Guelph Vineyard Church

What to trust? Trusting is our "first thing". We are born to trust. Literally. We survive infancy only if there has been someone else in our lives who was trustworthy enough to keep us alive. We are born helpless. Trust is the very first thing we learn, if we learn anything at all.And if trustworthiness is the first gift we encounter in life, it's also our first betrayal… Our first disappointment. Because it's not long before trust is broken at some level. This is part of what forms the human condition. It's that elemental.So in asking the question, "What am I going to trust?" we are moving towards a genuinely powerful, genuinely costly, and for some, a truly petrifying concept. And, it matters. Because trust and faith are basically the same word. 

What to test? Part 2: Finding Our Way In A Post-Truth Era Last Sunday we started a really good conversation about what we think of when we we think of the word "test". We focused in on how testing plays a role in our spiritual life, both in how, who and what we test, and how in turn we are tested. This week we're going to get practical, because testing must be practical in order for it to be a helpful test at all.The book of Judges is my least favourite book in the Bible. I probably shouldn't admit that, but I just did. It's full of sketchy behaviour by liars, thieves, and charlatans… and some of them are even Israel's "leaders". Yet the final sentence of the book is also one of the most striking in the scriptures: "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."Living in what sociologists are increasingly referring to as a "post-truth era" (i.e. "you do your truth, I'll do mine"), testing

What are you going to test? Malachai 3:10 "…Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.Luke 4:12 "Do not put the LORD your God to the test."Umm…. Is the Scripture trying to suck and blow at the same time? Well, we're gonna talk about it, and the virtue and the vice of testing.

The ResistanceWe're stepping into 2021 asking four questions:What to embrace?What to resist?What to test?What to trust?This episode we are going to consider what to resist, as always looking to the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and our own heart's desire to lead us.We are wired for resistance. The instant a child discovers that they have a will, the propensity to resist becomes crystal clear. There is a deep rooted understanding in the human experience that knows that not all things are as they should be, and there our resistance begins. We may disagree, often vehemently, about what should be resisted, but that there are things in the world that should be opposed, we are agreed. So then, what does it look like to resist "like Jesus"? What does God resist? Well, thankfully, the scriptures do a pretty good job of getting us started on that path by relaying a story about the resistance of God. It involves Jesus, a serpent, a desert and some bread. Oh yeah, and a very empty stomach.

Last week we closed our reflection by posing four questions to help shape our pursuits and expectations for 2021.  What to embrace?What to resist?What to test?What to trust?We're going to give a Sunday for each of these questions over the next 4 weeks, asking them of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and our own heart's desire.This week contains what's known as Epiphany (technically January 6). It celebrates the journey of the magi, who we often refer to as the "three kings".The magi were likely astronomers, well acquainted with the night sky and one evening, something they saw caused them to embrace the road. Their imaginations were lit and they began to follow. They were led through a foreign land, driven by what they saw in the darkened sky. They threw their arms around adventure, embraced their epiphany and ultimately came face to face with God in flesh.May it be so for us.

2020 was a complicated year, and not a good  year for most people globally.  This sermon reflects back on 2020, looks ahead to 2021 with a focus on the gift of GRACE and the goodness of God. We can trust in the goodness of God no matter what.

Dec 20th  was our Merry Christmas Sunday!  We began with worship, Advent readings and communion, followed by a very brief Advent reflection from Kris about LOVE,  uploaded here.  We finished the livestream early in order to shift over to the zoom call where we had an online Christmas party. There was a story for the kids (and grownups),  some fun and games too. This was our last community gathering of 2020, as the following Sunday, Dec 27th was facilitated nation wide by Vineyard Canada though an online event.

Joy. When we taste it, we're reminded that it is the elixir of energy, capacity, will, purpose… Joy is uncontainable. It spills out… even the smallest dose of it can be seen on our faces, our countenances. And we also know that there are times, entire seasons even, where it can be pretty elusive. This time our gathering will look a little different.  I want to open the floor to share our stories of moments of joy. They can be big moments, or tiny moments. Bonfires of joy or flickers of it.2020 is winding down. It's been a hard, dark year. For some of us, perhaps this has been your darkest year. It's my hope that telling and listening to our stories of joy will, like the candles around our advent wreath, be beacons and signposts of the work of Christ in and among us… Little sources of energy, lighting up the room. Kris.

Peace…. Is there a greater gift? Is there a more elusive goal? What does it mean to "have peace"? We long for it in our world, in our work, in our mental and emotional states, and in our families. Yet, we are in a culture who's practices and technology are literally engineered to diminish peace. This Sunday we're going to be reflecting on this most cherished promise of the scriptures."And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:7 And likewise:"He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." - Isaiah 2:4 Amen. To watch service on You Tube click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKLgzHuaC0

"I repent of optimism." Can I get an amen? What a strange thing to say, right? Doesn't this sound like a recipe for an existential crisis? Why would we ever "repent of optimism"? It gets weirder. Has it ever occurred to you that optimism is not a fruit of the Spirit? That can't be right, can it?Optimism holds out the view that everything is eventually going to get better. It assumes that, left long enough, the bend of human nature is towards progress, equality, wealth and justice. Our knowledge and technology will eventually pave the way for utopia.That view of the world is taking a bit of a hit these days, and the result is a whole lot of pain, confusion... even despair. The gospel has a very different take on things, one rooted in realism.  But the realism of the gospel, the reality that is rooted in Christ, is FILLED with hope. Not hope in 'our better angels', but hope in Christ. The hope of Advent. Christ here, among us.To watch service on YouTube click here:https:/

Do you ever wish you could just let go of the steering wheel of your life and let God take the wheel? Then you could jump in the passenger's seat and just let Jesus drive. In the book of Mark we hear the story of Jesus quieting the wind and the waves with a simple command.  Don't You sometimes pray that He would use that trick on you? "I give you permission, Jesus, take over!" Alas, an understandable prayer that never gets the answer we hope for.The Lord demonstrated that He has the authority to put even the most powerful forces in creation under His beck and call, yet such power He does not exercise over us, even when we want Him to. Let's be very real for a moment. Making Jesus Lord of your life isn't as simple as surrendering control. Jesus does not have the wheel of your life. He is in the passenger seat. He has ordained it to be so. 

Adrian and Alison Wilson continue with with our series Jesus is Lord,  with their Signposts reflection conclusion.  

Adrian will share a story, and reveal how being part of God's story has practical applications in our lives. While he was telling the story, Andrea was interpreting it in the form of a drawing.  This was a very special collaboration. Don't miss it!Click here to see Andrea's image.

The  Lord of Love:The phrase "Lording it over" is always meant as a criticism. It describes the act of positioning oneself or one's power over another in an unhelpful, unhealthy and usually abusive way. It's different with Jesus.For Christ to "Lord over us" literally means for Him to love. It means for Him to serve. In fact, there simply is no division between the Lordship of Jesus and His love. They are of the same nature. The truth is, God is under no obligation to anyone, ever. Everything He does, He does because He loves. No act of God is obligatory, it is absolutely voluntary, absolutely chosen, and absolutely compelled by His specific love for you and for me.We're going to dig deeper into the love of God, expressed in the Lordship of Christ.

Jesus is not CEO of God the Father's company. He's not Prime Minister or President of God's nation. Our relationship with the concept of "lordship" is complicated because it's rooted more in history than in our present experience of life, nationhood or culture. The first audiences of the scriptures had clear and present understandings of what Lordship meant. We're going to take a closer look at what we "moderns" might be able to learn from the "ancients" about lordship, and the Jesus-shaped seat that is in your life and mine.

"Jesus Is Lord" means that Jesus is not a means to an end, no matter how noble or good that "end" may be. It means that He is not a method, a life strategy or even a way to access God. He is the "end". He is the wholesale destination of a life well lived. He is THE way because He is the point. His Face is literally our destiny. This week we reflect on Jesus words: “I am the way and the truth and the life." 

It's Thanksgiving. As with so many events this year, much about it is upside down. Let's be honest: For many of us, this has been a pretty tough year. For each of us, one way or another, this weekend will have a certain wrestle attached to it.And yet. Perhaps there's no need to put on rose-coloured glasses or skip over the hard parts of life in order to step towards genuine joy and thanksgiving in the person of Jesus. Colossians opens with a beautiful passage that leads us (all of us!) to the feet of Jesus who, as we've been reflecting, is our chosen Lord.  We'll reflect on what Paul had to say to the Church of Colossae and perhaps discern a word to us as well, the kind of Word that can lead us into an honest-to-life thankfulness that is sustained in and through all circumstances.  

We're diving deeper into what it means to declare that Jesus is Lord. The words "Jesus is Lord" declare an alternative reality, one that upsets our status quo 100% of the time. It really is that profound, because his lordship will unseat every other kind of authority at work in your life and mine. It's just the way it works. In this, Jesus is unequivocal: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other."

What does it mean when we say "Jesus is Lord"?Romans 10:8b-9“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.What do we mean when we call Jesus "Lord"? Is it simply part of our name for God? In what ways does that connect with the Hebrew understanding of the word LORD - used as a substitute for "YHWH" because they dared not even utter the name of God? Or is it more in keeping with the meaning that was widely understood in New Testament times, particularly in Roman Empire, when "Caesar is Lord" was a common place declaration throughout the Empire? How does the declaration "Jesus is Lord" equate with being saved?We're going to take some time over the next while to dig into this idea of Jesus as Lord and what that means for us right now, in our day.

This week we continue our deeper dive into the prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4-5."Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." This is the prayer that formed the bedrock of what Jesus described as the greatest commandment.This Sunday, we talk about the heart. Different cultures have different conceptions of the human heart, what it is and what it does, and the biblical authors are no exception. We're going to consider ancient Hebrew words for "heart" as well as the different ideas of what our hearts represent. There is no biblical word that captures better the essence of human thought, feeling, and desire, than this rich and wonderful word.