Sacred Roots Workshop

56 Sacred Roots Workshop: Retr ieving the Great Tradi t ion in the Contemporary Church

determination to restore his kingdom rule, anchored in his loving- kindness and covenantal faithfulness. The Lord God is determined to restore his creation and save out of all humankind a people of his own possession forever. God's Story is authoritatively told in the Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit, the same Scriptures which reveal God's kingdom purpose through the covenants to the Patriarchs, the history of Israel, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and his church. Since the coming of the Holy Spirit, this Story of rescue and restoration has been cherished, celebrated, and guarded by the Church through the ages, the people of God, in whose life and faith the Story continues to be told, enacted, and expressed. In all aspects of our life together-our theology and worship, our spirituality and discipleship, and in our service and mission-the Story of God's glory and grace is embodied in us to the world. 1. The Alpha and the Omega . Affirm without equivocation that the triune God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of Jesus Christ, is the Creator of the ends of the earth, whose sovereign purpose and actions in history in Christ is the Story that explains, summarizes, and composes the world. The Father is the author and source of God’s plan to redeem out of the world a people of God’s own possession, and to restore creation to its Edenic glory under the reign of his Son, Jesus Christ. (The Father as Creator, Owner, Ruler, and Covenant Keeper) 2. Christus Victor . From before the foundation of the world, God covenanted to restore his creation, to redeem out of all humankind a people for his own possession, and to destroy the powers and triumph over evil through the incarnation and suffering of his Son for the world. This is the heart of the Story of God. Jesus represents the “presence of the future;” since his coming into the world, the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated, the reign of God is now truly present, awaiting its consummation at his Second Coming. Now, here today, the Spirit of God, the preeminent sign of the Age to come, is present working in the midst of the people of God, and the A. The Trinitarian Perspective: God’s narration of the world