This Easter Sunday we are digging into the magnificent, dense chapter on resurrection by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. There is hope in here for every single person. We also interrogate the one sentence Gospel of “Jesus died for our sins.”
Many of us are probably familiar with the most common reasons for baptism: 1) It’s commanded; 2) Jesus himself was baptized; 3) It’s a public profession; 4) It’s entrance into the community of believers. But the Apostle Peter in his first letter gives us another, massively important reason that we need to hear.
Some God encounters are sweet, while others are confrontational and arresting. We’ll explore how Jesus uses a series of important events to turn the light on for Saul and how he even uses others to play a role in Saul’s purpose discovery, healing and salvation.
We end our journey in James, a book that has been lanced through with brutal honesty, on a high note. Three hopes, all located in healing: our bodies matter, the Lord will raise us up, and pray for each other that we may be healed.
James tells us that the reality of the kingdom transforms the way we think about money and allows us to live patiently. The gospel makes us generous as we patiently wait Jesus’ good kingdom.
Arrogance distorts how we see ourselves and our relationship with God. James reminds us that a life with Jesus is a life of dependence.
The first ten verses of chapter 4 are a master class on desire. How do we direct our desire? How do we heal our desires? James shows us how.
Some people say James is the New Testament version of the book of Proverbs. If James has some wisdom to share with us, what does he mean when he talks about two kinds of wisdom, and how does that apply to life? Let’s find out.
As one preacher puts it, “if we can master the tongue, we can master our lives.” Yet James tells us, “no one can tame the tongue.” So how does the healing of our tongues actually happen?
Exploring some of James’ most direct and unabashed exhortations to followers of Christ to put their faith into action.
What does it mean to love your neighbor? In James 2:1-13, we learn that the early Christians struggled with favoritism and silos within the church, just like our society today. James helped the church to break down walls by changing their glasses and loving others in action.
The second half of James 1 includes 3 distinct instructions that act as “life rings”. These were intended to help the people of James’ day as they faced trials. In the same way, they help us now cling to who God is and what He calls us to do.
In our world, friendship has become disposlable. But Jesus tells us that friendships might be THE most important relationships we can have; in fact, he seems to elevate friendships above all other relationships in John 15. How do we practice spiritual friendship at the Vineyard? Listen to find out.
Today we start a new series through the book of James. James dives right in and teaches us that in the Kingdom where Jesus is Lord, even trials bring good and perfect gifts.
We come to the end of our Story of the Bible series today, and as we close, we’re looking at how the Scriptures end. What is the end of the story for the people of God? When it comes to the “end times,” confusion is the norm, but Scripture is remarkably clear about four things that we look at today.
This week we explore how because of the gospel, Jesus is the fulfillment of all of the promises that God makes to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. And we explore what the good news of the Gospel is, and how it enables us to bring forth resurrection and renewal in our own lives and in the world around us.
What’s more new than a Baby Son instead of another version of Judas Maccabaeus? What’s more new than the Lord of Life changing everything when he returns? THIS is what Advent is truly about.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’ve reached the point in the story where Israel is returning from exile, as promised by Jeremiah 29. Is this a promise for us today, or just for a people, displaced, living in exile in Babylon? We find out today.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
For those of us familiar with the story of Solomon, we often think of his reign as the height of Ancient Israel. But Solomon teaches us to hope for a better King.
Is the God of the Old Testament different than the God of the New? Or does the grace that we experience because of Jesus have ancient rooting? It does! Abraham’s story shows us how.
Life goes off the rails when we stop believing God is good and start worshipping idols, but Jesus is working to reverse the curse!
The Story of God is the story of us. How do we figure into the story? What is God’s intention for humankind? What does it mean to be “made in His image?”
The most beautiful Story in the Universe begins with Creation. This is where the story starts for you and me, too.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’ve always been a church with our eye on the future. We believe that this cultural moment affords us the opportunity of building a church that can reach all of Chicagoland.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Our fifth value is doing restorative justice. We believe our church exists to partner with God to “restore” his intention for his good creation. Why is justice so important? What role do we play?
