4 weeks helping students understand what God might be up to in their story. Your story is far from a straight line. It takes twists and turns for good and, unfortunately, for bad. As hard as it is to admit it, most of us need help navigating our own stories. When life leaves us upside down and spun around, it’s hard to know which way to go. We need a redirect. And that’s exactly what we find when we’re seeing through the lens of the gospel.

Video Messages Included

Week 1 (Romans 11:36-12:2 NLT)

Intro: As hard as it is to admit it, most of us need help navigating our own stories. When life leaves us upside down and spun around, we need a redirect.

Truth: God works all things together for His glory. And throughout the complex and tumultuous history of the Israelites, God was working to bring about the New Covenant through Jesus. So in response to God’s active involvement in their sometimes not-so-great history, Paul calls the God’s people in Rome to be living sacrifices to God. Sometimes our stories won’t go the way we want them to, but it’s important we know God is actively involved, and that He intends all things for His glory.

The Point: God redirects even the worst parts of your story for His glory

Week 2 (1 Peter 5:8-10 NLT)

Intro: When bad things happen in our story, sometimes it seems like good aspects of our personality are stolen from us, and in the aftermath of our suffering, we’re left wondering if we’ll ever get them back.

Truth: When Peter wrote to a group of 1st century Christian dealing with suffering of their own, he encouraged them to stand guard against the enemy, who likes to take moments of suffering and blow them up into something bigger and more destructive. In fact, our suffering can actually be a good thing for us in Christ. In suffering, we share in God’s glory. Because when God restores and strengthens us after suffering, we’re better and God is glorified.

The Point: What the enemy steals, the gospel can restore and give more

Week 3 (Hebrews 9:9-12 NLT)

Intro: When the consequences of our own mistakes throw our story for a loop, we usually want to look to God for help. The problem is, because our mistakes often leave us feeling like we’ve broken something in our relationship with God, turning to Him doesn’t feel like much of an option. So we try trivial religious things to fix it.

Truth: That’s exactly what the Old Covenant Israelites did. And after hundreds of years of trying to fix spiritual problems with physical rituals, the Israelites were gifted with the Great High Priest, Jesus, who secured our redemption forever with His blood. So we don’t need to try to make it up to God in the aftermath of our mistakes.

The Point: Stop trying to fix what Jesus already has

Week 4 (Response Time)

Summary: God not only uses the truth of the gospel to redirect your story; He also uses other people sometimes. Your story matters, and it’s a story worth sharing. Your story matters, and it’s worth sharing. Because maybe you’ve been through what someone else is going through. Maybe God has shown you what someone else is looking for. Maybe your strength is someone else’s weakness. And maybe all of that is true in reverse.