Story set for Muslims

Again and again I am asked how to share the "Good News" with Muslims using a simple set. This is a suggestion as a starting point. Please remember that you can always adapt such a set to suit the person you are talking to or the target group. If you have half an hour or a whole hour, for example, you can tell them all one after the other. Just as often, however, I only tell one or two stories in several different conversations. You will find all of the following stories ready to download in my handbook "Stories and Oral Bibles". As the numbering changes over time, please go to the table of contents and search for "Story set for Muslims", at the moment it is no. 106
A conversation starts by building a relationship, you get to know each other briefly, talk about Islam and fasting. Then I ask the question: "Can I tell you an interesting story about fasting from the Prophet Isa?" I tell the story in simple German: Two men praying Luke 18:9-14. Many people will know the story under "The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in the temple". Depending on the situation, I use the following as a cover or personal confession: "So I also believe that Jesus answers my prayers for forgiveness of my guilt. What do you think about that?" Or: "I am glad that Jesus sees my heart! How do you see that?"
If there is plenty of time, I will use the following story as the next one "The first disobedience against God Genesis 3:1-24". I emphasize afterwards that because of a single disobedience, the personal relationship with God has been destroyed to this day, even for us humans today. How can I manage to become righteous before God with good deeds?
Then I tell Abraham Genesis 12:1-7; 15:1-6. Lid: I am happy that I have a personal relationship with God, that I talk to him like with a family member. What does that look like in your life? Do you also have such a personal relationship?
Next story: God puts Abraham to the test Genesis 22:1-19. "Who provided the sacrificial lamb?" Muslims almost always answer that the sacrifice was given by God. This is then the template for the next story.
The deliverance of Abraham's descendants by Moses Exodus 12:1-33, Deuteronomy 18:15
Again and again I come across postmodern Muslims who say that all religions lead to God. That's why I have the following lid: only those who were in the house and under the protection of the blood were spared from judgment. It was no use saying, "I am an Egyptian who says all religions lead to God." "Remember, God makes the rules not you. What do you think about that?"
Now comes the Message of Hope Isaiah 52:13-53:12. A very brief summary of this story is recommended here. Again the question: What do you think about it?
As the last or penultimate story I use Jesus' baptism Luke 3:1-3, 10-22 Matthew 3:7-9, 13-15, John 1:29. I end the story with the cover: "I believe that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of God who died and rose again as a sacrificial lamb for my disobedience, just as our common prophet Jachia (Arabic name for John the Baptist) said. What do you think about this?" You have to realize that this can come across as a serious provocation. Here you can see who is a seeker and who is not.
I use as a finish: The story of the prodigal sons Luke 15:11-32
Lid: "I believe that God welcomes us like a father welcomes his son. What do you think about this story?" Due to time constraints, the second part of the story about the second son can be omitted.
I always use stories to filter out who is really interested in spiritual conversation. "Who is seeking?" Anyone who has listened so far may find it worthwhile to spend a lot of time with more stories.
All stories are formulated in my manual and come with lots of tips. Especially for a storyteller with not so much experience, it can be worth learning and retelling a story every week.
I will also be introducing more story sets in my next blog posts, so it's worth coming back to the blog. A warm invitation to my Training in German and English.

The church and people with disabilities

During my training sessions, the participants always work on a story set for their particular context. These story sets are always a personal highlight for me, as I am often very richly rewarded and discover many new treasures in God's Word. A story set consists of 4-10 stories, which are either told one after the other or build on each other visit after visit. What does this look like in practice? Physiotherapists working somewhere in Asia took part in a training course. Disabled children or adults are considered a disgrace and are often hidden away. As a result, they do not receive the support they actually need. These physiotherapists travel to the villages and visit the families. Depending on the disability, they perform exercises or treatments and teach the parents how to repeat them. Afterwards, they sit together for a cup of tea or usually for a meal. During each visit, they tell one of the stories from the following set:

Creation of the world Gen 1-2 Possible conclusion: All people are created in the image of God, including people with disabilities.

The first disobedience against God Genesis 3:1-24 Focus: Through the disobedience of man, suffering also came into the world.

David and Mephibosheth 2 Samuel 9:1-13 Focus: King David has given all the land back to a severely disabled man and Mefi-Bosheth is a daily guest at the royal table.

Jesus heals a man born blind John 9:1-9 Possible conclusion: "The purpose of disability is not punishment for individual sins, but the glory of God."

Seeing the weak Luke 14:1.7-14 Focus: Jesus sees the suffering of the weak.

The story of the prodigal sons Luke 15:11-32 All are welcome with God, even people who are supposed to be a disgrace or shame.

The African Acts 8:26-39 Focus: The eunuch was castrated and becomes a follower of Jesus.

My personal favorite story from this set is David and Mephibosheth 2 Samuel 9:1-13

After David became king, he thought of his deceased friend Jonathan, the son of the former king Saul. David began to find out if any of Saul's family were still alive. He was determined to keep the promise he had made to Jonathan to do him good. One of his servants remembered that one of Jonathan's sons, Mephibosheth, was still alive. When he was a child, his nurse had accidentally dropped him while fleeing, and since then he had been paralyzed in both feet and could no longer walk. King David had him brought to him from a town some distance away. When Mephibosheth arrived at the royal court, he bowed before King David. David reassured him: "You needn't be afraid. Your father was my best friend, and I want to do you good. I will give you back all the fields that belonged to your grandfather Saul. You will eat at my table every day as my guest. Mefibosheth bowed again and asked: "What have I done to deserve this? I am worth as little as a dead dog." Then King David publicly declared, "I give all the possessions of King Saul to his grandson Mephibosheth.” King David treated Mephibosheth very well, even though he could have killed him. And so Mephibosheth ate with King David every day. This is a true story from the Holy Scriptures. Possible lid: What I like about this story is that King David treated a disabled person like a royal child.

Think about the effect this story has on parents who have only ever heard it: Disabled children are a disgrace and shame.

In future blog posts, I will also present a story set from time to time. You can find all the material in my handbook "Stories and Oral Bibles" under https://www.fivefingerfood.org/en_us/download/. As my handbook continues to grow, I can only give the current page page 171, but this will change. Otherwise look in the table of contents under "The church and people with disabilities". The photo is from https://www.freebibleimages.org, a free super resource for Bible photos or drawings.