Vineyard Columbus Sermons: Recent Episodes
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Welcome to the Vineyard Columbus podcast! We want to be a relevant church that does not exist for itself, but for Christ and for the world. Here you will find our weekend messages taught by Rich Nathan and others. We hope God blesses you through these messages.
Pastor Rich Nathan offers really wise advice on what we should set our hope on during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our hope is anchored in the past: Jesus rose! Our hope remains in the present: Jesus lives! Our hope is completed in the future: Jesus is coming!
Christian hope is not falsely optimistic, but realistic. Most importantly, it results in God glorifying those who trust in Him!
Pastor Shane and the VC Twenty community take us on a poetic reprise of love announcing the death of Death in the death of Christ for ALL who would have faith to believe.
Pastors Eric and Julia Pickerill teach about how to build a life that has a foundation strong enough to withstand the toughest storms by looking to Jesus. They also give a call to action including radical generosity and fervent prayer.
Pastor Charles shares strong encouragement about how to successfully navigate the quarantine or difficult times like the current COVID-19 crisis.
He shares more than easy church answers. He provides solid, biblical guidance like the following:
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Having faith that is firm through disappointment.
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Developing relationship with faithful friends who will pray for you through doubt.
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Praying for God to help you see the signs that He is at work and doing good things, in spite of difficulty.
Pastor Rich walks us through Psalm 46 and other scriptures to demonstrate how God is our refuge and continues to be the One who makes our lives secure even during a trying time like the age of the Coronavirus.
Pastor Rich teaches us how we can choose not to worry during the Age of the Coronavirus because God is in control, He loves us, and will care for us. In addition, he encourages us to love our neighbor by caring for one another during this time of crisis.
Eric begins a new sermon series called "Navigating Doubt". In this teaching he will focus on the external factors that contribute to doubt and how we can navigate a culture of doubt to trust God more.
Dr. Charles Montgomery, Jr. teaches about the church's role in partnering with families to raise healthy kids through cultivation, authentic modeling, and active engagement.
Eric Pickerill continues the series of talks about raising healthy kids. In today's talk he provides a biblical view of disciplining children in a healthy way.
Eric Pickerill speaks about those that have been marginalized in our society, focusing on the area of sex trafficking.
Rich Nathan discusses the importance of immigrants in our world today and interviews Irene Casale-Petrarca.
Pastors Eric and Julia look into several Psalms as we reflect on the last year and look forward to the next.
Pastor Rich will be concluding our series "What Are You Waiting For?" with a Christmas Eve message focusing on "The Light Has Come" from John 1
Pastor Julia will be teaching out of Luke 1 from the life of Mary and what we can learn from her about waiting with God: That while we often feel like we’re waiting for a far-away God, we can actually draw near to God-with-us, Immanuel, in the midst of whatever else we’re waiting for.
Dr. Charles Montgomery Jr. continues the Advent series What Are You Waiting For? by taking a look at Simeon in Luke 2:25-33.
Pastor Rich continues in the Advent series titled What Are You Waiting For? In the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth from Luke 1:5-25, we can learn how to wait well. Learning to wait well has to do with dealing with the lies we believe about God. Lies like he doesn’t remember us, or remember our prayers, or that he has forgotten us. The only thing that God doesn’t remember is our sin! Come and be encouraged!
Pastor Shane Huey continues the series What Are you Waiting For? by taking a look at Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25.
Pastor Rich begins a new series for Advent with a sermon about how to be people who wait well. He will be talking about Israel waiting in exile; waiting for deliverance; waiting for God's Word, and he will also refer to scripture from Luke 3. Pastor Rich plans to give a Gospel call, so if you have been trained and are part of our Decision Prayer Team, please come ready to pray with those who stand to accept Jesus. The remainder of the Prayer Ministry Team should be ready to come forward when he calls for the Prayer Ministry Team for all other prayer needs. Please remember to look around after you pray for someone to see if anyone else desires prayer.
Pastor Rich Nathan concludes the Just Pray series, and talks about how to overcome temptation using scripture from Matthew 6:13. He talks about the three marks of temptation and the times temptation is most likely to come and concludes with two prayers we can pray to help us overcome temptation.
Pastor Eric Pickerill continues in the series called Just Pray, and looks at the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. In this sermon Pastor Eric focus is on the phrase, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Pastor Charles Montgomery will continue our look at the Lord’s Prayer in the series called Just Pray this weekend with his sermon titled “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” from Matthew 6:11. Pastor Charles will show us how the Prince of Peace provides us with us a pattern of prayer that helps to appropriate our relationship with God. Our relationship with God ought to be characterized by thankfulness and dependence.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues in the series called Just Pray, and looks at the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Pastor Rich focus is on the phrase, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.” Pastor Rich also talks about what God promises us when we pray for his kingdom to come. For the depressed it means celebration, and for the guilty it means forgiveness.
Pastor Julia Pickerill delivers a message on looking at the first few words of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, and considering how praying the "Our Father," invites us further into relationship with one another, and with our Father God.
Our guest speaker Julian Adams, who is amazingly gifted in the prophetic delivers a message for the communities of Vineyard Columbus' disciples who seek to experience God, love one another, and partner with Christ to heal the world.
Pastor Rich Nathan delivers a powerful message on learning through a personal relationship with Jesus.
Pastor Eric Pickerill delivers part 1 of a 2-week message focusing on the gifts of the Spirit. God gifts us each differently, however, we can use our different gifts to work together for the building up of the church.
Pastor Julia Pickerill will continue in the Transforming Power for your Life series with the messaged entitled, "The Holy Spirit & Power." Pastor Julia talks about encountering the Holy Spirit through its power.
Pastor Rich Nathan delivers a message entitled "How to Know that You're a Child of God." Pastor Rich helps us to explore what it means to be a child of our Father. How do we know that we are “Children of God”?
Pastor Dr. Charles Montgomery delivers a message on understanding the Holy Spirit by seeing how the Holy Spirit helped Jesus.
Pastor Rich Nathan kicks off our new series with an introduction to the Holy Spirit in his sermon The Holy Spirit I Never Knew. Pastor Rich talks about confusion people have about the Holy Spirit and the various ways the Holy Spirit is pictured in Scripture. It is symbolized as a dove, as wind, and as a helper. What do these things mean? The Bible says the Spirit is God’s right hand. We can experience the touch of God through the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Eric Pickerill wraps up our Never Give Up series with his sermon Never Give Up where he talks through life being really full. It can be overwhelming with school starting and all our other obligations. How do we juggle it all? He will talk about how we can discern how God wants us to juggle our busy lives.
Pastor Rich Nathan preaches from the thought of living a good and meaningful life. The author of Hebrews teaches us in Hebrews 12 that life is a strenuous journey. We will endure suffering and suffering will produce in us growth and gratitude. We must be careful not to be trapped in bitterness when we suffer. We need to learn to forgive and continue on in our journey.
Pastor Julia Pickerill continues in the Never Give Up series using the text from Hebrews 11:13-12:3 regarding the perfecting of the faith. Pastor Julia talks about how the early church dealt with specific challenges in their faith and how we can learn from those lessons today.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues with our Never Give Up sermon series with a message entitled "What’s So Great About Faith?" He will be defining faith, looking at the examples of faith from Hebrews 11, and pointing out where is there room for doubt. Faith is not something we have just in the beginning of our walk with the Lord, it’s something we must continue to nurture throughout our lives. And for those who haven’t yet started on a journey of faith, this is a good time to begin.
One of the troubling trends in America, mostly among young adults, but by no means confined to young adults, is the continuing movement of people away from church and away from Christian faith. Slightly more than one-third of all Millennials (ages 18-38) are unaffiliated with any faith. Now, that’s the highest percentage among any age group. The focus of this message is not on the failure of the church – what can the church do better to retain our people or to retain the young, but it really focuses on the responsibility of individuals for our own faith. What do you and I need to do to personally stay connected to faith and fellowship?
Pastor Dr. Charles Montgomery speaks about the efficacy of Christ’s blood for the remission of our sins as he continues in the series Never Give Up.
Pastor Andy Saperstein continues our Never Give Up series with his sermon titled "A New and Better Way." Many of us are content to stick with what we know, our old things, and our old way of doing things. This was the case with the 1st century Jewish believers; they were being tempted to return to their old way of life. Jesus, however, had offered a new way of relating to God – a way to bring them into closer relationship with God. That way is available to us today too!
Pastor Rich Nathan continues into the sermon series "Never Give Up." Have you ever been in a situation where you doubted God's faithfulness? Pastor Rich talks about how to overcome your doubts whether you are new to Christianity or you're a long-time believer.
Pastor Scott Engebretson preaches his sermon titled "Never Give Up Even When Life Feels Dull." Christians who have been in the church a long time sometimes start to feel dull spiritually. This passage of scripture encourages us to be sharp and to work toward keeping our sharpness. Pastor Scott give us some practical tools to keep us sharp spiritually.
Pastor Amanda Nash continues in the book of Hebrews with her sermon titled "Don’t Miss Out on God’s Rest." Amanda helps us to discover that Jesus offers us a better rest – a rest that reconnects us with community and reminds us who we are and helps us to make room for others.
Pastor Shane Huey continues into the study of Hebrews by looking at its third chapter. The author of Hebrews is challenging us to consider Jesus and to let his surpassing worth be the motivation to persevere in our faith.
In this message, Dr. Charles Montgomery will be preaches on The Danger of Drifting. How do you know if you’re drifting from Jesus? The bottom line is that you must have your anchor in Jesus Christ so that you won’t drift away.
Pastor Rich Nathan kicks off a new sermon series titled Never Give Up. This summer-long series is a verse-by-verse preaching through the entire book of Hebrews. Rich starts by giving some background information about the book of Hebrews. This letter was addressed to Jewish believers who were being significantly persecuted. The great temptation for the Jewish believers was to slide back into their old ways to avoid persecution. A modern-day example of this same type of persecution are churches in China. There is huge pressure economically and socially to pull out of the church. The author of Hebrews holds up Jesus as the One to whom all Scripture points. How do we hold on? By lifting our eyes up to Jesus!
Pastor Rich wraps up the Overcomers series with his sermon titled Never Forget! 166 times in the Bible we’re told to remember. A fundamental problem in our lives and in the Bible is forgetting. In the Bible, Passover (in the Old Testament) and Communion (in the New Testament) are both wonderful examples of remembering. The way we grow spiritually is to remember the pain of sin and remember the grace of God.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues the Overcomers series with the sermon about overcoming our past. He interviews Nicole Bromley about being abused by her stepfather and how she overcame her circumstances to help others in similar situations.
Pastor Charles Montgomery continues the Overcomers series with his sermon titled "A Mother's Overcoming Love."
Pastor Rich Nathan interviews Bill Pelke for the "Overcomers" series. Bill’s grandmother was brutally murdered by 4 teenagers in the late 80’s. Bill felt the Lord's call for him to radically forgive and work to help the 15-year-old girl who ended up on Indiana’s death row. Bill tells his story of radical forgiveness and Rich follows up with a short message about how and why God calls us to forgive.
Pastor Eric Pickerill kicks off our latest series called Overcomers. In life many of us have been challenged by adversity. We are challenged by our past. We’re challenged by people, by circumstances, by addictions, by our own bad choices, by cultural pressures, by sickness and so on. Did you know through the power of Christ you can overcome any challenge that you face?
This series features real-life stories of people who have overcome personal challenges such as imprisonment, the murder of a loved one and sexual abuse, and came out victorious. If you’re facing a personal challenge, you don’t have to settle where you are - in Christ you too can be an overcomer!
Pastor Rich Nathan preaches an Easter message called "How to Ensure That You Will Never Die." Have you noticed that America is really schizophrenic about death? Entertainment offers a lot of death and blogs are self-indulgent about letting others watch their death (of cancer, etc.) creating a virtual world of death. But in our own families, we often don’t talk about death. This Easter weekend, we will look through John 11 and explore a Christian view of death. Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me will never die.” Why should we believe that?
Pastor Rich Nathan talks about the expression of God’s faithfulness, which has been calling us, preserving us, and fighting for us over the years. We can respond to God with loyalty and commitment back to him.
Pastor Rich Nathan shares a message on the biblical foundation of what it means to be generous in giving, whether it is through finances, spirituality, kindness, or love.
Pastor Rich Nathan talks about risky faith and how to step into something when you are really fearful, and then he will relate it to stepping out in this campaign. What gave David courage to face his fears? Let’s find out together!
Pastor Eric Pickerill preaches on the manifold wisdom of God being revealed through the church. God loves the church and wants to show up in powerful ways through the church. He also wants to reveal himself to individual people. He wants to reignite people and call them to ministry. Eric also talks about our campuses and serving in our neighborhoods. Jesus wants us to serve our community in His name!
Pastor Rich Nathan continues The Story Continues campaign series with “Passing the Torch to the Next Generation.” We look at how Moses passes the torch to Joshua as the leader of the children of Israel in Numbers 27:12-23.
Pastor Rich continues with "The Story Continues" campaign series with his next sermon entitled, “Preparing for a Miracle." He’ll take a look at the feeding of the 5,000 story in John 6:1-15 and talk about the belief in miracles in Jesus’ time and in the life of the church today.
Pastor Rich Nathan gives the overall structure of the campaign and talks about discipleship and being part of God’s big story. He also talks about the elements of a great story, the big elements in God’s big story including Creation, making people in the image of God, and conflict resolution.
Pastor Eric Pickerill wraps up the Family Matters series with the sermon entitled "Parenting with a Purpose." Eric teaches about how to parent well as a Jesus follower.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues the Family Matters sermon series with a sermon called “How to Overcome Family Mess.” Our text is the story of Joseph and his brothers from Genesis 42:1-13; 45:1-7. Our families have problems – addiction, abuse, lying, etc. When we become a new creation in Christ, we don’t magically get healed of our problems, but when we allow God into those problems he can heal us. And we have a new family – the church – to walk alongside us in our journey.
Pastor Julia Pickerill continues in the sermon series “Family Matters” with her sermon titled “A Simple Truth About Being Single.” She uses the text from 1 Corinthians 7 and will talk about what God calls those who are single to – whether they have chosen to be single or not.
Pastor Rich starts a new sermon series “Family Matters”. What are families for? How is marriage supposed to work? How do I get along with my parents? Is childraising designed to make parents crazy? What if I’m single? Does it matter that I’ve spent my whole life in a family and still don’t know how “normal” families are supposed to function? If you have any of these questions, God has answers! Join us as we focus on family matters and most importantly why family matters to God. In his sermon, Pastor Rich talks about the roles men and women play in marriage and how Christ needs to be the center of marriage for it to be successful.
Rich Nathan wraps up the series “The Challenge of Change” with a sermon entitled “The Courage of Change.” Rahab shows up in the New Testament repeatedly even though she was a fairly obscure figure in the Old Testament. Pastor Rich talks about her courage to overcome her past and courage to overcome her culture.
Dr. Charles Montgomery will be looking at the story of Joshua and Jericho. Some of the lessons we can learn from the story are that there are some times to be silent and that your actions speak louder than words.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues in his sermon series this weekend preaching from Hebrews 11:24-28. Rich talks about people of privilege who give up that privilege for others, like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr.
You have probably heard it said that the only thing that is constant in life is change. But what do you do when one season ends and another one begins? Life changes can be stressful and challenging because we do not know what comes next. So, how do you navigate life’s biggest transitions? And how do we, as a church, navigate changes in our church life together? Senior Pastor Rich Nathan kicks off a new sermon series entitled "The Challenge of Change" by looking toward the future with his sermon titled "The Call to Change." He will use the text from Hebrews 11:8-10. Rich also discusses his succession plan with an announcement during the sermon.
For over 250 years, Watch Night has been celebrated as a rich and diverse tradition of Christians anticipating the new year. But what is watch night? It's believed the first watch night services were held by Moravian Christians in Eastern Europe on December 31st 1733. Two decades later English Pastor John Wesley incorporated watch night services into the Methodist Church. Over the next 100 years, watch night services grew in popularity throughout the United States in both white and African-American congregations. On the eve of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation, free and enslaved African-Americans held watch night services throughout the country on December 31st 1862.
Today, Christians from around the world gather to watch for and welcome God's presence in the new year. As a diverse Community who follows Jesus, we at Vineyard Columbus also share in this rich tradition. This New Year's Eve, Pastor Charles Montgomery preached a message titled “It’s Working”... A message on identifying and recognizing your growth through God, whether you see it or not.
Pastor Andy Saperstein preaches from Psalm 46 with his topic, “Be Still and Know that I Am God.” He shares his insights to living God-wardly… living toward God day by day, creating rhythms of rest and solitude in our daily lives, and cultivating attentiveness to those around us.
Pastor Julia Pickerill continues with the “Four-Part Harmony” sermon series as she talks about Jesus: The Revelation of God. Jesus is our beginning. He is our light and life and our revelation. What does it mean for us to be in connection with Christ? What does it mean to “plug in” to God?
As we get one step closer to celebrating Christmas, Pastor Rich Nathan continues with the “Four-Part Harmony” sermon series as he preaches from Luke and talking about the inclusivity of Luke’s gospel. Luke’s gospel shows us that Jesus is the Savior of the World. The sermon focuses in on four incidents in the book of Luke to see this picture – Jesus’ love for women, the poor and Gentiles.
Pastor Rich Nathan teaches about Jesus: The Suffering Servant of God. He will focus on the kind of Messiah Jesus was. The Disciples didn’t understand him. They understood in part, but not in full – they understood he was Messiah, but not what kind of Messiah he was. Rich will be examining Christian leadership based on two stories of healing the blind in Mark 8 and 10.
Pastor Rich Nathan starts our 2018 Advent series “Four-Part Harmony” by looking at the gospels. In this sermon, he uses text from Matthew 1-2. Matthew is the most Jewish of the gospels. Matthew insists that following Jesus is real Judaism. This is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Rich also emphasizes the faithfulness of God as he always keeps his promises.
In this sermon, Pastor Eric Pickerill preaches on "Engaging the Spirit." In this text we see an invitation to do the work with the Holy Spirit. God uses regular people like Philip – the key aspect for Philip is to make himself available. What would it look like for our church to be available to the Holy Spirit? We want to be a boundary-crossing church.
Pastor Hannah Engebretson preaches on the idea of practicing radically, ordinary hospitality. Her message is a continuation in the sermon series The E-word.
Pastor Rich continues his sermon series titled The E Word discussing the topic of expressing Jesus. Christians are called to be the light of the world, shining with the light of Jesus in us. What would it look like if all that Jesus is – just, full of integrity, awesomely creative, making peace, being merciful – was expressed through his people?
Pastor Rich begins a new sermon series titled The E-word. In this sermon, Rich’s topic will be Encouraging Others. Evangelism and, indeed, spiritual conversations are becoming harder for people to engage in in our increasingly secular world. But there are many “pre-evangelistic” strategies which can lead to fruitful evangelistic opportunities. One of them is to be an encourager. Rich will use Barnabas as an example of being an encourager.
In the ancient Middle East you couldn’t tell the difference between the sheep and the goats. How do you know the difference between authentic Christians and hypocrites? Rich shares how we can be the authentic Christians we are called to be.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues in the Making A Difference series with the topic "A Different Understanding of our Talents." The call regardless of our situation is to improve upon our talents. No matter our circumstance everyone must improve upon what we’re doing for the sake of Christ.
As we continue our sermon series "Making a Difference," Pastor Shane Huey speaks on how greatness is truly defined.
Pastor Rich Nathan launches a new sermon series this weekend entitled Making A Difference. One of the most fundamental ways that we human beings find meaning in life is by making a difference. Every one of us has a need to have our lives count for something. In this series, we’ll talk about how each of us can be difference makers. This sermon is about seeing ourselves as servants. What is our identity? Are we available to God? Service to God is the ultimate freedom. When I put myself under another person, that’s bondage. But when I put myself under the Lord, that’s freeing. There are some things that you gain when you make yourself available to the Lord.
Guest speaker Juian Adams speaks a prophetic word on bringing our heavenly dreams to reality through the word of God.
Pastor Charles Montgomery speaks about overcoming doubt and using text from Psalm 73. The sermon take a tour through radical doubt to the goodness of God.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues his series, When Life is Unfair. We have three different phases in life: orientation, disorientation, reorientation. Orientation is when everything is going well. When we are disoriented, we often ask ourselves, “How do I get back to place of stability? How do I get out of this pit?” And as we try to reorient our lives, some use spiritual nostalgia – trying to get back to a place in our past. But instead we need to move forward to what God is providing next in our lives.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues into the series, When Life is Unfair, with the sermon topic How to Look More Like Jesus. He will focus on text from James 1:2-4, 12-14. Maturing as Christians is not a given or automatic. The sad truth is that other than in religious practice, Christians are statistically indistinguishable from non-Christian neighbors regarding race, sexual behaviors, divorce, and domestic violence. God uses trials to bring about maturity.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues his sermon series When Life is Unfair with "How God Comforts People in Pain." One of the main ways that God comforts is through his people. Rich will be preaching from 2 Corinthians as well as share stories from our Support for Life ministry where people were able to come alongside others to comfort one another.
Pastor Eric Pickerill looks at how the unfairness of life is compounded by lies that we believe about why life is unfair in the first place. It’s not just that we experience pain in life, but we also believe lies that make that pain worse.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues his series "When Life is Unfair." Why is life so hard? We are not fighting with flesh and blood. There is real evil. This is a war. We are called to take a stand and put on our full armor. As you might suspect, Rich’s message focuses on Ephesians 6.
Pastor Rich Nathan continues in his series, When Life is Unfair. Rich talks about how to live in God’s waiting room – living between the times. He touches on praying, hoping and groaning. We can’t exhaustively explain why things happen the way they do, but we can still live successfully. He will focus on the text from Romans 8:18-27.
Pastor Rich Nathan starts a new series "When Life is Unfair." What do you do when nothing seems to be going your way? Some of us ask, “Why me?” Or “What is God trying to tell me?” How you choose to respond to the difficult things that can happen to you can mean the difference between a life of anger or joy. Everything happens for a reason, and that reason is your spiritual growth in Christ.
In this series, we explore what you can do when life takes a turn that just does not seem fair. We will begin in the book of Job and discover why bad things happen to good people.
Pastor Scott Engebretson brings our Major Lessons from Minor Prophets series to an en with his message from the book of Haggai. There are miracles in life, unexpected comebacks. Scott invites us to build something for the kingdom – for the future.
Pastor Andy Saperstein continues our series, Major Lessons from Minor Prophet. Andy teaches about how justice, mercy and walking humbly with our God when demonstrated together make a well-rounded believer.
Pastor Eric Pickerill continues in our series, Major Lessons from Minor Prophets. He speaks on why we love underdogs and how God defines an underdog. Through Nahum, we will take a look at justice for God’s people, God making things right for the weak and vulnerable, and God’s power or evil and darkness.
Pastor Charles Montgomery picks up where Pastor Lorie Kaufman-Rees left off in our Major Lessons from Minor Prophets series. His focus will be coming from the book of Jonah. His three main points of focus are Jonah’s disobedience, Jonah’s downfall and Jonah’s deliverance.
Have you ever wondered why we call Jonah, Micah, Amos, Obadiah and others the ‘minor’ prophets? Certainly, it’s not because their messages were any less important. Sometimes God used these prophets to proclaim major truths, denounce sin and even predict the future! Other times God used them to show God’s truth through various events in their lives.
In this series, we will explore big truths from these little books with big messages.
Have you ever wondered why we call Jonah, Micah, Amos, Obadiah and others the ‘minor’ prophets? Certainly, it’s not because their messages were any less important. Sometimes God used these prophets to proclaim major truths, denounce sin and even predict the future! Other times God used them to show God’s truth through various events in their lives.
In this series, we will explore big truths from these little books with big messages.
Have you ever wondered why we call Jonah, Micah, Amos, Obadiah and others the ‘minor’ prophets? Certainly, it’s not because their messages were any less important. Sometimes God used these prophets to proclaim major truths, denounce sin and even predict the future! Other times God used them to show God’s truth through various events in their lives.
In this series, we will explore big truths from these little books with big messages.
Have you ever wondered why we call Jonah, Micah, Amos, Obadiah and others the ‘minor’ prophets? Certainly, it’s not because their messages were any less important. Sometimes God used these prophets to proclaim major truths, denounce sin and even predict the future! Other times God used them to show God’s truth through various events in their lives.
In this series, we will explore big truths from these little books with big messages.
Have you ever wondered why we call Jonah, Micah, Amos, Obadiah and others the ‘minor’ prophets? Certainly, it’s not because their messages were any less important. Sometimes God used these prophets to proclaim major truths, denounce sin and even predict the future! Other times God used them to show God’s truth through various events in their lives.
In this series, we will explore big truths from these little books with big messages.
70% of Americans say they believe in Jesus but a much smaller percentage actually attempts to live as if Jesus is Lord. How do we know if we are real deal Christians or if our Christianity is mere profession? In this series, we will explore the book of 1 John-- letters that were written to help people in the early Church discover whether they were truly authentic Christians.
Pastor Rich reflects on the Holy Spirit's Guidance on our Celebration Weekend to mark 30 years of being a Vineyard Church and 30 years of Rich being our Senior Pastor.
Pastor Rich continues the series "30 Years of Following the Spirit" by examining our call to worship the Lord in Spirit and truth.
Pastor Rich begins our month long series celebrating the church's 30th anniversary as a Vineyard church with a sermon about experiencing the Holy Spirit.
In this message, Pastor Rich reminds us that God sometimes makes us wait. It is often through pain, suffering and waiting that God helps us grow and be transformed. And as we grow, we can find joy in waiting.
The Chilean miners felt joy when they were rescued from the collapsed mine. A young man felt joy when he was adopted and became a part of a family. These stories illustrate how joy should be our natural response to God because of the salvation we...
Pastor Rich examines the idea of finding joy in God's Creation to start the new sermon series "Living a Joyful Life". The word joy is found in the New Testament more than the words love and grace and so we can conclude that joy is the mark of...
To finish our Silent Killers series, Pastor Rich discusses the motivations, consequences, and the cure for envy.
Pastor Rich continues his Silent Killers series with a sermon about guilt and how we can deal with it in a spiritually healthy way.
Many people grapple with finding self-worth. In traditional societies, people often find their self-worth from others. In our own culture, many people look inside themselves to find self-worth. Pastor Rich lays out for us how we don't want to look...
Sadly, the side effects of despair have reached epidemic proportions in our society. Convinced that life won't get better, millions of American citizens have begun abusing drugs to the point of overdose. Young people are attempting suicide at...
On this Recognition Sunday, Pastor Rich wrapped up The Making of a Leader series with a special message for the young people in our congregation - we're never too young to be used by God.
We entrust quite a bit of our well-being to leaders. We trust them with everything from our physical well-being to our financial and even emotional well-being. But what happens when leadership is unhealthy and has a negative or even toxic impact on...
1 Timothy chapter 2 has been interpreted for hundreds of years in a way that has prevented women from holding positions of leadership in various religious groups. As a result, countless women have internalized the idea that they are inferior to men...
We can find such a wide variety of leadership advice from so many sources. Some wise and tenured leaders will tell us things like, "Be confident and competent!" And on the other hand, less seasoned but passionate leaders may encourage us not...
Pastor Rich kicked off the new sermon series "The Making of a Leader" this week. Over the next several weeks, we will look at 1 Timothy and see how the Apostle Paul advised Timothy to be the leader that God called him to be. This week, in...
There are individuals and companies alike that make a profit based upon how many people they can get to pay attention to the news they spread-- regardless of its authenticity. And, as a result, it has become difficult for most of us to tell the...
Surely, we all want to be whole. We all want to share long, healthy lives with our loved ones. We all want to experience joy and to see the conflict, struggle and pain in our lives wiped away for good. In this sermon, Pastor Rich unpacks the meaning...
Money affects nearly every aspect of our lives-- our relational, emotional and even physical lives. And when we have more desires or plans than we have money, the effects of the resulting stress can be devastating. Financial stress has been linked...
The circumstances of life naturally send our emotions from one end of the spectrum to another. On a good day, when things are going smoothly and all of our plans unfold without any snags, we tend to feel content and peaceful. But if we happen to lose...
We have become an incredibly divided world filled with increasingly isolated people. Despite lightning-fast and nearly universal access to information via the internet, few agree on what truth is. And even though millions of people can communicate...
Many of us would like to be able to climb a few flights of stairs comfortably or play with our pets without feeling out of breath. Others of us would eventually like to run a 5K for the first time. But regardless of our physical fitness goals...
There are times we may feel weighed down, unhappy, or even disappointed with the state of our lives. We may have everything going for us and still feel discouraged and unfulfilled. In this sermon, Pastor Rich helps us identify and own up to this...
Pastor Rich set up our upcoming Fully Alive campaign by reminding us that goal setting is biblical. As our church looks into becoming more Fully Alive during the season of Lent, Pastor Rich encouraged everyone to set goals to become more spiritually...
In the life of a secret agent, there is no alternative option for a secret mission. No matter how difficult or even impossible the mission seems, its outcome is non-negotiable-- it must be completed. In this sermon, Dr. Charles Montgomery turns our...
It's easy to grow complacent and settled into the cultural expectations that often confine our choices. But God often calls us outside of those expectations-- regardless of our age, our gender, or our life situation. Pastor Rich challenges us to...
Research as shown that the most lasting and fulfilling happiness there is doesn't come from buying more things-- it comes from collecting more meaningful experiences. We are beginning to crave a great experience more than we crave the next...
Many of us look around us and find that our search for truth is often an unfruitful one. We are confused by the nearly universal idea that there are no universal standards of truth to find. We are discouraged by unreliable cultural leaders who seek...
As he continues the series "Spiritual but not Religious?", Pastor Rich examines the importance of being part of a Christian community to inspire spiritual growth. There are dozens of commands in the New Testament that we cannot do on our...
More and more people are describing themselves as spiritual but not religious. And many of the people who describe themselves this way have felt disappointed with their experiences in church and believe their communities outside of the church provide...
In this sermon, Pastor Scott challenges us to enter 2017 having made a resolution to worship – to have our lives revolve around Jesus, to live a 24/7 life of worship that changes our hearts, and to make the commitment to gather and sing together week...
God created all of us for a purpose. But sometimes, baggage (our hurts, habits, or hardships) can hinder us from walking in God's purpose for our lives. In this message, Dr. Charles Montgomery examines the life of King Saul to highlight the...
You can tell how well someone knows another person by how he or she addresses that person. If the name someone uses to address another person remains formal like "sir" or "ma'am", chances are he or she isn't too familiar...
What is it that you love more than anything else-- that you treasure deeply and would have the most difficulty releasing over to God? If Abraham were asked this question, he would likely have said, "My beloved son, Isaac." Isaac was...
In our Western culture, we don't often think of cowardice -- much less do we think of cowardice as a sin. In this sermon, Pastor Rich examines the root, consequence and defeat of cowardice in Abraham's life. We are challenged to search our...
In this sermon, Pastor Rich continues his series on the life of Abraham, "The Journey of Faith". Our faith shouldn't limit God, but there are several ways that Christians do limit God - through their impatience, passivity and...
Pastor Rich continues The Journey of Faith series with "Finding God in All Things". We go through seasons of difficulty and dissatisfaction, but our faith will grow when we are able to find God in all things.
What does it mean to have Christian faith? Pastor Rich shows us through the life of Abram that Christian faith is shown when we don't allow fear to control our lives, when we rely on God's protection, when we believe in God's Word and when we receive...
In this sermon, Pastor Rich looks at the Way of Abram and the Way of Lot in Exodus 13. Abram made mistakes, but continued on a path of faith toward God. Lot instead chose to be more self-reliant by taking matters into his own hands. Pastor Rich...
Our new series, "The Journey of Faith" examine the faithful life of Abraham. In this message, Pastor Rich demonstrates how Abraham modeled a life of faith for us in the Old Testament. Like Abraham, we should follow God's call on our...
Pastor Rich and Dr. Charles Montgomery share the pulpit to deliver a powerful message about the joys and the challenges of building a multi-ethnic congregation. Both share pieces of their personal journey that lead to catalytic moments of change...
God did not intend for us to worship with and build community in just one generation. He calls us to build a multi-generational church. In this sermon, Pastor Rich describes God's intention for the church to break down dividing walls of age.
Do you treat people different based on their appearance, status, or income? In this sermon, Pastor Rich discusses how showing favoritism contradicts our faith and how the rich and poor need each other.
Pastor Rich started a new sermon series, Different Together, with a sermon on how people with differing political views can live together in peace. He touched on four C's that should mark the way Christians engage in politics: having Character...
Sometimes life doesn't turn out the way we planned it. In this message, Pastor Rich talks about how even when things aren't going well, we can hold onto God's word and his ultimate purposes.
Forgiveness is at the core of Christianity. Christians are called to forgive in all circumstances. In this sermon, Pastor Rich lays out the five M's of forgiveness: measure, meaning, myths, method and motive.
Spiritual abuse isn't often talked about in churches. In this sermon, Pastor Rich looks at wounds caused by leaders in the church and how God can heal us from those wounds.
In difficult times we often ask, "where is God? and "is God sovereign?" In this message Dr. Charles Montgomery examines how both King Belshazzar and the prophet Daniel respond to God's sovereignty. He ends the message with a word...
As we move on to the fourth chapter of Daniel, Pastor Rich reminds us that the root of every other sin is pride. As Rich examines Nebuchadnezzar's pride we learn the reasons we become prideful and how to change.
Pastor Rich uses the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to illustrate the tough decisions we have to make as Christians in a secular world. When is it okay to go along with culture and when should Christian's take a stand? In this message Rich...
Daniel and his friends were in a land that was hostile to God. The Babylonians (and many people in our culture today) believe that we live in a universe that is closed to God or anything beyond the Natural. Pastor Rich compares this worldview to...
Christians ought to feel uncomfortable in whatever culture they live because they are not merely citizens of their country, but also citizens of the Kingdom of God. In this sermon, Pastor Rich begins a series that explores how Daniel and his friends...
In this message, Pastor Rich recognizes those in our congregation that are making transitions and graduating. He gives words of counsel and encouragement that apply to everyone when they are going through transitions in life.
Friendship is one of the chief ways that we experience love in this world but study after study has found that intimate friendships in America are on the decline. In this sermon, Pastor Rich speaks of the amazing opportunity we have to experience the...
It's fascinating that many of the most popular loves songs are about cheating and unfaithfulness when most people's desire for love is to find someone who they can totally trust. The deepest desire of the human heart is to find someone who will...
We often think that love is the opposite of discipline. Many parents struggle to discipline and set boundaries for their children because they think it's too much work or they want their kids to like them. In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about...
Many in America grow up with an emotionally or physically absent father. Study after study shows the importance of having a father figure in young people's lives. In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about our perfect Father that is eager to adopt...
Every human being on earth desires to find a love that will never give up on them. In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about our salvation in Jesus and God's persevering love. God our Father will never leave us or forsake us. His love will never...
People have many different definitions of love, but when Christians define what love is we don't go to a dictionary, we go to the cross! God revolutionized our understanding of love when he gave his son to die on the cross for our sins. In this...
In this Easter message Pastor Rich explains why Jesus' physical, bodily resurrection matters.
Many people think of Christians as somber and boring but the founder of the faith was anything but dull. So many of Jesus' stories involve parties, great banquets and celebrations. In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about why we should celebrate...
Why don't we feel the same compassion that Jesus felt toward people in need? In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about what causes our hearts to shrink and how we can grow our hearts of compassion.
While we spend tons of time in the United States taking personality tests to make hiring decisions, build teams, and assess our marriage partners, most of us have never seen a character test designed to measure our degree of honesty, morality, or...
We have all been asked the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" but how do we find the answer? How do we discover the life God created us to live? In this sermon, Pastor Rich discusses how to understand our identity and calling.
Everyone wants to live the good life! Many try to find it by accumulating wealth or finding fame. Others search for the good life by looking inside themselves to find happiness. In this sermon, Pastor Rich suggests looking to Jesus as our model of the...
For many Christians evangelism is an unmentionable word and an uncomfortable subject. In this sermon, Pastor Rich clears up what evangelism should be and how we can engage in sharing the love of Jesus with the world.
Many Christians have a relationship with God only from the neck up. Our faith is much more than knowing God intellectually; it includes an invitation to know God experientially. In this sermon, Pastor Rich discusses what prevents us from experiencing...
A decent way to measure the value of any philosophy or religion is to ask: how do the followers of that philosophy or religion actually live? In this sermon, Pastor Rich discusses the difference that following Jesus should make in a Christians...
We live in an uncommitted age where fewer people are marrying, buying houses, or signing cell phone contracts. We like to keep our options open but we have a longing for the type of security and belonging that only come with committed relationships...
What would cause you to experience utter joy? The type of joy that would make you feel like jumping up and down without inhibition. In this final Advent sermon, Pastor Rich discusses Mary's song and how we can experience joy by remembering what...
The recent terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have put the whole world on edge. Fear, which is the terrorists' ultimate goal, has spread through politicians, the media, and even some Christian groups. In this break from our Advent series...
We begin this Advent series by examining the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary. In this sermon, Pastor Rich discusses the message Gabriel brought to the world and Mary's response.
People are inescapably spiritual. It is noticeable in our society that is filled with paranormal movies, ghost-hunting TV shows, and New Age book sections. Many churches are ill-equipped to respond to the spiritual hunger that is being expressed...
God is not impersonal or abstract; he wants to be known to us. The Bible refers to God by lots of different names and each one reveals some aspect of his character or his relationship with us. In this sermon, Pastor Rich considers some of the names by...
When followers of Christ try to make decisions, we earnestly want to hear what God thinks about what we're doing. But how do we know what God is saying? In this sermon, Pastor Rich teaches on hearing God's voice. In this message Rich recommends...
Is it not the case that we often trade the significant for the spectacular? We want to be successful but we don't know how to sort out the world's advice from God's counsel. In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about how to truly succeed...
Do you know that God calls all of us to push way out of our comfort zones? Regardless of our personalities and temperaments, God wants us to know the thrill of risking and the exhilaration of going beyond our own limits. In this sermon on Peter...
Do you think of God as being someone you need to persuade or convince of your need or your worthiness before God grants you your request? In this sermon, Pastor Rich addresses a distorted view we have of God that keep us from fully experiencing his...
It is extremely common to have a desire to connect with God but be confused about where to start. There isn't one way that works for everyone. In this sermon, Pastor Rich will help us discover different paths that help us connect with God.
Pastor Rich starts a new series to discuss the false views we have that keep us from really knowing, experiencing, enjoying, and loving the God we read about in the Bible. In this sermon, Rich talks about how we can know God and the many ways that his...
Can someone be said to have real faith only when they win, only when they have a favorable outcome to their prayers, or for their lives? In the final sermon of the Heroic Faith Series, Rich considers the presence of faith in both victors and victims...
Do you sometimes wonder if you even have faith because you're not certain, you struggle with doubts, or faith feels elusive? In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about what faith actually feels and looks like in the Bible.
Some people expect all their problems to go away when they become a Christian and are disappointed when they do not. Does God have a plan for us when life is hard? In this sermon, Pastor Rich talks about the tests we go through as Christians.
How do you keep going despite great evil? How do you keep going despite nagging problems? How do you keep going despite illness, unemployment, difficult marriages, or unwanted singleness? In this sermon, Pastor Rich provides counsel from the book of...
In our modern world faith is often attacked as being irrational. Is there any way that faith can make sense? In this sermon, Pastor Rich lays out a foundation for how faith is rational.
Words have the power to wound and the power to heal. Words are the currency of relationship with God and others. In this sermon, Pastor Rich challenges us to examine our speech.
The Bible is filled with stories of the miraculous but do they still happen today? In this sermon Rich lays a foundation for understanding miracles and what prevents us from experiencing them. Additional Resources:
"Miracles" by Craig...
In this sermon Rich addresses the issues of abortion, suicide, and euthanasia. Is personhood divinely given or humanly constructed? Rich also interviews two experts: Diane Bauman, Director of Value Life Ministry, and Dr. John Campo, Chair of...
There are very few issues in society about which public opinion has shifted more quickly than Americans' attitudes towards same-sex marriage. As Christians, how are we supposed to deal with this rapid change? In this sermon, Pastor Rich gives us five...
Nearly every family in America has been impacted by divorce. If not our own divorce, then the divorce of our parents, our children, or our sisters or brothers. In this sermon Pastor Rich will address what the Bible says about divorce and how we can...
We have all seen news anchors yelling at each other or seen harsh words shared between people on social media. The world we are living in is becoming increasingly rude and uncivil. In this sermon, Pastor Rich discusses how we should demonstrate...
Christians have had varying options about the ethics of war over the centuries, but how should we view war in our time? In this sermon, Pastor Rich addresses the question, "May a Christian go to war?"
Why does God allow good people to suffer? In this sermon Rich gives us ways to hang onto God when we encounter pain and suffering in this world.
What if Jesus didn't rise from the dead? In this Easter message, Rich examines the importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
While aging is hard, it can also be freeing. In this sermon Rich talks about how to age well.
We have become accustomed to a new way of being "alone together." We're with oneanother, but we're also somewhere else: multitasking, connected to our phones, or not listening well. In this sermon Rich addresses the ways we destroy community and how...
Time is very important to humans. Over a lifetime we go in and out of different seasons. In this sermon Pastor Rich talks about how we should discern and relate to times and seasons with God.
What good thing have you made into the ultimate thing? In this sermon, Rich examines the idols that consume many of our lives.
Rich begins his Lenten series in the book of Ecclesiastes by examining the first few debated verses. How are we to view our lives in light of this book of the Bible? How do we respond to life that is absurd, fleeting, and elusive?
The topic of financial giving is often a touchy one for the church. How much should we give? How should we give? And most importantly, why should we give? In this sermon, Rich addresses some of the most common questions about tithing and giving.
Have you ever been in a situation where you knew that you were not welcome? Followers of Jesus are called to practice surprising hospitality and welcome. In this sermon, Rich talks about the importance of hospitality that is modeled throughout the Bible.
The people of the world are split into givers and takers. Takers focus on titles, roles, and self-promotion. Givers are servants that are willing to be inconvenienced and sacrifice. Rich continues our series on "The Generous Life" by looking...
God created us with a design and when we work against our design, life becomes difficult. In this sermon, Rich talks about how God designed us to be relational, forgiving, and generous. When we live the way God intended us to, we flourish.
Is the Christmas story true? And even if it is true, does it matter? In this Christmas Eve message, Pastor Rich addresses some common questions adults ask about the truth and meaning of Christmas.
The media and popular thought paint the end of the world as a dystopian future, but what will the future of planet earth really be like? In this sermon, Rich talks about the state of our world today, and our hope for the future.
Throughout history lots of different figures have been called the Anti-Christ by some person or group, but how will we truly identify the spirit of the Antichrist? In this sermon, Rich describes the characteristics of the Antichrist and how we are to...
Many have tried to predict the date of the return of Christ and 100% of them have been wrong. Though we cannot predict the date, we can certainly prepare for the Lord's return. In this sermon, Pastor Rich encourages us to have the right focus...
People have many images that come to mind when they think of the return of Christ. In this sermon, Rich speaks about how we can look forward to the Lord's return while enjoying his presence today.
The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." In this sermon, Rich encourages to pray prayers that encompass all areas of our lives. Just like Jesus we pray small and...
In Ephesians 6:18 Paul tells us to, "pray in the Spirit on all occasions", but how do we pray all the time without giving up? In this sermon, Pastor Rich will address several common questions about prayer: What is the purpose of prayer? What...
Many people view their life outside of church as completely unspiritual. They are frustrated by the insignificance of their daily tasks and the bulk of time they spend in meaningless jobs. In this sermon Pastor Rich will help us understand the...
Like it or not, we have an enemy. And life in this world is not portrayed as an extended beach vacation, but as a war. In this sermon, Pastor Rich will talk about how to prepare for the spiritual war we are a part of by putting on the armor of God.
The Devil has tactics to make us retreat and compromise. The enemy exhagerates the failures of others and makes us feel like we are 'the only ones'. In this sermon, Pastor Rich encourages us that the best way to succeed in this war is to...
Why is life so hard? In this sermon, Pastor Rich challenges us to see the spiritual battle we are a part of. We are encouraged that God is powerful and fights for us.
In this sermon, Pastor Rich examines the mission of the Kingdom of God and the mission statement of Vineyard Columbus.
In this sermon, Rich talks about the barriers that keep us from reconciliation with God and others.
We live in a time where everything is being quantified and everyone is being measured. How does God measure us and how should we measure our lives? In this message, Rich challenges us to start looking at life the way Jesus does.
The great New Testment scholar FF Bruce said, "No single event, apart from the Christ-event itself, has proved so determinant for the course of Christian history as the conversion and commissioning of Paul." In this sermon Rich discusses...
In this sermon, Rich talks about the credentials of a leader, the opportunities of a leader, and the challenges of a leader that we see in from the life of Paul.
In this Easter sermon, Rich talks about the fears that we all have and how Jesus' resurrection gives us incredible hope to overcome these fears!
In this Easter sermon, Rich talks about the fears that we all have and how Jesus' resurrection gives us incredible hope to overcome these fears!
In this sermon Rich talks about the challenge of guilt and the only way that we can get rid of it.
In this sermon Rich talks about the challenge of guilt and the only way that we can get rid of it.
There are lots of reason why we aren't generous, but in this sermon Rich explains that when in doubt, reach for the check!
There are many ideas about work and vocation today, but what about the simple idea of working hard? In this sermon, Rich talks about the neglected virtue of hard work and it's importance to God and us.
White lies. Fibs. Half truths. Whatever we want to call them, we've all experienced how much lies can hurt. In this sermon, Rich challenges us to become truthful people in a world that doesn't always seem to value truth.
In this message, Rich lays out what God's plan is to heal the loneliness that so many of us feel: The Church.
There are many ideas about what the purpose of life is; what life is all about. The most popular is that life is about you and me. In this message, Rich explains that far from life being about us, life is about God.
We know that suffering is real, even in the life of a Christian. But how are we supposed to live in this time between the beginning of our salvation and the completion of it? In this sermon, Rich talks about we can hold on to hope even as we groan and...
In this sermon, Rich talks about the ways we are like Adam and how Christ identified with Adam to bring us salvation.
In this sermon, Rich explains that our assurance of salvation isn't based upon our feelings or performance, but God's love and declaration.
In this sermon, Rich discusses the issue of faith, the 21st century challenges to faith, and how our faith grows.
The final part of 3 messages on the necessity of the gospel, Rich presses into the deep contrast between God's faithfulness to us and our sinfulness towards Him.
The Gospel means "good news" but in order to understand why it's such good news, we have to understand how deep our need is. In this sermon, Rich explains why we need the gospel, why the wrath of God, and the hope we have in Christ.
In this sermon, Rich lays out our fundamental problems, needs, objection, and need for direction in life that the Gospel story addresses.
It probably doesn't come as a surprise that God wants to use you to tell his story of love and redemption to others. But what might surprise you is that you are qualified right now to do it!
As we begin this series, Rich discusses the story of God - the Gospel of God - what kind of story it is, and how we find ourselves right in the middle of it.
Some Simple Ways to Pray - Using a Prayer Journal Some Simple Ways to Pray - The Lord's Prayer Some Simple Ways to Pray - The Litany
Do you ever struggle with doubt? Do you have friends or family members who have walked away from faith? In this sermon, Rich will look at some of the reasons people walk away and why he continues to believe.
The example that our parents set for us leave an indelible mark. For those of us who didn't have models growing up, we often wonder if we can be any different. In this talk we will look at the story of King Hezekiah, who despite his father...
Grief is a significant part of life. We grieve when we lose someone or something that we highly value. And grief is messy. In this message, Rich looks at the life and death of Absalom, who dies in battle attempting to overthrow his father, and...
What do you think of when you think of the kings of the Bible? They were certainly a mixed bag, just like us. We cannot help but see ourselves in their inconsistencies and faults. Thankfully our models aren't the kings of the Bible but our true...
When Jesus tells us to love our enemy and pray for those who oppose us, he couldn't have really mean it, right? It would be easier to say that this was hyperbole, except he did this very thing while nailed to the cross. In this sermon, Rich will...
We live in age where affairs are commonplace and even expected by some. Even so, the effects of unfaithfulness continue to be devestating. In this sermon, we will look at King David's unfaithfulness, what led up to it, the consequences, and the...
With so many theories about how to raise your children, how do you know which one is right? In this message, Rich takes a look at the two boundary markers of love and discipline and how both are critical pieces to the parenting puzzle.
We all want to know that we have worth, that we're valued. Whether it is what family you are from, how much money you make, how big your house is, or how attractive your spouse is, we so commonly look to external things for our worth. In this...
If there is one thing about Jesus that we find in the Bible, is that Jesus is surprising! He never says or does what people expect him to do. In this sermon, Rich talks about the surpising nature of the resurrection and the surprising ways that Jesus...
In a world where there is so much suffering, how do we respond to the question of where is God? In this sermon, Rich talks about Jesus as our Savior and Lord who also experienced tremendous suffering and the hope we find in Him.
Great victory often seems to only come after great difficulty. This is certainly true of Jesus' life. In this message, Rich takes a look at the model of Jesus' "U-shaped" life and what victory was won for us through Jesus...
Who is Jesus? Depending on who you ask, you will get a wide range of answers. Many religions honor Jesus as a prophet and great teacher. In this message, Rich talks about who Christians say Jesus is, but the real question is this: Who do you say Jesus is?
As we begin the season of Lent, Rich takes a close look at what it means to believe in God and what the implications of faith are.
Martin Luther, the Father of the Protestant Reformation, once said: "There are three conversions necessary for every human being: the conversion of the mind, the conversion of the heart, and the conversion of the wallet." In this sermon...
Within the church, nothing is more important than our spiritual fitness, but oftentimes we don't put the same amount of effort into our spiritual health as we do in other areas of life. In this sermon, Rich takes a look at two different types of...
Followers of Jesus often emphasize the spiritual components of following Jesus but mistakenly deemphasize the physical components. In this sermon, Rich discusses the importance of our physical health and the necessity of having the right...
At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what your family, friends, or community believes about Jesus. Jesus wants to know what you believe about him. Who do you say that he is?
Sam Stando was a normal, healthy baby, until at her 3-month checkup, she had a bad reaction to one of her shots, which resulted in permanent brain damage. She would live the rest of her life under constant care of professional nurses and with an extra...
Jesus continually challenged his followers with new ways of living and thinking. Sometimes Jesus' tests were so difficult or confusing that individuals decided to no longer follow him. In this message, Rich looks at some of the tests that we...
When we see needs that are great, we can feel overwhelmed and paralyzed. Yet when Jesus saw thousands of hungry people, he challenged his disciples to take an inventory of what they had to meet the need and then to submit everything to him. In this...
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This weekend, Pastor Rich Nathan spoke about building the beloved community by avoiding "food fights" - those violent, defensive conflicts that we get into that destroy our relationships. This is a continuation of the previous week's sermon when we...
Within God's intention for our relationships, there is room for disagreement - even strong disagreement. The question is this: Are you more concerned about being right or about being righteous?
Most of us grew up learning that the way we treat others should be based upon the Golden Rule: Do to others what you would have them do to you. Jesus and Paul make it even clearer when they tell us to "love your neighbor as yourself." In...
What is love? From the earliest ages, we all begin to form an understanding of what genuine love is all about. In this sermon, Rich talks about four characteristics of genuine love that are essential to building the Beloved Community, the Church.
As Rich begins this series, he takes a look at three essential building blocks to building The Beloved Community, the Church. First, we have to learn how to think about ourselves. Second, the Beloved Community is built by how we think about the...
Pastor Rich Nathan continued in his series, Vineyard Columbus - The Next 25 Years, by speaking about Vineyard Columbus' commitment to evangelism. Using 1 Cor 9:19-22 as spring board, he emphasized the notion that we will win people to Christ "using...
In this sermon, Rich speaks of our vision to be a church that is committed to showing mercy - "compassion in action" - to those who are in need in our community. In addition, we are equally committed to the vision of being a church that...
In this sermon, Pastor Rich Nathan answers the question, "Who is in charge here?" as we begin our sermon series "Vineyard Columbus - The Next 25 Years." As a church, we have consistenly answered: "God is in charge.
This weekend, Pastor Rich Nathan spoke about the kind of church Vineyard Columbus seeks to be. Along with the churches in Philippi and Antioch, the church mentioned in John 3 was an impactful church. While no church is perfect (vv. 8-14), this...
Rich Nathan preached this weekend on the importance of church discipline and how to properly restore a fallen brother or sister, particularly, a fallen leader. In the verses from 1 Corinthians 5, Paul confronts the church of existing sexual sin...
Rich began with a story of a Ugandan man who had everything taken away from him by the government. When a missionary came to him to tell him the God loved him and sent his son Jesus to die for him, the man became so angry and threw him out because he...
There are many examples of individuals who discovered success later in life - or made their greatest contribution as an older adult. Some were motivated because of their faith. Well-known examples shared in the sermon include Corrie ten Boom and Sal...
There was a turning point in leadership literature after WWI which shifted the emphasis away from good character to personality traits as the foundation of success. Dr. Tim Irwin wrote that over and over again what derails otherwise really successful...
The United States along with the rest of the world is living in an age of anxiety. The events of 9/11 were for us shattering, changing things forever. We now live with a constant sense of terror and terrorism. There are economic shock waves across the...
Rich Nathan preached this weekend on doubting God's goodness. In the verses from Ephesians, Paul encourages the early Christians to be "strong in the Lord and in His mighty power" by clothing themselves with God's character qualities. By doing so...
When you ask people what keeps them from believing in God, the number one reason given is the problem of evil: "If God exists and is good, then why is there evil and suffering in the world?" If God exists and cares about us at all why is...
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...
Pastor Rich began the sermon by contrasting how Jeremy Lin's father taught himself and his son to play the game of basketball to how we should become more Christ-like. He said, Christ-likeness is the goal of the Christian life (Rom 8:29, 2 Cor 3:18...
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...
In this week's sermon Pastor Rich preached about forgiveness. The message began by suggesting that forgiveness is at the heart of Christianity. "If Christianity is about anything, it is about forgiveness. Not forgiveness as a way of escaping...
In this week's sermon, Pastor Rich continued in his life together series, this time drawing from 2 Timothy Chapter 4 and speaking on the topic of loneliness. In Paul's letter we get a sense of the kind of loneliness that Paul was dealing with as a...
In this week's sermon, Pastor Rich began a new series called "Life Together". "Unknown knowns" are realities that we deliberately choose to ignore. In America, our need as Christians to be in close connection with one another and our need for...
What we're doing in the weeks leading up to Christmas is anticipating the approach or arrival of Jesus Christ at Christmas. Historically, Advent anticipated not only Jesus' first coming at Christmas, but Advent was also an anticipation of Jesus...
The book of Revelation is often considered a book that foretells the cataclysmic events that will usher in the end of the world. But Revelations is really a book about Jesus Christ—specifically the revelation of Christ. It is a book filled with...
In this weekend's sermon Pastor Rich continued in his series from 1 Peter. He taught about some of the things that make for a good Christian leader. We desire good leadership because we live in a world that is constantly faced with adversity...
To be human is to ask questions about our existence, our identity, and our destiny. In v. 4 Peter reflects on Jesus' identity first. He was rejected by human begins. He was verbal abused and lied about. But rather than listening to what people said...
It's been observed that the new generation of young adults—those in their twenties and even thirties—are unable to make moral decisions. They do not know how to determine right from wrong. The dominant message this generation has grown up with is...
Pastor Rich began a new series from 1 Peter called Living as Resident Aliens. Peter gives at least 10 strategies for Christians struggling to remain distinct from the forces of culture. One reality of following Jesus is to feel in many situations like...
In this sermon, Pastor Rich shows us how the story of The Good Samaritan is a model for Christians in helping those who are in need. Many times when we are busy or unwilling to help others, we tend to argue with Jesus and come up with excuses as to...
The opening questions in the sermon concern character. Successful leadership long-term requires character. In "Derailed", the author, Tim Irwin cites leader's "dark sides" as the cause for failure long-term, not a lack of intelligence or charisma. The...
This week's sermon is from the story of Jephthah, found in Judges 11. The main point drawn out of this story is the importance of keeping our word. In today's world, truth-telling and commitment keeping is extremely rare and people are surprised when...
In his sermon Pastor Rich began a new series titled Ordinary people, Extraordinary God, and began by looking at why people fail. People often fail because they allow sin to pile up and go unchecked until it becomes something that dominates and...
In this weeks sermon Pastor Rich deals with the issue of how we view Gods will. We often view His will for our lives as railroad tracks that we can't get off of or else we are doomed. There is a perfect will for our lives and we must discover it down...
There are very few teachings in the history of the Christian church that have created more problems then the false belief that God has set up the human race so that woman can not participate in church leadership. Pastor Rich breaks the myth that only...
Pastor Rich preached a response to this belief - "God will grant financial success to all believers who have enough faith". Pastor Rich asked - Is this belief true? Is that what God promises in the Bible? He went on to say, we do want to always affirm...
Pastor Rich posed this question to the church – "have you ever deliberately sinned, deliberately said or did something that you knew was wrong at the time, but you did it anyway, because you said, "It doesn't really matter. God will always forgive...
In this week's sermon, Pastor Rich debunks the myth that "I Don't Need Church." Despite all sorts of excuses for limited to zero involvement in church – Paul reveals in Romans 12 the only way for real life change to occur, is when we're deeply...
In our current culture we are constantly at risk of becoming overly tolerant in some cases and overly judgmental in other cases. So how can we exercise judgment with grace and sensitivity? Looking at chapter 7 in the gospel of Matthew pastor Rich...
In this week's Easter sermon, Pastor Rich spoke about 3 witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. The first, was the witness we see in scripture by those who knew Jesus and the revelation of fulfilled OT prophesy. The next witness was the profound...
In this week's sermon, Pastor Rich spoke about the mystery of Christ. There are some mysteries we can't plummet entirely, like the Trinity, and we encounter similar mysteries in the passage of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The first thing we...
In this week's sermon, Pastor Rich spoke about 4 ways Jesus' Kingdom surprises us. Using 4 stories from Luke 18, each vignette revealed something new. In the story of the widow, we're surprised by - who gets heard by God. She's weak...
The sermon this week began by holding up the mirror to the way most Americans view themselves. We learned that virtually every writer of the New Testament saw himself as a "doulos", as a servant, a slave of Jesus Christ. Christ wants all of us, and...
In this week's sermon, pastor Rich emphasizes again that Vineyard Columbus is a "both-and" church. Vineyard reaches out on one hand with the Gospel and a call to conversion and transformation, and with the other hand in practical love and mercy toward...
In this weekend's service, Pastor Rich preached on the topic of triumphing over temptation. As followers of Jesus we are constantly tempted by the enemy to exist for ourselves instead of for Christ and the world around us. Drawing from Luke chapter 4...
Pastor Rich preached a sermon in response to Peter's question of Jesus – (paraphrase) "how far must I go in my forgiveness of others?" How far do we push this Christian forgiveness theme? How bad do things have to get before we say, "Enough, no more...
In this week's sermon, Pastor Rich talked about caring for and being tender-hearted towards immigrants, and those who are poor and needy. When we experience God's grace, it changes who we are and how we view others. Our care for others is evidence of...
In this week's sermon, "The Grace of Communion", Pastor Rich talked about the meaning of the Passover and the Lord's Supper, and how the grace of God is reflected in the communion meal. Christ's blood sacrifice saved us from God's judgment and paid...
In this message Pastor Rich teaches that generosity should be one of the defining characteristics of life and the goal for every one of us. As Christians being generous not only is good for us, but it is should also define who we are. Oftentimes our...
Pastor Rich opened the sermon by describing that Romans 3 is like looking "…inside The Father's Photo Album." Paul makes it clear in the first 3 chapters of Romans that no one, whether religious or irreligious, is free from humanity's terminal...
In today's society we often find ourselves wondering, "What's wrong with the world?" This question has been asked generation after generation as humanity attempts to return the world to "the way things should be". In this...
This week Pastor Rich began a new sermon series entitled, "Amazing Grace." In Romans 8:1, Paul asserts that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." In the lives of Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David, God gives us a picture of...
The sermon opens with a cultural analysis about how Americans view marriage and divorce – Pastor Rich says we live in an uncommitted age. He introduces a concept called "expressive individualism". The sermon focuses on Ruth, but highlights 2 other...
In the new sermon series, Advent: The Women In Jesus' Past, we're going to look at the lives of four of the women in the genealogy of Jesus: Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. In this week's sermon, we found that Jesus is the Savior of Gentiles, not...
All of us have less than ideal families. Because of this Family Mess in one way or another can influence our very lives. In this sermon Pastor Rich shares uses the story of Joseph to share w with us principles that we must keep in mind when we...
In Genesis 42-44 we read a story of a family whose lives are in suspended animation. They are stuck and frozen in time because of an incident that happened more than twenty-years before. Jacob is stuck mourning for a son that supposedly he has lost...
In this week's message, Insoo talks about how to partner with God to raise your children. Based on the story of Joseph in Genesis 37, he talks about how even our best efforts as a parent aren't good enough, and how sometimes God is up to something...
In Genesis 30 and 31, we find the family mess that existed in the relationship between Jacob and Laban. Similar to modern-day examples of family conflict, Jacob and his father-in-law Laban were engaged in a business conflict that exposed deeply rooted...
In the message idolatry was described as "anything you can't live with without", or "something you'd do anything for". Jacob sought his father's blessings and romantic love with Rachael – at any cost; Leah aimed to...
In Genesis 27 we find a story of family mess, of deception and favoritism as Jacob tricks his father Isaac into giving him his blessing instead of giving it to his older brother and firstborn son Esau; but we also find a story of blessing, a story of...
In this message Rich shares with us principles to help us keep our bearings and preserve our values when facing "Sodom-like" situations. For example, when we talk about Family Mess, the family is not isolated in its own cocoon. Families are...
In our family mess series we see in the lives of the patriarchs and their wives some of the same messes that we see in our own lives. One of these messes that is squarely addressed is the inability to conceive a child. In Biblical times, conceiving...
In our family mess series we see in the lives of the patriarchs and their wives some of the same messes that we see in our own lives. One of these messes that is squarely addressed is the inability to conceive a child. In Biblical times, conceiving...
We live in a culture where appearance means everything. Evading truths, cover-ups, and flat-out lying have become the norms of the day. As a result, the world is crying for integrity. Integrity is created when we become mature enough to acknowledge...
Throughout history Christians and non-Christians alike have been debating over the proper interpretation of the Bible. Even today, there is no one alive who simply reads the Bible straight on and without a lens. Because of this, people and even...
One of the crying needs not only in society but also in the church is finding leaders we can trust. This was also true for the early church, which faced growing pains and subsequent problems that created a need for good leaders to solve them. In Acts...
The Christian church in the West has largely fallen in effectiveness, relevance, and respectability. The way the Church at large has responded to this has often consisted of anger and separation. In Acts 17, Paul gives a speech that informs us how to...
The field of healing and health are important both economically and personally in contemporary society. Healing, through both divine and human means, has been important in the life of the Church throughout history as a sign of God's mercy and...
Modern society increasingly wants little to do with the Church. They see churches that either seem relatively the same as most people or are different to the point of being weird. The church is meant to be different, but in very specific...
From the very beginning of Christianity the church has been faced with struggles and opposition. Yet, in the book of Acts, we discover that there was a power in the church, a dynamic that could not be resisted. This power was the Holy Spirit, and as...
The book of Acts is the story of the early church, which filled with the Holy Spirit, exercised an irresistible influence that transformed the surrounding culture. Acts is filled with issues that churches still face today - crisis over leadership...
Reaping and sowing is the basic recipe of how God created the world to work. In general, and particularly in regard to character formation, if you sow good things in wisdom, you will reap good things. The gospel makes it possible to not be doomed...
"Who am I?" This is one of the great questions that we are confronted with in life. In this week's passage in Galatians, Paul says that the answer to "Who am I?" is only found by discovering, "Whose am I?" Our true...
In Paul's confrontation of Peter found in this week's passage, we learn that the gospel not only frees us to confront and speak up for truth, but we also learn that it frees us from judgmentalism, people-pleasing, conviction-less civility...
In a world that is marked by divisions, conflicts, and wars, what are the things that make for peace? The followers of Jesus Christ are to be a people who, instead of finding ways to divide people, look for ways to bring people together. As...
Paul's conversion is undoubtedly one of the most important world-changing events. There is no single event, apart from the life, death and resurrection of Christ, that so determined the course of Christian history. Paul's faith was not a religion...
Our society is becoming more and more litigious. Today, just about anything can lead to a lawsuit. Even in the church, there is often great conflict over the most frivolous things. And in such a fight-drenched society, we must pause and ask...
In this first sermon of the series on the book of Galatians, Rich answers these five questions: Does truth matter? How do we know what is true? Who needs to hear the truth? What are the tests of the truth? What is the truth Paul was defending?
In this special Christmas Eve sermon, and the final sermon of the Advent series, Rich looks at the witness of Simeon and Anna, and asks the question, "What if Jesus had never been born?"
The birth of Jesus was great news indeed! And through the witness of the Shepherds, we see that the Gospel is the proclamation of news that is confrontational and paradoxical, news that is universal and personal, news that brings joy, and news that...
For much of the last 2000 years, the Christian church has swung wildly from one extreme to the other concerning how we are to regard Mary, the Mother of Jesus. On the one hand, Mary is held is such high honor that she is worshipped alongside of...
This is the first sermon of the Advent series titled, "The Four Witnesses." In this sermon, Rich looks at the witness of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, as he speaks of God and how he guides, how he works in mysterious ways, how...
Gratitude is more than just being polite or nice. Gratitude is the active investigation and exploration of one's life for the purpose of seeing to whom thanks should be given ("reconnaissance"). Gratitude is to recognize the giver...
One of the most identifiable ways that Jesus changes us is that he gives us welcoming hearts. And central to any understanding of the Kingdom of God is the word "welcome." God has a special place in his heart for the weak, the poor, the...
Jesus always seems to be switching the price tags on everything. Things we consider to be really valuable, Jesus says are worthless. And things we consider to be worthless, Jesus says that these are the things that God really counts as important. We...
Using the story of the man who was healed at the Pool of Bethesda, Rich teaches that healing (physical, emotional, spiritual, relational) is the birthright and mark of the Christian church. But somewhere along the way, the message and ministry of...
How do we figure out what is right and what is wrong? When we talk about hot-button issues like torture, surrogate-motherhood, doctor-assisted suicide, abortion, or gambling, we tend to address them at a surface level. But we must go deeper and ask...
If Jesus is really true and really there, why is the truth not more obvious? The problem here is not with the message but with our hearing. In order to have kingdom impact, we must not submit to formulas, but instead, we must have faith, we must be...
The gift of forgiveness that we have through Jesus Christ is the hope that our past is not our future. But why is it that we find it so difficult to seek and receive forgiveness? Using the story of Jesus' encounter with a sinful woman and a...
Our God is a generous God. He is so generous that we can trust him without guarantees. He is so generous that he invites us to serve him in order to meet our need. He is so generous that he overwhelms us with his extravagance. Teaching from the...
The gospel is this world-changing good news that Jesus died and rose and ascended and gave us his Spirit to transform us and the world. But for many, this enormous gospel has been reduced to nothing but a fire insurance policy. In this first sermon of...
In this final sermon from the series, "God at Work," Rich teaches on how we can bring our faith into our workplaces through ethics, experience, evangelism, and enrichment.
Since the great fall in Genesis, the work environment is cursed, the results of our work are cursed, and the workers themselves are cursed. Teaching from Revelation 18, Rich gives an overview of what it means to work in Babylon which is characterized...
The gap between Sunday and Monday, between worship and work, between secular and sacred, is a matter that concerns all of us. In this sermon, Rich launches a new teaching series entitled, "God at Work" where he looks at how this great divide...
If indeed there is a God, and if indeed he created the heavens and the earth, and if indeed he created us, then there is no question more important that we can ask than this: Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? In this exposition of Psalm 24...
As Christians we are called to live as salt and light in this world. And while we may have the desire to share our faith with others, we don't always know how to do it. In this sermon, Rich teaches that before we can speak to people about God, we...
On this sermon, Rich tackles a passage in the Bible that speaks about the role of women, children, and slaves. How are we to interpret and understand this passage? Does the Bible teach that slavery is acceptable? What about the role of women in...
Last week Rich focused on the false ways to grow as a Christian. This week, Rich teaches on the true way to grow as a Christian, which is to embrace our identity in Christ.
There are true ways to grow and there are false ways to grow. In this sermon, Rich teaches on the luring false promises to growth offered by asceticism, super-spirituality, and legalism.
Americans spent over $8 billion dollars on self-help resources in 2008. In a desperate attempt to "help" ourselves, we have failed to understand the power of sin in our lives and the work of Satan in this world. In this sermon, Rich teaches...
With Americans living in constant fear of terrorist attacks and viral outbreaks, we read in Colossians that there is an even greater threat facing America today: false philosophies. Rich continues the series on the Colossians and teaches that in order...
What is a pastor supposed to look like? The modern media depicts pastors as hypocrites and frauds whose only goal in life is to make sure that people don't have any fun. In this sermon, Rich teaches that pastors are called to be servants...
As Rich continues teaching from the book of Colossians, he looks at one of the most hope-filled phrases found in the Bible is, "But now." It speaks of the radical before-and-after transformation that happens in our lives when we surrender to...
In this interlude from the study on the book of Colossians, Insoo Kim teaches on the topic of the Glory of Christ and asks the all important question, "What story are you living out?"
One of the challenges to Christian living is the diversity of religion in our society today. In this sermon, Rich teaches on the importance of celebrating the supremacy of Christ in an increasingly diverse religious marketplace.
Everybody wants to find a purpose for living. While some may search in vain for purpose in worldly pursuits, the ultimate purpose for which we were created for is to partner with God in brining about the fulfillment of his purposes in this world.
Paul begins the book of Colossians by giving a comprehensive perspective of the Christian mind. Rich, in this first sermon of the series, teaches on the six distinguishing marks of a Christian mind in contrast to the mindset of 21st century America.
In this special Easter sermon, Rich answers three important questions: How should we think about the future? What difference does the resurrection make? How do we get in on the action?
The image of God as our redeemer is a prominent theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. In this sermon, Rich teaches on the important concept of Jesus as the "kinsmen redeemer."
On this first sermon of the new series, "Just Give Me Jesus," Rich teaches on what it means for Jesus to be our reconciliation, and how we are to live as ambassadors of Jesus to bring reconciliation into the world.
In a society where self-centeredness is the norm, Christians are called to a life that is countercultural - a life that is radically Christ-centered. In this sermon, Rich lays out a road map for how we should respond to the current economic crisis as...
One of the great idols of our time is productivity. We are pushed to do more and more in less and less time. We live lives without margin. In this first sermon of the new series, Rich teaches on what it means to live as a person who is called to...
Death is an inevitable part of life. It is a topic that brings fear and anxiety for many. Some choose to cope with the idea of death by ignoring it altogether. In this final sermon of the series 'Finding God,' Rich teaches on how the...
One of the great challenges regarding Christian faith is pluralism. In a society where the notion of absolute truth is rejected as backward and judgemental, how can we proclaim that salvation is found in Jesus alone? In this sermon, Rich teaches on...
Everywhere you look around, there are people in pain. There is suffering in every corner of the world. Why does a God who is good allow pain and suffering? How are we to make sense of pain in our lives and in the lives of those we love? How should we...
Moral law is that inner compass that lies deep inside each and every one of us that tell us what is right and what is wrong. While we may not always be thinking about it, or even fully aware of it, we all feel its pull. But where does it come from?...
There is no issue more explosive in the 21st century than how those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus relate to homosexuality and homosexuals. This has been an area of tremendous confusion and pain, and for the most part, the church has done...
One of the most common objections to faith in God is the existence of injustice in this world. Is our God an unjust God? How should we as Christians respond to injustice? Using the story of the Exodus as the backdrop, Rich teaches on the challenge of...
It seems that these days, having faith in Christ and being faithful to Christ is getting harder and harder. In this series we will examine some of the most common questions that we have about faith, doubt, and what it means to believe in God. In this...
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
The various words for "fool" found in the book of Proverbs can generally be categorized into 4 different kinds of fools. In addition, in the New Testament, Paul introduces a fifth kind of a fool, and that is the Fool for Christ. In this...
In a society that places great emphasis on sexual relationships, we need to learn how to cultivate healthy friendships. In this sermon, Rich teaches on why friendships are necessary and what are the components of a healthy friendship.
Anger can ruin friendships and destroy families. It is a common and powerful emotion. So, it should not come as a surprise that Proverbs has quite a bit to say about it. In this sermon, Rich teaches on the right and wrong ways to express our anger...
Does God have anything to say about the current economic crisis? Absolutely! We've sought answers from the government, banks, analysts, and other financial professionals and are left with more questions than answers. It's time to turn to...
Sex seems to be the major topic of discussion just about everywhere except the church. Yet, the Bible has a great deal to teach about sex. Whether you are married, dating, or single, this teaching from the book of Proverbs will help you think about...
Being smart is not the same as being wise. The Bible exhorts us to be wise people, but how do we actually become wise? Where do we even begin? As we continue the series on the book of Proverbs, Rich teaches how to become a wise person.
The quest for wisdom is a noble one. As we take steps to become wise, we need to realize that wisdom is a person, Jesus Christ, and it is his life that serves as the supreme model for what it means to be a person of wisdom. So, let us examine the life...
The Chinese character for crisis is danger plus opportunity. And as we face one of the worst financial crisis of our time, we must recognize not only the dangers but also the opportunities. And above all, we must humbly acknowledge that we need...
While the Ten Commandments are a framework for morality, we need to be more than moral to live life well. What we need is wisdom. As we kick off a new teaching series on the book of Proverbs, Rich teaches on the one that that you need to succeed in life.
We will all experience trials and tribulations in life. We will be driven to the very edge of the Red Seas of our lives where we are tested beyond what we can bear. And one of the keys to growing in maturity as a Christian is to learn how to properly...
There are times that God brings us to the desert, a place where God strips away our pride, our sense of security and independence, so that we may learn to depend on him and him alone. As we stand in the desert, God causes us to mature. Using the story...
People are not born leaders. They are made. Through experiences of life, both good and bad, God builds one's character and skills to raise up a leader for himself. Through providence, God redeems every circumstance and situation to lay the...
Not everyone who prays for healing gets healed. As difficult as it may be to accept, it is an empirical fact. No matter how hard we pray or how much faith we have for healing, not everyone who prays for healing will get healed. So how are we as...
We read in 1 Peter 5:8, these words: "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." It is the devil's desire to destroy and devour every individual. And the Christian...
The Bible teaches us to view man in a holistic manner - meaning that man is not merely a collection of independent parts, but that he is a whole person, comprised of both physical and spiritual nature that are intricately intertwined. To view a person...
The Bible has a lot to say about faith. Yet it is often misunderstood and misused. As we tackle this topic of healing in the 21st Century, we need to have a clear understanding of exactly what it means to have faith for healing. Rich uses the stories...
It is the Spirit of God who heals, not us. And we can do nothing without Him. Jesus relied on the power of the Holy Spirit for healing in His ministry. The disciples of Jesus relied on the power of the Holy Spirit for healing in their ministries. And...
Many of us are desperate for healing but often we do not pursue it because we look at ourselves - our weaknesses, our inadequacies, our lowly status in life, our sin - and we determine that we are simply not worthy to be healed. But the Bible teaches...
We learn from history that injustice oftentimes is not the result of just one person's (or even persons') actions, but rather, there are entire systems involved in creating and maintaining injustice. So, as the church steps out to usher in a...
The resurrection of Jesus is not a metaphor nor is it a parable. It is a fact of history. He is risen! On this Easter sermon, Rich gives clear evidence for the support of this miraculous and historical event, which is the central tenet of the...
We are often startled by revelations of people in power and authority whose private lives are filled of lies and deceit. People who we think should have it all, often are the ones who crack under the pressures of their own success. While we may be...
The spiritual dimension of life is often neglected and usually misunderstood. We think that spiritual life is only for the pastors and leaders, but every Christian must find the rhythm of their spiritual life which begins with prayer. And who better...
One of the key disciplines of a Christian is worship. While we may be passionate about worship, we need to reevaluate our understanding of what worship is, and who it really is for. In this teaching, Rich gives step-by-step instructions on how we can...
In this second part of 'Sharing Your Faith According to Your S.H.A.P.E.', Rich focuses on the last two letters of the acronym: Power evangelism and Entrepreneurship. These are two unique ways that God is transforming people's lives and...
The word "evangelism" has become unsavory in our culture, because we often conjure up images of evangelistic methods that we dislike and feel like we are supposed to mimic them. God has given you a unique S.H.A.P.E. and wants to use who he...
As Christians we are called to make a difference in our world. We are called to be both salt and light, which means that we must both retain our distinctiveness from the world and shine our light into the darkness. Rich Nathan gives practical advice...
One of the great spiritual immaturities of American Christians is how we spend our money. Evidence of this is the simple fact that we spend 40 billion dollars a year on our pets, and less than a single billion on world missions. In this message, Rich...
There is lying and cheating going on all around us in our society, and many Christians have bought into several lies that keep us stuck in our spiritual lives. In this message, find out what subtle lies might be keeping you from growing in Christ.
The problem with many Christians in America today is that they look no different than everybody else in the world. They might read their bibles a bit more and go to church more, but the substance of their lives are the same as everybody else. Being a...
In this Christmas Eve sermon, Rich Nathan preaches about Immanuel, God with us. Lot's of us have heard about Christ or known other Christians, but haven't known the closeness of Immanuel, God with us. God is near to us and desires that we...
Is God really like Jesus? That's the question that John 1 addresses as the gospel writer reveals the mystery of the incarnation to us. Rich Nathan teaches about how incredibly unique this claim is in the marketplace of world religions and what joyful...
We are all so good as making much of ourselves, but the Apostle John opens his gospel by making much of Jesus Christ. Rich Nathan teaches about the many elevated names that John gives to Christ and what our response should be.
In Philippines 2 we find an early worship song about Jesus that reveals the kind of person that he was and shows us how we can be imitators of God in our lives. The imitation of Christ finds clear application to our lives today in this ancient worship...
In this opening message of the series, Rich Nathan tells how every great move of God has always been accompanied by fresh expressions of worship to God because of the greatness of who he is. Worshipping God is a way to show the world how compelling...
Rich Nathan opens up as a Jewish Christian and speaks both personally and passionately about how Christians should relate to the state of Israel and about what the coming of Christ means for Israel. What he says might surprise you! He cuts against the...
At every bookstore in the country you can find a shelf of books written by some Christian pastor or televangelist attempting to prove to you that the return of Christ is just around the corner. How do we make sense of end-times predictions of...
What is the posture that the Christian ought to have concerning the end times and what are we to make of the antichrist? What must happen before the Lord returns? Rich Nathan teaches through the biblical texts about what the future holds when all hell...
The hope for something better is what fuels us through life when things are hard, and when it feels like we can't go on any more. Rich Nathan paints a vivid picture in this message of biblical hope, which lifts our eyes from the trials of our...
Though therapists often say that the key to moving on from guilt or regret is to forgive yourself, the Bible never teaches self-forgiveness. In this final message on forgiveness, Rich teaches the Christian approach to guilt and gives 5 big ways to...
Does forgiveness mean forgetting about what happened? Is it even good to forget, or should remember offences so that we don't allow them to happen again? Learn what the scriptures teach about remembrance and forgetting, instead of just popular...
C.S. Lewis once said, "forgiveness is a lovely idea until you have someone to forgive." We all struggle with the difficulty of forgiving actual people in real situations. In this message, Rich looks at the forgiveness of the father in the...
Sometimes when we feel that we can't forgive someone who has hurt us, it is because we have wrong ideas of what forgiveness even means. In this message, Rich Nathan clears the ground of the major myths forgiveness, and teaches us what the...
I feel overwhelmingly grateful for the grace that the Lord has shown to this church these past 20 years. When I think about all of the wonderful people who have made a contribution in making the church be what it is, I just end up saying over and over...
One of the main things that Jesus teaches us as we follow him is how to recognize what is truly important instead of blindly following what our culture tells us is important. In this message, Rich shows how God infuses insignificant things with...
Our world is full of injustice with grand examples of corrupt dictators taking whatever they please from innocent people. Yet, as we look at the story of King Ahab taking Naboth's Vineyard, we can begin to recognize the strategies and roles of...
Have you ever felt like an empty teapot boiling on a full flame? The stresses of life today can lead to burnout but the modern lifestyle didn't invent the phenomenon of burnout, the prophet Elijah experienced it as well. Rich Nathan reveals...
Most people hate to commit to anything. We like to keep our options open and sit on the fence for as long as possible without ever choosing one way or the other. In one of the most powerful demonstrations of God's power in scripture...
Have you ever wondered if God was disciplining you in your life? Does God still do that or is discipline an artifact of the Old Testament? In this message, Rich Nathan looks at how God disciplined King Solomon and then Rich describes how God warns and...
Not many people in life finish well, or even know what it would mean for them to finish well. Does finishing life well mean that we have a huge house and lots of money? Or is there another definition of finishing well, another target that we are...
King Solomon had the difficult challenge of taking over the throne after a larger than life legend: his father King David. All of us face new challenges in life when we start a new job or get married or have kids, and there are things in the life of...
The heart of the gospel is the triumph of Jesus Christ over sin on the cross. Hear Rich unfold the sweeping significance of the cross and how through it, God triumphed over Satan.
Oscar Wilde once said that "I can resist anything except temptation." How true that is for most of us. Yet while many of us think that temptation is a surface level urge for something we want, its roots run deeper. In this message, Rich...
We all struggle with addiction, but most of us don't recognize them as readily as some. But most of us suffer from the "just one more" syndrome, whatever that one more might be. This is a form of idolatry and is fertile ground for the...
In a military war treatise written thousands of years ago by Sun Tzu there is the warning to "know your enemy" or else you will lose battles. In the Christian life today, we must know our enemy if we are to win the battle against the evil...
We 20th century Americans have lost all awareness of the unseen spiritual world and we live our lives as if there is no enemy soul that is influencing our lives. The biblical picture is different, however, and in this opening talk Rich explains these...
Many of us are generous sometimes, if the occasions strikes us just right and our heart is moved. But what does it mean to be a generous person and how does one become one? Rich takes a look at the generosity of Barnabas, the "son of...
Do kids matter as much as adults? In this message, Rich contrasts the way that we relate with children in our world today with the way that God values children. He outlines three ways that we can learn to bring value to children and treat them as...
Do you have to be a bleeding heart liberal to care about the poor? Can we write off poverty as the consequence of the laziness and bad choices of people? Or is can we assume by the more than 2000 passages in the Bible regarding the poor and God's...
Some of us have been through tough things and have massive obstacles standing in our way in life but still manage to break through our limitations and use everything that God has given us to the fullest extend possible. Learn how to break through...
There are a lot of things that Christians can legitimately disagree about, but if we were to ask the Apostle Paul about the center of faith in Christ, he would resoundingly respond, "the resurrection!" Rich outlines Paul's seven point...
When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was teaching us about how different God's Kingdom is from the way things work in our world, and how different he is from all of our expectations of what he should be like. In this Palm Sunday...
Psalm 110 gives prophetic vision to three powerful images of Christ as king, priest, and warrior. In this message, Rich expands what each of these roles of Jesus means through a Psalm written long before Christ came to earth.
All human beings were created with an inherent need for intimate relationship with others and with God. Psalm 139 is an eloquent expression of the depths to which God knows us and cares for us personally, jealously, and intimately.
There is so much injustice in the world around us that it can seem overwhelming and feel like life is incomprehensible. It is only in seeing the world through the eyes of the psalmist, through eyes that look up at God before looking down at injustice...
We live in an instant society that hates to wait for anything. However, one of the main methods that God uses to form Christian maturity and spiritual growth in us is the process of waiting. Rich teaches about the importance of our response to God in...
Though we try to insulate our lives against disaster by buying every conceivable kind of insurance and taking every precaution, we still live in a world of uncertainty that we cannot control. The psalmist lived in the same world and found the only...
Most of us think we know what worship is: the first half hour of church when we sing songs to God. But the worship of the Psalms extends well beyond this narrow understanding. The Psalms can help us begin to answer the questions of why worship God?...
Have you ever asked God "Why?" Why did he allow that tragedy to happen when he could have avoided it so easily? We are not alone in bringing these questions to God, Jesus did too. In this message, Rich tells of the great comfort that can...
What does it mean to be human? How do we find our identity as human beings? It is these fundamental questions of identity that the psalmist takes up in Psalm 8 and discovers an answer in light of relationship to God.
This is an introduction to the series and to the book of Psalms as a whole. Rich shows how Psalm 1 functions as a doorway into the book as a whole and how it teaches us to live a life rooted in God that can withstand the storms of life.
In this Christmas Eve message, Rich uses the Magi as a lens through which to view our own attitudes as we approach Jesus. Some of us are threatened by Him, like Herod, whereas others of us are indifferent like the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law...
Whenever people are given a taste of power, the natural tendency is to begin thinking that they deserve it and can now make outrageous demands of others because they can. However, Jesus modeled an entirely different way managing power: through serving...
What does it mean to be a Christian? Is it just a belief or religious rituals? Or is it a way of life that beckons us to serve others the way that Jesus did? Rich explains how if it is a way of life, we had better assess the cost of what that means...
The most fundamental human endeavor is to seek happiness, yet most of us are looking for it in the wrong places. We chase after happiness in relationships, in wealth, and in power instead of in God. Rich realigns this fundamental quest of humanity...
Our culture tells us to win by winning, but Jesus has a different plan for our relationships: we win by losing. In this message, Rich demonstrates how to win by losing in our marriages, in our families, in our workplaces, when we become people that...
Perhaps the most basic and fundamental question that anyone could ever ask is: What does the Lord require of you? On the weekend that Vineyard Columbus celebrates the grand opening of the Community Center, Rich outlines how we are to move forward into...
Many Christians know all about the intricacies of the light of God's Word but can't shine it on the path ahead to illuminate other areas of life. In this message, Rich teaches how to think biblically through the pressing issues of our...
Most of us think of church as a Sunday morning meeting and we feel like we don't belong or that we don't think that we have anything to give or contribute. God doesn't feel this way. God has something much more in mind for the church...
God is in the business of restoration. He is remaking our lives, communities and our world into a new creation. In this message Rich speaks about how God uses the church as his vehicle to bring restoration to the brokenness of sin in our lives...
How do we understand ourselves as the church in light of all of God's promises to Israel in the Old Testament? Is their story our story? Rich brings fresh insight into these questions both as a Jew and a Christian and sheds light on how Israel...
Americans are among the most isolated and individualistic people on the planet, but how does that impact our faith? Can't we all just follow God on our own? Rich tackles these questions by looking at the broader plan of God to renew a people for...
Many of us think that adultery could never happen to us. However, even the in inspiring life of David, the "man after God's own heart," we find the stain of adultery with Bathsheba and the requisite justifications, denials, and...
David's emotional and undignified display of worship as he danced before the Lord was despised by his wife, Michal. Rich addresses the role of the body in worship and how to counteract the heart's tendency to observe and criticize without...
All of us are worshipping something. As human beings we were made to worship, but what are we worshipping? Find out how to cultivate a heart that worships God and seeks his presence through celebration and obedience, even when you don't...
In this message, Rich explores how different the biblical notion of kindness is from what we think of today when we give to some charity. He explains how God's commitment to kindness is a model that should impact how Christians live in the...
In an age of mass social technology like cell phones and MySpace, studies show that Americans have fewer close friends than ever before. Rich teaches about how to be a great friend through the story of the friendship of Jonathan and David.
The story of young David conquering Goliath is an inspiring testimony of courage in the face of overwhelming opposition. Rich illuminates some modern day David and Goliath stories and gives practical steps how we can live lives of courage, willing to...
Is the heart really that important to God? And if so, how do we go about having a good heart? In this message, Rich tackles these questions through a perceptive look at the tragic life of Saul in order to see what went wrong with his heart and what we...
In this final message on Spiritual Gifts, Rich takes on one of the most misunderstood gifts in the bible. He addresses some of the common misconceptions of the gift and builds gives a grid using scripture for understanding and using this gift.
This message focuses on the gift of discernment. While this gift can often be used to discern when there is something positive going on, an angel in the room or a healing about to happen, it can also be used to discern negative things. Rich addresses...
The gifts of prophecy and miracles are often misunderstood. In this message, Rich gives a modern-day definition of miracles and explains how God sometimes uses them today. Then he goes on to talk about prophecy, how we can test it and what its...
Many of the gifts go hand in hand. Faith, healing and miracles are like that. Rich largely focuses on faith in this message and how it underlies many other gifts. He talks about what it means to have saving faith and sustaining faith. He finishes by...
Have you ever been desperate for wisdom from God? In this message, Rich starts out with the compelling story of Martin Luther King Jr. and his desperate need for wisdom from God. Then he breaks down two spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, the gift of...
This is an introduction to Spiritual Gifts, what their purpose is and how they connect us with the life of God. Rich focuses on four ways that Paul views Spiritual Gifts and how that plays into our own understanding and experience.
This message focuses on the one thing that Jesus says sums up the Law and the Prophets. It is commonly known as The Golden Rule. Rich unpacks this verse in its larger context and clears some of the pop culture's mentality regarding this famous...
This message deals with common forms of worry that we all deal with. Rich goes through some signs that you may be struggling with worry and unpacks the source of worry. He finishes with some wisdom on how to break free from worry's controlling grip.
This Easter sermon begins with an exploration of atheists and then unpacks the difficulties we have with belief. Rich addresses the demand we have for proof before we believe and discusses some reasons we struggle with doubt.
It is the law of human nature that we are all trying to find security in an insecure world. This message addresses the difference between healthy investments and finding our security in our investments. The truth is that heavenly investments pay off...
In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins to deal with the attitudes of our heart as we do good works. All of us are divided at the heart level and desire to appear better than we are. We are all hypocrites. This message gets at how we...
This message addresses the difficult issue of non-violence and how we can react to the injustice and evil in the world today. Instead of getting into a cycle of reaction, Jesus calls us to something more radical.
Divorce is common outside the church and inside the church. This message takes a different approach from the "what are the grounds for divorce?" sermon. Challenging and fresh, this message hits anyone and everyone no matter what their...
This sermon begins with breaking down the concept of lust. Then it continues by describing the lies that allow lust to control and imprison us. Craig unpacks these common lies and the corresponding truths and then outlines a solution beyond sin...
Jesus warns us in the most unmistakable terms about the deadly effect of unhealed, unchecked anger. Jesus always challenges his listeners to something radical and uncompromising. This message breaks down this oft misinterpreted verse and discusses how...
This popular passage is fresh and real as Rich unpacks what the purposes of salt and light are. The message begins with a great story of someone being a light for Christ. Then Rich presses out what it looks like for us to act as salt and light in...
This is certainly a challenging beatitude for us living in America. Rich talks about how we American Christians view our faith and the radical difference it makes when we include persecution in our list of requirements.
There is division everywhere we go, within our cities, our churches and our families. The fundamental problem is that we are even divided within ourselves. In this message, Rich teaches how we can be whole with each other and within ourselves.
In this message, Rich elaborates on the power of righteousness and mercy for changing the world. Righteousness or right-relatedness and mercy consist of more than we first assume. This message explains how Christians can begin to embrace these...
It seems that what Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is turn our value systems upside down. Things we consider worthless, Jesus puts great honor on. This is especially evident in the Beatitudes. This sermon focuses on some general...
The Christian world is not exempt from experiences of betrayal, conspiracy and dishonesty. What difference does the Gospel actually make in peoples' lives? Are we doomed to live a sinful life while being "forgiven"? Rich begins a series...
Peace on earth was the announcement at Christ's birth, but peace is hardly the state of affairs in our world today. Many of us try unsuccessfully to get peace. In this Christmas message, Rich explores how the source of real peace is found in the...
One picture of Jesus comes from a festival found in the Old Testament book of Leviticus called Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement was unique in the Hebrew calendar because it was the one day each year when the High Priest had...
Rich discusses the Passover Lamb and the manna the Israelites received from Heaven as pictures that reveal the future Messiah. The connections and insights gained from these typologies are powerful illustrations of the meaning and significance of...
The Old Testament is filled with images and pictures of the coming Messiah. In this series, Rich uses typology (the study of types in the Old Testament and New Testament) to show how rich the message of the Gospel really is. In the first message, Rich...
This sermon starts out with a few stories of extraordinary givers. These people didn't start out as millionaires, but they gave what they had and they gave what they got. Rich gives some really practical teaching from the Bible regarding giving...
We American especially measure our happiness by how much stuff we have. Consumerism has taken a hold of many of us like a disease that we cannot shake. Rich continues his previous message and discusses how we can detect over-consumption in our own...
Most of us live between the jaws of debt and consumerism. We are simply becoming more and more trapped by these two things. In the fist part of this message, Rich addresses the issue of debt from a Christian perspective and gives practical ways we can...
The message of the Bible regarding money comes as a surprise to many. In this message, Rich outlines several biblical themes about money and how we as Christians can begin to think about this difficult topic.
This message is great for parents who want to learn even more ways to improve their parenting. Rich address 5 mistakes that parents often make without realizing it and how we can change our parenting style to bless our kids.
Most books and sermons on parenting make us feel totally inadequate. This series on parenting starts out with a different perspective. Instead of what you should be doing for your kids, Rich teaches us how kids teach us. The message focuses on making...
So many folks are wrapped up in a condition of regret. They find themselves spending a tremendous amount of emotional energy going back over and over again what they could have done, and should have done. If that is you, you may be unable to be...
Many of us have experienced sexual brokenness whether it is the result of our own sin or the result of someone sinning against us. Our culture is a breeding ground for sexual brokenness. Most churches offer "sin management" as the only...
Many of us have experienced sexual brokenness whether it is the result of our own sin or the result of someone sinning against us. Our culture is a breeding ground for sexual brokenness. Most churches offer "sin management" as the only...
One of the perennial questions facing mankind concerns what happens after we die. In this final message in the series, we see what Revelation has to say about life after death, how heaven looks and who will be there.
Sermons on Hell are few and far between these days. This is an important topic of Revelation and of the Bible. In this message, Rich addresses this delicate topic with tact and truth to bring understanding to a difficult doctrine.
In an age of compromise, Revelation draws stark lines of black and white. John presents us with a series of alternatives between good and evil. In this message, Rich addresses some of the stark contrasts addressed in chapters 19 & 20. He also...
This sermon focuses on the city of Babylon and the beast in Revelation and what its significance is for us today. John gives us an amazingly penetrating look into the nature of countries and cultures through these two images and tells us to look at...
In chapters 14 to 16 of the book of Revelation we find the theme of justice and judgment woven together, surprisingly, with the theme of worship. Much of the work of Christians in the world is to do justice but there is something else we Christians...
One of the central themes in the book of Revelation that we have been going through is the struggle between two opposing kingdoms - one ruled by God and the other ruled by Satan. In this message, Rich exegetes several tactics the Enemy uses against...
God's warnings will not bring everyone to repentance and belief in Christ. In chapters 10 & 11 of Revelation we see another method of bringing people to repentance: the faithful witness of Christians. In this message, Rich tackles several...
This message addresses God's use of warnings. We persistently break God's commandments despite his threats concerning the consequences of what will happen. In this message, we see the reasons for God's warnings and the reasons we ignore...
Many of us have the idea that life should be pain-free because we are Christians. In fact, the opposite is true. Jesus told us to expect hardship. In this message, Rich teaches us how we can stand up against terrible pressures and hardships in this life.
There are many ways we as Christians try to battle with the world. Often we align ourselves with the political right to bring change or we withdraw completely from society to preserve our "holiness." Jesus advocated a different approach. In...
In this message, Rich addresses the Laodicean church that has become lukewarm. How does Jesus lead his church away from lukewarm, suburban conformity? The balance between resisting the culture and conforming to it is the art of worship, which brings...
Rich continues to teach on the churches in the beginning of the book of Revelation. Church is a messy place. In this message, we learn what it would really be like to go back to the New Testament church and how we can become the church of the future...
When we are looking for a church we consider many things such as small groups, style, programs and children's classes. The most important thing to consider however is what Jesus looks for in the Church. In this message, Rich begins to teach on...
Many people would like to read Revelation as a code book with secret messages about the future but this view takes the book out of the hands of ordinary people. In this series, Rich will be going through the book of Revelation, not as a secret code...
This Easter message focuses on our personal worldviews. Sometimes our prior experiences prevent us from having faith, but when we open ourselves up to the God of surprises, we can find freedom and healing.
In this final message in the Blessed to be a Blessing Campaign series, Rich talks about five major trends we see happening in the world around us. As the church, we need to not only be aware of these trends but we need to jump in and participate with...
In this message that precedes the All-Church Celebration, Rich uses the story in John 6 of the multiplying of the loaves. One profound reason we see very few miracles is because we are not aware of the need. God's miracles begin with our...
In the home stretch of the giving campaign, Rich confronts the myths that hold people back from giving. Along with stories of people's generosity, this message goes through the power behind the grace of giving.
You don't know what your life is built on until you face a crisis and there will be a curve in the road for every single one of us. In the times of trial, what we have invested in the church and in community will pay off. This message addresses...
No realm of life is squeezed out by the Kingdom that Jesus inaugurated in his coming. One of the ways you can measure a church is to ask yourself if some aspect of life is squeezed out. In this message, Rich talks about how big the message of Jesus is.
We live in a society right now that is ruled by fear. What we are proposing in building a community enter that reaches out to our city and in sending out missionaries is the rejection of fear-based thinking. This message talks about the struggle to...
Fasting takes deadly aim at one of the primary idols in America - food. We fast in order to create a little more room for God, and to unhook from the world. In this message, Rich addresses how to fast in a way that is pleasing to God.
God is spreading his kingdom through ordinary and broken people. In this message, Rich talks about how we can be used to advance God's kingdom. Many of us need to be enrolled in the "University of Jesus" as we strive for more effectiveness.
This message continues the teaching that there is a biblical principle that says we are blessed in order to be a blessing to others. Abraham is given a four-fold promise of blessing by God. Rich teaches how we can apply these blessings to our lives today.
This church has been blessed. There is a biblical principle that states that blessing is not meant to be kept. When we are blessed, we are meant to give it away. This message launches our giving campaign to give away to build a community center and...
One of the most striking things about the celebration of Christmas is the contrast that scripture draws between what people thought of Jesus at his birth, during his life, and particularly at his death, and what actually was the case. In this message...
One of the questions that has fascinated the church for at least the last 1700 years was what Jesus looked like. Throughout history, Jesus has been portrayed in millions of different ways to fit a particular ethnicity, or a political, religious, or...
21st century America has all but eliminated the concept of servant as a positive thing from contemporary life. But Jesus Christ saw his fundamental task on earth as being the servant of the Lord. This powerful message talks about what Jesus came to be...
We try so hard to be pleasing to God, but nothing seems to work very long. The secret is that as we are connected to Jesus, but how can we know if we are really connected to Jesus? In this message, Rich talks about the joy of surrendering to the...
Perhaps nothing reveals more about your basic orientation in life than thanksgiving. You either recognize that God and other people are the source of everything good in your life or you honestly believe that you are the source. In this message, Rich...
Confession can be one of the most difficult things to do. Often, we jump to justify or cover up our sins and faults. Using Psalm 51, Rich teaches about the art of confession - how we can confess in truth and draw near to God.
The place to begin in prayer is with adoration, with worship. You can't worship God while the focus of your mind is on your kids, or your problems, or the person in the next row, or whether someone near you is singing off-key. In this message...
People are living lives of quiet desperation without purpose or future. And we can make a difference, if we learn to pray on their behalf. This message teaches us the importance of praying even when it's hard.
One of the biggest challenges we face in prayer is dealing with our feelings. We wonder whether our feelings are good indicators of how God views our prayers. The place to start is having a right perspective of who God is. This message addresses this...
People are living lives of quiet desperation without purpose or future. And we can make a difference, if we learn to pray on their behalf. This message teaches us the importance of praying even when it's hard.
Rich continues his series on prayer by talking about the Christian freedom of debating with God. God invited us to engage with him and plead our case. Using examples from Genesis 18 and Exodus 32, Rich goes through several ways you can argue your case...
Rich begins this message by addressing the problem of fatherlessness in America today. He retells the story usually titled "the prodigal son" and paints a piercing picture of God as a "prodigal" or "extravagant" father.
Even followers of Christ are confused about prayer. We treat prayer as a test we failed, a burdensome obligation that we ought to perform or worst of all, we treat prayer as a badge of holiness. In this message, Rich refutes these popular...
Rich begins a new series on prayer with this introductory sermon. Using the potent image of hunger and thirst, Rich paints a picture of prayer as relief in the wilderness. Every human being on earth is thirsty for God. This message introduces the...
As Rich concludes his series on Where is God When Life is Hard, he talks about the difficult and often discounted virtue of obedience. Any discussion of obedience today is almost totally off limits, but you cannot be a biblical Christian in any...
Everything about modern marketing and American culture is focused upon enhancing the self, glorifying the self and worshipping the self. This message cuts across the view that all of life should revolve around you and me. Rich talks about a very...
It seems that our entire culture strives to breed discontent in us. We are discontent with our looks, our profession, our possessions; the list goes on and on. In this message, Rich talks about how to learn to be content in a culture that is begging...
Everywhere we look in the world today we see the lingering effects of past hurt. We human beings cause so much hurt to each other. How can that hurt be healed? In this message, Rich talks about the difficult practice of forgiveness and he unpacks the...
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the Christian faith is the fact of suffering. They've done surveys and asked people what is it that keeps them from believing in God and the number one answer that comes up has to do with suffering. This message...
Rich begins a new series by asking the question, "Where is God when life is hard?" This sermon introduces the series as Rich address why we see so little radical transformation in Christians. We in America have adapted Christianity into a...
To conclude his series on the Holy Spirit, Rich takes a look at Ephesians 6:10-12. There is a battle going on around us and a powerful force arrayed against us. In this message, Rich teaches us why we need strength as we walk out our Christian lives...
Rich addresses the evil side of the supernatural as he continues in his series on the Holy Spirit. All around us there is evidence of a battle going on in the spiritual world. This message teaches you how to identify the demonic in the surrounding...
Most people are asking the question, "What does God want me to do with my life?" In this culture of choices, one of the critical issues in people's minds is learning to hear the voice of God. In this message, Rich gives five points that...
What was it about Jesus' example that the early disciples sought to imitate? And more importantly, what does it mean for us in the 21st century to imitate the example of Jesus in our world? In this sermon, Rich addresses several specific ways we...
There is no formula or guarantees when praying for healing. Jesus is our best model when learning to pray for the sick. Rich talks about what Jesus' prayers were like and how we can pray like him. He address bad habits we develop when praying and...
Rich goes through the history of the movement of the Holy Spirit from the first day of Pentecost to the rise of modern Pentecostalism and Charismatics as well as the Vineyard Movement itself. Then he explains several reasons why we need the power and...
We can't build a wave, but we can accommodate what God is doing by riding the wave God is building. This series focuses on the activity of the Holy Spirit. Whether you don't know anything about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is simply a...
There are so many people interested in changing their life. Just do a book search on Amazon for books about life change, and you will agree. In this final installment in the series on the Passion of Christ, Rich talks about real life change. By...
Rich goes into more detail concerning the upside-down kingdom of Christ by taking a closer look at the cross. He begins by looking at Jesus' victory on the cross. Then we look at the profound message for mothers through Jesus' last words to...
Often the way we perceive things is the exact opposite from what they really are. For example, when we look at the sun, we perceive that it travels around the earth, but in fact we know that the earth actually travels around the sun. Nowhere is the...
There have been many unjust trials in the history of the world. None were more unjust than the trial of Jesus Christ. In this message, the second in a series on the Passion of Jesus, Rich takes an in-depth look at Jesus' trial. Rich addresses the...
As you prepare yourself spiritually for Easter, take some time to focus on the Passion of Christ. The word passion comes from a Latin word meaning to suffer. One of the things that Jesus suffered was betrayal. Judas didn't start off intending to...
In this last installment of the passing on the faith series, Rich talks about the qualities of a Christian leader. Those of us who are followers of Christ are constantly in the position of having to think about the criteria for choosing a leader. One...
If you were to ask people outside the church, what is the number one reason they don't go to church, the answer you would probably hear is that the church if full of hypocrites. What is the appropriate answer we should give to such an accusation?...
There has been a lot of progress in different areas in our culture, but Paul teaches in chapter 3 of 2 Timothy that in the last days the world will spiral downward. Rich explains that the reason for this downward spiral is misdirected love. In this...
In this message, Rich talks about how to live as a Christian when the storm hits. By the storm, he doesn't mean personal difficulty, or painful circumstances. He focuses on the seemingly overwhelming power of our culture on our morals. By looking...
Often, we hesitate to share our faith because it is difficult, or we don't feel like being obedient. But Christ's will, in so many areas, may run counter to our will and opposition is part of what we must expect if we are going to obey...
You cannot read Christian history without seeing this continual theme of suffering as being part of the requirement of passing along the Christian faith. The suffering that we are called upon to endure is the suffering of shame. Are any of you who...
None of us are self-made Christians. Many of us came to faith because someone shared the gospel with us. Will the chain continue through you or will it be broken? Rich begins a new series that teaches us how to pass on the faith. This sermon begins...
Rich focuses on Luke's account of Jesus as the savior of the world. First we look at where the savior's power comes from. Then, three areas of Jesus' character as a Savior are discussed: Jesus as social activist, Jesus as liberator and...
In this message, Rich deals with a passage from the gospel according to Mark. In this passage, Jesus challenges the disciples to recognize who he really is. Through this, Rich introduces the idea of the Incarnation by asking, "Why did Jesus have...
Rich begins an advent series where we look at three different pictures of Jesus that we find in the gospels. He begins with Matthew's story of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Jewish hope...the messiah. Rich tells his own story of growing up...
Many of us struggle with the call of leadership that God has placed on our lives. But at some point or other, every single human being faces a choice of continuing to step out with God, or to hang back in reluctance and fear. God calls us into...
Hospitality is usually a measure of how well you can entertain others, like Martha Stewart, but this is not what God has created hospitality to be. In this message we learn why hospitality is historically and culturally important. Rich then teaches...
We often think that God can fill all our needs, and He does, but sometimes he uses community. The number 1 reason Christians fall away or stay stagnant is individualism. In a world immersed in individualism, God uses a radically different means to...
Starting with the book by Robert Putnam titled, Bowling Alone, Rich talks about how community has become less and less important to our culture. Back in the 1960's nearly 8% of American men and 5% of American women belonged to a bowling league...
Rich continues his series by addressing Christian missions. Missions need to be evaluated in light of two worldviews, religious fanaticism on the one hand, and religious pluralism on the other. Rich answers questions in this sermon such as: What are...
The world around us is full of despair. Many Christians have pulled out of society and closed themselves away from the rest of the world in order to protect themselves. Jesus does not pray that we would be taken out of the world, but protected from...
People often move to a city based on the quality of life. The quality of life is a concern of Jesus as he prays for his church. He prays that we would become a community with such an attractive quality of life that people in the world are drawn in and...
In John 17, we have the longest recorded prayer of Jesus. The world is in a desperate place today with the culture quickly spiraling downward. Jesus' prayer points to the beginning point in thinking of God: as a father. In this message, Rich...
Rich begins a sub-series on John chapter 17 considering the kind of church that Jesus prayed for, died for, and is coming back for. John 17 gives us the biblical foundation not only for our church, but for every church in the world. Rich teaches that...
One of the dominant themes that run through chapters 13-16 is opposition from the world. Jesus warns his followers about 21st Century America, 18th Century England, 20th Century Nazi Germany, and 1st Century Rome. In whatever time we're living in...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, wrote these words right before the start of the second world war, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." If you sign up for a relationship with me, Jesus says, understand that it will cost...
How come so many Christians never seem to change? We rationalize the lack of change that we see in our lives and in the other Christians around us and say, "Well, after all, we're only human. You can't expect perfection. In this...
Despite our overly extravagant use of the word "need," we do have needs. One of our most fundamental needs is for companionship. In the second part of his teaching on troubled hearts, Rich shows how Jesus recognizes the disciples...
John 14:1, this one little verse, contains some of the best mental health counsel than any of us could ever hear at any time in our lives. "Don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, [Jesus says] Trust in me." In chapter 14 of the...
Rich takes a look at the beginning of what has been termed the farewell discourse of Jesus, the words that Jesus spoke the night before he died. In this speech, Jesus gives lasting words of wisdom to his followers. Last words are lasting words. There...
In recent years there have been a lot of attempts to redefine Christianity. Many are arguing that Christianity has to become more relevant by abandoning the supernatural elements of the faith or abandoning certain moral absolutes. Jesus continually...
Rich continues his series on the gospel of John, and now there is a transition in the gospel. Jesus is moving towards the cross. Our larger society completely dismisses any discussion of afterlife or eternity. But through this story, the story of...
It seems that everyone has their own idea about what makes a great leader. What makes Jesus a great leader? It was out of the context of talking about leadership that Jesus stands up in the Temple and says, "I am the Good Shepherd." Rich...
Throughout history, people who buck popular opinion often find themselves persecuted, sometimes violently. What happens to people when they decide to march to the beat of a different drummer? When they challenge prevailing opinions? What happens when...
A large part of the Bible is devoted to the issue of identity. Who is Jesus? How shall we think about this person, Jesus of Nazareth? Is he the Messiah? Is he the one sent by God, or should we look for another? And who are we? How shall we think about...
As Rich continues in the series from the gospel of John, he talks about the wrong approaches that we take to life. We discover that the approaches that Jesus takes to life are really counter-intuitive; they go against our initial thoughts. The root of...
One of the things that people do not understand about having a relationship with the Lord is that the Lord regularly puts his people to the test. Testing is designed to strengthen our faith and to deepen our loyalty to Christ. God tests us to put into...
For most people, there is a serious misunderstanding regarding the resurrection. This message explores the meaning of the resurrection and why it matters to us. Rich systematically supports the case that you cannot be a Christian without believing in...
God is active and moving in our lives today, but sometimes we don't see what he is doing. Sometime we miss a miracle because we are impatient. Other times, we miss the miracle because it doesn't fit into our definition of how God works. Rich...
Everywhere you look in the world, arguments and controversies are surrounding Jesus Christ. The crucial question of the hour is, who is Jesus Christ and what shall we do with him? Rich uses the story of the Samaritan Woman at the well to teach how we...
What is it that we really need? Jesus says that we need to get a life; we need to be made totally over. Has there ever been a time in your life where God dug you out of the way and put in you a new life? Rich uses the story of Nicodemus to break down...
There is something utterly revolutionary about Christ's coming into the world. Christ reveals the glory of God by overthrowing the Old Order and replacing it with something entirely new. Rich teaches how Jesus is different than any revolutionary...
In this passage, John reveals Jesus as the "lamb that takes away the sins of the world." Rich preaches on this passage by turning our common perspective of who Jesus is upside down. In light of this Jesus we never knew, we are called to...
The Gospel of John is written by one of Jesus' closest friends. This message begins a new series that will take you through the book of John. The first chapter of John is like the overture to a great symphony in which all of the themes that we...
This sermon in the series about Song of Songs gives several reasons we should stick it out when marriage is hard. Rich inspires us to remain committed to God even when it's hard and believe that the God who raised the dead can resurrect our bad...
Romance and love don't just happen by themselves. In this sermon, Rich describes the work we need to do to make love great. Marriage begins with sowing seeds of love long before the ceremony takes place. We learn how to begin the process before...
Breaking from the text of Song of Songs, Rich preaches on the Romans 1 to unpack how we think about sex. Rich uncovers the lies our sex-saturated society constantly feeds us and equips us to see sex as God intended it. Our society has made sex into a...
Rich begins a series from one of the least preached books of the bible. He takes a look at Song of Songs not allegorically, but as a collection of love songs between a man and a woman. Both men and women have difficulty understanding what God calls...
This Christmas message focuses on people who are like the Magi, looking for God. Rich talks about looking for God in pain or in dissatisfaction. He addresses people who are comfortable and those who feel like there is something missing in their life...
It wasn't an easy thing and it wasn't a painless or costless event for the Father to release his beloved Son into the world. There was a price to be paid for God being with us. And there is a cost to following Jesus Christ. In this message...
In every age and especially today, Isaiah 9 continues to be an enormously relevant text offering hope for a world that is hopeless and living in darkness: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the...
Do you know that God continues to speak today? Prophecy is often a confusing or almost scary thing for some people. Other people do not know how to use the gift they have been given. This message defines the gift, and gives some guidelines for using...
Do you experience healings and miracles in your life? Often the gift of faith is the backdrop for the exercise of the gift of healing and the effecting of miracles. The gift of faith is often given to a believer before a miracle takes place. This...
In this passage of 1 Corinthians, Paul says that the most valuable kind of wisdom is not the kind that comes from education or reading the philosophers but from the Holy Spirit. This message explores the gift of wisdom and why we need it. Wisdom gives...
Rich takes a look at the famine in 2 Kings 6 and how it affected the people. When they finally received food, they could hardly believe it. People are desperate for something real that will feed their deepest longing. Jesus satisfies that longing...
Want to be inspired to share Jesus with those outside the faith? We can go our whole lives living around other Christians, but Jesus calls us to share our faith. In this teaching, be envisioned once more to fulfill the call of Jesus to reach out to...
One of the major changes in America is the change from valuing rugged individualists to the valuing of community and relationship. Community was God's idea and His purpose. But there are people who simply don't understand God's purpose...
Have you ever been a part of a massive celebration? Where people are singing, dancing in the streets and strangers hug one another? What would it be like to be a part of such a celebration? What would the atmosphere and the emotion be like? In this...
Do you know that the Bible teaches that God regularly tests His people? Testing by the Lord is only for His own people. We never read of the Lord testing someone who is ungodly, who is not a friend of God. In Nehemiah we see three tests that God gives...
Are you dating someone who is outside the faith? Or maybe you are married to a spouse who is not a Christian. Rich devotes this message to the spiritually mismatched. In it, he outlines a strategy for avoiding a spiritual mismatch, reasons to avoid...