Jesus tells us that the evil-dominated world proclaims an influential but untrue story about God, humanity, and the purpose of life (John 15:18–19, 16:8–11). In recent years, the influence of that untrue story has increased dramatically in our culture, resulting in an epidemic of disregard for God, self-centeredness, and failure to thrive. It is not an exaggeration to say our only hope is found in the one, true story of God’s redeeming love for humanity and his promise to make all things right in Christ Jesus (Col. 1:15–20). A thin, overly-simplistic, or individualized “picking and choosing” knowledge of God and his story will not survive in today’s hostile-to-faith environment–we all know people who have fallen away from faith. We need the big picture of the truth not only for our own formation but also so that we can walk wisely with others.

One Story will combine sermons, group discussions, and memorization. Kids, students, and adults will all engage the same subjects and Scriptures each week to facilitate multi-generational conversation and learning. We have created a One Story Journal to keep with you for sermon note-taking and using in group discussion.

• A weekly sermon/teaching will expound the central events and themes of each “chapter” or section of the story through Scripture.
  
  
• The group discussions will focus on core questions and answers that emerge from applying each “chapter” of the One Story to the pressing faith issues of today. So, for example, a sermon on Genesis 3 and “The Fall” of humanity would be paired with group discussion around the nature of sin and how the Bible’s account is so different from today’s cultural view of morality. Importantly, these discussions are not so much focused on teaching as discovery–by asking questions, good facilitators will “draw out” more than “pour in” as participants discover what they are presently believing and how God’s truth might help them be “transformed by the renewing of the mind” (Romans 12:2).
  
  View the One Story groups available for you to journey through One Story with this Fall.
  
  
• Memorization: Finally, in keeping with the historic Christian tradition of catechesis, we are challenging everyone to memorize three key texts: the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostle’s Creed. If it is true that our identity is rooted in our memories, then what we memorize creates an incredibly important part of who we are.