BEYOND HAPPINESS, part 2: "Sparking Joy"

In an Instagram, Facebook, snap-twit world, the pressure is on...to have yourself together, to always be at your best, succeed, win, shine and smile, to be happy.  It is an alluring goal but one that alludes most of us much of the time.

Last week we discovered Jesus lived an emotionally rich life, never scared of negative feelings, yet never giving in to living according to them.  This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright explored how He did that and what it might look like for us to live as Jesus did, beyond happiness.

BEYOND HAPPINESS, part 1: "How to Deal with How We Feel"

Life presents us with many ups and downs, problems and celebrations, regrets, disappointments and successes...all kinds of reasons to experience a variety of emotions.  What would life be like without feelings?  Flat, dry, bland - lifeless.  Yet, our emotions can present us with a real challenge as well - how do we deal with how we feel?  

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright began a new series - "Beyond Happiness" - by considering the ingenious way Jesus approached his emotions which both empowered and enriched his life.

 

COMMERCIAL SUNDAY - 2019

In 2008 it would have cost a company 2.7 million dollars to purchase a 30-second advertisement during the super bowl. This year, just 11 years later, the price is doubled. For a measly 30 seconds, it will cost organizations 5.2 million dollars to tell the world why their product is the best. That is what 30 seconds of our time is worth...  But are we really paying attention?

This week at the gathering Paul Knapp and some fellow Storyliners parlayed some of the best commercials over their years with their story, and hopefully, uncovered the secret beauty behind the art of advertisement. 


UNEXPECTED POWER

So much about life is unexpected, right?  Death and taxes are the only thing that is certain.  For some God and faith is a certainty, yet Jesus presents a God and a faith that is anything but!

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright continued our exploration of the Unexpectedness of God and how it just might be our way toward an Unprecedented Life.

FROM DUTY TO DELIGHT

Happy New Year!  2019 sounds like the year a science fiction film begins, doesn't it?  Well, like it or not this is where we are.  The question is, WHO are we gonna be this year?

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered the shocking call of God about who we need to be, and who we get to be, this year.  

WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS

Merry Christmas! 
We know the holiday all too well.  It is a two-edged sword for a lot of us.  But history is a very, very different story than the holiday.  Believe it or not, the history of Christmas has everything to do with our future - if we'll let it.
This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering, Mike Gathright compared the holiday and the history of Christmas and consider which one can have a bigger impact on our real everyday lives.

FACE IT, FIGHT IT

Sometimes you can have everything right and still, not much happens.  You can believe the right things, avoid the wrong things and still feel stuck?  How can that be?

When people approached Jesus with questions like this He always pointed them in one direction - their own heart.  This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright explored Jesus' invitation into humility and courage as the spark that engulfs us in the abundant life God and His Grace promise.

BOLD AND HUMBLE, DREAMER-SERVANTS

All religions entice us to hope.  What differentiates one from another is what they are hoping in - and what they are hoping for.  Jesus introduced a brand new way of hoping, never seen before, never even dreamed of before...and though this invitation got him killed, it can give us Life!

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright continued our exploration of hope and how it is may be the key to the Abundant Life Jesus promised. 

THE SECRET TO GROWTH

"Hope is a dangerous thing.  Hope can drive a man insane." Red, The Shawshank Redemption.

Have you ever thought about that?  How dangerous hope is, how careful we are about it?  Jesus showed up inviting us, enticing us - to hope.  It is not an invitation to take lightly...and we don't.  We often hedge our bets in all kinds of ways. 

This Sunday morning at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright began a new series on hope and why it is so dangerous and so critical.

BIBLE, Part 8 - Weak or Lovely

Maybe you have noticed - life is often a struggle.  What we've been we've been seeing this Fall in our exploration of Genesis is the bible doesn't deny this Reality...in fact, it is inviting us to face it and move forward anyway.

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright concluded our series on Genesis by looking at a story that brings all of the stories before it together and sends us out into the future with hope.



BIBLE, Part 7 - Too Big to Fail

Too big to fail.  We all remember that promise.  How'd that work out?  The American banking system is not the first time mankind has misplaced our trust in something we created.

This Sunday morning at Storyline's Gathering, Mike Gathright explored an ancient story of misplaced trust and the devastating consequences of making any thing so big in in our life - it has to fail. 

BIBLE, Part 5 - Build A Boat

There are questions we are supposed to ask... and then those we really ask, like, Why me?  And, What now?  Thankfully these are also the questions the bible addresses, right from the beginning. 

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright continued our discussion on the book of Genesis, specifically, how God is inviting us to a new What Now - to begin again even when the worst thing possible has happened.


BIBLE, Part 4 - Discovering the Future

Why me? What now? These are the questions real life generates all the time.  They are not easy questions and anyone offering easy answers just doesn't come off as credible.  How comforting to find that the bible speaks to these questions yet doesn't offer quick answers, rather, a way forward.  

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright continued our examination of Genesis and how God's story of the beginning takes our real questions seriously without answering them easily.