A Narrative-Missional Catechism

Another section (Q.6-8) added to my effort at a catechism.  Responses?

A Narrative-Missional Catechism (Q.1-5)

The Big Picture

1.    Who is God?

God is what God does.
God (fore)sees Shalom (Father);
God shows us Shalom (Son); and
God shapes us into people of Shalom (Holy Spirit)

2.    What does God’s Shalom-Dream look like?

God and his creatures living together on this creation,
    with the creatures serving as God’s royal representatives
protecting and nurturing creation to its full flourishing
.
3.    What went wrong?

Against all reason and even possibility,
humanity said to God in no uncertain terms: 
“You are not the boss of me!”

4.    What happened next?

Losing our connection with God we tumbled,
    individuals, families, and societies crumbled, and
    in our care for creation, we fumbled.

5.    What did God do?

God called Abraham and Sarah as parents of a great new family of promise:
    God would bless them, and through them, bless every nation.
    Thus God will redeem his errant creation to his Shalom-dream.

The Great Pattern

6.    The Great Pattern

From creation to consummation God acts according to a repeated pattern.
The pattern:  God graciously delivers, deploys, and disciplines his people,
and repeats this pattern until his purposes are achieved.

7.    The Ex-Files
This pattern is Exodus to Exile to Exodus to Exile . . .
finally ending in the great Promised Land of God’s new creation.
This macro pattern ties God’s story of pursuit of his Shalom-dream together.

8.    The Rex-Files

Within the Ex-Files is embedded the Rex-Files.
The earlier part of the Ex-Files hints and points to this Rex
but his coming as Jesus of Nazareth gives them their content and goal.

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