Midtown Vineyard Church

Sunday Gathering February 25, 2024 Brian Ross (Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 & 11-12) To be human, to be alive, is to suffer. Contemporary America, in an effort to sell us things andrally us around causes, tells us that a better life is right around the corner, one without much pain. But whether we are a good and decent person, or a messy and selfish person, suffering comes for us all. Handouts: "Ev...

Sunday Gathering February 18, 2024 Ryan Kenny (Romans 8:28) Romans 8:28, whether a Christian or non-christian, a verse you are at least vaguely familiar with. Though commonly used, we can still be left with many questions; If God is working good, why do bad things happen? If God works, what do I do? If good things are for those who love God, why do good things happen to those who don’t? Handouts T...

Sunday Gathering February 11, 2024 Ryan Kenny (Romans 8:28) Romans 8:28, whether a Christian or non-christian, a verse you are at least vaguely familiar with. Though commonly used, we can still be left with many questions; If God is working good, why do bad things happen? If God works, what do I do? If good things are for those who love God, why do good things happen to those who don’t?

Sunday Gathering February 4, 2024 Ryan Kenny (Romans 8:28) Romans 8:28, whether a Christian or non-christian, a verse you are at least vaguely familiar with. Though commonly used, we can still be left with many questions; If God is working good, why do bad things happen? If God works, what do I do? If good things are for those who love God, why do good things happen to those who don’t?

Sunday Gathering January 28, 2024 Ryan Kenny (John 3:8) How do you handle interruptions in your life? If you watch the life of Jesus, he couldn’t get much done. On the road, in the middle of teaching, while having dinner, people were constantly interrupting him and he seemed to just go with it. What’s maybe crazier, he seemed to assume that other people liked being interrupted, inviting people to...

Sunday Gathering January 21, 2024 Ryan Kenny Whose story are you living? Whether we like it or not as individuals, the story of our lives is influenced more by things like social location, cultural context, authority figures, media, etc. more than we’d like to think. The Bible, when read in a contemplative, prayerful and open way creates space for the story of our life to be influenced by all that...

Sunday Gathering January 14, 2024 Ryan Kenny The Bible: Relevant, Clear, Exact or Ancient, Ambiguous, Contradictory? Maybe, the approach to it matters. Whatever your relationship to the ancient scriptures, there are practical tools that help us join in on the unified story that is pointing to Jesus. Handouts: Discovery Bible Study

Sunday Gathering January 7, 2024 Ryan Kenny (Colossians 1:15-17) Can you recognize where God is at work in your story? Or, are you able to place where you are in the story of God? These two questions, though simple, are profound and often hard to answer in our modern lives today. To answer well, we may need to slow down and prayerfully examine our lives. This Sunday, we try on a practice called th...

Sunday Gathering December 17, 2023 Kim Feil (Luke 1:46-49) "I praise God not because of my circumstances, but because of who God is." -Elizabeth Elliot

Sunday Gathering December 10, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Matthew 2:1-12) How do you respond to something unexpected and unwanted entering your life? In Jesus, God offers us a way that can bring peace in any circumstance, though it’s probably different from our most natural response.

Sunday Gathering December 3, 2023 Layla Van Gerpen (Luke 1:13-25) Advent is a time of great anticipation and hope. Our honest longings help prepare us to both experience and offer hope to others. Editor's note: there was an audio issue with the recording, so the first few minutes of the message are not present.

Sunday Gathering November 26, 2023 Ryan Kenny Wanting to fix what’s wrong or who’s wrong, fatigued from exhausting your own abilities and/or understanding, hopeless in the change you want to take place. Though counterintuitive, to trust God in uncertainty could look like yielding to his will through consistent and repeated prayer. Handout: The Lord's Prayer

Sunday Gathering November 19, 2023 Tim Geddert (Acts 1:8 ) Relationships are strained, questioning who to trust, wanting to pull away from the world to avoid disagreement and conflict. Though counterintuitive, to trust God in uncertainty could look like sharing your life with Jesus and inviting others on the journey. Editor's note: there was a microphone issue with the first few minutes of th...

Sunday Gathering November 12, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Matthew 6:16) Stressed and burnt out, looking for a sense of comfort and control, you naturally turn to consumption. The late night snacks, the drive-through meals, the choice beverage. Though counterintuitive, to trust God in uncertainty could look like eating less and praying more.

Sunday Gathering November 5, 2023 Noemi Vega Working harder to find a sense of control. Spending more energy to manage relationships. No matter what you try, you never feel like you can take a full breath, wake fully rested, and feeling “connected” is out of the question. Though counterintuitive, to trust God in uncertainty could look like intentionally working less and resting more.

Sunday Gathering October 29, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Matthew 6:24) Up: Interest rates, gas prices, living costs. Down: Job security, investment returns, affordable housing. A natural response could be to tighten up, pull back and protect what you have. Though counterintuitive, to trust God in uncertainty could look like giving away more than you ever have before.

Sunday Gathering October 22, 2023 Brian Ross Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? What does it mean to live well? In our complex, global, and struggling world, numerous sources claim to have the answer to the biggest questions of life. We will explore together three different popular responses to these questions and the historically Christian response. (However, it may be something that y...

Sunday Gathering October 15, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Luke 15:11-32) A new restaurant in town, a ride at Disneyland, pre-ordered tickets to a concert… waiting for something can communicate value. The transformational power of waiting by God communicates how valuable you and I are to him. No matter how far gone or how close to home, his waiting turns to running when we open ourselves to experience his comp...

Sunday Gathering October 8, 2023 Layla Van Gerpen (Luke 15:8-10) How much you long for something to return or be found can be an indicator of how valuable it is to you. Whether an expensive piece of technology, a close relationship or even a sense of security, losing something can feel as if a part of us is missing, even incomplete.  It seems that God places immeasurable value on all people, indic...

Sunday Gathering October 1, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Luke 15:1-7) Our natural tendency is to avoid being lost; seen as correct, morally good, respected by others, self-dependent. We can place great value on ourselves when we have things figured out, know where we are and where we’re headed, avoid being like “them”. But, what if to experience our greatest value, we need to receive God’s pursuit of us? Woul...

Sunday Gathering September 24, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Genesis 37, 39, 45) Who is a “life well lived” actually for? What if experience and wisdom is for the sake of being shared? Are you sharing your life with those younger than you, are you seeking life from those who have gone before you?

Sunday Gathering September 17, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Luke 10:25-37) “I can’t leave them now, they need me.” How are you handling the needs of others in your life? Do you tend to give too much or too little? Find yourself being filled up or only burned out? Where do others begin and where do you end? Handouts: What are Personal Boundaries? Boundaries Exploration Healthy Boundaries Tips and Ten Laws of B...

Sunday Gathering September 10, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Matthew 18:15-20) “Too many cooks in the kitchen,” heard that one before? In any relational conflict, what if less is more? That for relationships to be healthy, the starting point is to relate one-one. “Too many cooks in the kitchen,” heard that one before? In any relational conflict, what if less is more? That for relationships to be healthy, the s...

Sunday Gathering September 3, 2023 Ryan Kenny (Philippians 4:4-7,11-13) “Well, I wouldn’t have _____ if you wouldn’t have ____.” “You made me feel like ____.” “If you would just _____, then everything would be better.” Things we feel, actions we take, who’s actually responsible in the relationships we find ourselves?

Sunday Gathering August 27, 2023 Ryan Kenny (John 13:34-35) Healthy Relationships, Healthy Church… Press into authentic relationships “If you want to go fast, go alone… if you want to go far, go with others.” What if the church was a place for fostering relationships that grow you, grow others and grow the church?