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Sometimes we spend so much time on the thoughts of the Lord’s greatness on a grand scale, thinking of Him as the Lord of the universe or Lord of all, that we forget how He is also Lord of very specific things, like the Lord of my life, or the Lord of our church, or even the Lord of today. Every aspect of Jesus’ lordship is found entwined with the Sabbath and offers of a view of this rest that makes it much more than just a vacation or a day off.
Sabbath is most effective in our lives when we not just fit it in in one off, random spots but make sabbath rest a part of our life pattern. So what does that pattern look like and how does it affect us? Pastor Josh continues digging in to the Sabbath that remains for God’s people.
For the Israelites, the Sabbath was a non-negotiable. So much so that the death penalty was an expected punishment for breaking the command to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. The seriousness of the command underscores the importance the observance of Sabbath to their (and our) faith.
In the first sermon of this new series on Sabbath, Pastor Josh discusses what Sabbath is really intended to be and how it only makes sense in relationship to our regular work.
Joy and happiness are not the same thing. The bible speaks often of joy and rejoicing. So what is it and how do we get?
Ecclesiates tells us there is a time for peace and when Jesus came, it was just such a time. When we have the true peace that God offers, the things of this world cannot upset the work of peace that Christ has done within us. The battle and the peace are both the Lord’s!
Hope is evidence that we have a positive expectation on something external to ourselves - something that doesn’t depend on us. Hope is what we have when we’re waiting on God to accomplish something in our lives. This first Sunday of Advent, we lean into the hope we have that is the fruit of Jesus coming once as a man and the promise that He will return again.
As ones who have been saved and have received grace and forgiveness we are entrusted with the gospel and expected to not only avoid sin but to actually produce fruit. Part of that fruit is to share the Good News with those who need to hear it, to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom with the urgency and importance that it deserves.
God’s gathering place, His house, where His people reside and commune with one another, is meant to be a place where we are at home and prayer is the fragrance that always fills the space. God gives us an invitation not to be guests there but to come home and stay and soak in prayer together.
VCHS elder Brant Cannon speaks from the book of Ephesians about how the idea of submission has been used for a long time in such a way as to oppress or control others but God’s plan for submission is that we defer to one another in order to obtain fullness by His Spirit. Churches, relationships, marriages, etc. that submit to one another in humility will find God’s presence at work among them.
Sacraments, means of grace, are a means of getting the method and mission of the church to connect people to the Source of life itself. They’re the Gospel in tangible form. If sacraments are a means of getting what God is about to the people who need to receive it, then what avenues does the local church have available to accomplish the same mission in our contemporary culture?
It’s a temptation of many church cultures to be wowed by big name celebrity type leaders or flashy ministries but the call of Jesus is to a live long obedience. Our fruitfulness isn’t based on producing but on living the life the Holy Spirit calls us to which is one of discipleship and faithfulness. To ensure that we have long lives of consistent ministry, we must judge our efforts not according to worldly standards but to how closely we follow the leading of the Lord.
The Body of Christ is full of disciples that have been given Holy Spirit gifts to use for God’s glory in edifying the church and advancing the Kingdom. We are living stones that God is building into a structure fit for his presence, but everyone is needed to be activated in their gifts and serving for it to be complete. Discipleship is critical so that we are always being poured into but also pouring into someone else.
As believers, we have some degree of spiritual responsibility for other believers. Our faith or lack thereof affects other disciples. Pastor Josh unpacks this idea of being our brother’s keeper and announces an upcoming mission trip to support Vineyard churches in Russia.
Jesus was a person of hospitality. As a sojourner to this earth, born in an inn, a refugee from Israel and immigrant to Egypt, and a homeless adult who “had no place to lay his head”, he understood what it feels like to be on the outside. And yet he offers us the most sacrificial, radical welcome. The scriptures tell us to “welcome other as Christ has welcomed us”, which means we must consider the hospitality of Jesus and work to ensure that our actions mirror his and embrace this Kingdom value as we love those on the outside into our homes, our social circles, and our church.
As God’s people, we actually have a call to die. Galatians tells us that because we’ve been crucified with Christ, it’s no longer us living but Jesus living through us. The life of a disciple is marked by death - by laying down one’s life for the sake of following Christ.
There is this amazing aspect of the Kingdom of God that, for some reason, God chose to use people to reach people. It certainly seems that there were better, more effective ways of doing things but God involves us in His plans. And as we put our hands to these tasks, it’s not His intention for us to go it alone. His design is for us to do it together, and our church gatherings are no exception. Worship is one of the core ways we engage together.
Having unity is one of the key qualities intended for God’s people. Jesus prayed for it, Paul preached and wrote about it, and the early church strived for it. But in our modern culture, having the kind of unity in our churches that truly puts others before self and reflects the nature and character of God is hard to come by. In this sermon, Leah Pavel talks about the things necessary for modern local churches to experience this kind of supernatural unity and the incredible effects when we do.
Introducing a new sermon series, Ecclesia, Josh Pavel talks about how as the gathering of Jesus’ disciples, we are called and expected to be a peculiar people, not following the ways and patterns of the world, but that of the Kingdom of God.
