August 5: You Tube

You Tube: Sharing Your Story
August 5, 2007
Gary Foran

What was the Big Idea of You Tube: Sharing Your Story?

1. Gary introduced his talk with videos from You Tube. Take a few minutes to recap what You Tube is all about. How does it work? How many videos has You Tube aired since it began in 2005? Who remembers how much Google paid to buy You Tube?
2. You Tube’s slogan is “broadcast yourself.” Why do you think the slogan draws people? What is at the heart of You Tube?

The Longing

As Gary discussed, we all long for deeper connections, for more intimate marriages, for friends who know our junk but still love us, for neighborhoods where people care, for family relationships without all the baggage and distance, for less isolation and more authentic community. You Tube attempts to fill this longing.

3. What is your reaction to You Tube?

The Solution

4. Gary asked us, “Who in your life needs to know your life better?” He went on to say, “There are people in your life who are longing to hear your story.”

Do you long for a greater level of community? It’s in community where connection starts. “You share your story. I share my story.” We can’t really know each other unless we know each other’s story.

So, think for a minute about times when you felt very satisfied with your connections with people who were, or still are, close to you.

Share with others in the group how you felt. Perhaps some in the group can give examples of when you shared your stories, and what happened to these relationships as you shared your stories with each other.

God told His story in Genesis 1:1-5.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

5. Gary pointed out that God included more than just the facts in His story about creation. He said that it was ‘good.’ He told how He felt about it. He told about His creation, His land, plants, animals, and mankind. God was evidently pleased! How did the added comment, ‘good,’ enhance God’s story for you?

6. In Genesis 2:18, The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” So, here God said that something was not good. Men and women should not be alone. What principle did God communicate in this statement?

7. It is true that we need God at the center of our lives, the very core of our being. We also need each other. God recognized both of these needs, our need for God, and our need for each other. How do we integrate these needs? What is the framework for integrating these two needs, a need for God, a need for intimacy with others?

You share your story. I share my story. Together we find our place in God’s story!

Take a few minutes to talk about what this means. What does it mean to ‘Together find our place in God’s story?’ Practically how would you and another person find your place in God’s story?


Romans 12:15

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

8. How can we practice this principle of rejoicing with others and mourning with others? What would you like to do more of?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (Message translation)

“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”

9. Community is built on sharing life stories and finding our place in God’s story. Let’s review Gary’s tips for living this out:

· Be curious about other people’s stories

· Create space for storytelling

· Tell the facts and the interpretation

· Look for God’s story

Imagine people connecting with each other at the heart level. Every person’s story heard and valued. You and others a part of God’s bigger plan, His story. What change do you want to make in your story telling?Below are a few of the exercises that are printed in the program insert:

Exercises for building relationships

1. Where did you live in 3rd grade, and what were the winters like? What would you say was the center of warmth in your home at that time?
2. If you life was actually a book, what would you say is the “genre” of your life story right now? Drama, comedy, mystery, tragedy, suspense. Why do you choose that?
3. Tell a significant event that happened in your life this week. What is the primary emotion you feel related to that event? Mad, sad, glad, fear or shame.
Summary Action

How will you apply the principles of story telling to you life in the coming weeks?

Related Resources can be found at http://gatewaychurch.com/site/about/sundayMessages.asp