At Storyline we believe in the transformative power of story and the blessing that comes from sharing them. This Sunday we had the privilege of hearing stories from some of our Storyline friends.
IDENTITY, Part 4 - Hope and Reality
We spend a lot of time and effort, much of it below the surface of our awareness, trying to figure out who we really are. Because our identity not only defines us, it guides us.
Maybe this is why the story of the life of faith in the bible is so surprising. We assume the bible is all about telling us what to do when really it is much more interested in suggesting to us - who we are!
This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered the revolutionary and radical vision that Jesus has of our identity.
IDENTITY, Part 3 - Ecclesia
Figuring out who we are, personally and communally, is not something we think about often. But life has a way of begging this question. What now? What next? Why? The answers to basic questions like these are grounded in our identity. Who we are.
This month at Storyline's Gathering we've been considering the topic of identity; Sunday Mike Gathright continued this discussion by revisiting Jesus's view of the identity of His community.
IDENTITY, Part 2 - Who am I?
Some things must be discovered and experienced - they can't just be learned or explained. Identity, who we really are, is one of those things. Jesus was very interested in people knowing His identity - and their own - but He seemed to want more for us than just the right answer. Why?
Last Sunday Mike Gathright explored Storyline's identity...this Sunday Mike Wyble focused in on our personal identity...how can we discover who we really are? And how does that discovery change life for us?
IDENTITY, Part 1 - The Missionary Encounter
In large part the identity of an object and even a person is wrapped up in its design - what it is for. Jesus seemed to think people and communities were designed on purpose - and FOR a purpose - that have a dramatic impact on our identity, how we see ourselves and one another.
This Sunday at the Gathering Mike Gathright looked at Storyline's design, and what we are for. If you have struggled to explain what Storyline is to some of the people in your life (and we all have!) - this Sunday helps to describe it.
TREASURE
Some subjects are just taboo. Religion used to be the most controversial, now it is politics. But a close third is money. We don't talk about it in polite company and frankly, we rarely talk about it even with those we are closest to...why?
Jesus spoke about money a lot because he knew it is a tremendously powerful force in our life. This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright explored the unique perspective Jesus has on our money and our hearts.
NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
Has anyone ever given you something before you asked for it...maybe even before you knew you needed it, or wanted it? Jesus said God often works like that.
What might life look like if we believed it?
This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright and John Williams looked at the beauty and transformational power of God's generosity toward us.
OVERHEARD
Sometimes its eavesdropping, sometimes it is innocent, but we have all been in a situation where we have over heard something. It can be uncomfortable, embarrassing even.
At least one time, Jesus taught in a way that many people would over hear him. It wasn't to make anyone uncomfortable or embarrassed, he did it to change their lives. And it did!
This Sunday morning at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright looked at the genius and grace of Jesus as he taught something that could only change you...if you OVER heard it.
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
It is graduation season...a time to celebrate what our young people have learned. But that begs the question - what have we been teaching them?
This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered what God is trying to teach us all.
ECHOS Part 4 - Childhood
Some of us loved our childhood. Others? Not so much. But for all of us, childhood and children hold an almost sacred place.
Jesus shared a very high view of little ones - he called it being childlike. What is so special about that? This is the question Mike Gathright considered this Sunday at Storyline's Gathering.
ECHOS Part 3 - We Are the Field
For the past two weeks at the Gathering, Mike Gathright has explored the echoes of God in the world, in our life, and in our hearts.
This Sunday, Paul Knapp picked up where he left off and pondered two questions:
What is beauty?
How do we find it?
ECHOS Part 2 - On Your Side
For many reasons when we think of God, most of us in the West think of a male deity. Father. That isn't wrong, but are we missing some essential aspects of the character of God when we limit "Him" to being a male?
This Sunday is Mother's Day and Mike Gathright considered what we might learn from considering mothers and motherhood with God's approach to each and every one of us.
ECHOS Part 1 - Justice
Plato said, "All learning is remembering." What did he mean by that? Could it be that we know things, that we don't know we know...universal "truths" that resonate with all human hearts? Where in the world did this come from? Or didn't it?
This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright will begin a month long exploration of the echoes of God in the world, in our life and in our hearts. Do we know more than we know we know? Do we believe more than we believe we do? Jesus seems to think so.
HOPE, FAITH and....
Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the others that have been tried." To some extent, the same could be said of living with hope and living by faith...tough stuff. But certainly better than the alternative.
This Sunday at Storyline's Gathering Mike Gathright considered what flows out of living with hope and living by faith that can transform life into the abundant life, Jesus is inviting us in to.
HOPE, FAITH, and DOUBT
This month as we consider how to respond to Easter - the miraculous news that Jesus has risen from the dead - Mike Gathright explored the challenge of living by faith in an age of science and reason. Are they totally incompatible?