Kingdom Story Telling

A lot of vision has been developing for me out of Psalm 78 lately. It's all about passing on "kingdom stories" to the next generation. Here's an excerpt:

"...I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past- stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders...

so the next generation might know them-even children not yet born-and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands." Psalm 78:2-7


In the Vineyard, we were launched out of a tremendous outpouring of power. The experience of so many in the early days of our movement reads like the pages of the New Testament: sick people got well, demons came out, people encountered God in real ways.

I remember as a teenager and young adult, I latched on to these stories; I was so intrigued.
And in the process of listening to them being told and re-told, something mysterious happened:
I saw the treasure in the field and I knew that I had to give my whole life to this thing.

I had to do all the things Jesus has authorized his followers to do:
I had to heal the sick and drive out demons and take authority over nature, and learn to hear God's voice. And I had to teach others to do the same things.

We saw this happen with groups of teenagers in Kansas City. We'd tell the stories of Jesus and then put them into action. I'll never forget watching skin instantly grow back over open sores, deaf ears opening, a little boy in a wheelchair getting up and walking for the first time, chronic conditions being healed, and powerful prophetic words being delivered- all in response to the prayers of some regular kids who still hadn't finished their homework.

We must never stop telling stories of God at work. It's the first step in the next generations discovering Jesus and His Kingdom, and taking this thing and running with it.

We're about to start this up here in Halifax. I met with some leaders today and in the next few weeks we're going to get groups of young people together, tell our stories and then simply try this stuff out. I have great confidence that God's Spirit is on it.
I'll post more as these things develop.