Bible Blossom - Storyteller's Handbook

242 • T HE S TO RY OF G OD I N C H R I S T : T HE F ULLNESS OF T I ME

St. Francis of Assisi (Italy, twelfth to thirteenth century) Preach the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16.15) St. Francis rejected a comfortable life and embraced suffering and difficulty for the sake of the Gospel. Men and women across history have accepted the calling of God to a life of prayer and prophetic witness to the world.

Martin Luther (Germany, fifteenth to sixteenth century) Not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1.16) Martin Luther stood against Church leaders who abandoned the Gospel in favor of money and power. Reformers have always called the Church back to the Lord and back to her true identity.