Vineyard Covington: Recent Episodes
vcovpod
Healing communities meet people in the places where they're stuck, help them get up to move forward and walk alongside them on this journey into wholeness.
Original Post
This week, we turn to one of Jesus' healing stories in Luke 5 and discover that He sees more than symptoms. As Jesus ministers to the whole person, we learn how to partner with the Holy Spirit and care for people with the same compassion and attention today.
Original Post
Healing requires God’s ability and our availability. This Sunday we heard about how God worked in and through our team that ministered to refugees in Greece and how healing was a big part of their trip.
Original Post
Joe shares some amazing stories from a recent trip to encourage us that the same power of God we see in the scriptures is active and available to us today! As a church we're focused on developing as healing communities for the city. We believe this is a season of really growing as a healthy family that can welcome in, raise up, and send out people to experience and continue the healing work of Jesus.
Original Post.
The Spirit was given not simply to give us new experiences, but to gather wounded people into a healing family that carries the presence and power of Jesus to the world.
Original Post
Jesus doesn’t avoid our failures or our pain. Sometimes healing requires returning to those places so He can rebuild what’s underneath and restore what was lost. In this sermon from Gospel of John 21, we look at how Jesus restored Simon Peter after his denial—and what that means for our own stories today.
Original Post
Jesus meets us in our doubt, invites us to trust, and sends us to live a new way of life with others. This is the ongoing process of life with Jesus.
Original Post
Jesus is alive! But how do we recognize him when we are discouraged and disoriented? The Road to Emmaus offers some clues, showing us how things can drop from our heads to our hearts.
Original Post
We dive into the final section of John 6, where surrender becomes real. It’s one thing to receive the "miracle bread" of provision; it’s another to accept Jesus as the Bread of Life when His call challenges our comfort, our history, and our hearts.
Original Post
This week, we continue our Lenten journey through John 6. After the feeding of the 5,000, we shift towards the Bread of Life discourse and an understanding that it's less important to focus on what Jesus does for us, and more important to focus on who He is.
Original Post
As we step into the Lenten season, we look at a story in John that shows Jesus performing a significant miracle. What can this story and this season teach us about surrender?
Original Post
What if God is preparing tables for us in new and unexpected places all around us? If we let the Shepherd lead us, we learn to live from God’s abundance wherever we are—and carry it to others.
Original Post
Psalm 23 gives us an ancient map for life—it reminds us who’s leading, when to rest, and how to get back on the right path. We kicked off our Refocus series by walking through the first three verses of this well-known Psalm.
Original Post
The Spirit is at work, not only transforming and empowering individuals, but fitting us all together to make a new temple where his glory dwells, and through which the whole earth will be filled.
Original Post
We all fall asleep to our lives sometimes—caught in distraction, fear, or numbness. But what if, like Jacob in Genesis 28, we could wake up to the reality that God has been here all along? You’re invited to live “wide awake” to God’s presence—seeing the overlap of Heaven and Earth, practicing gratitude, and letting the Spirit fill us with light. Wake up, sleeper. Christ is shining on you.
Original Post
Jesus invites us to continue his work as the church. And one of those tasks is healing the sick. This sermon talks about healing and the practical ways that we partner with the Holy Spirit to step in and become a healing community for our city.
Original Post
Jesus fills us with his spirit to empower a completely new life of freedom and love, but we often get stuck trying to do it on our own. Kingdom life isn’t just hard, it’s impossible — unless we learn to walk by the Spirit.
Original Post
Baptism is a "boundary event" where we cross from the old age of sin into God's Kingdom reality, like choosing the red pill in The Matrix. We must remember our baptismal identity—dead to sin, alive in Christ—and live as Kingdom participants, not slaves to our former life.
Original Post
Jesus is lord. This 3 word worldview is the foundation of kingdom movements that see real transformation. Jesus has all the authority so everything we do is a response to his teaching and leading in our life. What's Jesus saying to you and what are you going to do about it?
Original Post
Praying God’s word back to Him is one of the most powerful prayer tools we have. And when it’s rooted in love, it helps us get filled to partner with God in His transforming work.
Original Post
As we say yes to a new story with Jesus, we will face opposition and lies that try to pull us back into our old, stuck ways. But we can experience the power and refreshment of the risen King who defeated death and evil to set us free now!
Original Post
As followers of Jesus, our stories should look like his story. We are representing the love of God to the world so we better live with open eyes. Everything in our life, when surrendered to the king, all of it, good and bad, can be a sign that points to Jesus – his beauty, mercy, compassion and power. Everything matters.
Original Post
As we continue our series on Story, we look to the stories of others. These stories are full of suffering, so how can we respond to the suffering of others?
Original Post
We look back at the story of the birth of the church not so we can try to go back, but to be encouraged to keep going as Jesus leads his family on mission forward. God tells his kingdom story through the lives of people in relationship with him. And because he’s poured out his spirit on us we get to be witnesses, carrying the power of his presence wherever we go multiplying hot pockets of hope and love around the city.
Original Post
God is writing a new story of hope setting all things right in the world, and he wants to include you! As we keep saying yes to Jesus and following where he leads, we get caught up in something bigger, woven together with many others to create something beautiful. Your story matters.
Original Post
The first and most important step in learning to walk with Jesus is availability. God's not looking for superstars who have it all together, but people who are simply willing to say, "Here I am."
Original Post
Forgiveness is central to the message of the Bible and the good news of Jesus, and it means we don't have to walk around carrying all the weight of hurt from our past. Ready to start the healing process of offloading unforgiveness in your life?
Original Post
Jesus’ victory over sin and death on the cross introduced a new reality to the world setting us free from the power of sin and shame, and at the heart of this new reality is forgiveness.
Original Post
Jesus is welcomed as a king with great hope and expectation. But what kind of kingdom is he bringing? And how should we approach this king?
Original Post
God wants to speak to us. And his voice can change everything. But to hear him, we have to push aside distractions like our digital devices. In this sermon, we look at John 10 and the Good Shepherd to help guide us.
Orignial Post
As we step into the Lenten season, we take a look at the tests Jesus faced in the wilderness for 40 days. Jesus passed the tests his ancestors failed. What can we learn from how he passed them that can benefit us as we continue to learn to be more like him?
Original Post
The goodness can’t be contained! God’s vision of healing life was always meant to be overflowing outward for the good of others, especially to the poor, the marginalized, the hurting, & the places of pain in our city. Who are the people outside the family that you’re committed to be with and share what you’ve received?
Original Post
Who are the people you are committing to love well in this season? And who are the people you are letting love you? With a focus on community, we looked at how the body of Christ has different parts essential to its health, diversity, and unity.
Original Post
There’s a lot of noise in our world, isn’t there? Am I allowing God’s voice to be the loudest in my life? One of the best ways to cut out the noise and learn to hear and connect with God is through scripture. We’re committed to tucking his living Words away into our hearts so that it produces good fruit. “I have hidden your word in my heart…” Psalm 119:11a
Original post.
Our lives often get so full and complicated that we lose sight of what it’s really all about. Why would we devote ourselves to following Jesus? Because in him is life. We’re invited to hear the word of life, and not just hear it, but be formed by it, and join in to speak it and see new life transforming others around us. What’s Jesus speaking to you right now?
Original Post
Week 2 of Advent focuses on peace. And while we find ourselves in a time and place where peace is hard to find, people like John the Baptist can help prepare the way for the kind of peace that Jesus offers, and that we need desperately.
Original Post
God is creator, father, and the owner of everything. He loves to give good gifts to his children so we can fulfill our purpose as trusted caretakers or stewards. As we look at 3 postures when it comes to resources, consider what gifts you've received in your life and how God is guiding your stewardship role of them?
Original Post
What if the thing you love so much is the thing holding you back from receiving what you truly want deep down inside? Our hearts can't serve two masters, as much as we want to, so all throughout the Bible we see God giving his people specific practices to help train our hearts to trust him fully. What's he inviting you to right now?
Listen to the song we played after the message here: Everything's In Your Hands by Mission House
https://youtu.be/5ZwekJKA2Ek?si=Cc8UZnY_lmr8iWaE
Original Post
Throughout the story of Exodus, God has slowly been revealing his character to Moses and the people of Israel. As we close our Exodus series, we walk through a dramatic failure followed by a deeper revelation of who God is and what He does.
Original Post
What do we do with our freedom? God invites Israel to a mountaintop experience that reveals their true identity and special purpose sealed with a covenant. Are we ready to receive that blessing and fully commit to representing God in the world?
Freedom Practice - Commit Are you ready to go all in with God? The unexpected secret to a life of real freedom is surrendering everything to the only one who is truly trustworthy. We're invited to an exclusive covenant relationship with the creator of the universe. How can you live out of that commitment this week?
Original Post
Wilderness times are a training for God’s way of life, and God always provides. In the wilderness, the Israelites heard the voice of God, learned to follow him, and became a new people. The slavery was getting out of them! If you’re in the wilderness, are you willing to lose your old identity? To hear the voice of God, follow him, and become who you are meant to be?
Freedom Practice - RECEIVE Daily Bread
If we are to be people who live free like the Israelites are learning to, we want to keep near to God, listen to his words and follow him. To talk with him and hear what he's saying every day. This week let's pray the Lord’s Prayer with a posture of listening, trusting, and receiving his daily bread.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Original Post
As the story continues we see a confrontation between 2 kings and 2 kinds of kingdoms. Who is this God of Israel? The God of justice and mercy. The one who creates order out of chaos. The one who hears the cries of his people and moves with the power to save and set captives free. Do you know that God?
Original Post
We begin a series on the book of Exodus and focus on a powerful encounter between God and Moses. God’s plan is in motion, and he’s asking Moses to play a significant role, but is the shame from Moses past the storyteller? Or will he let God re-write his story?
Freedom Practice - Take time to be quiet with God this week and ask him how he has re-written your story. Also ask him where shame continues to be the storyteller and how he wants to change that.
Original post
The Bible is an integrated story that leads to Jesus, revealing God as the savior of the world who comes to rescue and free his people he loves so much.
Original post
With a generous, extravagant love, Jesus sows the seeds of the Kingdom with words and actions so it will take root in our hearts. Out of that harvest in us he sends us out to join him on his mission of sowing and reaping, looking for people ready to receive the good news and see our city transformed!
Original post
In Luke 10, Jesus sends people out on mission to find people of peace. These people are ready to receive the good news and can open up doors to networks of others. So how do we find them today and what do we do next?
Original Post
Jesus’ way of looking for a person of peace gives us a framework for a pressure-is-off way of sharing God’s good news. A person of peace is someone ready to receive the message of the Kingdom and the King, someone who welcomes you, serves you, and listens to you.
Original Post.
Jesus passed on his mission to the church to seek and save the lost and to make disciples who make disciples. Colossians 4:2-6 reminds us that how we pray, how we live, and how we talk are some important steps towards following Jesus on his mission.
Original Post.
Jesus invites us to grow and change to become like him and gives us the grace and power to do it! We get there not by trying really hard but by committing to a way of life walking with Jesus & others that helps us practice and participate with the transforming work of the Spirit in us.
Original Post.
One of our core values is to live a Naturally Supernatural lifestyle as you go. This allows us to partner with the Holy Spirit everywhere we go without any hype or manipulation. This sermon helps us understand how to do this, and why our church and the Vineyard movement have embraced living this way.
Original Post.
Our VCOV Core Value of relational hospitality means we prefer one another. Let’s prefer one another at work, on errands, at home with our kids, with friends, with strangers at the grocery store, anywhere and everywhere! We see the Kingdom coming and the future picture of worshiping as one family becoming more and more real as we continue to reconcile with one another because we’ve been reconciled with God.
Original Post.
God is our father, and in Jesus we’ve been adopted into a new family through which he is uniting and reconciling all things. In a culture shaped by radical individualism and loneliness, Jesus invites us to live like a healthy family.
Original Post.
Holy Week is here, and on Palm Sunday we celebrate the entry of the King while recognizing that Jesus is getting closer and closer to the cross. Sitting in that tension can stretch us in powerful, but uncomfortable ways.
Original Post.
How is Lent going? Today we take a moment to get refreshed and refocused in the middle of this important season using one of the most famous passages in the Bible.
Original Post
Jesus never tells us to go do it alone. He doesn’t expect us to prove anything. He pours out his love on us and tells us to remain in his love. We fight the lies and temptations in our lives by learning to listen to his Spirit at work in us.
Original Post
What is shaping your identity? As we navigate the formation machine of the world, we find wisdom in the story of Jesus. Four verses in Mark 1 guide this talk, where Jesus leaves home, is baptized, and tested in the wilderness.
Original Post
We were created to live lives of love, and even though so many things in life are pulling us away, we can practice quieting the other noises to become fully present and tuned to the loving voice of God.
"Help me to journey beyond the familiar
and into the unknown.
Give me the faith to leave old ways
and break fresh ground with You.
Christ of the mysteries, I trust You
to be stronger than each storm within me.
I will trust in the darkness and know
that my times, even now, are in Your hand.
Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,
and somehow, make my obedience count for You."
– Prayer of St Brendan
Original Post
The bible paints a beautiful picture of a loving father that stitched us together in our mothers' wombs, and is constantly at work stitching back together all the broken things in our world. We’re invited to join in this process through a shared way of life centered on Jesus.
Original Post
God's Kingdom breaks in through the birth of his son and changes everything.
Original Post
During Advent, we remember the arrival of Jesus and look forward to his second coming. How do we hold on to hope while we wait?
Original Post
People watched Jesus because he lived a life exploding with the power of the Kingdom. Each of us have the same opportunity to see the Kingdom break into the ordinary moments of our real lives, and the people around us are watching.
Original Post
Jesus came announcing and demonstrating amazing good news: The Kingdom of God is breaking in to this world and it changes everything! What if we learned to live with an expectation for the Kingdom to break in to our lives at any moment?
Original Post
Why do we get together and sing songs as a core rhythm of following Jesus together, and what happens when we do? Corporate worship is a powerful practice that connects us to God, unites us together, and literally transforms us.
Original post
Humans were created as image bearers with a special purpose and relationship, designed to see and reflect the glory of God. The problem is ultimately a failure of worship, becoming enslaved to other powers, but Jesus won the victory setting us free from sin and shame. Worshipping Jesus is one of the most powerful ways we can practice and participate in this ongoing act of transformation through the Spirit.
Original post
Our worldview is a set of assumptions about the nature of reality that determines the way we process our experiences in life. It shapes where we're starting from and where we're going. What if we could learn to see the world like Jesus believing and expecting God to be involved and interacting supernaturally in everything we do?
Original Post
Our church is to be one made up of generational bridge builders. We honor and seek the welfare of the generations ahead of us and behind us. No matter our age, we have a gift we bring to the body of Christ. We must be generational bridge builders if we are to have any lasting impact on our city, and that means, ALL of us, no matter what generation we come from, get to play.
Original Post
Encounters with the living God change the way we see the world and lead us on a path to new places with new people to see the family of God expand more and more. The good news of Jesus is a gift available to everyone.
Original Post
God gives us extraordinary new experiences that connect us to a new family and a new way of life that leads to amazing transformation and mission, and most of it happens through a lifetime of ordinary, mundaneness as we devote ourselves to him, his people, and his practices. To what people and way of life are you committed to?
Original Post
Jesus is the good King who came to find us and free us from all the things that keep us in bondage. He sees us and helps us learn to see others and invite everyone to the party.
Original Post
What if life with Jesus was less about getting into heaven and more about getting heaven into us?
Original Post
Out of the darkness of the womb and the tomb comes new life. Reflect with us on John 11 and John 20 and how Jesus is with us in our grief. He's with us. He calls us. He sends us.
Original Post
Out of the darkness of the womb and the tomb comes new life. Reflect with us on John 11 and John 20 and how Jesus is with us in our grief. He's with us. He calls us. He sends us.
Original Post
We’re focused on one more person starting life with Jesus this year. And prayer is at the center of that focus. Grounded in Luke 18 and the parable of the persistent widow, this talk unpacks how we plan to be intentional, consistent, and persistent in prayer for “one more."
Original Post
We all need a fresh start but not just a redo with the same ingredients. We need something new – new power to experience a new life. The good news is that God loves people so much that he sends his son to set us free from trying fix ourselves on our own and birth his new, never-ending life inside of us.
Original Post
God's not out to get our money; He wants our hearts. He wants us to be truly free, and he knows the power money can hold over us. Living a life of giving helps us to acknowledge everything we have comes from God and to put our trust in him in a really practical way. Investing in the local church also connects us together with the family on mission around us to see more transformation and fruit flowing out.
THIS WEEK: Have an honest conversation and process with God around money to see how he's inviting you to practice being generous in your local church.
Original Post
A special night honoring and celebrating the unique callings and commitments the pastors are playing in our community with the ordination of Rachel & Joe. We also want to recognize and receive all the gifts Jesus gives so everyone gets to play and find their role in the family on mission.
Original Post
We might say what we're thankful for once a year at Thanksgiving, but what if we lived everyday with a posture of gratitude noticing the good things in our lives? Paul actually tells the church that is God's will for us. Giving thanks can actually be a transformative spiritual practice in our lives.
THIS WEEK: Start a daily practice of intentionally giving thanks. Maybe start a gratitude journal to take note of the good things in your life or share what you're thankful for with your friends and family.
Original Post
You are beautifully and wonderfully made, and God gives each of us unique gifts and abilities to be able to serve others. Part of living like a healthy family is everyone has part to play, and we all benefit when everyone is operating in their gifts. What is your gift and how can you give it away to benefit others? What if we saw our whole lives that way – our jobs, relationships, and calling in life?
THIS WEEK: Take some time to identify one of your gifts and find a way to share it to serve others. Pray and look for opportunities to be generous with the gifts you have received.
Original Post
Our words have power and they can be used to build up or cut down. In a culture steeped in attacks and criticism, what if we were generous with our words and freely gave them as gifts to build people up? THIS WEEK: Be generous with your words to encourage others around you. Call out the good you see in others. Tell people what you love about them. Use your words as a gift to build people up and speak life.
Original Post
Jesus modeled living a life in his Kingdom with an abundant mindset – that our good father can be trusted and the good things he created don't run out. There is enough for everyone! As we walk with Jesus and practice his abundant way of life, the Spirit renews our minds to live generous and sacrificial lives inviting everyone to the party!
Original Post
The things we own can end up owning us in an endless pursuit for more and more. Sacrificing to help others not only forms us in powerful ways as our trust in Jesus grows, but it also blesses people in practical ways with a tangible expression of God's love for them.
THIS WEEK: Pay attention to the people around you and ask God to show you someone to bless. When you see a need, find a way to meet it. Practice sacrificing something of ourselves to be generous with those in need.
We also have a great opportunity with one of our monthly rhythms to serve the people of our city with Isaiah House in St. E's parking lot Saturday morning at 7:45am. Come serve with us!
Original Post
While we can easily make it all about ourselves, true worship is a sacrificial act of offering up and giving all of ourselves to God. Our love, our attention and adoration, our emotions, and perhaps one of the most valuable resources in our culture – our time. Worship costs us something. Of course it's easier to do this when we learn to see everything as a gift from God... How can you engage in extravagantly pouring out your love to God ?
THIS WEEK: Practice giving with us by spending time in intentional worship to God. What kind of rhythm can you build for this? We also get the opportunity to do this gathered together on Sunday, Oct 23 at 5pm.
Original Post
What kind of story are we living in? Is it all about us and what we can get for ourselves or are we part of something bigger? We believe God is so generous with us and he pours out good gifts for us to share with others to release good and beauty into the world. Because of this, we want to practice living with open-handed generosity in all we do and say. As Jesus said, "Freely you have received, freely give."
THIS WEEK: Practice taking a posture of open hands and repeating a simple breath prayer throughout the day to remind ourselves of this truth.
Breathe in: God everything I have...
Breathe out: ...is a gift from you.
Original Post
Sabbath is a gift to us from God waiting to be opened. It's an invitation, not an obligation, and it's not something we have to earn. Receiving this gift allows us to experience the good life in a concentrated time slot that over time infiltrates our whole week. How can you practice intentionally stopping to rest and delight in God this week?
YouTube Version
The good news of the Kingdom of God breaking into our world is that everyone is invited and there's always room for more. Jesus' way of life is so often unexpected and seemingly upside down, but it is our receiving and participating in the story of God that unites us all together as a family on mission.
Original Post
Jesus' invitation to follow him is an invitation to change and become something new. But not just any change - to become like him. Why? Because it’s the good way we were created to be AND it’s how the world is being set right. When regular people like you and me let go of the old and surrender to lives of love with Jesus. How are you changing? What are you becoming?
Watch the YouTube version here
Seasons in the wilderness can form us in ways that places of comfort can't. But how can we find hope and meaning in the midst of times of desolation and distress? If we follow the guides available to us from God within community we can make it out the other side transformed and better equipped for the things Jesus is inviting us into. (Note: The audio clears up after 35 seconds)
When Jesus died and rose again 2,000 years ago something amazing began with evil being defeated and God's loving rule breaking into our world making all things new. We've been set free and invited to a new way of being human where we look more and more like Jesus. What would your life be like if you were really free of fear?
Jesus invites us into his transforming way of life. One, integrated life of being with him, becoming like him, and doing what he did. This is great news and we move forward by learning to see where Jesus is inviting us right now. We start where we really are, not where we think we should be. What might
Jesus be inviting you into right now?
Jesus invites us to a new way of living by following him with our whole life. We get to be with him, to become like him, and do what he did. His amazing Kingdom vision of seeing all things made new, on earth as it is in heaven, comes through his family living out and training others around them in this transforming way of life.
We were created to worship and the father is looking for us to reconnect us with his presence and the purpose over our lives. Jesus finds us in our broken-down state and restores us to our original, glorious design.
Having thankful hearts is God's will for us -- an invitation into a better way of experiencing the world and having our eyes opened to God every day. Gratitude is a spiritual practice we engage in that over time transforms our lives as we become more attuned to seeing the love and goodness of God.
Big thanks to Ray Hollenbach from Campbellsville for sharing with us!
Is all this just a ploy to tell people about Jesus? The answer is no! Or maybe, loving our neighbors and inviting them into community IS telling them about Jesus. Ultimately, our hope is for everyone to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus, but it can’t be some ulterior motive for love.
Jesus gave us a strategy we call looking for people of peace. God is already at work in our neighborhoods, and as we go loving everyone, we look for people who are open for more. So the pressure's not on us to make something happen. We don’t love people so they will know Jesus; we love them because we know Jesus.
THIS WEEK (and every week!): Ask the Spirit to open your eyes to the people of peace around you and pay attention for opportunities. Release the pressure to force anything and lean into the people who are receptive to you.
As this series comes to end, remember the goal of practicing is not just to do a few good things once a year, but to ingrain ourselves into a way of life that looks like Jesus -- that looks like love. Everyone gets to play!
Jesus loved parties and spent a lot of time hanging out with unexpected people. Those of us who've found life in Jesus should be the best partiers on the planet! Most of the time we just don't celebrate or we only invite those on the inside, but what if we spent more time enjoying the hope and good things in our lives and invited the ones who don't normally get invited? This kind of open and invitational life within community is a great picture of what God and his family are like. Plus parties are one of the best ways to get to know your neighbors.
THIS WEEK: Host (or schedule) a party and invite your neighbors. Find something to celebrate, have a cookout, build a backyard fire, watch the game... Do whatever you love to do and invite the people who live nearby. It doesn't have to be expensive, and you don't have to do it alone. It's a great chance for your neighbors to connect with others in our family who have the hope and love of Jesus in them.
We typically think we have to be the ones to give everything, but real relationships allow others to give as well. When Jesus sent out his followers he instructed them not to bring extra supplies and to accept the hospitality of the people around them. Allowing others to serve and use their gifts actually helps them feel like part of the community.
THIS WEEK: Allow yourself to receive from a neighbor. Ask for help. Accept an invitation. Get advice. Allow your needs to be seen.
What current need do you have that a neighbor might be able to help you with?
Shoutout to Joshua Stoxen and the Vineyard Central crew who've been loving their neighbors in Norwood, OH for 30 years!
“The art of receiving is not complicated. It comes down to being aware of our own needs. It’s about opening our eyes, then being vulnerable enough to ask and receive.” - The Art of Neighboring
Jesus came among us revealing the love of God by serving others. How can you share love in a practical way to your neighbors?
THIS WEEK: Do something to serve your neighbors. If you see a need, how can you meet it? What do you have that you can give away to the people around you?
Rake leaves, make some food, help move, be home and give the best candy on Halloween...
Our world loves to talk so when someone really listens it stands out. Maybe one of the best ways to love our neighbors is by being good listeners. Show them you care by taking the time to listen and become a safe person for them.
THIS WEEK: Practice listening to your neighbors. Be curious. Ask questions. Learn their stories. God is already at work in their lives and sometimes we get to play a part in that.
How often do you see the people who live around you? We can get stuck isolating ourselves inside, but when we physically put ourselves in position to see our neighbors, it's amazing how many more opportunities for conversations we find.
THIS WEEK: Practice being available for simple interactions with your neighbors by moving to the front porch. Instead of spending all your time at home inside or in the backyard, start hanging out in the front. Drink your morning coffee out front. Play a game with the family in the front yard, read a book, go for a walk, eat dinner outside... Be intentional about being where the people are in your neighborhood, and see what happens.
Remember to learn your neighbors names and write them on your fridge magnets so you don't forget.
Everyone has to eat. We do it everyday, and no matter how busy we are, we find time to get food. So why not use these times to invite and connect with our neighbors?
In the Bible we see Jesus constantly having meals with all kinds of people. Hospitality is a powerful way to show love and welcome people in because deeper connection happens when we break bread around a table. We talk. We laugh. And we move from just acquaintances to real relationship.
So what neighbor around you can you invite to share a meal this week? Wednesday seems like a great night! Give it a go.
Jesus said the most important commandment is to love God, AND to love our neighbor as ourselves. If it's a priority for the amazing life Jesus has for us, then it's worth examining and practicing together.
We can easily become numb to this idea and metaphorically try to "love" everyone. But what if we took this commandment literally and started being intentional to love the people who live right next to us? It's a lot easier to love someone when you know their name.
THIS WEEK: Start learning the names of the people who live right next to you. Figure out a simple way to introduce yourself, and then write them down so you don't forget.
God runs things differently. He chooses the weak and the vulnerable to advance His Kingdom here on earth. He uses praise to silence enemies. We are all God's children, we're all invited into the awe and wonder of this adventurous life, and we can all be empowered to share this good news with others!
Jesus invites us all to a life of transformation. Everyone is welcome at the table, but coming to the table changes us. Spending time with Jesus, being part of his family, and putting his way of life into practice produces the fruit of love in our lives. The point of the story is character transformation. Come as you are, but don’t stay as you are. There's so much more.
How are you responding to the invitation of Jesus in your life?
Everything I have is yours. How would our lives look different if we fully aware of all the Father has placed at our disposal in order to bring the Kingdom of God to others?
Shoutout to Dana Cochran, a Vineyard Cincinnati original for sharing with us!
We believe the church should be a force of racial reconciliation in the world. Not seeking to justify our rights, freedoms, and privilege, but giving those things up to achieve peace. Because we can easily slip into a place where we let the world and our culture set the agenda rather than letting the Kingdom be its own distinct witness, one way to live this out is to listen culturally and respond spiritually and biblically. What does that look like?
The Kingdom of God is another realm with different values and priorities than this world.
So how do we enter that kingdom?
Shoutout to @wilson_cochrane_ for sharing with us!
Jesus invites the ones who don't normally get invited, the ones on the margins who can't reciprocate because there is a place for everyone at the table.
And there's still more room! How can you say yes to Jesus' invitation and partner with him to invite others around you?
So great to have @mellywinder share with us from Chattanooga, TN!
It’s like a treasure hidden in a field…
A merchant in search of fine pearls…
The Kingdom of God could take us by surprise or it could be found through careful searching, but the good news is that the treasure is available to everyone for the same price: everything you have.
What do these stories spark in your mind and heart right now? Get with a friend or two and engage your imagination as you read these quick parables in Matthew 13:44-46.
Big thanks to Ray Hollenbach @rayhbach for sharing with us from Campbellsville!
The kingdom of restoring love that Jesus came to bring is at war with the kingdom of darkness. Now, everyone who follows Jesus gets to play in continuing that expansive mission of healing and freedom that Jesus started until he returns again.
Conditions right now are perfect for lightning to strike which keeps us aggressive, because at any moment the Kingdom could break in with power, healing and deliverance.
Jesus taught his followers to pray for his kingdom to come, to seek his kingdom first, and as we go doing the stuff he did to proclaim his kingdom has come near. Seems like a pretty important thing we should learn about...
The kingdom is God's saving rule and reign on earth as it is in heaven. It's what life is like when all things are set right and restored to the perfect way they should be. What if you could partner with the Spirit of God to experience the future breaking into our present reality with power, healing, and justice?
You can because the king is at work making all things made new!
What is the Kingdom of God? Jesus wanted to make sure his followers understood the great value of the Kingdom of God -- that it was something worth trading everything we have for.
What is the thing keeping you from trading up to experience everything God has for you in his Kingdom?
Jesus chooses us to be with him and to send us out like him. What is the goal of life? Ultimately it’s all about love. Receiving his love and expressing it to others. This is why we practice abiding. We can’t give away what we haven’t received. A life overflowing with the love of God looks like a life sent out and laid down for the sake of others.
Jesus invites us to come be with him so we can learn to live a life of love. Abiding practices train us in a posture of receiving and expressing his love to the people around us. We can’t give away what we haven’t received.
Which aspects of abiding have stuck with you the most? Where do you need to focus on practicing right now? Keep going to find sustainable, healthy rhythms because this part of our way of life following Jesus together.
Sabbath should be a day we look forward to all week and get filled with energy for the week to come. It's a day set apart for rest and worship. The Hebrew word shabbat means "to stop" but can also be translated "to delight." It takes some time thinking and planning to figure this out and find a rhythm, but it is absolutely worth it. Keep practicing, have patience and give yourself grace establishing this for whatever season of life you're in right now.
This week, stop working and delight in the wonder of life and creation with God. Think it through in advance. What are the things that fill you with joy and restore your soul? Do them! Guilt free.
We were created to do meaningful work and be fruitful, but we weren't meant to become slaves to work and productivity. Our world of hurry never stops, but we can develop a counter-habit of stopping each week to rest in the goodness of God's creation together.
Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word, Shabbat, which means "to stop."
This week set aside a day or specific time to stop working, unplug and enjoy rest with God and community. Try starting with a meal to kickoff Sabbath. Light a candle, say a prayer, bless your kids or friends and pour some wine!
There’s a way of reading the Bible for relationship rather than information. We can encounter the living God through his word and allow ourselves to be formed through it. Remember we’re practicing abiding in the love of Jesus — that means relational connection and intimacy, not just gathering facts. Let's practice slowing down as we read to become steeped in the word drawing out the full flavor of God in us.
This week, practice meditating on a passage of scripture to encounter the goodness of God.
Check out the Lectio 365 app as a helpful tool in this practice:
Apple - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lectio-...
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Fasting is emptying ourselves of the things we crave and replacing them with more of Jesus. It's designed to reveal our dependence and remind us that we are apprenticing to Jesus with our whole selves, including our bodies. In these practices we’re cutting things out to create more room for God to fill and meet us in a deeper way.
This week we're fasting together! Pick a day or other length of time, and choose a meal, specific food or something else to cut out as we fast (and pray).
Remember, fasting without prayer is just a diet, so allow this practice and those feelings of hunger to turn you to God in prayer as we continue abiding.
What do I do now that I’m quiet? It’s not just about creating a vibe; we really want to engage with God. Centering prayer is an intentional way to develop an inner reflex of turning our attention back to God over and over again. We learn to pray not just from our heads but our hearts and experience a deeper way of knowing God.
THIS WEEK: Practice centering prayer with us. Choose a word to center you on God, set a timer for 5-10 minutes (or more), and just be still with God. As thoughts pop up let them go by, say your word, and return to the center with God.
Big thanks to Dan Henry for joining us for this conversation! Learn more about him at www.pilgrimheart.io.
Getting quiet and alone with God helps us turn our attention to the father’s voice of truth and love. In that space our hearts are open and we face the fears and lies that can so often control us.
Keep practicing silence & solitude with us this week! Find a time and place to turn off the external noises and tend to your heart and mind with God.
You need a break from the constant noise and chaos of this world.
We're practicing a rhythm that creates space to silence the other voices so we can clarify and turn up the volume on the loving voice of the father in our lives.
This week be intentional about creating space to turn off the noise and withdraw from other voices to connect with God. It's simple, but not easy!
Put your phone in another room, find a quiet place, or maybe get outside for a walk. And then just be present to God and to yourself. No agenda. What do you hear? What do you feel?
Jesus invites us to learn a new way of living life with him, in constant connection with his love for us. That's where all the good fruit comes from, but it's easy to miss, get distracted, and move on.
What are the ways you make space for staying connected to Jesus?
What are the ways throughout your days where you find yourself wandering off from the love of God?
***Thanks to the amazing Jon Pauly for creating this hopeful song!
When I look at you I see...
As we go about a life of mission with Jesus, the Holy Spirit often gives us words for people that reveal the heart of God for them and how the Father sees who they really are. Sharing these encouraging words and calling out the gold we see in others can lead to powerful moments of encounter with Jesus.
This week pray for the people in your life who don’t yet have relationship with Jesus, and ask the Father to give you something encouraging to share with them. An easy prompt to get you started is, “When I look at you I see…”.
Can I pray for you right now?
There is no sickness in heaven. We want to see his Kingdom come in our city, just like it is heaven. Jesus gives his followers the authority to heal as we go sharing the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is breaking in. We get to show, not only tell, people what this looks like in a naturally supernatural way, not making it any weirder than it has to be.
This week take a risk of faith to step out and pray. When you see someone in pain ask, “Can I pray for you right now?” And then do it.
God blesses his family to be a blessing to the whole world. Jesus came to serve others and calls us to take that same posture as we go to love the world around us.
This week find a way to intentionally serve someone who doesn’t know Jesus as a way of expressing his love. Bake some brownies, deliver a meal, do some lawn work. When you see a need, meet a need. Great creative and let them know it's just a simple way of saying Jesus loves you.
What are you overflowing with?
People talk about what they love, and when we get below the surface with each other, our deeper experiences and passions naturally come out. Talking about Jesus shouldn’t be weird or scary when it’s your story. It doesn’t mean debating theological doctrines or defending Christian history; it’s simply telling your story with Jesus.
This week, as you spend time with people who don’t know Jesus take a risk and share some of your story with Jesus. Let your experience with him come out and talk about what you love about Jesus.
How do you respond to interruptions in life?
In the Bible so many of Jesus’ encounters with people happen on the way somewhere or in the middle of something else. When we're partnering with the Holy Spirit to live a life of mission, what seems like an interruption can become a moment of life change when the Kingdom breaks in. Divine appointments seem to happen more often when we ask for them and make space to listen and be available.
This week, pray for God to interrupt your busy life with opportunities to share His love and hope with the people around us. How can you make space in your week to be available?
God has been so generous and welcoming to us so we extend his hospitality to others as a way of putting his goodness on display, giving others a taste of the Kingdom.
Hospitality has a way of breaking fear and loneliness and connecting us together. Many of us are so blessed to have deep community, but a lot of people don’t have that right now. And remember people aren’t projects, they're just people to be loved.
This week, invite your neighbors or friends from outside the family over for brunch or a meal on the front porch/back yard. Get creative in this season. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but do something and have fun!
What's going on below the surface?
Jesus came to be with and find people because he loves them so much. He was an expert at asking deeper questions to get to the heart of who they were and what they wanted so he could invite them to experience his life.
We want to take this posture of compassionate curiosity with the people around us to make a real connection and see where the Spirit is at work. We don't have to have all the answers to start interacting with people.
Let's practice asking deeper questions with the people around us this week.
God loves the world, and he loves the COV! He sent his son because his heart burns towards those who are far away, and he sends us out on the same mission to share his life and love with the people around us, welcoming everyone into his family.
What if we started to see the people around us the same way Jesus does? This week get outside of your bubble and be where the people are! (However you can do that safely in your context). Pray with your eyes open, asking Jesus to give you his heart and eyes to see the people around you and what God is inviting us into.
Who are the people around you? What opportunities might there be? Start to notice and pay attention with us this week.
*Original music by Jon Pauly!
Your value does not come from what you produce or accomplish. You are loved and Jesus invites you to come to him and find rest.
Are you avoiding commitment? The depth of a relationship is often connected to the level we're willing to commit to one another.
It doesn't mean you have to go buy a house with someone, but to fully experience the lasting power and transformation of community we need to commit. So who are the people in your life you are committed to?
This week examine yourself, your community, and your commitment level. What might Jesus be inviting you into more of
Who's hungry? This week we're practicing one of our favorites: sharing a meal together!
Community is grown around the table, and we've all got to eat. Plus, we can support our favorite local restaurants as we do it. What's your go-to takeout near you?
Be intentional to get outside and invite someone to share a meal with you on the front porch or backyard this week!
Are you listening?
This week we're growing in Deep Relationships by practicing the skill of listening. What if rather than racing to get our opinion or perspective out, we listened first instead?
We have so much to learn from others in our communities, and in a culture fighting to be the loudest voice, this is something that's desperately needed. Practice with us by intentionally being slow to speak and quick to listen.
Ready to apologize?
This week we continue to practice deep relationships by remembering who God called us to be -- a healthy family clothed in love and marked by mercy, humility, and patience.
Practice sharing faults & affirmations: --Confess your own faults that impacted the community. --Speak affirmations over others - specific ways you saw God's grace at work in another's life.
Love dealing with conflict? Yeah, probably not so much...
Jesus invites us into an amazing vision of community united as a healthy family where everyone is connected in love. Relationships can be restored. Living this out is not always easy, but it's definitely worth it.
Practice with us this week by reflecting on your relationships with the Holy Spirit and having a hard conversation if necessary. Is there someone you need to be reconciled with?
You don't have to go digging for something or try to pick a fight, but approach the situation with humility and grace. We're all in this together so let's deal with the junk that tries to get between us.
Pop some champagne or pull out the tissues...
Life is filled with beauty, joy and wonder, AND there is also pain and loss happening at the same time. Part of growing deep relationships means going through the highs and lows together. As we learn to live and love deeply like Jesus we embrace the emotions and share our joy and pain with each other as a family.
Who in your life has something you can celebrate with them right now? Who in your life is going through something really hard?
This week practice with us by being intentional to celebrate and/or grieve with your community.
Deep Relationships are impossible without vulnerability. This week, we focus on why vulnerability is so important, and how it fosters relational connection.
What's your biggest fear is probably not the 1st question to ask someone, but it might be the 2nd...
Who are the people in your life who really know you? We're starting a new series of summer practices to grow in deep relationships as we follow the way of Jesus together. This week, be intentional to start a conversation with someone from your community and ask the 2nd question that gets below the surface to the real stuff.
Join Rachel, Tyler and Joe in the backyard for a conversation about what we're learning and some stories practicing prayer together as a community.
Get moving with our prayer practice this week and see your neighborhood in a new way. Prayer walking is an easy way to speak peace and blessing over our neighborhoods and look for opportunities to join in the work of the Kingdom all around us. Find a partner and go for a prayer walk this week!
Join us this week as we practice another ancient prayer practice together: The Daily Examen. Here are the five steps mentioned in the video:
Step 1: Become Aware of God's Presence
Step 2: Gratitude
Step 3: Pay Attention To Your Emotions
Step 4: Ask & Pray
Step 5: Hope & Trust
We can learn to hear God speaking to us actively and personally through meditating on the words of scripture and choosing to respond. Here's how to try it with us this week:
Select a verse or short passage from Scripture that you would like to pray, and allow God to guide you in your choice. The length is up to you. (Need a passage? Try John 6:32-36) PREPARE (Silencio)— Find a quiet, comfortable place. Take a few deep breaths and invite the Holy Spirit, who inspired the Word, to open your heart to the message God is speaking to you.
READ (Lectio)—Read your selected text slowly several times, letting your awareness rest on each word. Make it personal and listen for the still small voice of God as you read, noticing any word or phrase that catches your attention and seems to stands out above the rest.
REFLECT (Meditatio)— Meditate on the word or phrase that stands out, slowly repeating it and engaging in dialogue with God. What emotions does this bring out in me (anxiety, fear, comfort, joy, longing, peace)? Is there a reason this word or phrase stands out? How does this apply to my current life circumstance?
RESPOND (Contemplatio)—Speak to God as a good father who loves and accepts you. Experience God using the word or phrase that He has given you as a means of blessing, of invitation and transformation. How should you respond? Give to God what you have found within your heart and rest in God’s presence. Wordless, quiet rest in the presence of God is called “contemplation.” Simply be with God, resting in the unique, one-of-a-kind, unconditional love that God has for you.
Jesus really cares for the people we may think are the furthest away from him, and we want to love like Jesus. This week pick 2-3 people in your life to pray for each day to come to know and experience Jesus.
Join us this week with a simple prayer practice that can help us become more like Jesus and do the stuff he did. Try asking this question when you pray: Father, what are you doing?
We are committing to practicing the way of Jesus together as a community to continue to apprentice ourselves to him. If being more like Jesus is our goal, then it has to be more than just admiring his words and his example. It has to be expressed in our actual day-to-day behavior, inner life, and social presence. Join us as we lean into the practice of prayer together!
We are committing to practicing the way of Jesus together as a community to continue to apprentice ourselves to him. If being more like Jesus is our goal, then it has to be more than just admiring his words and his example. It has to be expressed in our actual day-to-day behavior, inner life, and social presence. Join us as we lean into the practice of prayer together!