SUNDAY SCHOOL LADY
Let’s dive right in.
Genesis is a long book with 50 chapters that’s divided into two parts. The first 11 chapters make up part 1 – covering “Primeval History.” Pastor Paul – what does that mean?
PASTOR PAUL
The word “primeval” comes from two Latin words meaning “first” and “age.” So “primeval history” is the story of the “first age” – it’s the story of what happened first.
PHIL
All great stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Now, the beginning tells us the “who” and “where” – who is our story about and where does it take place? The beginning section of a story usually ends with an event that changes the world for our characters – that turns their world upside down.
For example, our story might be about a little fish and a daddy fish living in the bottom of the ocean. At the end of the beginning, a terrible event happens and the little fish is captured and carried away! Does that story sound familiar?
Now, the middle of a story is where the characters try to make things right – try to fix what was broken in the beginning.
IAN
And the END of the story is where they roll the credits so we can count all the stunt men and best boys.
PHIL
Actually, the credits come AFTER the end of a story. The END of a story is when we find out if the characters’ efforts worked–if they can make their world whole again. If the daddy fish can find his son, and they can be together again. We love stories like this because deep down we know that we are IN a story like this.
