New Story Church

For millions of Americans, God no longer feels real. Collectively, we seem to be losing the capacity to know & experience God in a way that was common in the Scriptures and in the Church down through the ages. In this series, we're going to explore what it might look like for us to "taste & see" God in a way that is deeply personal, strangely sensual, overwhelmingly Biblical, and beyond dispute. Following a major theme through Scripture, we're going to talk about how to experience God through... food. Through bread, water, salt, oil, and a perfectly cooked steak. Today, we’re going to lay some groundwork. Let's call this a theological history of food... or, better, a culinary history of the family of God. Bon appetit!

Forgiveness is a community affair. Our extending it or withholding it, doesn't just impact us; it impacts everyone around us.  Jesus gives us a pattern to follow that helps us experience the freedom that comes from a life of extending grace toward those that hurt us.

Both biologically and Biblically, we have reason to believe that humans need to suffer. Not horrifically, but some. Stress, hardship, trials. These are necessary for your growth and development. If you want to fully become who you are created to be, you have to suffer, and you shouldn't do this alone. You need to suffer with other people. In this message, we'll explore how suffering with others is celebrated(?!) by the Biblical authors as a sure way to become more like Jesus and find the life that is truly life.

3 years. When someone shows up at our church, that's how long we expect them to stay before a new job, a new house, or some life transition moves them away. 219 hours. According to a 2019 study from the University of Kansas, that's about how long it takes to develop a close friendship. Our vision to be a church where life transformation is normal seems to keep bumping into these two numbers. Deep life transformation requires deep relationships, and deep relationships requires time... which is the one thing we never seem to have. So what does this mean for us?

Neuroscientists, Moses, and the Apostle Paul agree: Other people are the problem... and the solution. Both. If you let other people see you for who you really are, they might hurt you. (They probably will.) But it's also true that other people are the solution. The only way to undo what has been done to you is with the help of other people. They must see you for who you really are. Hmm. What do you do with that? And what does Jesus have to do with that? That's what we'll explore in this message.

“New Year’s Resolutions,” you say? Hmmm, don’t they always seem to run out of gas before we hit February? No real changes. How about a different approach? This Sunday we’re going to let Jesus work us over a bit, just like he did Peter in Luke 5:1-11. Peter’s life was busy, calibrated…and predictable. Jesus had something else in mind for Peter and his future. Jesus’ words and actions in this interchange/encounter with Peter set a whole new course and dimension of life for him. It all started with a question, “Can I get into your boat?” He has that same question for us as well as we stand at the dawn of a new year. Read the passage to discover what else Jesus said and did so that Peter and we can see what a New and transformative Year and Life should look like.

If you are looking for a guide to help you find God in a world where he seems oddly absent, you can hardly do better than Matthew. This tax collector-turned-disciple helps us see how God shows up in a world of mass killings, refugees, & crazy leaders; a world like ours. He helps us see how God is still at work in our lives today.

In Genesis 22, God politely asks Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, and Abraham does it. This is a story that has been called absurd, abusive, and immoral... and yet, it remains a story that we cannot shake off or just ignore. There's a reason for this: We need it. We cannot come to peace with God, ourselves, or the journey of faith without this story. This is the story of a God who provides what we cannot provide and sees what we cannot see. The question is: Can we follow a God that we cannot understand?

In the spring of 2018, Leah's life looked perfect. She had written books, trained 1000s of leaders, and was married to a "celebrity" among Christians of SE Asia. But then, that August, his secret sin was discovered, and Leah's world crumbled. Since that time Leah has been on a journey of discovery and grief; brokenness and healing; pain and beauty. This Sunday, we are going to pause to listen to the story that God is writing in Leah's life in the hopes that we might begin to better hear His Story that He's working out in our lives as well. Download this exercise (https://tinyurl.com/sermonexercisedec3) to help you reflect on YOUR story after hearing Leah's.

In Genesis 20 and 21, we come to what should be the climax of Abraham’s story. The long-awaited promise of a son is going to be fulfilled! And yet, at the very moment when Sarah & Abraham receive the miracle they’ve waited for their whole lives, they both become gripped with fear. A terrible fear. The kind of fear that makes you selfish, defensive, and sinful. The kind of fear that threatens to ruin everything and undo the very  thing that God has promised to do… In this place of fear, the question emerges: Can my fear undo the very promises of God?