Transforming Lives Through the Power of Storytelling

1) "But can I tell you, the church and the growth that we have seen at Harvest Fellowship hasn't come because of this stuff. As a matter of fact, when we bought the old Kmart building, by the way, if you didn't know, this used to be a Kmart building. When we bought this, we actually lost people because they couldn't see the vision of what God had planned here. The reason we've grown is because, we have people who are willing to tell their story. To let God speak through them to other people. And that's what this series is about. It's going to help us do that." [45:13] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2) "Your story is a key that can set someone free. Though they will not all rhyme, but that one did. Your story is a key that will set someone free. Amen? Amen. Christ's gospel chapter four, we see an interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. How many of you have seen this before? We call it the woman at the well. All right? If you've grown up in church, you've probably heard that story. They told it in Bible Sunday school back in the day with a felt board. Anybody remember the felt board? I love me some felt board." [49:07] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3) "Her story had no power on its own. Do you get that? Her story had no power. And over the years, her story alone was probably a source of ridicule and some quiet whispers and some judgment and some disapproval. But here's the thing. Here's the plot twist, okay? Her story wasn't powerful until she gave it to Jesus. And you need to get this. This is take-home principle number two. Your story needs Jesus. Okay? Your story, why don't you go ahead and tell your neighbor in case they're getting sleepy, your story needs Jesus. Your story plus Jesus will change people's lives." [53:11] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4) "And listen, we all have a story. Some of us have a lot of stories. Happy stories, sad stories, funny stories, and stories that will make others cry. Okay? Stories that are fun and exciting to tell, but then we also have stories that are painful and hurt when we recall them. And here's the thing you have to understand. A story is just a story until you add Jesus to it. And a story can even be a prison sentence in your life until you add Jesus to it. Because once you add Jesus, not only does the story change, but so does your perspective on the story." [53:37] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5) "And the exciting thing to me is that these men and women who are sharing their stories have already recognized that their story could be a key that will set someone free. And that their story, needed Jesus. Because all the ones we're showing are people who have already taken their story and given it to the Lord. Okay? And it's my prayer that God would use each one of these stories to touch somebody's life. I believe they're going to touch everybody's life in some way. But I also believe that every story that is going to be shared, every testimony over this month, especially this weekend, that it's going to touch somebody's life specifically." [56:33] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6) "Jesus needs your story. Now, first of all, for you uppity Christians, Jesus don't need anything, blah, blah. Yes, you're right. You're right, but he has a plan and his plan for generations has been that we are his hands and feet extended in this world that we live in. He uses people to touch people. He uses our experiences to reach out to other experiences. That's why he told us to go into all the world and make disciples, right? We have a role to play. We have a job to do and Jesus needs you to do your job and part of your job is to share your story. Jesus needs you to share. Your story." [01:04:21] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7) "Do you see what happened? The woman's story of what Jesus had done for her was a key, a bridge, so to speak, that got the people in her village to come see and meet this Jesus themselves. Jesus used her story to reach her world. Jesus used her story to save souls. Jesus. Jesus turned her story from an embarrassing, shameful tale into an awesome, powerful ministry tool that changed people's lives. That's what God's done for Jasper. He's been able to, he's been a lot of preaching lately. He's doing amazing things. And to know where he came from, we're not building up Jasper. He's a human." [01:05:38] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)