Bible Blossom - Storyteller's Handbook

14 • B I B L E B LOS S OM S TO RY TELLER ’ S H ANDBOOK

Why Story Matters

Story is the crux of God’s revelation. The Exodus Story 1. First, God acts in history to save his people.

• The Lord calls Moses to the enslaved Israelites (Exod. 3). • He sends plagues against Egypt and Pharaoh (Exod. 4–11). • His people slaughter a lamb at the first Passover, when all the firstborn of Egypt die (Exod. 12–13). • Israel goes out of Egypt (Exod. 13). • The Lord splits the Red Sea and they cross on dry land (Exod. 14). • The Lord destroys their enemies when they try to pursue (Exod. 14–15). 2. As he does these things, he commands the Israelites to retell and reenact these events for future generations (Exod. 12.14–26, 26–27, 13.3–16). 3. Through the Law, the Lord gives the Jewish year as a cycle of retelling and reenacting the Exodus story (as well as coordinating with the harvest cycle). [See facing page.] • Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread – The Exodus • Feast of Weeks – The Giving of the Law at Sinai • Feast of Tabernacles – The Wilderness Journey 4. The story of the Exodus is the crux of revealing himself and forming for himself a people. [See facing page.] 5. Ultimately, ‘God’s Mighty Saving Acts’ amount to his work in Jesus of Nazareth. The story of Christ and his kingdom, the Gospel, is the crux of all God’s revelation. 6. Based on the Jewish year, Christians developed the Church Year as a cycle of retelling and reenacting the Gospel story.