Guelph Vineyard Church

Speaker: Kris MacQueenIf there's one thing that has emerged thematically through our reflection on what it means to follow Jesus into questionable living (the kind of life that prompts questions), it's that following Jesus results in a surprising life. An encounter with the Love of God the Father is always surprising… it is not easily overlooked or dismissed. The call of Jesus on our lives is again, full of surprising "yeses" and surprising "noes". His call can sustain and surprise us for a lifetime.This Sunday we'll consider 5 practices that help to empower and sustain the surprising in-breaking of the love of God in and around us.    

Mark 1:16-20 - "As (Jesus) went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people!” They left their nets immediately and followed him. Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their boat mending nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."Jesus has returned from his experience in the wilderness and he is a man on fire. He has a gospel to preach; a Kingdom to proclaim. He soon encounters four men going about their business and offers them an exchange: 'Leave everything you're competent in and follow me into uncertainty'. This Sunday we'll explore this: Why in the world did they say yes?*Editors note: There was wonderful interaction and questions from the congregation throughout this talk (notably from our youth). We&apos

                "At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness," The very next thing Jesus encounters following the amazing event of his baptism... is the wilderness. He comes up, soaking wet, the waters of the Jordan river dripping off him. The Spirit descends on him like a dove and he hears the words of God: "You are my Son whom I love, with you I am well pleased." And then that same Spirit sends him into the wilds of the Judean country-side to be tempted by Satan. This Sunday we ask the question: "What's up with that?"

"You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." This week we continue our teaching series that considers what it means to live lives that provoke questions. In this talk, we're going to put this declaration of the Father about Jesus right into the foundation of Jesus' understanding of himself. How did this affect how he lived his life and conducted his ministry? What would look different in your life if you could hear these words spoken over you? Was this just God the Father addressing God the son, uniquely? Or does this reveal something of the heart of God towards you and me too? What would be transformed in the knowledge that God loves you, specifically, that your being in this world causes Him pleasure?***Spoiler alert, I think a deep revelation of this would result in change that would cause our friends to start asking some questions.

Speaker: Kris MacQueenJesus lived his life in such a way that He never seemed to need an icebreaker with people. Wherever He went, questions would follow. His words, His actions and His very presence provoked curiosity. In this new series we're going to take some time to consider how, like Jesus, God is calling us into "questionable living" (hint: isn't so much about "mission"... it's about the radical love of God).See you Sunday.

Speaker: Kris MacQueenIn his first letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul encourages his hearers to "give thanks in all circumstances". He goes on to say "…for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It's worth noting that this is a community of people who knows a thing or two about "all circumstances". They are, in the time of his writing, part of the suffering church. They are under persecution. Whatever their thankfulness is about, it's not grounded in anything we might understand as "the good life" as it is typically sold to us these days. Thanksgiving, while it's not part of the traditional Christian calendar of Holy-days, in many ways, it can be among the most Christ-oriented days of the year. This Sunday we're going to ask the question, "What needs to be true so that, in Christ, all of us can share in this all-circumstances-kind-of-thankfulness that Paul is championing?"

David Ruis, National Director of Vineyard Canada, brings a powerful message about the nature of sharing in the Kingdom. Sharing resources, sharing space, sharing life.

Speaker: Kris MacQueenJohn 10:27  "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."Matthew 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."Mark 4:24-25 '"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."' Discipleship distilled: What is God saying? What is my response? Mission of the Church distilled: What is God saying? What is our response?

The story of Abraham marks the beginning of the Hebrew people... Abram (Abraham) receives the grand promises of God... promises that conceive an entire people group, bestowing on them the mission to restore the world, promises that create such a holy ruckus in the life of Abraham that nothing is the same for him again. This is adventurous in-breaking of the Kingdom stuff.

Speaker: Wayne MacQueenHere we look at the story of Barnabas, zeroing in on Acts 13 and highlight how he (and Paul) strongly urged the new believers to continue in the grace of God. Why must we be strongly urged to continue in the grace of God?  How does a ruckus-making God factor into this exhortation to continue in the grace of God?

Speaker: Brady WilsonThe "unclean" woman demolishes and disrupts the prevailing sensibility of who gets to touch the Rabbi. Jesus. God.God makes a ruckus with this woman, with her audacious action, with her enduring story.Who gets to touch God? The one with the felt need. What touches God? A felt need. Here's the ruckus we bring to this world: the Good News is Jesus at the point of need- your need. The terror in the ruckus is this: no need - no touch.In this talk we explore 3 things:                            1.  How we identify our need                            2.  How we openly acknowledge it                            3.  How we use it as our access point                                 to touch JesusThe 4th point is a freebie: how we bring this ruckus to our friends and neighbours

Speaker - Kris MacQueenOne of my favourite modern thinkers is a guy named Seth Godin. He has a phrase that he repeats over and over again: "Go make a ruckus". In my 30-ish years of following Jesus, one of the most consistent characteristics of God's movement in my life (and, honestly, everyone else I know too) is that He seems to be really comfortable with turning things upside down. Throughout September we're going to hear personal stories woven with stories of biblical characters. Stories that highlight moments where God seems to become a  ruckus-maker. Because yes, following Jesus leads through disruption, discomfort and occasionally even demolition. Unto what? All things new, that's what.

Speaker: Jason Baskerville***Note: This was recorded at the Cambridge Vineyard. We at the Guelph Vineyard joined our sister church for their service this past week.We are bombarded daily with messages about what we need, what we deserve, how we should live, parent and what we should accomplish in our lives. Many of these messages offer us information and motivation, but little in the way of intimacy and relationship, the language that brings us closer to God and builds healthy community with each other. How would our perspective on our community change by becoming aware of how we relate to this first language?

John 1:4 "Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people."Who remembers the wrist band slogan-turned-acronym: "WWJD (what would Jesus do)? On some level, sure, this is helpful, particularly for "should I or shouldn't I?" kinds of questions. But as a prime way of expressing the Kingdom in our lives, it falls a bit short of the biblical idea of "Christ in us".  “...as a disciple of Jesus I am with him, by choice and by grace, learning from him how to live in the kingdom of God. This is the crucial idea. That means...to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did.” - Dallas Willard, "The Divine Conspiracy" - Emphasis mine.In this talk we ask the question: What would it mean "to live my life as he would live my life if he were I"?***Please note, there is refe

My dad tells the story of having been a regular church-goer throughout his entire childhood. Yet, as he recalls it, even after an entire childhood of church attendance, he cannot remember ever hearing the gospel of Jesus proclaimed until he was in his 30s! Without the gospel of Jesus, we have nothing. All our talk of hope, of human flourishing, of lives restored, of justice championed, even of wholeheartedness and love...it all falls flat if not infused with promise of Jesus' redeeming, restoring, saving work in our lives. 

Speaker: Eric H.Eric leads us in a reflection that considers the story of the woman with an issue of blood from Mark 5:21-34. We will take time to examine the story and apply it directly to each of our lives. 

Speaker: Kris MacQueen*Please note, this talk has important accompanying images. They can be accessed by right clicking the link below and downloading the attached file.We are coming to the close of our teaching series on Wholeheartedness. We've considered the idea of "wholeheartedness" through Jesus' understanding of the greatest commandment, found in Matthew: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…..and…. Love your neighbor as yourself.’'The reality is that every bit of scripture we've been reflecting on, and in fact, the overall story of the bible, is cast in light of God's redemptive work in all creation. He desires for all creation to be wholehearted in Christ "and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. " - Colossians 1:20. His redeeming work in your life and mine isn't simply about us. It's al

Guest Speaker: Scott Roe, Lead Pastor at the Cambridge Vineyard:We all love a good mystery, providing we know there’s a solution at the end of it.  However, that all depends what your definition of solution is.  For most of us, life is one mystery after another, and with each mystery we are on a quest for a solution. Jesus points us to the one solution for all of life’s problems, challenges, and victories.  It's not what you think. 

Romans chapter 12 presents itself almost as a kind practical manifesto for living a wholehearted life. This startling passage of scripture describes a flurry of God-empowered activity. It speaks right to all the things we've been considering over the past weeks: love of God, love of self, love of the Church, love of neighbour,  and even love of enemy. Buckle up.

In this episode, Adrian Wilson looks specifically at our practices of worship.  Our hearts are shaped by who/what we worship... this is both a beautiful and startling truth! So much more than simply singing songs, when we fix our attention on God, we come away changed, transformed. At the heart of the great commandment, we are called to love God with our whole selves. Come, let's gather together and worship!