and why?
What would it take for Christians to be known worldwide as people who LOVE?

Above is the video of the silent sermon this past weekend. You can find the audio introduction to this sermon here. (Please be patient as the video is 25mb and will take some time to download depending on your connection speed.)

Credit for the original concept and much of the content goes to Rob Bell and Mars Hill.

After 400 years of silence, perhaps God felt that Israel was ready to listen once again. Out of this silence steps a prophet (John the Baptist) with a message of repentance and renewal. There is something about those two words that go hand in hand.

Do you find it hard to ask for forgiveness?
Which feeling is better, holding off asking for forgiveness or the feeling you have after it is over with?
Have you ever gotten something off of your chest (in a positive way)? What was the feeling like afterward?
Do you associate repentance and renewal in this way?

Symbols often give things deeper meaning, both in the Jewish culture of the New Testament as well as within our culture. We are surrounded by symbols.

What are some of the symbols of repentance and renewal that come to your mind? (They can be both Biblical or non-Biblical symbols)

After 70 years of exile, God moves among the foreign nations to allow the nation of Israel to return to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is rebuilt and then (after working so powerfully to make Himself known to His people)…silence. 400 years of silence. No prophets. No word from God. God is silent.

Have you ever experienced silence from God?
Has His silence ever frustrated you?
Why does He not speak more clearly? Loudly? For all to hear?
Wouldn’t God be “more effective” if His voice was louder? Obvious?

More than 1 billion people world wide – 20% of the planet’s entire human population – lack access to clean, safe drinking water. According to the United Nations, this world water crisis leads to the death of more than 4,500 children every year and is a leading cause of poverty, disease, and social instability world wide. In many communities around the world, women and children must walk up to 6 miles a day to retrieve clean water for their families.

On March 22nd, there is a World Water Day Walk in Seattle. Some of us from the Pathways community will be going to participate in supporting the cause. It is a 2.8 mile walk around beautiful Green Lake Park.

If you would like to be a part of this, comment and we’ll make sure you’ve got the info. For more about World Water Day, check out www.worldwaterday2006.org.

The beauty of God’s story is that it is honest. It does not paint life as beautiful when it is not. It does not allow people to be something that we cannot. It is honest and sometimes honesty is painful.

The prophets lead us to a time in the story of God’s people that is hard. The people continue to push away from God and finally…God let’s go. He uses a foreign nation to remove His people from the land He has promised them and send them into exile.

Our stories are filled with hills and valleys. We prefer the mountaintops, but life rarely stays there very long. Why valleys? Why pain? Why sorrow? Why struggle? Why are we quick to celebrate on the mountaintop, but quick to hide in the valleys?

Can we learn without valleys?
Can we have joy without sorrow?
Can we know God without knowing an absence of God?
Can we know selflessness without knowing selfishness?
Can we truly live without truly dying?

Read through Jeremiah 29:10-14. Tucked within this passage is a commonly claimed promise from God; however, it’s message is one we don’t often desire. God is telling Israel, “I am going to keep you in the valley (exile) for another 70 years.”

Share your thoughts with us as we allow God’s story to speak into our own.