God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength (CCC 1).

*The Story

*In the beginning…

*…there was God.

Father SonHoly Spirit

*Out of love God created…

*… male and female He created them

* In His own image and in His own likeness

*They lived in perfect harmony with God and each other

* Asked to till and protect the garden, they are given all trees except one…

*The liar, the father of lies and the trickster came…

* The perfect relationship – the perfect harmony - was lost

* Yet in the midst of all of this, God begins His plan to reunite us in Him

* Even so, man and woman found themselves falling further a way from God and each other…

* God looked upon His people and sought to bring them back to Him

* And with Abraham God made a covenant…

* God asked His people to live in relationship with Him and each other… but they failed

* “Still the Israelites groaned and cried out because of their slavery. As their cry for release went up to God, he heard their groaning and was mindful of his covenant … He saw

the Israelites and knew…”

*He fought them and gave them His law…

* The people tried to keep the law for awhile, but alas they could not…

Israel Serves

the Lord

Israel is enslave

d

Israel cries out to the

Lord

God raises up judges to lead the

people back to Him

Israel is delivered

Israel falls into the sin of

idolatry

* Finally, the people cry out for a king – and God found one whose heart was after His own

heart…

*And when the kings left their

relationship with God and led the people

astray, He called people to lead them back

to Himself

* The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a

New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of

Judah… I will place my law on their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my

people… All, the least from the greatest, shall know me…

for I will forgive their evil doing and remember their sin

no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

*And… God came…

*Breaking through the darkness…

* He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he

humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8).

* Death is swallowed up in victory.Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?(1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

* Now, to bring it to the whole world…“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

(Matthew 28:19)

* “And behold I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20)

*And they went forth…

* And, one day, in a field in Toronto, Canada, these words rang out…

We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.

…and I was in the crowd - listening to those words…

*Join The Story…

*“Behold I stand at the door and knock…”

(Revelation3:20)

*And He will come again…to bring us to our home…