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Starting the first Sunday in January 2010 we are launching a new series called “Faith for real life”. This is a look at the whole book of Romans. Did you know that Romans contains the clearest explanation of the purpose and meaning of the new covenant in the whole Bible. The new covenant is the key to spiritual living. As Christians we are in a new covenant that Christ formed on our behalf as both the high priest of this new covenant and as the sacrifice lamb of the covenant. Intense study of Romans triggered the great revelation in Martin Luther’s heart that God used to bring the gospel into focus in Germany 500 years ago and throughout the world. That reformation was really a resurrection of the ancient truths of the original message of Paul to the Church in Rome. And so we will go to the ancient truths of the original message of Paul to the Church in Rome and we will apply it to our lives today.

To my horror a pastor recently told me that he was not interested in the gospel. He claimed to be interested in revival. It is our contention that the gospel is the most important message ever given to mankind. We aim to make it the centerpiece of all we do at this Vineyard Church. And it’s our belief that any experience people claim to have with God should ultimately be tested against the glorious truths of the gospel as contained in Romans. This does not negate any pursuit of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring among God’s people today. Instead it gives us the framework for receiving outpourings of the Spirit. It gives us the ability to move with direction and purpose when we are energized. If we have the gospel without the Holy Spirit, we are called to wait until we receive power. If we are focused on receiving power from God and leave the gospel aside as a ‘basic’ thing, then we have forgotten why God’s Spirit comes to us with power. If we forget to love one another and God with our whole hearts, and only have the Gospel or our ‘experiences with the Holy Spirit’ in meetings, we forget why all of this has come in the first place. God is restoring relationship between us and Him. So we intend to study and meditate on the pure gospel as taught in Romans, continually cry out for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on us by faith, and grow in love for God and one another so that we have a faith that works as God intended for real life. Not revival apart from the gospel. Not the gospel apart from the Holy Spirit. Not the Holy Spirit and the gospel apart from loving relationships. No we want it all…gospel, revival and love.

So as we dig into Romans it’s our intent to cast aside divisiveness, embrace the pure gospel, invoke the presence of the Kingdom of God among us now and in the future, cry out for the Holy Spirit to come daily on us with power, and to grow in love for God and one another as His people. In this context we invite you to come and join us for our fresh look at Romans. It’s our prayer that this look will give you ‘faith for real life’ in Christ and His kingdom. GOSPEL! REVIVAL! LOVE!

This Sunday, December 20th, we will have a short message on the parallels between Moses and Jesus birth and other facts about their lives. This message will strengthen your faith. After that we will have a shorter than normal worship set so that we can have the children’s presentation called “Cooking up Christmas”.  Everyone is invited to bring a friend. You will enjoy this service.

Also, we received 32 10lb hams to give to the needy.  We need other items to round out the meals.  Please bring similar items to what you brought for Thanksgiving give-away if at all possible! 

Don’t be late or it will all be gone! Every month we give away several hundred free grocery items. We will offer prayer for anyone who needs prayer immediately after the grocery give-away. In addition the Vineyard Helping Hands (VHH) ministry provides assistance on behalf of applications for things like lot rent, car repairs, utility bills, on an as needed basis when funds are available. The VHH fund is entirely dependent on free-will offerings to replenish our ability to do this. Many people have been helped over the years, and we encourage you to lend a helping hand to others if you are able to do so at this time.

This coming Sunday morning our Pastor, David Bielby, will be speaking from Exodus 12 on the “Passover” and what it means. This teaching is essential for understanding the background of the New Testament teachings about Christ dying on the cross. The teachings surrounding this issue bring release from shame, guilt, the grip of evil desires in your heart and the gift of God’s love living inside us forever! Come receive faith with ancient theological truths from Exodus 12 and the related passages!

You are invited to read the book of Exodus this fall with us as we read and study the second book of the Bible together. Here at the Vineyard we believe in the power of the Word. By the Word we mean the 66 books of the Bible. We believe God’s word changes lives and that IF you study it with us you can be internally transformed by it. AND we also believe in the Spirit. By the Spirit we mean the Holy Spirit of God who guides us into truth, instructs us on how to live and empowers us to be witnesses of the gospel with boldness and spiritual gifts today. So the Vineyard is a ‘Word and Spirit’ congregation, emphasizing both the Word and the Spirit.

So when we go through a book like Exodus, we look at the power of the Holy Spirit working under the Old Covenant in Moses and Aaron to overcome Pharaoh, as well as the lessons from the lives of the people in the book. Our central concern however is the New Testament use of Exodus with a specific focus on passages that tie directly to the core of the gospel message! For it is the gospel message that the Lord has called us to specifically preach.

With this as our context, Exodus becomes a very exciting book because of the multi-layered references to the gospel through-out the book. You could say that the light of the gospel shines so bright in Exodus that one could discern all the threads of the gospel in Exodus alone. And what is even more exciting? The themes of Exodus flow through not only the whole Bible, but they come back in a variation that is powerful and prophetic in the final book of the Bible, Revelation. So Exodus studies enrich our knowledge of the gospel, give us tips to walking with the Holy Spirit and illuminate any deeper study of the final book of the Bible.

Will you come this Sunday and join us as we look at Exodus together?