What’s Your Story? // Sermon by Blaque Nubon

“So what is your story? That’s a loaded question! But I think most of us, if we’ve lived more than two decades, we’ve found ways to give a very truncated version of our story. Enough of the good, enough of the bad, enough of the ugly – so that whoever we are conveying our stories to may get a good sense of who we are and what we’re about.

We’ve all found ways to give a very truncated version of our story.

What’s Your Story?

But I think there is a risk here. There is a real possibility that we might be tempted to think that that’s all there is to our story. Whatever it is that we’ve come to understand and we tell over and over as we speak to other people. Especially when we meet new people.

Filling Your Pages With Jesus

Yet if God is king, and he is sovereign, and he wills that we live past even Coronavirus and all the craziness that’s happening, that would mean that there’s still empty pages in our story. Pages that can be filled with hope, with love, with good things. Pages that can be filled by and with Jesus. And I hope that today might be that turning point for you. That your life – and the rest of the pages in your story – may be filled by Jesus, with himself.”

If your story hasn’t been connected with God’s story, today may be a turning point.

What Is A Christian?

In this sermon Blaque Nubon looks at the life of an imaginary Afrikaans man named Kobus. What’s his story? Well, Kobus has attended church ever since he could remember. He was baptised as a child and confirmed as a teenager. He did missions as a teen and has likely read the bible cover to cover. But Kobus is not a Christian… even though he thinks he is.

Listen to Blaque as he looks at three kings in the bible to show how Kobus, and people like him, are sadly travelling down the wrong road.

Text: 1 Samuel 15:17-24

Date preached: 27 September 2020

Location: Christ Church Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Transcript

Good morning family. A special and warm welcome to those who are joining us for the very first time. You’ve probably seen somewhere on this screen my name is Blaque – one of the youth workers here at Christ Church Midrand.

I have the privilege of opening up God’s word for us this morning. To hear God’s story and how God’s story really informs all other stories. And not just inform them, but give them shape, meaning; give them purpose, give them sense.

Connecting With God’s Story

And as you’ve seen with the two stories that we’ve watched today: Christina and Taz’s story – I hope that you were encouraged. I hope that you were encouraged to know that God is working. And God is doing great things in people’s lives. And how he gets those stories of those particular individuals to make sense and to have purpose and to have meaning in light of His story.

So I hope that if your story hasn’t been connected with God’s story, that today may be a turning point. In fact, you find us at a very special season in our church calendar, where we want to pay extra attention to you and give you extra love as a visitor. And there’s no other better way we can do that, than to tell you about who Jesus is.

Opening Prayer

So would we bow our heads – wherever we are – that we may ask the Lord to be with us today as we hear him speak to us. Really pray that he may help us listen. Let me pray for us.

Lord, thank you so much for your word. Thank you that you are the greatest storyteller of all time. And that Lord your story is the most important story. And I pray father, that as we hear you speak to us today, through your story, that you may help us to listen. That as we listen our story may start taking shape, form, making sense, and having true eternal purpose.

So I pray father that you may help all of us – myself included – that I may be attentive to your word as you speak. In your name I pray. Amen and amen and amen.

Getting To Know You

Again we are delighted that you are with us. Whether you were invited by a friend, dragged to somebody’s house to watch this, or you are part of a watch party – I nearly said a search party! A watch party, or you stumbled over us on the internet Again, we are delighted that you are with us.

We’d really like to get to know you and your story as you find out more about our story as a church, again in light of God’s story.

So, What’s Your Story?

So what is your story? That’s a loaded question! But I think most of us, if we’ve lived more than two decades, we’ve found ways to give a very truncated version of our story. Enough of the good, enough of the bad, enough of the ugly – so that whoever we are conveying our stories to may get a good sense of who we are and what we’re about.

But I think at the same time, in us finding I think these helpful ways of very truncated versions of our stories, we might be tempted to think that that’s all there is to our story. Whatever it is that we’ve come to understand and we tell over and over as we speak to other people. Especially when we meet new people.

Filling Our Pages With Jesus

But if God is king, and he is sovereign, and he wills that we live past even Coronavirus and all the craziness that’s happening, that would mean that there’s still empty pages in our story. Pages that can be filled with hope, with love, with good things. Pages that can be filled by and with Jesus.

And I hope that today might be that turning point for you. That your life – and the rest of the pages in your story – may be filled by Jesus, with himself.

Introducing Kobus…

So today what I want us to do is just run through a particular story. And this is the story of a middle-aged Afrikaans man

Blaque Nubon is a Christian hip hop artist and producer of City Gate Recordings. Blaque also works as a youth pastor at Christ Church Midrand, South Africa, and is married to Lilly Million.