God grows His church by growing people.

1. Introduction God grows His church by growing people. God grows His church by growing the people and preacher in worship.

2. Overview of the Day Devotional Narrative Preaching Zach and Liz Working Together Final Thoughts

3. Devotional

4. Narrative Preaching A Definition Narrative preaching is the sacred art of telling the Biblical story in such a way that it remains both true to the expository study of the text and relates directly to the needs and interests of the hearers.

5. Narrative Preaching 12 Reasons for Narrative Preaching 1. The Bible is full of stories. 2. Jesus used stories in His preaching and teaching. 3. We live in a post-literate age. 4. We live in a movie, story telling age. 5. Stories are interesting and easier to preach. 6. People remember stories. 7. Story explains deep truths and difficult topics.

6. Narrative Preaching Reasons for Narrative Preaching 8. Both children and adults love stories. 9. “Telling the story” in the media. 10. The Bible is not a theological book but a story book. 11. Lends itself to a more conversational style of preaching. 12. Uses the imagination in a sanctified way.

7. Narrative Preaching 5. Principles of Narrative Preaching 1. The story must be true to the text. 2. Stories are based on the theological not the literal understanding of the text. 3. The human aspect of the story is often emphasized in order to draw the hearer’s attention. 4. The best stories are inductive in nature. 5. Narrative preaching is easier to show than tell.

8. Zach and Liz

9. Working Together Get in your groups and discuss: What are your ideas and plans for preaching three weeks from now. Discuss your worship and sermon ideas and how you can utilize the narrative approach.