The Story Continues: A Formation Journey from the Old Testament into the New
A Formation Journey from the Old Testament into the New
By Will Bourne · Bourne Again Media LLC
Between Malachi and Matthew · Bridge Chapters 1–13
The journey of this volume
How do we carry the biblical story into a season of waiting? This bridge pauses between Malachi and Matthew to remember the Old Testament’s formation witness and approach the Jewish world of the Gospels with care. Begin with Bridge Chapter 8’s Scripture readings on lament, faithful allegiance, and responsibility. The volume distinguishes historical explanation from Scripture while preparing us to receive Jesus within the continuing story.
What practice can carry memory and faithful hope through an unfinished season?
What you’ll explore
- Remembering the Old Testament journey
- Honoring Jewish life and the waiting
- History distinguished from Scripture
- Readiness to receive the King
Practices that carry a people
Begin with Psalm 137:1–6, Daniel 3:13–18, and Esther 4:13–16 in your Bible. These passages guide Bridge Chapter 8. They are earlier biblical witnesses, rather than accounts written about the whole period between the Testaments. Read them within their complete books.
The following reading summarizes Bridge Chapter 8, “Faithfulness in the Long Waiting,” with a selected excerpt from the manuscript.
Bridge Chapter 8 reads Psalm 137, Daniel 3, and Esther 4 together as witnesses to grief, allegiance, and responsibility. Each retains its own literary world, and the selected verses invite readers back to the full biblical books.
Will follows lament as truthful worship, refusal as discernment beneath God, and courage as action supported by community. Faithfulness can remember loss and serve endangered neighbors without bargaining for a guaranteed outcome.
The bridge does not treat Jewish history as an empty interval. It distinguishes historical reconstruction from inspired Scripture and honors the communities whose practices carried memory through changing conditions. These readings prepare attention rather than provide a secret map of history.
Practices that carry a people
Long waiting is sustained through repeated practices. Scripture is read and interpreted. Prayers and songs carry memory. Meals, festivals, family teaching, mercy, communal responsibility, and resistance to idolatry shape identity over time.
These practices are not attempts to earn God’s attention. They are ways a covenant people remembers who God is and learns how to live under changing conditions. Formation often survives through ordinary faithfulness before it appears in a dramatic public act.
Will Bourne · From Bridge Chapter 8, “Faithfulness in the Long Waiting,” in The Story Continues: A Formation Journey from the Old Testament into the New
Following Christ through this movement
Jesus enters a Jewish people formed by Scripture, worship, lament, and hope. He rejects false worship, confronts abusive power, and entrusts Himself to the Father when obedience is costly.
At the cross and in resurrection, sin and imperial violence do not receive the final word. Christian courage remains joined to His character: truthful, protective of neighbors, and hopeful without demanding control.
Continue in Scripture
Psalm 137 · Daniel 3 · Esther 4 · Matthew 1
Read these passages alongside the selected manuscript chapter. Keep each literary and historical setting in view while following the biblical witness toward Christ and faithful practice today.
A question to carry
What is pressure asking me to forget or treat as ultimate? Which ordinary practice could help me remember God and care for others?
Stay with one person or situation that comes to mind. Notice what this passage brings into view before deciding how to respond.
Back to section choices ↑One faithful step
Choose one practice that can carry faithful memory this week: read a passage slowly, pray honestly with a trustworthy companion, or share a simple act of care. Let courage grow through wise support and responsibility rather than a need to appear certain.
Back to section choices ↑A prayer for the journey
God of the continuing story, receive our questions and keep faithful memory alive. Jesus, teach us hope rooted in Your cross and resurrection. Holy Spirit, guide our waiting toward truthful worship, wise courage, and care for our neighbors. Amen.
Back to section choices ↑The formation emphasis in this volume
Will’s bridge holds remembrance, historical care, and readiness together. It keeps the Old Testament’s witness alive as readers approach the Gospels, honoring Jewish dignity and distinguishing history from Scripture.
The selected chapter emphasizes ordinary practices that sustain a people. Lament, prayer, shared memory, and responsible courage prepare readers to receive Christ within the continuing biblical story.
Editorial summary of Will Bourne’s manuscript.
Back to section choices ↑