Larger Story Church

06/03/2026

One of our saints of our church, John Perkins said this: “Suffering is what we are called to in this life. Real joy comes when we are taking the pain of others, serving others, and always rejoicing in our gratitude for serving others. That’s the joy right now. And this is the joy that causes us to keep bearing the pain. It’s the gratitude of bearing that pain. We are more like him when we are suffering. I believe that so deeply. We are most like our Lord when we choose to suffer.” –John M. Perkins, Count It All Joy, p. 80

We will be talking about this joy, this refining of our pain, and our need for each other. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 famously teaches us this. Yes, in the midst of Ecclesiastes.

Join us for this conversation.
Friday, 7pm EST/6 pm CST
DM for the Zoom link.

06/03/2026

Pain is a meeting place with God who is not apathetic.

“When there is a storm, believe God. When there is stillness, believe God. He is too holy to deceive. Too holy to lead you anywhere but to truth. When God tells you to ‘cast your cares on him because he cares for you,’ he is not lying. 1 Peter 5:7. There is no deceit found in his mouth then; search for it now and you will only find light. He can be trusted with our cares because a holy God cannot be an apathetic God.” –Jackie Hill Perry, Holier Than Thou, p. 59

Join us for this conversation. Friday, 7 pm EST/6pm CST
We meet over Zoom (how else can we have conversations) and at 13562 Richmond Highway, #205, Woodbridge, VA. DM for Zoom link.

06/02/2026

Conversation Topic for Friday: Meet the Salesian Nuns

We practice one Catholic practice that is an ancient practice that makes a lot of sense to handle our lives today. Salesian spirituality is doing the little things in the midst of ordinary and busy lives. In a very real sense, the person lives Jesus by “doing all ordinary things in an extraordinary way” by practicing the little virtues of Kindness, Gentleness, Thoughtful Concern for Others, Humility, Simplicity, Hospitality, Gratitude, Patience, Generosity, and Honesty. When we practice the little virtues we are prepared for those few times when we need to use big virtues such as bravery, boldness, and prophetic imagination. When we say “make small deliberate tweaks in your life” this is where it comes from. Read more about it at https://largerstory.church/the-practice-of-salesian-spirituality/.

A group of Salesian nuns have served as the unofficial chaplains for the San Antonio Spurs since the 1990s. With the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, you will see some nuns at the games. Let’s talk about what these nuns are doing, complete with a video.

Let's talk about this!
Friday, 7 pm EST/6 pm CST
DM for the Zoom link.

06/01/2026

One of our saints of our church, John Perkins said this: “Suffering is what we are called to in this life. Real joy comes when we are taking the pain of others, serving others, and always rejoicing in our gratitude for serving others. That’s the joy right now. And this is the joy that causes us to keep bearing the pain. It’s the gratitude of bearing that pain. We are more like him when we are suffering. I believe that so deeply. We are most like our Lord when we choose to suffer.” –John M. Perkins, Count It All Joy, p. 80

We are tree people. We choose to grow our roots deeply.
Join us for this conversation. Friday, 7 pm EST/6pm CST
We meet over Zoom (how else can we have conversations) and at 13562 Richmond Highway, #205, Woodbridge, VA. DM for Zoom link.

06/01/2026

Teaching Topic for Friday: Sadness Refines Us

Another Ecclesiastical proverb, Ecclesiastes 7:3 - Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.

Pain is an effective teacher. It is way more effective than comfort or pleasure. Ecclesiastes has revealed that.

In the midst of all the hevel in Ecclesiastes, we have this chunk that famously says, “Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” In the midst of hevel, we need each other. This is the wisdom of the teacher. We are made with mirror neurons to respond to each other.

Pain is a meeting place with God. This pain can heal or this pain can separate me from God and from people. This pain is my beginning or this pain is a door to distrusting God.

If the most important thing in life is the person you become, then growing is one of the hardest things you will ever do.

Questions: What is this proverb already teaching you? What has pain taught you?

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:3, 4:7-12, Romans 5:3-5, Job 42:5, Psalm 40:2

Join us for this conversation. Friday, 7 pm EST/6pm CST
We meet over Zoom (how else can we have conversations) and at 13562 Richmond Highway, #205, Woodbridge, VA. DM for Zoom link.

05/31/2026

There are 12 chapters in Ecclesiastes with this ending that sums up everything in this book and how we should live: vv. 12-13 - But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

Read about the Hebrew used here to further understand how we should live. Sometimes in the midst of hevel, we need awe.

https://shessoscripture.com/p/word-nerd-wednesday-yirah

05/30/2026

Moving faith from the mind to the gut is about closing the gap between what you say you believe and what actually shows up in your life. You can say all the right things about God, but when life breaks, something in you also breaks. This is where regrets happen, shame enters.

There is some truth for hope.

Read: https://largerstory.church/moving-faith-from-the-mind-to-the-gut/

05/29/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3DA0yxA4vc

Larger Story Church meets in-person and via Zoom on Friday nights a...

05/28/2026

Sometimes this is how we teach the Bible. This Friday we are drawing proverbs from the book of Ecclesiastes out of a hat. They are like the proverbs from Proverbs but have that twist that comes from Ecclesiastes. We will figure out what these proverbs mean together.

Sample proverb: Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:6.

Join us for this conversation. Friday, 7 pm EST/6pm CST
We meet over Zoom (how else can we have conversations) and at 13562 Richmond Highway, #205, Woodbridge, VA. DM for Zoom link.

05/27/2026

If everything is hevel, what should we value? How do we know to value what to value? Ecclesiastes teaches us something six times. The teacher says “enjoy your life.” What does that mean? Let’s talk about that.

And talk more about joy. Joy is not fragile. Joy doesn’t vanish with circumstance. It holds. It surprises. It keeps showing up even when life feels impossible. And so much more.

Questions: What pattern are you noticing in this group of chunks from Ecclesiastes? Look closely at Ecclesiastes 3:11, what truths speak to you?

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:18-25, 3:9-13, 3:16-21, 5:8-20, 9:5-8

If everything is hevel, what should we value? How do we know to val...