God Redeems and Restores Our Stories

God Redeems and Restores Our Stories New study guide helps participants reconnect with God and each other   Everyone has their own unique story—a way of weaving together past experiences and relationships with current joys and sorrows to make sense of their lives. When we live our stories without looking to the master Storyteller, it’s easy to become lost and confused. In Restore: Changing How We Live and Love, Study Guide with Leader’s Notes (New Growth Press/September 14, 2020), pastor and author Robert K. Cheong helps readers reconnect with God and remember where their help and hope comes from. Scripture describes God restoring the health, relationships, hearts, and souls of his people, and he chose an unexpected tool to make himself known and to show how he restores. He uses stories. He does the same for his children today, using our stories. “Your story can keep you from knowing and experiencing God,” explains Cheong. “Restore shows how God reframes and redeems your story as you live in his story. You will also see how God restores your soul as you abide in the love of Christ, freeing you to love God and others.”   Changing deeply held patterns of living and loving happens as we find our place in God’s great story and learn to trust his love and care for us. In Restore, Cheong shows that because we have been united to Christ, we can draw near to God, enjoy his love, and live with new patterns and life rhythms. This thirteen-week study guides participants through creating their own storyboards that will connect them to God’s overarching story and help them to rethink, reframe, and move forward. As participants share their stories, complete response activities, and learn to meditate on God’s Word, they will reconnect with God and reignite their love for him and others.   “If you are distracted by the struggles and demands of life, God wants you to be swept up by his glory. He wants you to find rest and relief in him,” Cheong writes. “If you are consumed by the wickedness, injustice, and sadness of your story, God wants you to shift your gaze toward Christ so you can see how your story is consumed and transformed by his big story of relentless, redeeming love.”   While each participant should read and complete the lessons on their own before meeting together, the Restore study guide is intended to be used in group contexts—discipleship, community, or ministry groups—whether in a local church or on the mission field. Members of the group will get the most out of the content by sharing their reflections after each lesson. Processing out loud with others always brings insights or makes connections that may have been missed when working through the material alone. God created his people to experience life in community with one another, and members of the group can learn from each other’s stories.   Dave Harvey, author and president of Great Commission Collective writes, “Beautifully simple, clear in flow, and practical in application, this small group resource by Robert Cheong will help us connect to God and each other. Fine-tuned by years of pastoral wisdom and group expertise, Restore helps us see how grace reframes our story and delivers God’s power for change. If you want to connect deeply with others around rich content for reflection and discussion, you’ve got the right tool in your hand!” Restore: Changing How We Live and Love Study Guide with Leader’s Notes by Robert K. Cheong September 14, 2020 / Retail Price: $19.99 Print ISBN 978-1-645071-09-9 Religion/Christian Ministry/Counseling & Recovery

About the author

Robert K. Cheong, PhD, serves as the Pastor of Care at Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, KY. He has a passion for helping the church to be confident in Jesus, and he is the executive director of Gospel Care Ministries, which trains leaders in churches, networks, and mission organizations for discipleship and care in community.   Cheong also serves as a Sojourn Network Strategist in the area of care and as a Council Member for the Biblical Counseling Coalition. He is the author of God Redeeming His Bride: A Handbook for Church Discipline and Restore: Changing How We Live and Love.   He enjoys life with his wife, Karen, their grown children, and their adorable grandchildren.   Learn more about Robert K. Cheong and Gospel Care Ministries at www.gospel.care, Facebook (@gospelcareministries), Twitter (@GospelCareMn) or Instagram (@gospelcareministries).