The words of Jesus have an enduring ability to generate interest and even controversy. For example, in John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” For today’s purposes I want to focus on one part of that interesting and controversial statement. Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

In physics we say we have found truth, if we can express it mathematically and demonstrate it experimentally. If anything, the less personal the proof the more persuasive will be the claim to the truth that physics explores. In philosophy we say we have found truth, if our assumptions are valid and our reasoning is sound. But in philosophy the personal begins to make its presence strongly felt.

For example, suppose a philosopher says, “We can be sure something is true only if we can express it mathematically.” That is an assumption, and the philosopher cannot prove it scientifically. It is, in fact, a personal assumption. The personal has entered the search for truth, and it may not be valid.

It enters even more dramatically in law and journalism. Both of them depend on witnesses to ascertain the truth. In fact, the more witnesses they can find that support each other’s stories independently, the more persuasive will be the claim to the truth that law and journalism seek to represent.

Of course witnesses try to tell the truth. They don’t claim to be the truth. But that is exactly what Jesus said about Himself. “I am the truth.” It’s as if Jesus was saying, “I don’t just tell the truth; I am the truth. My union with God is so unimpeachable that when I speak and act, you can count on what I say and what I do to reflect the mind of God at all times and under all circumstances imaginable.”

That is what we Christians believe about Jesus, and it explains something important. Before we have a theology of Jesus we have a story of Jesus. I love the writings of the Apostle Paul. I especially cherish his letter to the Romans. But I am glad theological writing like that is not the only way we get to know Jesus.

I am deeply grateful for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They tell a story. They let us see Jesus speak and act. Their stories bring Him to life for us. Theology can’t do that. It’s too abstract. That leads me to the following conclusion.

The truth that matters most is always personal. Therefore, telling stories is the most effective way to get at the truth that matters most. Most of the Bible tells a story. Most human communication tells a story. Telling stories of faith becomes crucial in the life of the Church. So, today, I would like to revisit three stories in the book of Acts in order to encourage us to be storytellers of faith. Let’s begin with Acts 10.

Telling the Story of Our Faith
All of chapter ten and the first 18 verses of chapter eleven report a milestone event in the history of the Church. The Gentile soldier, Cornelius, believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit without benefit of first becoming a Jewish proselyte. It was God’s powerful signal to the early Church, which was 100% Jewish, that the Church was to open its doors to Gentiles who believed in Jesus. They didn’t have to pass through a Jewish door to get to the Jewish Savior.

This milestone event took place during a face-to-face meeting between Cornelius and the Apostle Peter in Cornelius’ house. Cornelius wanted to hear whatever it was that Peter had to tell him and his household. Acts 10:36-43 reports the story Peter told.

“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

It is worth noticing two features of Peter’s story. First, Peter told in two paragraphs the story later told in the entire Gospel of Mark. It is a summary of the longer story of Jesus’ life. What is interesting is that more than half this summary is devoted to Jesus’ death and resurrection and their aftermath. That is consistent with all four Gospels. Thirty-five to fifty percent of the four gospels tell the story of the last week of Jesus’ life.

Second, this is Jesus’ story, not Peter’s. Peter himself has a minor role in this summary of Jesus’ life. His name does not even appear. Without using any names Peter referred to himself and the other apostles as witnesses of those events in Jesus’ life – in verses 39, 41 and 42.

So, here’s the challenge to us. Without a book open in front of us, could we give a three minute summary of the story of Jesus’ life? Let me tell you what I did to help me be able to do that. I wrote out a summary of the gospel that I could give to someone in three minutes or less. I more or less memorized it, and I have used it on several occasions. Consider doing that yourself.

An important part of telling the story like this is the small part you and I play in it. When I tell my summary of Jesus’ life, I might end by saying, “That’s what we Christians believe. That’s why I believe.” Of course, the person you are talking to may want to hear more about your personal experience, but you will have done your job just to tell the story of our faith and acknowledge that this is what you believe. Personal details become central in the next two kinds of story.

Telling a Personal Experience of God
The next kind of story takes us near the end of the book of Acts. Chapter 27 tells the famous story of Paul’s sea voyage from Israel to Italy. For our purposes it will be enough to read how the story ended in Acts 27:39-44 and Acts 27:23-24.

When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.

By any standard that is just a good story told well. What gives it its Christian meaning is verses 23-24. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” The details of the story show how God made good on His promise to Paul.

Do you have a story of a narrow escape or tender love or paranormal experience or personal failure or memorable meeting or great suffering? – the list can go on and on. Do you have such a story in which your relationship to God played a central role? If you do, can you tell it well? It is worth writing down until you get it right, and it is worth telling. Magazines like Guidepost have made a career out of discovering and printing stories like this. You may never make the magazine, but you have a great shot at making into the heart and memory of an important person in your life.

The Faith Story
The book of Acts illustrates a third kind of story. We call it a faith story or a testimony, or the story of my conversion. Acts has one of the most famous. It is the story of Paul’s conversion and call to ministry on the Damascus Road. The book of Acts tells that story three times – in chapters 9, 22 and 26. Luke told the story in chapter nine. Paul told the story in chapters 22 and 26. Let’s focus on Paul’s version in chapter 26. I want you to notice the basic structure of Paul’s faith story here.

First, in verses 4-11 Paul gives a summary of important past events in his life. Verse five gives important information about his past religious life. “They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.”

In verses 9-11 Paul talks about a part of his past that was painful for him to recall. “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.”

He didn’t recall those days as a persecutor to be dramatic but because it led to the central part of his story, which took place on one of those journeys to the synagogue in Damascus. He tells that story in verses 12-18. Let’s read verses 13-16.

“About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.’”

The third thing Paul did was to tell his response to Jesus in verse 19. “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.” And he sketched his subsequent efforts to preach Jesus to the Gentile world. The fourth thing Paul did was to invite the king to faith in Jesus.

Notice how he did it in verses 26-27. "The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do?” The king got the point. Verse 28: Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

The faith story focuses on how you became a deliberate follower of Jesus Christ. It’s your story. The details are unlikely to be repeated in anyone else’s experience, except that all such stories tell how they all merge into the story of Jesus.

The Pastoral Center of Gravity
The truth that matters most is always personal. Therefore, telling stories is the most effective way to get at the truth that matters most. We have looked at three kinds of story. We can always retell the old, old story of Jesus and His love. Or we can take some important personal life experience in which God was at work and tell that story. Or we can tell the unique story of how we became followers of Jesus Christ. Now, think for a couple of minutes about the power of stories.

First, there is one subject on which you are an authority, and that is yourself. When you talk about that powerful life experience in which God was at work or tell the unique story of how you became a follower of Jesus Christ, you are speaking from first-hand experience. People may or may not believe you, but people will usually respect you. You are the expert on you, and your story carries weight for that reason.

You may feel like you don’t know the Bible real well. Theology may be unintelligible to you. You may even feel like your life is not all it should be. All of that may be true, but you can still tell your story. And you can always retell the story of Jesus. That is not about your knowledge or character; you are simply retelling a story you have come to believe, precisely because it compensates for your ignorance or failures.

Stories are powerful in a second way. When you tell your story about faith in Jesus, it makes faith in Jesus seem more plausible. A person can hear your story and even without thinking may feel in his bones, “If that can happen to you, it could happen to me too.” If the person admires you or looks up to you as a role model, then he or she may want what happened to you happen to her as well.

Why do you think it was important for Michael Jordan to wear Nike shoes? Or for Charleton Heston to speak on behalf of the NRA? You aren’t Michael Jordan or Charleton Heston only because you don’t have a national audience. But you have an audience that warmly admires or at least grudgingly respects you, some of whom you are not even aware of. Your story will have clout in their lives.

Let’s become a congregation of storytellers. You know that I have often said, “There are no dull people. Every person is a hero in search of a biographer.” I know hundreds of your stories, but I can’t tell them; I am bound by confidentiality not to tell. But they are your stories of faith. Write them. Look for the right moments and tell them. If I ask you to tell your story at your baptism or at another time, tell it. It is a gift you have to give. Embodied in your gift is God’s greatest gift to humanity, Jesus Christ.