The Christian message is a message of transformation, which can be told in word, but more practically lived out through our lives.
Psalm 71 verse 8: "My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long".
There is an old Hymn, 'Tell Me A Story", the first few verses go like this:
Tell me the Old, Old Story
Of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory,
Of Jesus and His love.
Tell me the story so simple,
As to a little child.
So from those words you can see, The Power of the Story, we should all be conversing with all we can, and living so assuredly, people will wanting to know.
We learn about this great transformation, God's Word. The Word of God is a multi faceted diamond, the more we study and read it the more we grow, in the things Our Lord and Our Friend has for us.
There are many different ways, of sharing the Word, one of the best is through stories, but stories without substance of The Truth of The Word are just stories. Many people have knowledge about religion, Christianity and the Bible. But as the writer to the Hebrews warns, intellectual knowledge is not the same as vital faith. Knowing about God is not the same as having a personal relationship with Our Lord and Our Friend.
Knowing God involves far more than knowing about Him. Information alone does not produce tangible faith. To be sure, right thinking is involved in faith, but faith is more than more knowledge. For example, the recipients of Hebrews knew quite a bit about the faith, such as basic teaching about Christ, The need for repentance and for faith in God and the meaning of being baptized, serving, resurrection and judgement. {Hebrews 6 verse 1 and 2}
The Stories are a good thing, to be used to help lead somebody to Christ. But the stories are not to finish there in our lives, faith works best when it is the central unifying factor in all our lives.
Our Lord and Our Friend must never be just one more story to occasionally acknowledge, rather, He must be the Lord of our lives. Hebrews 6: urges us to take our faith beyond only knowing to being and living and doing.
It is good to be part of a great church {fellowship of people} who can help you grow. Preaching from the pulpit should be more than just preaching at you, good preaching encourages and teaches, even if it is conveyed through stories.
God Bless.
OFJ
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