River City Vineyard - Teachings

How do we fill in these blank spaces: For me to live is _______ and to die is _______. May we help one another advance and rejoice in our faith in spite of our circumstances.

How do you spell LIFE?

Amazing promise! "He who began this good work in you all will complete it" What is Jesus completing in you?

Jesus, Kingdom, & Kids!

We are sowing seeds for the fall season in hopes of reaping a fall harvest.

Time to finish our journey through Acts. Saying goodbye to this "good book" is difficult. I am so thankful for the time spend engaged in the story. The good news is the story ends where it started with an invitation for us today to keep the Acts going!

As we begin the Fall season, what seeds will we sow into our community?

Jesus speaks wonderful words of promise to us. Each promise follows a pathway to fulfillment. The fulfillment is guaranteed by the integrity of the one who speaks the promise. But there is no guarantee of the pathway of each promise. The pathway is unpredictable and most of the time longer, more indirect, and more difficult than we expect. And yet, Jesus always comes through!

Katie and Amber set out on a summer journey to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Istanbul. Here is the beginning of their story...

While on trial in the midst of trial after trial, Paul keeps his focus on engaging others in good conversation about Jesus. Oh, that we could keep that focus in our trying days.

Will our faith in Jesus overcome the fears generated by the events of our day? Is there any promise of protection?

N.T. Wright suggests that this passage in Acts "provides an object lesson in how a Jew like Paul thought about the structures of power in society." From Paul we can learn "some object lessons in basic political theology." Seems like a very helpful topic for today!

Dear friends, we had a technical problem recording Part 1 of Otto's message. Sorry about that. Here is Part 2 which is well worth the listen even without Part 1. Thank you, Otto, you challenge our community to stay on track with Jesus.

Who we are and what we do remain constant in spite of court rulings, IS activities, and whoever is President.

Too often our celebrations are accompanied by our sorrows. Happy Father's Day and at the same time today is a day to remember the tragic lose of life in Charleston this week. How grateful I am for God's Story which not only intersects with our current events, but also guides us through our times of shock, dismay, and grief.

Too easy to do! How can we learn to stop this very bad habit?

We are sad to see the Wilson family moving, but at the same time we are so happy for their friendship. Jeremy shares a few profound thoughts with our community as we end this wonderful season.

Paul, a Jew, starts to follow Jesus, the Messiah. He does not stop being a Jew to become a "Christian." He does "belong to the King" but he continues to practice Jewish vows and rites of purification. Sadly, Paul gets a reputation for going lite on Moses falsely accused of teaching Diaspora Jews not to circumcise nor to follow certain traditions of Moses. Back in Jerusalem he a...

Happy Mom's Day!

We want to make the most of a wonderful season. We have a tool to help us. The Vineyard Prayer Model is tried, true, and very effective for making the most of a season of deepening reconciliation and emerging leaders.

Yes, there is brokenness and yes, there is grace. They have to mingle if grace is going to work in this crazy, broken world. How they mingle depends on broken people who have experienced grace mingling with broken people who have yet to experience grace. Bryant does a great job of encouraging us to go there again and again without any hype, or cliches. Simply let grace speak through our deeds.

Where do we go when we need help? When we cry for Mercy who hears our cry and comes through?

13.6 million people have been displaced in Syria and Iraq in just a couple of years. That is like relocating the largest city in Europe, London. Imagine that! Many of those suffering are Christians. All are human beings. So what are we to think? What are we to do?

Disbelief is not unbelief. It is simply refusal to believe. And can you blame these poor souls? What a roller coaster week? Up____"The Kingdom of God is going to appear at once". Down____"I will not drink this wine again until it finds fulfillment in the Kingdom of God". Up___"Welcome to the King". Down____"Are you the King of the Jesus?" Like a really hard...