Vinings Lake Church

Divorce may be one of Jesus' most difficult teachings and one of the most weaponized. In Part 13 of Unlearning Empire, we wrestle with what Jesus actually says about divorce, the patriarchal world behind the text, and the shame Christianity has placed on people whose marriages ended. Marriage is sacred. And so are the human beings inside it.   Follow us on social media! Instagram:  https://www.ins...

They told us Jesus said sexual desire was dirty. Don't lust. Don't touch yourself. Don't look. Don't think about it. And women? Cover up so you don't cause men to stumble. But what if we got this passage completely backward? Jesus isn't teaching us to fear our sexuality. He's teaching us how to take responsibility for its power. Follow us on social media! Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/vini...

Jesus said if you're angry, you're liable to judgment. If you call someone a fool, you're in danger of hell. What do we do with that? In Part 11 of Unlearning Empire, we talk about anger, dehumanization, reconciliation, and how these words of Jesus have been used to silence the very people who have every right to be angry. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake...

In Part 10 of Unlearning Empire, we explore biblical authority, interpretation, and why the point may not be to simply quote the words but to become them. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Jesus didn't call the powerful the salt and light of the world. He gave those names to the people the empire overlooks. What if changing the world has less to do with gaining power and more to do with preserving what is good and revealing another way to be human? Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https...

What if what American Christianity calls persecution is actually the loss of privilege? In Part 8 of Unlearning Empire, we explore Jesus' final Beatitude and why justice, mercy, peace, and truth inevitably collide with empire. Persecution was never Christianity's greatest threat. Power was. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.c...

What if the greatest threat to peace isn't conflict but the wrong definition of peace? Jesus invites us beyond the peace of empire into shalom: justice, healing, restored relationships, and human flourishing. Blessed are the peacemakers.    Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vini...

"Blessed are the pure in heart" may be one of Jesus' most misunderstood teachings. What if purity isn't perfection, but wholeness? Let's get into it. Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake

Mercy sounds beautiful until it starts challenging the systems that create suffering. In this message from Unlearning Empire, we discover why Jesus' words, "Blessed are the merciful," are far more disruptive than they first appear.  Video Cody references in sermon: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/swa6x5ngij49rl045hrky/Video-Jul-15-2026-10-50-33-AM.mov?rlkey=ejdxgoqtcbte0w7ok3xq8quar&st=rwvifogw&dl=...

Many of us inherited a version of Christianity focused on getting souls into heaven. Jesus offers something much bigger, a new humanity. Join us as we explore what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness and discover why those who still long for justice, mercy, truth, and love are the very people Jesus calls blessed.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinings...

What does Jesus mean by "the meek"? Drawing from Psalm 37, Roman occupation, and our own political moment, this message explores why the future does not belong to the cruel, but to those who refuse to become what they hate. Link to Stephen Colbert clip referenced by Cody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf6Z_m6Hh0A  (Timeframe 0:00 - 2:30) Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagra...

In this episode, Rob Bell joins Vinings Lake as a guest speaker. Learn more about Rob here: https://robbell.com/ Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/viningslake TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@viningslake  

What if the opposite of joy isn't grief but numbness? In this message, we examine Jesus' blessing on those who mourn and discover why lament may be one of the most human, courageous, and hopeful acts available to us in an age of anxiety, spectacle, and spiritual exhaustion.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebook: https://facebook.com/viningslake TikT...

A new series begins. In a world shaped by empire, fear, power, and performance, Jesus announces a radically different way to be human. In Part 1 of Unlearning Empire, we explore why Jesus calls the poor in spirit blessed—and how the Beatitudes confront everything empire tells us about success, strength, and worth.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viningslake Facebo...

In the middle of collapse, Jeremiah does something absurd: he buys land in a war zone. Not because circumstances look hopeful, but because he refuses to let Babylon decide what is possible. In a world shaped by fear, cynicism, and exhaustion, hope itself becomes an act of creative resistance. Maybe one of the holiest things we can do in an age of collapse is plant something anyway. Stephen Colbert...

Join us as guest speaker Lauren Cibene discusses the creative resistance of motherhood. She explores female and maternal imagery throughout the Bible, while celebrating all mothers. See more of Lauren's work! Website: https://laurencibene.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurencibene/

When societies lose the ability to tell the difference between truth and propaganda, cruelty and righteousness, collapse has already begun. In this prophetic exploration of Ezekiel 5, we confront public grief, unraveling systems, and the remnant of humanity still refusing to become cruel in cruel times.

What you consume eventually shapes who you become. In this prophetic exploration of Ezekiel 4, we examine how societies normalize cruelty, how constant outrage and fear deform the human soul, and why resisting empire is not enough. The deeper call is to become a new humanity, one rooted not in fear, rage, or reaction, but in presence, tenderness, courage, and healing.

This one is for those who didn't grow up inside rigid evangelicalism. Malynda Hale joins us to share a story that doesn't include a dramatic religious deconstruction. A conversation full of wisdom, honesty, growth, and challenge.

In this message, we explore the prophet Ezekiel's shocking symbolic actions and what they reveal about moments when truth has been spoken, but no one is listening. From ancient exile to modern movements, this teaching confronts the cost of silence, the danger of aligning faith with power, and the call to embodied resistance. Because sometimes the most powerful message is not spoken, it's lived.

Jesus wasn't just crucified—he was executed by a system threatened by truth. And the resurrection? It's not a soft spiritual idea. It's a protest. In this episode of Creative Resistance, we explore how the empty tomb exposes the illusion of control, breaks the power of fear, and calls us to resist what dehumanizes our world today.

The world says power takes a throne. Jesus picks up a basin and a towel. In one quiet, embodied act, he dismantles the entire imagination of the empire, and reveals a new way of being human. This is not a weakness. This is resistance. This is what real power looks like.

Jesus didn't curse a tree; he exposed a system. In this message, we explore the fig tree as a prophetic sign against religion that looks alive on the outside but bears no fruit. What happens when faith becomes all leaves and no life?

In A Creative Resistance Pt. 7, we explore Jesus' dramatic disruption in the Temple, not merely as a burst of anger, but as a strategic act of protest exposing the alliance of religion, money, and power. By overturning tables and stopping the system, Jesus reveals that access to God cannot be bought or controlled, and invites us to practice that same kind of creative resistance today.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt during Passover, it wasn't just a celebration—it was a protest. As Rome displayed power with soldiers and war horses, Jesus staged a counter-procession of humility and hope. Two parades. Two visions of power. In this teaching, we explore how symbolic action exposes injustice—and ask the question: Which parade are you marching in?