Story is so much a part of faith and belief. Knowing our place in God's story can be a life long quest.Parents, read these stories and scriptures ahead of time so you can paraphrase them when it’s helpful. Also let the kids get into the story by luring them in, “do you want to know what happened next?” or, “we’ll tell the rest of the story tomorrow.” The point of the Christian Lectionary is to string together Bible stories in a way that tell the Big Story (which we celebrate in Advent as The Anticipated Coming King). This is an opportunity to build the imaginations of our kids that they might live with daring hope and generosity as followers in the Way of Jesus.
The continual practice of... artistic speech voiced in the prophetic construal of the Bible is the primary trust of the church and its preaching. This speech prevents our reduced world form becoming brutal and coldly closed upon us. This speech, entrusted to and practiced by the church, is an act of relentless hope; and argument against the ideological closing of life we unwittingly embrace."
walter brueggeman, Finally comes the Poet, pg7