Storytellers who excel at their craft can draw readers or listeners into the worlds they create, using characters and situations to entertain and enlighten us. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, often spoke using parables -- short stories that conveyed spiritual truths. By drawing his listeners into his stories, he unlocked their minds and hearts to hear the truth he was relating to them.
Asked about his style and direction when authoring this book, Keith Hewitt said, "I thought it would be interesting to look at the Biblical passages from a slightly different angle than we might normally see them. Some of the stories are set in the time and place of the passage, others are set in different periods, using different characters--but in all of them I try to humanize the events so that the reader can sense that they're happening to real people. I think this can help them to connect to the meaning of the story."
Some of the stories can easily be adapted as vignettes or monologues, to be performed during worship. Depending upon the age of the students, other stories could be used in Sunday School as alternative texts to get students thinking about a particular passage in different ways.
This book may be used for:
Preaching illustrations
Sermon starters
Stand-alone sermons
Teaching aids
Inspirational devotional reading
Keith Hewitt has a wide variety of experience. Prior to pastoring United Methodist congregations in Wisconsin, he was employed in various capacities at Underwriters Laboratories and several social service agencies.Hewitt holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay and completed Local Pastor Licensing School through the Illinois Great Rivers Conference at Illinois Wesleyan University. He continues his theological studies at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He is the author of three volumes of NaTiVity Dramas (CSS Publishing), Krasnodar Means Beautiful Gift (Kindle Direct Publishing) and has contributed to StoryShare, a component of the online resource SermonSuite (CSS Publishing). He is married to Rachel, an elementary teacher and is the father of Cameron Lucille Hewitt and Andrew Courtland Alexandrovich Hewitt.
