New Story Church

What if all your efforts to create happiness and meaning are actually driving them further away? In Ecclesiastes 2, the Teacher of Ecclesiastes hits rock bottom, confronting the stark truth: every attempt to create lasting meaning or happiness is fleeting, ultimately undone by the certainty of death. But it’s here, in this moment of despair, that he uncovers something extraordinary. He realizes he...

If you had the wealth, skill, power, charisma, and know-how to get everything you wanted in life, what would it actually get you? This week, the Teacher from Ecclesiastes shares the story of his infamous “pleasure experiment.” He pursued it all—wealth, career success, fine food and drink, the arts, and even sexual indulgence—looking for something that would give his life meaning and fill the void....

What do you do when life stops making sense? It’s not a question of if—it’s when. And when you find yourself in that place, God has just the guide you need. We don’t know his name; he’s simply “the Teacher.” In Greek, they call him Ecclesiastes.  In this message, we uncover the raw, unfiltered wisdom of this ancient book and its bold declaration that “everything is meaningless.” But here’s the par...

We all tell ourselves stories—some true, some comforting lies. But what happens when those lies are exposed? In this message, we journey into the Gospel of John to discover how Jesus, the Light of the World, reveals the truth about our hearts. With the help of a Greek tragedy, a lobotomist, and an 18th-century theologian, we explore Jesus's invitation to face the uncomfortable reality of self...

What if the universe has been trying to show you something all along - but you just can't see it? What if it’s been whispering a name? In the message, we follow the Apostle John as he leads us past an ancient festival of light, through timeless wisdom and prophecy, and back all the way to the beginning... of everything. There he invites us to hear the Word that speaks life, to see the Light t...

How do we get in on the life transformation that is promised in the Scriptures? What does this look like in my life? In this message, we dive deep into Romans 12 and explore how God’s grace renews our minds, reshapes our habits, and pulls us into life-changing relationships.

How do we share Jesus in a post-everything world? In a hostile culture, and with many of us having an emotional hang up to words like ‘evangelism’, witness, etc., tune in to discover how Jesus’ authority sends us in simplicity to offer a compelling (missional) alternative.

Sometimes what we really want & need can only be found on the other side of crisis & hardship. This is so easy to say and so hard to embrace. In this message, Luke will lead us through a series of crises, forcing us to slow down and watch how Jesus not only meets us in these moments but also uses them to bring about a new, deeper wholeness. It's a reality that we'd all like to av...

We began last week our two-week focus on life with Christ: what does it mean to "abide in Him"? This week, we consider this question: "What does ballroom dancing teach us about life with Jesus?" If you want to learn more about how to experience the dance of life with Jesus, come join us this week!

How do we live out a life with Jesus that survives and thrives in the jungle of everyday life? And how do we do that - not just in the high points of inspiration and revelation - but in the everyday places of frustration and temptation? This week, we'll begin a two-week pause in our study of the Gospel of Luke to think about how living with Jesus is rooted in the reality of Jesus living in us...

Viktor Frankl, the neurologist and holocaust survivor, once said: “Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is the power to choose our response. In our response, lies both our growth and freedom.” In Luke 8:22-25 we see this space occur in the life of the disciples. We’re confronted with two questions. One is a diagnostic one, the other a directive. Tune to learn how to ‘hear’,...

According to the Scriptures, the most important thing you can do with your life is love God. Period. That's it. If you only get in on one thing in this life, get in on that. But what if we don't love God that much? Love is not the kind of thing that you can just manufacture on your own. So, what do we do? In chapter 7 of his gospel, Luke unfolds this intimate, shocking, slightly scandalo...

Today, we are excited to welcome a missionary leader from India who serves on the Lead Team of Concentric, an alliance of ministries across the globe who do disciple making movements according to the Jesus lifestyle.

Since ancient times, Christians have seen God's work of salvation as a mosaic. In isolation, our lives might look small, random, even broken. It's hard to make sense of things. But Jesus picks up broken people and broken lives and sets them into a work of God that is bigger and more beautiful than we can possibly imagine. In this message, Luke helps us see the bigger picture as Jesus enc...

Today, we welcome Duffy Robbins: renowned conference speaker, Grove City College professor, and friend of New Story.

You've probably heard the quote: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." We cannot be certain Gandhi said that, but you've almost certainly felt that before. According to Luke chapter 5, Jesus came for the broken, for those who are unhealthy, and for the sinners. And that's good news. But turn the page to chapter 6 an...

This is not a sermon. Not really. It's just a story... or, better, an invitation. You are invited to imagine what it must have been like to encounter the famous, rule-breaking, leper-healing Jesus of Nazareth. Some were furious with him. Others worshipped Him. No one could quite figure Him out. What about you?

Some wounds you cannot see. Luke, the physician turned Gospel writer, seems to think that all of us are sick. Maybe not physically. But all of us have something deeply broken in us. In Luke 5, he presents two stories of physical healing that expose our need for a yet deeper healing, and that is where Jesus wants to meet us. Jesus wants to meet us in the place of our deep woundedness. That's w...

The invitation of Jesus is (& has always been): "Follow Me." But what exactly does it mean to follow Jesus? In this message, we'll attempt to piece together the broader Jewish context of 1st Century rabbis and disciples in order to makes sense of what it means for Rabbi Jesus to invite you and me to follow Him.

Does it ever feel like there's just too much going on in your life to ever find some peace & quiet? I would venture say to say that you're not the only one! Psalm 131 gives us beautiful imagery to begin to understand what it means to find peace with God.

In Luke 4, Jesus goes to his hometown. These are the people who should know Him the best. These are the people who grew up with Jesus. But, when He announces who He is and why God has sent Him, it doesn't go so well. That's putting it mildly. (They try to throw Him off a cliff.) Luke leaves us wondering: Why is it that those who are far from God seem to joyfully receive Jesus while those...

To be tempted is to be human. Since Adam & Eve, temptation has been part of the human story. In Luke 4, Jesus, "the son of Adam," is getting ready to step into the mission to which God has sent Him. But first, God leads Him into the wilderness. There He must confront a series of subtle temptations, temptations that are truly tempting because they sound like truth, temptations that we...

Julian was raised Christian. He grew up going to church, was baptized, went to a Christian school and then, in his early 20s, he walked away from the faith. This is how the Roman Emperor Julian became known as Julian the Apostate. This is also how Julian has become a kind of patron saint to the millions who grew up in church, knew Christianity from the inside-out, and have walked away from the fai...

Francis of Assisi was a simple man who changed the world by living like Jesus. That's it. He sought to literally do what Jesus did: embrace lepers, serve the poor, love his enemies, own nothing, and trust God for everything. To this day, Francis's joy-filled life stands as a convicting and inspiring reminder that the life and teaching of Jesus is not impossible to follow. Rather, it is t...

If you are looking for a spiritual guide, you will be hard pressed to find one better than Bernard of Clairvaux. He is famous for his historical and political exploits. (After all, he was involved in untangling a Church schism and starting the Knights Templar!) But his theological and devotional works are worth savoring. He was a student of the love of God and of the human soul, making him a faith...