How to use these stories

The following stories are meant to help people of all experience levels know how to tell the gospel as a story or as a series of sign studies where you reference the Qur’an. Since they are so similar it is easy to put them on the same page with the optional material. For example, each title has an option. Those telling a story can say “the story of Adam and Eve” and those who are doing a sign study can say “The Sign of Adam and Eve”.

However, even for those who do not feel comfortable using the Qur’an we recommend at least reading what the Qur’an says about each story so you can be more informed about what your friend already understands.

From there we recommend using these in the following way:

The Story: In using this information we have found it to be easily understood by our friends when we tell the story first and then tell the meaning so we just focus on one thing at a time. For the story section, just stick to the basic elements of the story. It is all to easy to get into lots of details that we don’t really need, but this can be counterproductive. The more information we give the greater the chance that our friends will find something to disagree with which will make it harder for us to get to Jesus as soon as possible. For example, in telling the story of Jonah we don’t need to talk about how the Lord caused the vine to grow and then caused it to die. Muslims have their own version of this, so we don’t need to get into details about whether God sent the vine or Jonah went to Nineveh first. Focus only on the main points and move on. Sometimes despite our time gets cut short due to our friend getting an important call or other friends stopping by, so don’t assume you have time for too many details. Each story section is written to hit the important points and move on quickly.

Meaning: Although our friends have likely heard the story before, they have almost certainly not heard the meaning like we share it. The meaning is basically “where is why this old story matters for us today” so this part is where they learn the bulk of each new spiritual truth. For this reason we try to keep everything simple. No need to look like a Bible scholar or anything, but just show them what the stories teach us.

Main Point: Repetition is a great way to learn, so I find it helpful to state each main point clearly even if you have already said it. Some stories, like Adam, are a bit lengthy so a good summary help is very helpful.

Optional use of the Qur’an: As said, this can be skipped, but I still highly recommend at least reading it as I believe some will be surprised how useful the Qur’an can be.