Patterns of community

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Preface

Patterns of community

[Bible ref: Hebrews 10:23-25]

After decades of learning the Bible and church history, I could see the pattern of how the everything connected all the way from Genesis to Revelation and to all of church history, past and present. In preparing this project, all those patterns were reinforced in ways I never expected. One of the patterns that we see from the beginning is the use of stories. God is complicated and we are complicated, and we find that stories are sometimes the best way to explain everything from who God is to who we are.

To best understand the complications of who God is and who we are, this book is best processed in a small group setting so that we can work our own ideas with the ideas from other people. Furthermore, in our Western culture which prioritizes individuality, we sometimes find it hard to see the significance of the Biblical texts being addressed to the church rather to individuals within the church. We can better understand the texts if we can grasp that aspect.
Lastly, as we study the Bible, we need to remember that the goal of any Bible study is not to love the Bible but rather the One who gave it to us. That means, though, that we should love the church, which is Christ’s Body, Christ’s assembly of believers whom He loves.

And that love is not just an emotion or an idea, but a lifestyle of joy and self-sacrifice, receiving and giving, caring in word and deed, engaging with an interdependent community and with God in a dance, the Kingdom Dance, participating with God in restoring the Kingdom, turning the mourning of a broken world into the joy of a reunited heaven and earth.

Reflections – The Life Map exercise

The first step to see how our life’s story fits into God’s story, is to take the time to see how God may have already been working in your life. Plan on at least a half hour for this exercise.

Brainstorming:

Use only single words, short phrases or quick sketches to make these lists. Jot these items down as they come to you.

  • Make a list of significant things (events, people, places, etc.) in your life. People may include family members, influential people, teachers, authors, or influencers. Places may include where you’ve lived, places you’ve visited, places you want to go. Events may include family life and traditions, marriages, divorces, education, church, social organizations, jobs, or hobbies.
  • Make a list of successes or failures. These can include things that delighted you or disappointed you, relationships, things that you’ve done or things that have happened to you.

Rearrange the items in these lists in chronological order. Take some time to think of how God may have directed you in the midst of your story and talk to him about it. Think of how you would tell this story to other people.

There are other resources on the internet about make Life Maps:

Revisit in the future: As you work your way through Dancing in the Kingdom, you may want to further reflect on or revise your Life Map.

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Author: transcendenttouched

I have been teaching the Bible to children and adults for over twenty years. I have also been involved in various church leadership roles for many of those years. I've written an anthology of my first 40 years of writing poetry in my book, Growing.

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