Flashback

Introduction to Flashback

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Welcome to Flashback - a completely unique Bible storying set, designed to begin and end each story with Jesus. In the middle of each story there are relevant "flashbacks" to the Old Testament which help to understand more about who Jesus is and provide a broader Biblical worldview.

This book is a tool you can use for evangelistic small groups, a Bible study to help Christians develop a Biblical worldview, for your personal reading, or as a gift to a friend.

Thanks for your interest!

Jesus and the Snake

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One of the most famous stories in the Bible happened when a man named Nicodemus came to Jesus at night to talk to Him privately. He was a Pharisee, so he most likely wanted to talk to him privately to avoid being seen by others. The first thing Nicodemus said to Jesus was, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him." (John 3:2)

After giving Jesus a compliment, he was probably surprised at Jesus’ response: "I assure you," Jesus said, "unless someone is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Since Nicodemus had never heard the phrase “born again,” it wasn’t surprising that he was confused. He replied, "How can anyone be born who is old? Can he enter his mother‘s womb a second time and be born?"

“Jesus answered, "I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again." (John 3:5-7)

If you don’t understand what Jesus is talking about here, don’t feel bad. Nicodemus’ response was, "How can these things be?" Again, Jesus was very direct in his answer. He said, "You‘re Israel‘s teacher and you don‘t understand these things?" (John 3:10) Perhaps Jesus knew that Nicodemus’s greatest obstacle to understanding the truth of salvation was that he would no longer be able to trust the things he thought he knew. In order to come to Jesus, it requires faith, a life of simple trust in Him, and nothing else. All of the laws that Nicodemus was following (and sometimes failing to follow) could not save him. He needed to be “born again” spiritually.

In order to explain how faith in Him would need to be shown, Jesus pointed to a story about Moses. He said, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life." (John 3:14-15)

FLASHBACK

Since Nicodemus was a scholar of the Old Testament, he already knew this story about Moses – the man God used to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. When God delivered them, He performed some incredible miracles that displayed both His power and His faithfulness to His chosen people. Because Pharoah would not let the Israelites (his slaves) leave, God sent ten different disasters on them until Pharoah finally let them go. After the Israelites left Egypt, Pharoah changed his mind and went after them with his army. Just when it looked like they were trapped in between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, God split the waters apart and let the Israelites cross on dry ground – but when the Egyptian army tried to go after them, God let the waters close back up so that the entire army drowned!

Even after these amazing events, there were many times that God’s people worshipped idols instead of Him and complained about how God wasn’t taking care of them. During one of their journeys, ―they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!‘" (Numbers 21:5) Can you imagine that? Even after all God had done to show His love and care for them, they accused Him of leading them to the desert to die!

So what was God’s response? He sent poisonous snakes. All of the sudden, they were constantly coming across dangerous serpents and many people were bitten and died. It must have made them paranoid! Everywhere they stepped, every time they laid down to sleep, and every time they sat down to rest, they were on the lookout for them. Finally, they came to their senses and confessed their sinful attitude to Moses and begged him to ask God to take the snakes away.

God listened to their prayer, but He didn’t take the snakes away. Instead, He chose to come up with His own solution – as He often does. His directions were confusing, but simple. God told Moses to tell the people to make a snake out of bronze and put it on a pole. Then, if anyone is bitten, they can simply look at the bronze snake and they would not die.

We can guess that the Israelites would have rather had God simply get rid of the snakes. Wouldn’t you? After all, they were still poisonous snakes all around them! They could still be bitten and there were probably many who were still very scared of them. The only way they could have any peace at all was if they genuinely believed that God would actually heal them if they were bitten. All they had to do was to have faith that God would do what He said and look to the snake on the pole.

BACK TO JESUS

When Jesus said that He would be “lifted up” like the bronze snake, He was talking about the cross on which He would die. When He was crucified, He was taking the deserved punishment for the sins of the world on Himself. It’s as if we were in a courtroom judged guilty of a major crime and about to receive our sentence of spending our entire lives in prison and all of the sudden Jesus showed up and offered to take the punishment for us so that we can go free.

It’s only when we know the story about Moses and the bronze snake that we can truly understand the most famous words in the Bible. In John 3:16, Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish (go to Hell), but have eternal life."

Our response to what Jesus did, however, is very important. If you believe that you are basically a good person who doesn’t have many sins to be forgiven, you probably won’t look to Him for forgiveness. Instead, you will be like an Israelite who, after being injected with poison, refuses to look at the bronze snake on the pole.

But if you realize that we have "all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and have been injected with a poison called “sin”, then you may react as the Israelites who were bitten and had faith in God. Believing His words, they simply looked to the bronze snake and lived. In a similar way, we can look to Jesus on the cross and avoid the worst death of all – eternal separation from God (Hell).

Your life on earth will change as well. You can experience what Jesus called being “born again.” For those who place their faith in Jesus as both their Savior and Lord, they have the peace that death is not final. . In the same way that the Israelites no longer had to fear the snakes, we have the assurance that death will only lead us to Heaven. We also have the joy of knowing that our lives have purpose and that doing God’s will and loving others gives us meaning in life.

Discussion Questions:

1. Who was Nicodemus? Why do you think he wanted to talk to Jesus alone?

2. What did Jesus say that confused Nicodemus so much? (“born again”) What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “You must be born again?”

3. Who was Moses? What are the main things that Moses is known for?

5. Imagine that you were an Israelite during this time. After the bronze snake had been made and put on a pole, would you still be afraid of the snakes? Why or why not?

6. What does it mean to trust in Jesus to be forgiven instead of trusting in your own goodness?

FOR USE IN GROUPS

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If you would like to use this in a group setting, there is a leaders guide/appendix at the end of the book. I can also provide the pdf file of the leaders guide and other helpful materials as well.

In general, it works best if one leader begins the session by telling the story in their own words - except for the direct Bible quotes. If you have a projector available, I can send you the power point slides which contain these specific scriptures. They serve as both an outline and a visual tool to let others see that you are not making up the story! I can also send you the pdf version of all the stories. Each story can be printed on one page, front to back, and given to the group. It also contains the discussion questions. Newcomers can take this home and review the story even if you don't have a book to give them.

After the story is told, the larger group can split up into smaller discussion groups - using the follow-up questions provided. Feel free to add your own questions to adjust to your specific group.

Here is an example of the leaders guide/appendix from chapter four. It is mostly designed to help people answer the discussion questions - since not everyone is going to automatically know where I'm going with each question.

1. Who was Nicodemus? He was a Pharisee – one of the main parties of religious rulers who placed a great deal of emphasis on obeying both the laws in the Old Testament, but also a lot of laws not in the Bible. Why do you think he wanted to talk to Jesus alone? This is an opinion-based question, really. He probably didn’t feel free to talk to Jesus in public for fear of other Pharisees.

2. What did Jesus say that confused Nicodemus so much? “You must be born again” was the main thing that confused him. What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “You must be born again?” It means that we are so dead in our sin that what needs to happen to us spiritually is the equivalent of a new birth. We can’t rely on working harder or getting better. Jesus is also telling him that he can no longer trust in anything that he has known previously. Everything has to start over and it begins with Jesus being in charge.

3. Who was Moses? What are the main things that Moses is known for? He was God’s chosen leader to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. He led them across the Red Sea on dry ground as Pharaoh’s armies were pursuing them. God gave Israel the Ten Commandments through him.

4. Even after God delivered the people of Israel from Egypt by sending ten disasters and the miracle of walking across the Red Sea, they still had times of disobeying God. How do you think could they possibly do that? Possibilities: 1. They forgot what God did. 2. They panicked when things didn’t seem to be going well. 3. Temptations were just too strong. There are other possibilities, but it basically comes down to the fact that we are sinful. Throughout Israel’s history this continued to happen even though God led them to the Promised Land. Israel’s history in the Old Testament is proof of man’s sinfulness and that fact that we can’t be saved by obeying the law. No matter how hard we try, we always eventually fail.

5. Imagine that you were an Israelite during this time. After the bronze snake had been made and put on a pole, would you still be afraid of the snakes? Why or why not? This is an open-ended question designed for your personal reflection. Personally, I would probably still be afraid of them because I don’t like snakes. After all, they’re still poisonous snakes. However, the amount of peace I could have would be in direction proportion to the amount of faith in God’s promise to heal me if I were bitten. If I had trouble believing God, I would be paranoid and extremely fearful.

6. What does it mean to trust in Jesus to be forgiven instead of trusting in your own goodness? For Nicodemus to be forgiven for his sin, he must give up hope of ever being good enough to earn salvation by obeying religious laws. The law was given to us as a mirror that reveals our sin – not as a means to save ourselves. When we acknowledge our sin before God and express faith that Jesus died for our sin, we are trusting in Him instead of our own goodness. We aren’t telling God that we deserve Heaven because of our good works. As Ephesians 2:8-9 makes clear, we can never earn our way to God. We must simply trust God with our lives and believe that Jesus paid the price of our sin.

HOW TO PURCHASE

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If you would like a copy of Flashback, you can buy it by a check or use PayPal.

FYI: I can only ship to the continental US.

TO PAY BY CHECK:

Please send to the following address. MAKE SURE YOU WRITE "FLASHBACK" IN THE "FOR" SECTION OF THE CHECK!! Make the check out to "David Parks"

David Parks

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Chapter 7

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JESUS IS I AM

Jesus was often in arguments with the religious leaders of His time. One of the reasons for this was that He consistently emphasized people‘s need to listen to and obey Him. Other teachers would only say that the people needed to follow God and the law God gave them. Jesus, however, taught as if His Word was equal to God‘s. One time, in the middle of another argument, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." (John 8:51) The religious leaders must have been thinking, "How can he act as if people can have eternal life by obeying him? Why didn‘t he say God’s Word instead?!" They actually accused Jesus of being demon-possessed!

Then they brought Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, into the conversation. "Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our Father Abraham?" (John 8:52-53) They didn‘t understand what Jesus meant when He said "he will never see death," but they definitely understood that Jesus was claiming to be a higher authority than all others before Him. Then they asked Jesus the best question of all: "Who do you think you are?!" (John 8:53)

Before Jesus answered it, He added to their anger by saying, "Your Father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. He saw it and was glad." (John 8:56) Because Abraham was born nearly two thousand years before Jesus, this created an obvious problem for them. "You are not yet fifty years old,‘ the Jews said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham?!‘" ( John 8:57) Jesus‘ next response answered both of their questions at once. It was also the most shocking statement He could have ever made to them.

FLASHBACK

Abraham‘s great grandson was a man named Joseph. During the time of Joseph and his father Jacob, a great famine in the Land of Canaan caused them to move to Egypt. At first it was a time of great blessing. The Pharaoh (King) of Egypt treated them well and Joseph had a great position of power. As the years passed on, however, the new pharaohs did not remember Joseph and began to treat the Jewish people very badly. The Jews became slaves and remained in this situation for 400 years. God‘s people thought they had been forgotten. However, the number of Jewish people grew so much that Pharaoh was afraid they would become too powerful. His solution? He gave orders to kill all Jewish baby boys as soon as they were born!

A Jewish woman who had just given birth a baby boy was so scared for her child that she made a drastic decision. She put him in a basket, placed the basket in the Nile, and let her child float down the river directly towards the daughter of Pharaoh. Although she recognized that he was a Hebrew (Jewish) baby, she had compassion on him. The baby‘s sister, who had been watching him float down the river, approached Pharaoh‘s daughter and asked her if she wanted a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. She agreed and the baby‘s sister quickly went to tell her mother the good news. The mother became caretaker of her own child in the palace of Pharaoh! The boy‘s name was Moses.

Although people knew Moses was a Hebrew, he still remained in the Pharaoh‘s family and grew up as a prince. It wasn‘t easy, however, since he had to watch his own people suffer. Moses could have chosen to just live a selfish life, enjoy all of the power and pleasure being offered to him, and forget about his people. He didn‘t. One day he saw an Egyptian beating a Jewish slave and became angry. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Eventually, Moses realized that the Jews knew about it and that it was only a matter of time until Pharaoh also found out. So he ran away from Egypt to a place called Midian.

After Moses got married and went on with his life in Midian, the Jews began to cry out to God and ask to be delivered from slavery. God heard their prayers. He also remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After 400 long years, events began that would eventually lead them to freedom from Egypt.

One day while Moses was watching his father-in-law‘s flock of sheep, he saw a bush on fire, but it wasn‘t being consumed by the flames. Then God called out, "Moses, Moses!" and he replied, "Here I am." "‘Do not come any closer,‘ God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.‘ Then He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.‘" (Exodus 3:5-6) God explained that He was going to send Moses back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, that He would display His power as He freed His people, and that He would use Moses to lead them to the land that He had promised Abraham.

Although God promised to be with him, Moses still had an important question. ―Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?‘ God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.' God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.‘"

(Exodus 3:13-15)

"Yahweh" is the Hebrew word which we translate "I Am" in English. It was the most holy of all the names of God. "Yahweh" implied that you can‘t really give a good enough name to God. You can‘t put the Creator of the entire universe in a box. He existed before us and He will continue to exist long after the world is over. This name was so holy, even during the time of Jesus, no one would say this word out loud. If someone audibly said "Yahweh," he could actually be stoned to death!

BACK TO JESUS

This is how Jesus answered the question about who He was. "I tell you the truth, ‘Jesus answered. "Before Abraham was, I Am." (John 8:58)

Not only did Jesus have the courage to say the word audibly, but He used it to refer to Himself! There were only two possible reactions to such an unbelievable statement: Believe Him or kill Him for blasphemy! They picked up stones to kill Him, but Jesus hid Himself and was able to get away from the area of the Temple.

Reflection Questions

1. How long were the Jewish people in slavery in Egypt?

2. What does the story of baby Moses tell us about God? Does He seem to have a plan or is it all up to us?

3. What did God tell Moses at the burning bush? Why did God tell Moses to remove his shoes?

4. Why was it confusing when Jesus told them that Abraham 'saw his day'?

5. Why was the name "Yahweh" so important? What does it teach us about Jesus that He used it to refer to Himself? Would anyone who is not crazy or lying say this about himself?

Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

THE BABY IS THE CREATOR

The birth of Jesus occurred in a very unusual way. His mother, Mary, lived in Israel in the town of Nazareth. She was a virgin and was engaged to a man named Joseph. Before they were married, an angel appeared to her. When he appeared, she was frightened both because it was scary and because she didn‘t know why an angel would visit her. But the angel said not to worry because God was going to give her a great honor. He said that she was going to be pregnant and have a child that would be very important, the "Son of the Most High."

This was confusing to Mary and she asked how this could happen. After all, she was a virgin! The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.‘" (Luke 1:35) In other words, without having sexual relations with her, God was going to somehow just make her pregnant!

Now this was both good and bad news. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be causing Mary a lot of problems. Can you imagine telling your fiancé you‘re pregnant and having to say something like, ― But it‘s okay… because it was God who made me pregnant. You see, an angel appeared to me and told me it was going to happen!‖? To make things worse, they lived in a very religious society where getting pregnant outside of marriage was a huge scandal.

Apparently Joseph didn‘t believe her since the Bible said that he would divorce her (The pledge to be married was more formal than most societies, requiring an official divorce to end the engagement). This must have been devastating for Mary. At least Joseph still cared enough about her to go about it quietly so that he could reduce the amount of public disgrace she would endure. Fortunately, God changed his plans: "After he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.‘" (Matthew 1:20-21)

During this time in history (somewhere around 4BC to 0AD), the Romans ruled the entire area of the Middle East, as well as other parts of the world – including Israel. Caesar August, the Emperor, made everyone return to their hometown so that they could take a census of the empire. This meant that Joseph had to go to Bethlehem and take his fiancé with him – even though she was about to give birth! "So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:4-7) So Jesus was born in a barn and placed in a feeding trough, most likely filled with hay, which was used to feed the animals because they couldn‘t find a place to stay.

FLASHBACK

Actually, Jesus isn‘t the only person ever to be born without the usual male and female sexual relations. This takes us back to how God created the earth and how He created the first man and woman. The first sentence in the Bible says that, ―In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." He also created day and night, the sun and the moon, water and land, and plants and animals. After this He created mankind. As a matter of fact, everything and everyone has been created by God.

―Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.‘ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26-27) He created Adam from the dust of the earth and breathed life into him through his nostrils. He made Eve from one of Adam‘s ribs.

While we don‘t have a specific explanation in this story regarding what it means to be "created in the image of God," there are a few things from the rest of the Bible that help us to understand. First of all, the Bible clearly and adamantly teaches that there is only one God, the Creator of everything. Although we are created in His image, we are NOT God. We will not become a God. We are not part of a life force made up of all things that is called "God." We are created by Him and separate from Him. But what "in the image of God" does mean is that we are special in His eyes. He loves us. It also means that we are different than the animals and other parts of creation in a significant way in the eyes of God. The Bible makes it clear that He wants a relationship with us. It also means that we have the ability to make choices based on a knowledge of good and evil.

The first man and woman created by God were Adam and Eve. They lived in a beautiful garden in a place called Eden, had a perfect relationship with God, and had an incredible life. All their food was provided for, there was no disease, and they had absolutely no problems with their relationship with each other – no fighting! Eventually things didn‘t go well because they actually rebelled against the only command God had given them. Because of their rebellion, people have rebelled against God ever since. That is why we have so many problems in the world. We‘ll talk more about that in our next story.

God knew that people would not be able to save themselves from the problems they caused, so from the very beginning He was planning a way for this perfect relationship with Himself to be restored. As a matter of fact, one of the four books about Jesus‘ life begins by saying this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-3; 14) From these verses, we know two very important truths. First of all, when it says that the ―Word became flesh," it was saying that God became man. That‘s who Jesus was – God in flesh and bones. Also, when it says that ―through Him all things were made," we know that Jesus was actually involved in Creation! Go back to Genesis 1:26. "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image.'"

The Bible makes it extremely clear, as we have already made clear, that there is only one God. The Israelites believed very strongly in this. All belief in other gods was condemned. And yet the word God uses for Himself here is plural - "let us make man…"

The explanation for this is the Christian teaching of the Trinity. We could talk forever about this teaching, but to sum it up, we can just say that the Bible teaches that there is one God made up of three distinct persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. So while we are learning the story of Jesus‘ birth, we now know that He already existed way before this. After all, He is God.

BACK TO JESUS

So it‘s really an amazing thing that Jesus was born in a barn – not in a castle. It‘s perplexing that God didn‘t choose a princess for this huge event. Also, after Jesus was born angels appeared to a group of shepherds who were watching their flock of sheep during the night. Shepherds! Being a shepherd wasn‘t exactly considered a position of honor, yet God considered them important.

This is what happened: "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. (Luke 2:13-16)

The way the birth of Jesus happened was God‘s announcement that He loved all men and women in the world. He didn‘t care about their race, social status, how much money they had, or how they looked. He wants all people to have a relationship with Him. The good news of Jesus starts with the fact that all men and women have chosen to sin against Him – the bad news. The Bible also makes it clear that we can‘t possibly earn our way to God. Our sin is too great and it separates us from Him. That is why, when we couldn‘t make our way to Him, He came to us!

Reflection Questions:

1. How was the world created?

2. Why did God say, ―Let us create man in our likeness?‖ Does the Bible teach there is more than one God?

3. What difference does it make that we are created "in God's image"?

4. Is it wrong to eat meat? Why or why not?

5. Why was Jesus born in a barn? Why did God send angels to shepherds?

6. Why did God create Adam and Eve?

7. Why did God have to come to us instead of us trying to reach out to Him?

Preface

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Our lives are filled with flashbacks. Painful losses in the past drive athletes to future victory. Our best vacation experience draws us back to re-live great moments. Bitter breakups make people wiser in their dating lives or they become increasingly jaded from the many layers of anger and betrayal. Vivid lessons our parents taught us become embedded into our lives and serve as a foundation for raising our own children. No one can understand who we are without understanding our past.

The same is true for understanding Jesus. His “past,” however, doesn’t begin with Mary. That’s where it gets complicated. It’s also where the Old Testament becomes an absolute necessity for us to even begin to grasp who Jesus is.

People like to learn about Jesus, but often they don’t like to study the Old Testament. Jesus’ stories are engaging, amazing, and attractive across cultural lines. It’s fairly easy in many cultures to gain an audience by telling about His amazing life. Without a basic understanding of how Jesus relates to the Old Testament, however, they will simply fit Him into their own worldview. Hindus will believe in Jesus as another one of their millions of gods. Buddhists will simply see Him as a great man whose example should be followed. Some will see Him only as a great prophet. And non-religious Westerners will just see Him as a good moral teacher. All of these things are true, of course, but Jesus’ claims about Himself go much further. These claims must be seen through the eyes of a first-century Jewish worldview that had been shaped by millennia of interaction between Yahweh and His people.

There are two general approaches to teaching through Bible stories. The first is to start with the Old Testament and tell the stories chronologically. This ensures that people will have a Biblical worldview, but it takes a long time to get to Jesus and the Gospel. The other approach simply skips the Old Testament altogether in order to get to Jesus faster – leaving large worldview gaps that inhibit a fuller understanding of Jesus. This is why I wanted to write Flashback.

These stories begin and end with Jesus. In the middle, however, there will be flashbacks to Old Testament stories that provide for a fuller understanding of the climax of the New Testament story. This isn’t exactly a new way of storytelling. Movies and novels have used this approach for a long time. Perhaps none have made it into such an art as the hit show Lost. It was while thinking about this show that the idea behind Flashback was sealed. The life of Jesus is told chronologically, but the Old Testament flashbacks are not in any particular order. A simple timeline is provided at the end of the book.

As you read the stories, I’d like for you to try to find yourself in them. Are you the Pharisee? The “sinful woman?” The disciple boldly proclaiming the Gospel? The soldiers that flogged Jesus? The man eating the fruit? The boy facing the giant? Or maybe you’re all of these. My prayer is that you will begin to see the Bible as so real and the stories so alive that they will serve as “flashbacks” to your own life story; and that you will find your identity in Jesus as much as your own family history. I hope that you will have a greater understanding of the biggest question of all – “Who is Jesus?” – and experience a greater compulsion to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

There are several ways this book can be used. It was written to be used as a weekly Bible study to introduce students in Southeast Asia from radically different worldviews and religious backgrounds to Jesus. We tell the story first in our own words and then discuss it in small groups. I’d like to give a special thanks to Candis Garner – she was the first to use the stories and gave me valuable feedback and encouragement to continue it.

Flashback can also be a tool for Christians to have a fuller understanding of both who Jesus is and the big picture of God's Word. Feel free to read each story in the Bible! I've provided many references for you to find them.

David Parks

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ……………...……………..………………………....................… 4

Chapter 1: THE BABY IS THE CREATOR ...…….….......…..…….. 7

o New Testament: Birth of Jesus

o Old Testament: Creation

Chapter 2: ADAM FAILED. JESUS WON. ..………..........………. 14

o New Testament: Temptation of Jesus

o Old Testament: Temptation of Adam and Eve

Chapter 3: JESUS IS WHO ISAIAH SAID HE WAS ......…..….. 19

o New Testament: Jesus begins His ministry

o Old Testament: Isaiah and his prophecies

Chapter 4: JESUS AND THE SNAKE ……………………...........…. 24

o New Testament: Jesus and Nicodemus

o Old Testament: Moses and the bronze snake

Chapter 5: JESUS AND JONAH: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES ......... 30

o New Testament: The Sermon on the Mount

o Old Testament: Jonah and the big fish

Chapter 6: GREAT FORGIVENESS AND GREAT LOVE ...…....... 37

o New Testament: Simon and the sinful woman

o Old Testament: The Ten Commandments and the

Great Commandment

Chapter 7: JESUS IS I AM ………………….……..….……............…. 44

o New Testament: Jesus claims to be ―I Am

o Old Testament: Moses and the burning bush

Chapter 8: JESUS WILL RETURN …………......……................... 50

o New Testament: Prophecies from Jesus, Peter, and John

o Old Testament: Noah

Chapter 9: JESUS IS THE LAMB …….…………….........…....….... 57

o New Testament: The Crucifixion

o Old Testament: Abraham and Isaac

Chapter 10: THE KINDGOM OF JESUS …….……….…..........…... 63

o New Testament: Great Commission and Pentecost

o Old Testament: King David

HISTORICAL TIMELINE ………...…………............…………....….…. 69

Flashback

Introduction to Flashback

Jesus and the Snake

FOR USE IN GROUPS

HOW TO PURCHASE

Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Preface

Table of Contents