New Story Church

Paul D. Anderson
  • 4.6 (12)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

We believe that God is inviting you into a new story!  New Story Church meets Sunday mornings at 110 Valley Park Road, Phoenixville, PA. For more information, please visit our website: https://newstorychurch.life

  1. Was That God… or Did It "Just Happen?" | Esther 8-10

    4d ago

    Was That God… or Did It "Just Happen?" | Esther 8-10

    You prayed. Something happened. Then you wondered if that was really God... or coincidence... or just in your head. It's the same question Esther forces us to ask. And refuses to answer. It's the one book in the Bible that never mentions God. No miracles, no prayers, no voice from heaven — just a hidden queen, a cousin named Mordecai climbing a pagan empire, a genocide plotted with a roll of the dice, and a rescue messy enough that by the end the people of God start to look uncomfortably like the villain they defeated. In this final message of our Esther series, we sit in the discomfort of a victory that doesn't feel clean and a festival named after random chance, and we ask the question running underneath the whole book: How do you learn to see God when, by every appearance, He isn't there?   Part of "(Un)Hiding Your Face," our series in the book of Esther. Scripture: Esther 8–10. New Story Church | Phoenixville, PA Download the group discussion guide here.

    45 min
  2. How (Not) to Self-Destruct | Esther 5-7

    Jun 21

    How (Not) to Self-Destruct | Esther 5-7

    There's something in all of us that wants to destroy us. And the terrifying part is — it usually looks like a strength. The Book of Esther introduces us to a man named Haman — one of the most psychologically precise portraits of pride in all of Scripture. He has everything: wealth, power, access, honor. And none of it is enough. Because one man won't bow. What follows is not just a story about an ancient villain. It's a mirror — a portrait of the particular kind of self-destruction that comes from needing to be unlike everyone else, above everyone else, feared by everyone else. Haman chases it all the way to a 75-foot monument he builds for someone else's execution. (You can probably guess how this is going to end.) This is Week 4 of our series through Esther — a book that never once mentions God, and yet somehow can't stop pointing toward him. Download the group discussion guide here.

    40 min
  3. The Version of You That Has to Die | Esther 4

    Jun 14

    The Version of You That Has to Die | Esther 4

    Most of us never find out who we really are. Not until something forces the question. This week we hit the turning point of Esther. For years she's hidden who she really is, her faith, her people, to survive at the top of a world that runs on power and appearances. Then the crisis comes, and she can't hide anymore. Speak up and she might die. Stay silent and she'll lose something worse. Most of us know something about that. We all have a version of ourselves we've worked hard to protect. The one with the career. The one everyone likes. The one that finally got invited in. And we rarely ask who we really are underneath it, until something forces the question. Esther 4 forces it.

    38 min
  4. Lucky. Lucky. (un)Lucky. | Esther 2-3

    Jun 7

    Lucky. Lucky. (un)Lucky. | Esther 2-3

    Some people just seem to be born lucky. And some people don't. Everything seemed to be falling into place for Esther and Mordecai. She "just happened" to be in the right place at the right time — and became queen. He "just happened" to overhear an assassination plot and saved the king's life. Lucky. Lucky. Lucky. Until it wasn't. Old wounds resurface. Old enemies reappear. And with the roll of the dice, God's People suddenly find themselves powerless to stop what's coming. Which raises a question that might sound familiar. And might make you uncomfortable. If you've forgotten God, will He forget you too? Download the group discussion guide here.

    41 min
  5. The Book of the Bible That's Missing God | Esther 1-2

    May 31

    The Book of the Bible That's Missing God | Esther 1-2

    There's a book in the middle of the Bible where God never shows up. Not once. No miracles. No prayer. No divine intervention. Just a young woman hiding who she really is — her identity, her faith, her people — in order to survive in a world run by powerful, fragile, drunk men. And somehow that made it into our Bible. This week we open the Book of Esther. It's strange, morally complicated, and honestly a little unsettling. Which might be exactly why it's there. Download the group discussion guide.

    43 min
  6. Why Eating Together Might Save Us

    May 24

    Why Eating Together Might Save Us

    Most of us are lonelier than we’re willing to admit — and we’re not telling anyone about it. This sermon is about the most ordinary thing in the world: a table. A meal. It turns out that simple thing might be the answer to something much larger. Drawing from the story of Jesus eating with the people no one else would eat with (Luke 5), Acts 2, the neuroscience of bonding, and a Van Gogh painting about Belgian coal miners — this sermon makes the case that God has always worked through ordinary tables. From the first meal in Genesis to the final feast in Revelation, the table isn’t incidental to the story. It is the story. You’ll wrestle with why belonging still feels so dangerous even when you want it. You’ll encounter a Jesus who doesn’t wait until you’re ready to pull up a chair. And you might leave with one idea that changes how you think about every meal you eat for the next 70 days. Jesus keeps setting the table. The question: what are we going to do?

    43 min
  7. Your Friends Are Forming You (More Than You Think)

    May 17

    Your Friends Are Forming You (More Than You Think)

    Most of us think we choose our friends. We don't think much about what our friends are choosing for us. In this sermon, we wrestle with the hidden ways friendship shapes us, why so many adult friendships feel thin or transactional, and why it's so hard to truly know and be known. Along the way, we explore Proverbs, David & Jonathan, the psychology of imitation, the "false self," and the terrifying vulnerability required for true friendship. The harder question isn't what kind of friends you have. It's what kind of friend you are. Warning: This may get personal. Download the group discussion guide here.

    42 min
  8. Protecting Yourself Is What's Killing You | Ruth 1

    May 10

    Protecting Yourself Is What's Killing You | Ruth 1

    You're not a bad friend. You're just making Orpah's choice — over and over — without knowing it. This sermon walks through one of the most quietly devastating scenes in the Bible: three women on a road, a friendship at a crossroads, and two very different choices about what makes life worth living. Ruth 1 turns out to be less about loyalty and more about something harder — the moment you decide whether to protect yourself or choose a person before you know the outcome. It turns out Ruth's choice isn't just about friendship. It's about the logic underneath everything — and the reason you exist. And underneath all of it: the question of whether the life you're carefully protecting is actually the life you want. Download the group discussion guide here.

    43 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

We believe that God is inviting you into a new story!  New Story Church meets Sunday mornings at 110 Valley Park Road, Phoenixville, PA. For more information, please visit our website: https://newstorychurch.life

Information

  • Creator
    Paul D. Anderson
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    699
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 New Story Church
  • Show Website
    New Story Church

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