The Gathering

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.

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.

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. 

Shocked. Surprised.  Unexpected things can be either one, right?  Sometimes, maybe even both...

This Sunday Mike Gathright concluded our series, Unexpected, by considering one last shocking and surprising way that God shows up in our real, everyday lives.  

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.

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.  

Jesus has come! A savior has been born into the world! Now what? Is this the Jesus we expected? Is he the Jesus we wanted and hoped for...? 

This week at the Gathering, Paul Knapp took a deep dive into the life of Jesus asking these questions around a savior who was unexpected. 

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.

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.

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.