jacksonwu.org 1 ThePromisesofGodusesthegrandstoryoftheBibletohelppeopleunderstandthe gospelofjesuschrist. Itisnotatypical gospeltract. Thisbookletisspeciallydesigned.Ratherthan highlightafewdoctrinesandprinciples,thepromisesofgodhelpspeople understandhowtheentirebiblefitstogethertorevealgod scharacterandworksin history.afterall,thetruthofthegospelis accordingtothescriptures (Rom1:1 2; 1Cor15:3 4). Thegospelchangesthewaypeopleseetheworld.Ittellsastory,notaphilosophy. Asaresult,wehavetorethinkthewaywepresentthegospel.? HowtouseThePromisesofGod Who is this guide for? Thisguidewasdesignedwithtwopeopleinmind.Ontheonehand,ThePromisesof Godisanintroductiontothegospelfornon#Christians.FormanynonSbelievers,the gospelseemsotherworldlyortoophilosophical.theydonotseehowgodis relevanttotheirlives. Ontheotherhand,thisgospelguidecanbeusedasatooltotrain+Christiansto communicatethegospelmoreclearlyandconfidently.manybelieversdon tshare thegospelbecausetheydon tsufficientlyunderstandthebible.althoughtheycan answerbasicquestionsaboutchrist sidentityandhisministry,theirknowledgeis narrowandshallow. What s different Thinkabouthowpeopleusetraditionalgospeltracts.Frequently,peoplewill distributegospeltractstostrangersbutwithoutanyaddedexplanation.the problemiscompoundedbycommonfeatureinmanygospeltracts.inorderto simplifythemessage,tractsoftenfocusonafewkeydoctrines.theyrarelystress theoldtestament. NonSChristiansdon thaveenoughbackgroundknowledgetomakesenseofthe presentation.asaresult,thegospelcansoundtooabstract. ThePromisesofGodtakesadifferentapproach.Itfocusesonthe+big+pictureso thatpeoplecanbetterseethatgospelproclaimsabiggodinchrist,godentered ourworldandrevealedhimselfinhistory.ourgodisnotdistantorabstract.
Whenpeopleunderstandthegospelasastory(andnotmerelyaseriesof propositions),theybettergraspthefactthatthegospelpresentsanentirely differentviewoftheworld.theyseethatthisgospelisrelevanttotheirlives. Don t memorize. Do internalize. ThePromisesofGodisagospelguide. Peopledon tneedtomemorizeit.ifsomeoneweretoaskusaboutourfamilyorto shareourfamilybackground,wewouldnotneedtomemorizeasetpresentation. Thegospelretellsastory.Naturally,someaspectsofthegospelneverchange; however,wehaveflexibilityinthewaywetellthestory.asa gospelguide,the PromisesofGodhelpspeopletointernalizetheStory. Weareprimarilysupposedtosharethegospel,notdistributebookletsaboutit. Onesmallbookletbyitselfisinsufficient.Peopleneedapersonalexplanation.We needtoanswerpeople squestions.thismeansthatthosewhosharethegospelalso needtoknowthestorywell. Remember the gospel HowdoesthisguidehelppeopleremembertheStory?ThePromisesofGodhasafew featuresthatmakeiteasierforpeopletosharethegospelstory. SIMPLE PICTURES Forexample,eachsectionhasacorrespondingpicturetohelppeoplerememberkey aspectsofthestory.ultimately,thevarioussmallerpicturescometogethertoforma singlepicturethatdepictsthemainpointsinthegospelstory. Accordingly,peoplecouldchoosesimplytorememberasingleimageintheirmind. ThatpicturecontainseverythingtheyneedtoremindthemoftheBible sgrand story.thesesimplepicturescanbedrawninthesandorsketchedonapieceof paper.thepicturesconsistofsimpleshapes,likecirclesandtriangles.youdon t evenhavetobeanartist. (Below,youwillfindasimpleexplanationaboutthesymbolismandsignificanceof theshapes.) jacksonwu.org 2
BASIC OUTLINE ThePromisesofGodusesabasicoutlinetoretellthegospelstory.Theplotis streamlined.thenumberofcharactersisminimized.eachsectionnaturallyflows intothesectionthatfollows.thepresentationtriestolimitthenumberofturning pointsinordertominimizecomplexityyetwithoutcompromisingthebible s fundamentalstoryline. REPEATING THEMES Afewkeythemesareinterwoventhroughthevarioussections.Theyforma commonthreadthatconveysthemeaningandunityofthebible sgrandstory. Accordingly,thosewhouseThePromisesofGodhaveagreatdealofflexibilityin howthesharethegospel.onepartofthestorynaturallyremindspeopleofother parts.inaddition,peoplehavethefreedomtoemphasizeoneanotherthemeas needed.withoneperson,theymayhighlightthefactthatgodisafatherandweare hischildren.withotherpeople,wemightchoosetostressothermetaphors,like honororpurity. Whensharingthegospel,peopleoftenareafraidthattheymustcommunicatethe messageinaveryprecisemanner.iftheyforgetonesmalldetailorlogicalsequence, theywillmessuptheentirepresentation. ThePromisesofGodallowspeopletotellonestoryinawaythatissuitableforallpeople. PICTORAL BOOKMARK YoucanusetheThePromisesofGodbookmarktoguideotherpeoplethroughthe story.bycarryingthebookmarkwhereveryougo,youwillberemindedtosharethe gospel.notonlydoesitequipthechristian,itcanspurconversationwithnons believers. jacksonwu.org 3
1 2 3 Three ways to use The Creator King 1. Train Christians Firstofall,ThePromisesofGodcanbeusedtotrain Christianstosharethegospeleffectively.Aspeople understandthemessage,theywillmorenaturallyand boldlytellothers. 2. Gospel Introduction ThePromisesofGodhastwoformats ashorter presentationandlonger,morethoroughpresentation. TheshorterversionofThePromisesofGodintroduces thebroadstorylineandraisescuriosity.ifpeoplewant tohearmoreaboutthismessage,wecanusethelonger presentation. 3. Evangelistic Study Finally,thefullversionofThePromisesofGodcontains moredetailsaboutthegospelstory.also,itcontainsa numberofquestionstoguidefurtherdiscussion. BelieverscanuseThePromisesofGodtoleadan evangelisticstudy.perhaps,youcouldmeetwith unbelievers4 6times.Eachtime,yourstudytime couldfocusononemajoraspectofthestory. jacksonwu.org 4
Key Symbols Thepicturesgiveabasicoutlineofthegospelstory.Theyaremerelysymbols andreminders.peopleshouldnotfeelrestrictedbythem.rather,theyprovide peoplewithalotofflexibility.yourpresentationsmaybeascomplexoras simpleasneeded. ThefirstsetofpicturessummarizestheOldTestament.Notonlydoesitidentify theproblemsoftheworld,thepictureshighlightthesavingpromisesofgod. Thecirclesrepresentthevariousmultiplegroups intheworld.thehumanfamilyisdividedin variousways,e.g.ethnicity,nationality, economics,gender,language,etc. ThelargercircleforetellstheAbrahamic covenant.godpromisestounitetheworldby blessingallnationsthroughabraham soffspring. ThetrianglerepresentstheMosaiccovenant. Specifically,thetriangleresemblesaTemple,the placewheregoddwellswithhispeople. Accordingly,thispicturesignifiesthefactthat Godmakesadistinctsortofpeople. ThecrownrepresentstheDavidiccovenant.God willestablishhiskingdomforever.god skingwill purifyhispeople(i.e.histemple). ThesmallercirclesremainbecauseGodhasnot yetfulfilledhispromises. jacksonwu.org 5
ThesecondsetofpictureexpresshowGodkeepshispromisesintheNew Testament.TheOldTestamentsymbolsareredrawntosignifyGod sfulfillmentof eachrespectivepromise. Noticetheoverallsequenceisreversed.Thishastwopurposes.First,theorder depictsthewaygodaccomplisheshiscovenants,beginningwithjesusand culminatinginanewheavenandnewearth.second,theresurrectionofchrist becomesthekeytoolforinterpretinggod spromisesintheoldtestament ThecrownrepresentsthefulfillmentofGod s covenantwithdavid.thispartofthestory recountsthelife,death,resurrectionand ascensionofjesusasgod sking. WithChrist sresurrection,god sspiritdwellsin God speople,whoarecomparedtoatemple.the MosescovenantforeshadowedthefactthatGod wouldmakeaholykingdomofpriests,who wouldrepresentgodintheworld. Ultimately,theFatherkeepshispromiseto Abraham.Heblessesallnationsthrough Abraham soffspring,namelychristandhis followers.inthisway,herestoresthehuman familyandcreatesanewheavenandnewearth. jacksonwu.org 6