Stage 1: Getting To Know Jesus Stage 1: Getting To Know Jesus Stage 1: Getting To Know Jesus

Think about your favorite story.  It can be anything from your favorite book that you read curled up next to a fire or a Netflix series that you binged on a lazy Saturday afternoon.   Why did you spend your time wrapped up in that story?  Was it funny?  Was it suspenseful?  By the end of the story, did you feel like you really knew the main character?

In the movie Forrest Gump, you meet Forrest as a stranger at a bus stop. As you move through the story, you weep for him as he loses his best friend and his mother.  You get upset when “his girl” leaves him time and time again. You don’t understand why Forrest keeps taking her back until Forrest’s final speech at her tombstone under their tree. 

Stories have the ability to help us get to know others and understand who they are.  Hearing the stories behind a person evokes feelings within us.

Storytelling is a two-way street. When you hear the stories of other people, you seem to understand that person a little better. You understand what makes the other person go, and it gives you a little more insight into who they are. To form a meaningful relationship with someone, you must first learn the story behind the person. Here is where the two-way street comes into play. They also need to hear your story. The Good News is that Jesus already knows your story. He has been watching your story develop the entire time, and He wants to further His relationship with you. He knows you, and now He wants to be known by you.

It's time for you to get to know Jesus. How did he treat people? What did he teach? What makes Jesus tick? How does Jesus fit into your story? Stage One is all about getting to know Jesus through the stories that He left us in the scriptures.