Story, History, Storytelling for Remembrance
The whole point of this curricular lesson is based on how to tell The Christian Story!
SO WHAT? Getting attention, interest, “buy in”
Watch my story about failure here. [The video was originally done for an IUPUI class this week.]
There is nothing that I know of that has more power than a well told tale. Your ability to tell a story will catapult you forward in business, anywhere in the marketplace. Do a search on storytelling and business and you’ll find an excess of sites. But most often these folks don’t tell you a story; they tell you how to tell a story. So, don’t follow their example. Get your stories ready for the future. And remember to talk about your failures. Everyone fails. They don’t want to hear about your successes before you tell them how you overcame your failures. The key to the Christian view of history is the “failure” of the crucifixion (humanly speaking) and the “success” of the resurrection (from an earthly perspective)
WHO CARES? Relation to student, to community, potential applications
Everyone in every area of life is concerned with communicating their ideas well. Find linked here two articles that will give you direction toward both the power of story and the importance of persuasion.
The Art of Persuasion has not changed in over 2000 years
Why Your Brain Loves Storytelling
I’m not suggesting that you will agree with everything you read in these articles (I don’t). But the common grace, Transcendent principles are the same for all people: “the rain fall on both the just and the unjust alike.” The power of this lesson idea is that everyone in business, for instance, agrees that how you tell your story matters. Learn how to explain your perspective through story.
WHY SHOULD I? Reasons for investing time, thought
Story is a universal communicator. History is essential to the Christian worldview and humans’ view of the world. Storytelling is the fine art of telling a tale that will attract people to The Faith. Think about my story (above). I have been in the lowest of lows. I have struggled. I have gotten knocked down. And I got back up. I got knocked down some more. And I got back up more and more and more. But then I knew that the best thing I could do is tell you one of my stories. Answer the question, “How can my story, anyone’s story, be useful in communicating any idea?”
At MarkEckel.com find the following ideas about “story” in a number of videos:
Worldview Questions Video Series: #10 “History” where I talk about “HIS-story”
Old Testament Overview Video Series: #1 (Canonicity, the Historical Reliability of Scripture is Essential)
We Should Never Forget History but We Should not Live There Either (Minor Prophet Video Series, Haggai #10 introduction, minutes 1-4)
HOW DO I? Ways to be involved
History and Memoir: Writing our own stories so that people in the future remember us
History and Singing: The importance of Remembrance in Song
Families and History: How generations keep history intact
Allegiance and History: Our commitment to a people, place, or idea
The Study of History: We are too close and too far away
WHO SAYS? Authority, standard, influence
Memory is the basis for history. God expects us to learn about Him from the past.
Biblical Basis: Deuteronomy 4:9, 10; 6:7-9; 8:10-20; Psalm 77:10-12; 78:1-8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles” (2 Peter 3:2).
Biblically Integrative History: Hebrews were “whole thinkers”. To the Old Testament mind, the mental act of recall was seamlessly linked with physical action. Remembrance led to recitation leading to public proclamation pointing to a memorial or holiday event. Acting upon statements of truth from the past was to consistently affect believers’ conduct (Deuteronomy 13:1-3; 2 Timothy 1:13-14). Remembering how God has worked in the past should give one confidence about how He is working now and how He will work in the future. God’s working in history reveals His character. Learning from past actions and mistakes can help people avoid repeating those mistakes.
Related Concepts:
- Note that Hebrews and Christians based their concept on historical events contrasting ritual with remembrance (see Matthew 26:27-29; 1 Corinthians 11:26-33).
2,God instructed His people to establish feasts, festivals, and memorials as reminders of how He had worked in their history (Numbers 15:39-40; Exodus 12:14; Deuteronomy 11:18; Joshua 4:7)
3, Memory is the basis for treatment of others (Deuteronomy 5:15; 15:15; 16:12; 24:18, 22; Hebrews 13:7)
4, Memory is the basis for relationship with God (1 Chronicles 16:8, 12; Deuteronomy 8:2; 24:9; Matthew 26:13; Luke 22:19; Hebrews 10:3)
- Reminding is a necessary, ongoing process (Ecclesiastes 1:11; 2:16; Romans 15:15; 2 Peter 1:12-15; 3:2)
- Reminders are the remedy for “forgetfulness” (Deuteronomy 8:11-20; Psalm 106:13, 21; Ezekiel 16:43-63; Isaiah 51:13; Hosea 13:6; James 1:25; 2 Peter 3:5; 2 Peter 3:8)
Attitudinal Objectives:
- When I hear things that we have heard before in home, church, or school I should acknowledge that I need to be reminded.
- God does not repeat Himself in the Bible to hear Himself talk. Repetition is always for my benefit, so that I do not forget. God does not repeat Himself in the Bible, for His own benefit.
- I can be confident about how God will work in the future by remembering how He has worked in the past.
- I should celebrate God’s works from the past so that I don’t forget His goodness.
- Reading and memorizing God’s Word help me learn and remember who God is and what He requires of me
Life Application Activities:
- Interpreting Events: God’s prophets explained why certain events occurred in the past. Using their reasoning as a model, how do we explain why other significant events have occurred? God does not change. He blesses obedience and judges sin. Do we see any parallels between biblical history and current history?
- Notable People: Our society honors many individuals. In what manner are notable people remembered today? What types of people are publicly honored in our society? What do society’s heroes communicate about the values of the society? What biblical criteria should be applied to who is honored? Research the background of our society’s heroes and evaluate them in light of biblical criteria.
- Key Places: What are some important places in our country? How are they distinguished (i.e. landmarks, memorials, statues, towers, special buildings)? Research why these places are important. Why do people feel they should be remembered? Do we have key places of importance in our personal history? How are these places marked in our memory?
- Great Ideas: How are great ideas preserved in our society? What great ideas are valued? Symbols are often used to represent great ideas. Freedom is an important value to most people. What symbols have been made to represent this value? Love is a core value of Christianity. What symbols does Christianity have to represent its core values? What holidays or celebrations do we hold to memorialize the great ideas we value?
- Important Documents: Certain documents represent a change in the course of a country’s history. What documents have influenced the direction of history in our country? How do these documents influence life today? How have different creeds, catechisms, or statements of faith influenced the direction of church history?
- Additional Resources: The Discoverers, The Creators, and The Seekers is a trilogy written by Daniel Boorstin which shed interesting light on history’s most notable individuals. Intellectuals by Paul Johnson critiques famous humanist and atheist thinkers. Web sites such as www.heroesofhistory.com and www.ywampublishing.com have many biographies of Christians in various fields that have made an impact on the past and present. The www.homeschool.com web site has a wealth of information for Christians studying history and other subjects at various grade levels.