River City Vineyard - Teachings

Jesus brought Good News to our world. We must never allow this Good News to be coopted for any purpose other than the purpose of his kingdom.

God is love. His message is love. His method is love. He sent Jesus because he loves all of humanity. He saves us and forgives us because he loves us. May we respond to him in love.

Is it time for our community to move from disorientation toward reorientation?

Our Epiphany Sunday with a look toward 2022.

The season  of Advent helped me change my perspective. It is Christmas. What an incredible day to remember what God has done for all human beings.

Messiah brings love to our world.

Joy comes from the process of facing trials with patience. We have certainly had a couple of years of trials. May our patience increase so that we may rejoice. 

Messiah brings peace not just to the individual, but to our world.

First Sunday of Advent

When the kingdoms of this world seem to thwart the arrival of the Kingdom of God, what did Jesus do? What can we do? It is really hard to live in the “not yet” of the Kingdom of God.

How do we pray? Here is a suggestion.

This is our way on for the coming season. 

How credible are the gospels of the New Testament? Important question to answer for anyone wanting to follow Jesus.

How reliable are the gospels? Can we trust their witness?  Check it out.

In these days of uncertainty we need something that is certain. We need a solid rock to stand on. We need truth at a time when many publish lies and half-truths. Is the story of Jesus even Jesus that certainty we all need in this season?

We have been exploring four ancient practices of the church. These were practices the church persisted in day by day. They were the devotions of the first church. In this message we explore the pairing of the four practices. Luke writes of two pair of practices. How are we to understand these two sets of community devotions?

When the first followers of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray, he did. Plus he encouraged persisting in the prayer he taught them by telling them a parable. How can we learn to pray with persistence?

When did people following Jesus begin to pray? What is our history for praying?

In a time of uncertainty we need to persist in time honored practices that bring stability to our community life. One of those practices is persisting in the teaching of the Apostles. Who were the Apostles and what did they teach? We have much to learn.

In these uncertain and trying times we as a community want to persist in pr Actives that have servers the church well since its beginning. This morning we will focus on the common meal, the breaking of bread.

It seems that the past two years have stripped us of health, financial security, relationships, sanity in national politics, and even time together. When all is stripped away faith, hope, and love remain. This podcast is the third in our series.

The second of our series of three. Faith, Hope, Love remain when all else is stripped away.  We must not lose hope even in the most trying of times. 

The time we live in is challenging. We have encountered unprecedented events never before faced in our lifetime. In many ways are living is being stripped down to essentials. When all else is stripped away faith, hope, and love remain. 

We know in part. We see in part. No one knows or sees everything completely. This is the “Now”. In the “Then” we will know and see completely. “Now” is not “Then”.  May we patiently wait for the “Then” to arrive. 

We want Jesus to teach us to fish for people not fish. We want to gather people into community. Through friendship we hope everyone says “yes” to the invitation to follow Jesus, to enter His Kingdom, to join Jesus in setting things right on planet Earth.