YES BOMB

Here we go, it's Labor Day Weekend and we all know what that means - it's time to go to WORK!  Summer is over, the Fall has arrived and with it, school, new commitments, crammed schedules and the hustle of real life.  Yikes!  How does this happen to us?
Jesus had a very unique approach to this - he said, "No."  He actually said it a lot.  He lived an incredibly full life, yet was never in a hurry or too busy.  How in the world did he do it?  WHY did He do it, that may be the better question. These are the questions Mike Gathright explored this Sunday at Storyline's Gathering.

STORY SUNDAY

"We live in narrative, we live in story. Existence has a story shape to it. We have a beginning and an end, we have a plot, we have characters.  Story is the language of the heart. …So if we're going to find the answer to the riddle of the earth—and of our own existence—we'll find it in story."

- Eugene Peterson

At Storyline we value personal stories.  This Sunday, we had the opportunity to hear different Storyliner’s share their story.  

BREATHE

This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright will again consider Jesus's offer
of the abundant life, specifically how to sustain it.

FACE IT, FIGHT IT

We seem to know a lot - all kinds of good and helpful things yet we don't do them.  We also know what to avoid, and sure enough... we DO them!  Why? 

This week at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered what it is that keeps us from the good, traps us in the bad and how the Grace of God can propel us forward.

BOLD & HUMBLE DREAMER - SERVANT

 Last Sunday we discovered when our hope changes we begin to change.  That makes sense - hope is powerful.  But how do we move beyond just hoping IN God to hoping FOR God - that brings us to the root of our identity.
Who are you?  Really?  What does it mean to be - you?
That is the issue Mike Gathright looked at Sunday at Storyline's Gathering. 

HOPING IN, HOPING FOR

This week at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright began a four week series about change.  How do we continue to move forward, change and grow when life can be so challenging and daunting?  Jesus offers us an amazing perspective and incredible source of power to do so!

MOVIE SUNDAY: Birdman

“And did you get what you wanted from this life?”
 
                                                                                  - Raymond Carver
 
This week at Storyline was a little different as Michael Koch, Dave Greendonner and Mark Ring looked at our need to feel significant and the cost using the critically acclaimed and Oscar winning film BiRDMAN as a way to explore and discuss this struggle in our own lives and how God fits into this.

RELATIONAL RITUAL

If it is true that Jesus didn't come to start a religion, does that mean there is no room for ritual?

Sunday morning at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered how the themes we've been exploring the last few months of relationship, covenant and grace all come together in one beautiful ritual.

BREAK THE RULES

Life is filled with rules, regulations, standards and laws that bring justice, order and control to every facet of life. Is that how God works too? What does he require of us? What rules do we have to follow in order to live the full life that He promises? Paul Knapp explored these questions and others Sunday.

IT'S AN EXPERIENCE

If Grace is so amazing why do we see so little of it in real life?  It seems that lots of folks are ready to jump on us when we mess up, remind us why we fail, correct us when we come in second - but the line of those showing grace is short.  Why is that?

Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright took another look at Grace and why it is in such short supply.

COVENANT KEEPER

Vows, oaths, commitments and promises - what do they all have in common?  Easy to make, hard to keep, and absolutely essential for everyday life.  Where would we be without them?

Sunday at Storyline's Gathering, Mike Gathright took a deeper look at a particular kind of oath/promise/commitment...covenant.  It's an archaic word that could not be more relevant for our real every day lives.

CATCH THE WAVE

Has there ever been a time in history where things have changed this much, this fast? We are living in the midst of the Information Revolution and it is changing every aspect of life - including how we see ourselves and the purpose of life.

But could all the change around us just reflect the change in us? And could Jesus give us some traction in navigating both? These are a few of the questions Mike Gathright asked this Sunday at Storyline's Gathering.

CONSISTENT AND PERSISTENT

There are a lot of mysteries about faith and God; prayer is no exception! On one hand, prayer seems pretty straight forward, just do it. On the other hand, it's a total mystery. If God is good and can do all things, why should we pray? Doesn't God already know what we need? Isn't he going to give us everything that's good for us and deny us everything that isn't, anyway?

These were some of the questions Jill McNabnay looked at about prayer on Sunday.

THE EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY

Well, now what? If Easter is true why do so many people still struggle so much with Jesus? He alienated and offended just about every kind of person in the bible. How could that be?

Sunday at Storyline’s Gathering Mike Gathright explored the reasons Jesus frustrated so many people, and how that frustration is the key to following Him.

SIMPLE DOESN'T MEAN EASY

So many things about life are so hard, complicated and convoluted. Religion certainly falls in to this category.  Is Easter just another part of all that?

Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered how Easter actually makes one of, if not THE, most important part of life much more simple.