New Story Church

Resurrection Family. Acts 2

As part of our New Story Missions focus, we welcome Mike Harder to share with us.  Could there be more to life than chasing personal achievement or rising to the top of your career? Could there be more than simply accumulating personal power, money or accolades? Could God give you a mission worth your life? In the book of Acts, Luke says yes. God not only calls us to a life with greater purpose and meaning; He gives us the special gift of His Spirit to help us in this new mission. This mess...

How God Uses Everyone

Soldier. Athlete. Farmer. 2 Timothy 2:1-7

"If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live," MLK. Before he is executed, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy to give him (and us) some perspective on the mission that we find ourselves caught up in. It is hard and costly. To be part of it means that you will suffer. It might cost you your life. And... it's worth it. It's so very worth it.

It's Personal. John 11

For the Apostle John, the vast, epic story of Easter cannot be separated from that which is most personal. Every resurrection story he tells is (almost awkwardly) intimate. We find Jesus meeting Mary in her shame, Thomas in his doubts, and Peter in his denial. When we probe John and ask, "Why? Why do you want us to see Easter in such deeply personal terms?" Rather than answer directly, John tells us a story about Jesus meeting two dear sisters and their dead brother in the house of suffering.

Filled With The Spirit or Just Drunk? Ephesians 5:3-20

In Ephesians 5, the Apostle Paul tells us that God's will for your life is this: "Don't get drunk." But that's only half the story. Understanding why Paul might be so concerned about our behavior... and why he would compare getting drunk with being filled with the Spirit, that's what makes this passage beautiful. Paul isn't just giving you some new rules to follow. He's giving you a new vision for your new life with God.

Old Lies, Rancid Words, & Simmering Anger. Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Why you do what you do matters. The life promised by Jesus isn't just a matter of obeying some rules. It's becoming a whole new person. It's the start of new desires and... repulsions. This week, the Apostle Paul guides us through five practical (& pressing) issues in order to help us see how the love of God transforms our motivations and our lives.

"Remember The Poor"...a forgotten verse. Galatians 2:1-10

Heart of a Disciple

If discipleship is following Jesus, that means we must know who He is (His identity) and what He came to accomplish (his mission).  We will examine Mark 8:27-9:13 – the account where a few of His disciples catch a glimpse of His glory and tease out a few implications for us. https://newstorychurch.life

Saints Who Still Feel Like Sinners Ephesians 4:17-24

How can I truly believe in Jesus... and still live like I don't really believe in Him? How can I know that He calls me a saint... and still feel like such a sinner? If you've ever asked these questions, you're in good company. This message is for you. Before the Apostle Paul instructs us on how to live as a saint (a beloved child of God), he pauses to make sure that we appreciate the magnitude of change needed. This isn't a matter of changing some bad habits or learning a few new things. Jes...

Spiritual Gifts, Misquoting the Psalms, & Becoming Fully You. Ephesians 4:7-16

What unites us in Christ doesn’t destroy your individuality or personhood. Each one of us is uniquely gifted by Christ. In this message, we'll discuss how knowing and embracing our different spiritual gifts is essential to becoming who we are called to be.

Annoying People, Blowing It, & a Life Worth Living. Ephesians 4:1-6

When we ask the Apostle Paul to help us find a life worth living, he starts by pointing us towards all the people we find annoying. You know. "Those people." The ones who seem to ruin everything, make your life difficult, and hold you back. The Apostle seems to think that "those people" are not a barrier to the life you are called to live, but they are the surest way to the life that is truly life.

Two Gifts God has for You. Genesis 40-41

Do you ever feel forgotten, like God may have left you behind? Today we will examine two gifts that God has for each one of us to help us during any difficult season of life. Guest speaker: Carl Green. Executive Vice President, Global Training Network. www.gtn.org https://newstorychurch.life

Eat With Someone: How Eating Together Can Transform Your Life & Our World

Throughout the Scriptures, we find this uncanny link between eating together and God drawing people into relationship. In this message, we'll pull on this thread, looking at food through the lense of Scripture, history, culture, and neuroscience. In each of these, we get the idea that God is somehow using our tables & our menus to call us into relationship, heal what is broken, and form us into a new people.

Boaz and Jesus Paying the Price to Get What Money Cannot Buy Ruth 3-4

At some point, God is going to drop an opportunity at your feet. It will be an opportunity to take on new levels of responsibility, to really make a difference in someone else's life. But it will be costly. It will require you to commit. And, it might impact your lifestyle. It might take away your freedom. It might hurt you financially. What are you going to do? What story are you going to live? newstorychurch.life

The Risky and Risqué Story of Ruth Ch 2-3

Ruth doesn't fit our mold for greatness. She's an impoverished, powerless, voiceless, immigrant widow. But, somehow this woman finds her way into the very heart of God's story. Her little story becomes part of God's epic story. Her name will forever be spoken with names like Moses and David... and Jesus. How? How do normal people Ruth (like you & me) get in on this vast, epic, beautiful story of God?  Parental Guidance Suggested. This passage does include some adult themes. If your kids are...

Call Me Bitter: Learning to Pray Our Complaints. Ruth 1

How do I find my place in the story of God? In the Book of Ruth, an impoverished, hurting, broken old widow named Naomi shows us an unlikely way to get in on God's Story: by bitterly complaining. If you've ever felt like God has disappointed you or like God is against you, Naomi might help you find your way into God's Story too.

What Story Are You Living?

Your life is a story. With every day, every decision, every relationship, with every thing you do, you are writing the next line. Which is to say: Your life has a plot. It has meaning. It is headed somewhere. The question is not: Is your life a story? (Of course, it is.) The question is: What story are you living? In Colossians 2, the Apostle Paul gives us a vivid picture of how Jesus takes your old story, the script that this world has handed to you. He renders it powerless and invites you ...

New Year's Day 2023

Here we examine the only Biblical passage that exposes us to the life of Jesus between the end of his birth events and the beginning of his public ministry as see what it has to say to us in as we begin 2023. www.gvf.church

Christmas at GVF 2022

Love: Experiencing "God with Us"

God is with us. Here. Right now. But how do you experience a God that you cannot see? In this message, we'll explore how God's love breaks through the boundaries of space and time, shame and guilt, anxiety and fear so that we might live in His transforming presence. www.gvf.church

Hope: Pressing on When You Aren't Sure What's Next

118 views  Streamed live on Dec 11, 2022 How do you face an unknown future? When you consider the upcoming week, year, or season of life how do you feel? Fear, anxiety, and the need to control outcomes: this is how we usually respond to the unknown. The Apostle Paul invites us to consider a new possibility: hope. This week, we'll explore how a 2,000 year old event - the arrival of "God with Us" - might reshape how you think and feel and press into your future. www.gvf.church

Faith: Jesus is "God With Us" in Our Past.

In this series, we'll explore how the Advent (literally "Arrival") of God into our world redeems and transforms time itself. Jesus is "God with Us" in our past, present, and future. It's mind-bending, heart-twisting stuff. In this unconventional sermon, we explore everything from Swiss theologians and the neuroscience of memory formation to Robert De Niro and what it means to "forget" in pursuit of the deceivingly simple question: How does the arrival of "God with Us" transform your past? R...

When You Can't Keep Your Head Above Water. Ephesians 3

You know the feeling. It's like you can't keep your head above water. As soon as you make it through one crisis, the next wave crashes over you. This is increasingly "normal" in our world. Chronic stress, anxiety, fear, outrage, and hypervigilance: these words increasingly describe us. We all know that this is an awful way to live. We know that this is not the way of Jesus. But what are we supposed to do? Our problems feel like unconquerable giants. In Ephesians 3, the Apostle Paul prays tha...

Jesus in a Divided World. Ephesians 2:11-22

We live in a divided world. It really feels like the social fabric of our nation is tearing apart. While social critics ponder political polarization, we just try to make it through Thanksgiving without our family members tearing each other apart over politics. But none of this is new. In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul shows us a way forward. The social divisions keeping us apart are destroyed by Christ. Unity is possible. Jesus makes a new people and a new way of peace in this new creation communi...

For We Are God's Workmanship. Ephesians 2:10

How is God forming you? How is your life being shaped & reworked by the grace of God? This week, the Apostle Paul gives us a picture to better understand the way in which God works His grace into our lives. God is like a craftsman, a poet, a sculptor, a potter. And we are God's workmanship.  www.gvf.church

Life on the Pinnacle of Grace

Only when you know the depth of a valley can you fully appreciate the height of a mountain. This week, as we continue our Ephesians series and focus on Ephesians 2:1-10, we will see apostle Paul remind first century Christians, and Christians of all times, of the depths of the dark valley out of which God saved, us by his grace, and the heights of the glorious spiritual position to which he has brought us. In response, we will celebrate that grace in worship and communion. Read ahead in Ep...

Eyes Wide Open. Ephesians 1:15-23

"People lose their WAY when they lose their WHY!" (Michael Hyatt). God, through the apostle Paul, has no problem telling 1st Century (and 21st Century) Christians how to live. But before he does that, apostle Paul continues to lay his foundation for Christians of why God is different than they think, and Christians are different than they feel. Once their eyes are wide open to the truth about God and themselves, living differently makes all the sense in the world.  Read ahead from Ephesians...

Changing Your Mind: Seeds, Part 2. Ephesians 1:7-14

The Apostle Paul and psychotherapists seem to agree on at least one thing: how you think shapes your whole life. Your patterns of automatic and habitual thoughts shape your life more than you can imagine. In Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul invites us to let God reshape our minds by receiving seven good words from Him the way soil receives seeds from a farmer. www.gvf.church

Your Life Is Not an Accident: Seeds of Faith, Part I. Ephesians 1:3-6

Does my life have meaning? Is history headed somewhere or are things just careening off a cliff of chaos? Where is God at work in this world? In Ephesians 1:3-6, the Apostle Paul offers us three words from God that will challenge, confound, and comfort. He scatters words from God the way a farmer scatters seeds, praying that they might take root in our lives. This Sunday, he tosses out the first three seeds of faith: You're blessed. You're chosen. You're predestined for adoption.  www.gvf.c...

The Woman, the Man and the Kingdom. 1 Samuel 1-2.

Is the Bible sexist? Does it treat women as second class? This Sunday, author and pastor, Dr. Sam Andreades, explores questions about the Bible and gender through the story of Hannah in the Book of 1 Samuel. Dr. Andreades is the author of a book entitled, "enGendered," & has very much done his homework on how to thoughtfully love people, listen to God's Word, and speak into this messy, deeply personal topic of gender. Guest speaker, Sam Andreades. www.gvf.church

Reading Your Own Eulogy. Ephesians 1:1-3.

If you could sit in on your own funeral and listen as people talk about you, what do you think would be said? What will be spoken over you as you lie there lifeless, unable to respond or change how others think of you? In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul invites us to sit in & listen to as God reads His eulogy over all who are "in Christ."

Don Juan, Boredom, & Life Worth Living. Ephesians 4:1

What scales do you use to measure your life? Is your life good... or bad? How do you even know? In this message we'll explore the many broken ways in which we seek to make our lives weighty, substantial, worthwhile... Then, we'll see how the Apostle Paul cuts through all of this with a word. One word. This word might just be the key to unlocking Ephesians... and our own brokenness. www.gvf.church

Magic, Demon-Hunters, & Jesus: The Story of Ephesus. Acts 19

If you only read Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, you might think that their lives were charmed. They probably were but not in the way you're thinking. Acts 19 gives us the earthy, honest, beautiful, and magical (in the worst possible way) story behind this letter and this church. That’s what today is. It’s the story of the men and women, Jews and Gentiles, sinners and saints, who were called together by God to become the Church of Ephesus. This is their story. www.gvf.church

Becoming a Church Where Life Transformation is Normal. Romans 12

Something is rotten in the state of the American church. Our kids are walking away from the faith. Our families are imploding. Our leaders are failing. Our lives become just as anxious and busy and addicted and joyless and restless as those who do not know Jesus. In this message, we explore what we can do - indeed must do - if we hope to break the norms of today and become a church where life transformation is normal.

You are God's Temple. 1 Cor 3:16.

The Apostle Paul says: "You are God's Temple." Of course, the only problem with this is that you & I have precisely zero experience with temples. How can we possibly be God’s Temple, if we have no idea what a temple is or does? In this message, we're going to try to fix this problem. We're going to explore what God's Temple is and was so that we can begin to become who we are called to be in this place called Church.  www.gvf.church

Life Together: the Trinity, a Body, & 1982. 1 John 4 & Romans 12.

Committed, self-giving relationships are the stuff of life. They are the soil in which we are designed to flourish & bear much fruit. But, they can also be the worst. They can feel like death. In this message, we're going to explore how God uses committed, self-giving relationships in this place called church to grow you and fulfill His mission. 1 John 4 & Romans 12. www.gvf.church

A Sabbath House. Psalm 92

Psalm 92 is a song "for the Sabbath." God's People have been singing it for 1000s of years. It's a song that invites us to step out of slavery, out of chronic busyness, and out of this world of anxiety and into a place called Sabbath. This week, we are going to listen carefully to this song and explore what it might look like for this place called church to become a Sabbath House: a place of deep play, rest, delight, and renewal in the midst of a chronically anxious and busy world.  www.gvf...

Why go to church? Exodus & Acts.

We're in a series called, A Place Called Church. For the next month, we'll be seeding our minds with Biblical stories  so that they might take root in us and give us God's vision for what this place called "church" could be. This week, we'll ask the question that many have been asking: Why go to church at all? Why do we gather? Is it really necessary to have a place called church?

Created to Worship. Genesis 1-2

If we want to capture a vision of who we could be, we need to make sure we're clear on who we were created to be. This week, we are kicking off a series called, A Place Called Church. For the next month, we'll be seeding our minds with Biblical stories and images so that they might take root in us and give us God's vision for what this place called "church" could be. This week, we'll start at the beginning. Literally. In this message, we'll explore the foundational narrative for understandin...

Matthew 5:13-16

Salt & Light. Matthew 5:13-16

SALT. It disinfects, it preserves, it changes the environment it's in, it makes you want more of whatever it's on. LIGHT. It chases away darkness. It's beautiful. It's fast. It cleans. It sustains life. Being called salt and light by Jesus himself is pretty daunting. So how do we live up to it? How can we live in this world and act like salt and light? Tune in to find out how we can be salt and light that Jesus was asking us to be. www.gvf.church

Do Not Conform. Romans 12:1-2

The Apostle Paul encourages believers in Christ to "present their bodies as a living sacrifice"...which sounds almost poetic. But have you ever tried to sacrifice something living? Living things squirm. Dodge. Move. Avoid pain like their life depends on it...because it does! So how do we do it? ...well, tune in to part 2 of our 3 part series, "In It, Not Of It" to find out. www.gvf.church

In It Not Of It. John 17

Being "in" the world but not "of" it is a tricky thing. The Amish live what they call a "plain life", devoid of electricity, cars and even zippers on their clothes, in an effort to not become "of" culture. On the other hand, we see some Christians today who dress, act, talk and live in a way that is practically indistinguishable from the culture around them, in hopes of lowering barriers to building Godly relationships. So what's the right response? Join us as we open God's word, and discove...

The Parable of the Good Samaritan. Luke 10

In Luke 10, Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It is well known but not well understood. Today, we might culturally translate it as the Parable of the Good Abortion Doctor or the Parable of the Good Capital Rioter, depending on your political tribe. This parable is outrageous, offensive, unsafe... and, perhaps, a message our world needs to hear more than ever. www.gvf.church/parables

(Re)Learning How to Listen. Luke 10.

Listening, really listening is essential to getting in on the Kingdom of God and experiencing the life of Jesus. It is about more than mastering the meaning of words. It takes practice and patience. It likely takes unlearning what you think you know as much as it takes learning what you do not yet know. Through the parables, Jesus invites us to (re)learn how to listen. In this message, we explore the ancient Christian practice of lectio divina (sacred reading) as a way of relearning how to h...

Parable of the Prodigal: Why we feel so lost. Luke 15

Who are you? What is ultimate reality like? Is our universe basically governed by impersonal laws or is it ultimately relational and personal? In Luke 15, Jesus tells us a story that challenges how we see and experience... everything. It's a story that explains why we feel so lost. But, it's also a story that - if you let it - might just worm its way into your heart and mind and pull you into a deep, rich, fullness of life with God the Father.  May it wreck you the way it has been wrecking p...

Sacred Sifting. Luke 22:31-34; 54-62

OK, I get it. I’m supposed to be on this journey of personal transformation so that my life looks progressively more like Jesus. But my transformation-journey can, all-too-often, seem excruciatingly slow and, sometimes, end up in a ditch. Maybe, yours too? Our faith waivers, gets weary, and can even forget to show up. This Sunday we’ll be exploring a fascinating WORD that Jesus used with his disciples to describe how He can intervene in their and our bumpy faith-journeys in such a way as to ...

Walking with God in a World of Injustice & Suffering. Luke 13:1-9

In Luke 13, Jesus invites us to walk with Him as we wrestle with one of life's most perplexing questions: How do we make sense of senseless evil? Where do we find God in this world of injustice & suffering? But, if you're looking for a simple answer, you'll need a different Messiah. Jesus doesn't want to make this simple. He wants to tell us a story.

The Manager, Mammon, & the Margarita Machine. Luke 16:1-13

In Luke 16, Jesus tosses out this story about a crooked manager who is commended for his shrewdness in flushing a bunch of his master's money when it can secure him something better. It's an uncomfortable story. Talking about money usually is. It will lead us to explore the dark power that money has over us, the things we believe about God & money, and the possibility that you might want to buy a margarita machine. www.gvf.church

The Sinner Who God Loves. Luke 18

On this baptism Sunday, we look at parable that reveals the beauty of the Good News of Jesus: God loves sinners. If you are a sinner, this is good news indeed.