"You are the stories that you believe." Tim Keller used this phrase to make the point that stories transmit beliefs and assumptions in packageable sizes. Our culture has many such stories. We don't necessarily call them beliefs but rather say, "This is the just the way things are." They are everywhere in societies today—and are much more influential on our lives that we might think.

In fact, just as fish are unaware of the water in which they swim, we can be completely oblivious to the narratives that surround us. Think about it for a moment. Every culture has provided answers to the fundamental questions of life that tell us why we are here (for happiness), what is wrong with us (we aren't being true to ourselves), what will put us right (achieving our authentic identity), how this will put us right (by being free), and how we can do this (by using power to get our freedom).

Christians are just as affected by these faulty cultural narratives as everyone else. Even some devout followers of Jesus find parts of the Bible implausible because they've unknowingly absorbed secular narratives that conflict with biblical teaching. They have not engaged, challenged, or dismantled those underlying narratives, and so those stories continue to misshape their understanding of the truth.

In Stories We Live By, Michael Keller—son of the late Tim Keller—draws on research collected with his father to identify seven of the most prominent hidden cultural narratives in our world: identity, power, freedom, morality, truth, happiness, and progress. Michael explores what we can affirm and appreciate about each narrative, based on what the Bible tells us and what we must reject. Only then can we see how Christianity offers a more complete story that fulfills our deepest longings.

SESSION OUTLINE

Session 1: The Problem with Cultural Narratives

Session 2: Narratives of Identity and Power

Session 3: Narratives of Freedom and Morality

Session 4: Narratives of Truth in Our Modern Age

Session 5: Narratives of Happiness and Progress

Session 6: Christianity's Surprising Counter-Story

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