Vineyard Columbus
Summary: If you are looking for God, come to Vineyard Columbus. Our vision is to be a relevant church that does not exist for itself, but for Christ and the world. We are a community of people who are committed to following Jesus Christ with our whole lives and who are also called to love and serve each other and the city around us. We value diversity. We are a place where all are welcome: believers along with the curious, the skeptical, the wounded and the disillusioned. We are a place of new hope and second chances. We are a church where God can be found!
- Visit Website
- RSS
- Artist: Vineyard Columbus
- Copyright: Copyright 2012 Vineyard Columbus
Podcasts:
April 29, 2012 Follow-up Bible Study Sermon Discussion Guide
April 22, 2012 Follow-up Bible Study Sermon Discussion Guide
April 15, 2012 Follow-up Bible Study Sermon Discussion Guide
Easter 2012 View the full Easter service (including worship) April 8, 2012 Every person has experienced failure at some point in their lives—personally, professionally, morally. Some people’s failures are bigger even more public than other people’s. Professional athletes experience failure all the time. They must learn how to move on and play the next game. So the question is how do we recover from our failures? How are we restored after blowing it? In this week’s sermon, we considered the failure of Peter. According to the gospel accounts, Peter turned his back on his Best Friend in His time of greatest need. Peter didn’t offer a word of protest as Jesus was hauled away, beaten, abused and eventually crucified. Peter denied even knowing Him! (Refer to Mark 14) Peter’s failure was huge, but Peter was restored. What can we learn from his experience? The fact of Peter’s huge failure should give us confidence to believe the biblical record, because the bible doesn’t “air-brush” its heroes! It doesn’t cover over their mistakes! The bible tells us the story of real people (warts and all) and their encounters with a real God. This is one of many reasons why we can believe the bible. Step one in Peter’s restoration process was to recognize that he had a problem. After a night of unsuccessful fishing, the resurrected Christ approached the disciples on the beach and asked them how it was going (v.4-6). Peter admitted that things were not going well—they had worked all night but hadn’t caught anything. When God asks us, in the midst of our failures, how life is working for us, we must face reality, be honest and admit things are not going well! Step two for Peter was to recognize that God can do what no one else can do. He brings success out of total failure. We believe things are hopeless yet God has a plan. Jesus instructed Peter to throw the nets out again on the other side and lo and behold, they land a huge catch of fish! Peter had to trust Jesus’ instructions. We also need to trust that God can turn things around for us in the midst of our failures. Step three for Peter was to retrace his steps. How did he get to this place of devastation? How did Peter, “the Rock,” one of Jesus’ inner circle, turn from a courageous follower to a cowardly traitor? So three times, Jesus walked Peter through each of the denials (v.15-17). Before we can be healed, we need to cover the ground that led us into failure and away from God in the first place. Fourth, Peter needed to release his shame. Guilt is what we feel when we have failed in the eyes of God but shame is what we feel when we have failed in the eyes of others. Jesus chose to walk Peter through this restoration on the beach with the other disciples present so that Peter was restored not only in the eyes of God, but also in the eyes of his brothers. We must be willing to release our feelings of shame before others in order to experience complete restoration. This often needs to happen in the context of community—God using other Christians to bring restoration in the midst of a failure. Finally, Peter needed to receive the forgiveness Jesus was offering. Jesus understood public humiliation and shame because He was publicly shamed. He died for the guilt of sin AND the shame of sin. The Christian life must be personally apprehended—we must personally take for ourselves the gifts of forgiveness, healing and restoration that Jesus offers in order to experience them. Follow-up Bible Study Sermon Discussion Guide
Good Friday April 6, 2012
April 1, 2012
March 25, 2012
March 18, 2012 40 Days of Experiencing the Spirit Devotional
March 11, 2012 40 Days of Experiencing the Spirit Devotional Sermon Discussion Guide
March 4, 2012 40 Days of Experiencing the Spirit Devotional Sermon Discussion Guide
February 26, 2012 Pastor Rich began a new series about the Holy Spirit. He opened by sharing about our human need for touch both from each other and more importantly from God. Romans 12:5 talks about the spirit being poured out – the experience of abundance in the Spirit. We need God’s touch. Joel Chapter 2 prophesied that the Spirit will be poured out on all people and Pastor Rich gave examples of where that is occurring today. The kingdom of God is about inheriting the precious promises reserved for the end of time and enjoying those promises now – the forgiveness of sins, the writing of the law of God on your heart, the experience of a measure of the healing of your body, the experience of the reconciling of relationships, the spreading of justice on the earth, and salvation, regardless of race, ethnicity, or age. God has come to live inside of human beings by His Spirit. Christians today also need an experience of the Spirit. The internal experience of the Spirit is felt by God’s leading, his prompting for action or restraint. We also need an empowering experience of the Spirit – “Christianity is fire setting” Kierkegaard said. The final point made was that the Spirit is not sexist or racist or elitist or ageist. The Spirit is for all people and as a whole church, let’s embrace the experience of God’s Spirit. 40 Days of Experiencing the Spirit Devotional Sermon Discussion Guide
