A story has five basic but important elements. These five components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. These essential elements keep the story running smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader can follow. There are some who argue that other components are also critical, like tone, theme, and point of view. But we ask our listeners to accept these initial five as the basic building blocks of any good story.
We use the five components to examine the book of Acts, the fifth book of the New Testament. And we conclude that this book is unfinished. How it ends is up to us. Scriptures referenced include Acts 1:14-39; Acts 4:5-22; Acts 5:1-10; Acts 2:36; and Luke 20:17.
Matthew 28:19-20 famously records Christ’s command to make disciples, and do so through baptism and teaching people from all nations to embrace all the...
John Mark is originally recruited by Paul and Barnabas to go on missions with them, but he deserts them and quit during the first...
Today we play an episode from August, 2021. In Mark chapter 1, Jesus begins calling disciples. He follows a first century tradition in which...
