Issue 42 The epistlesBlog | Big story, little story
Big story, little story
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 15.03.25
One of the keys to effective preaching is combining the Bible’s big story, which runs from creation to new creation, with the ‘little’ stories of our individual daily lives. If we focus only on the grand narrative of God’s glorious purposes in creation and salvation it can leave us awestruck but make zero difference to our behaviour at work or home.
I t may even demotivate us by giving the impression that we play no real part in God’s cosmic purposes. In contrast, if our preaching is down-to-earth, pastoral and practical but unrelated to the great themes of scripture it can easily descend into self-help, banal truisms or legalism.
The bigger picture
Great preaching is like the best movies: there are universal themes of good vs evil with plot developments to carry us along, but there are also relatable characters we identify with. Think of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Harry Potter or even Toy story or the Marvel Universe. We can zoom in to close focus on our own ‘little’ story within the wide-angle scenery of the big stories.
In the New Testament’s shorter pastoral epistles, we see this dynamic at work. For instance, Jude addresses a very local issue of ungodly interlopers in a particular church yet relates it to the big story of God’s love (v1), salvation (v3), God’s past acts in history (5-11), judgment and eternal life (14-23) (see pages 29-31 for a longer treatment). Philemon is an appeal to forgive and free an individual slave, Onesimus, based on the big picture of the unity, freedom and love we share because of Christ’s saving work (see pages 36-38)
Creation and climate anxiety
So, how does all this link to creation care? Simply this: the Bible’s big story begins and ends with creation and can’t be understood fully without it. Christians have often simplified the story to ‘fall and redemption’, or ‘sin and salvation’. But what precedes sin and the fall? A good creation! And what is eternity all about? Creation restored, and all of it – human and nonhuman – worshipping God! The Bible’s grand narrative is not just good news for people, it’s about God – Father, Son and Spirit – whose mutual love overflowed into a world of beauty, diversity and interdependence.
