Vista Community Church

John's account of Easter morning reminds us that the Easter story is not a perfect story told perfectly by perfect people for perfect people, but an unthinkably gracious story told imperfectly by imperfect people for imperfect people that testifies to the unthinkable graciousness of a perfect God. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter is generally considered the leader of the disciples. He got to see all of Jesus' miracles, hear his teaching, experience his transfiguration... he even walked on water for brief moment. Peter, more than most, knew and experienced Jesus as God. Yet, in Jesus' darkest hour, Peter still failed Jesus by denying him three times. Make no mistake, in that moment, Peter failed at...

Jesus claims to be the true vine, the one who gives life. He calls us the branches which means our purpose is to bear fruit in our lives that glorifies God and points others to him. But we can't do this on our own. We have to abide in the vine if we want to bear fruit. This means spending time in the quiet place, alone with the Father, like Jesus did time and time again. Hosted...

Jesus' disciples are troubled by several things that have just happened. So in Chapter 14 of John's gospel, Jesus tries to comfort them by reminding them of some things to focus on when they feel troubled. It is solid advice for all of us who seek to follow Jesus with our lives because at times we will all feel troubled in this world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

When a close friend of Jesus' dies, Jesus goes to the man's town and raises him from the dead. You might say that this is Jesus' most "miraculous miracle" up to this point in his ministry. In doing this, Jesus builds the faith of his followers and reminds us that we can bring him glory even during the difficult seasons in our own lives. It's also a reminder that no matter what we go through in thi...

In John 10 Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd." In saying this, he reveals a lot about the nature and heart of God toward his people. This also means that we (his people/the church) are his sheep. So what does the good shepherd do for the sheep? And what do we need to do in order to be good sheep? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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This is a message about using the season before Easter pay special attention to the ways in which God has made, is making, and will make things right. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesus performs an amazing miracle when he feeds thousands of people with a little boy's lunch. This miracle sets the stage for one of Jesus' most emphatic statements where he declares himself to be God, when he says, "I am the bread of life." The problem is the people are chasing after Jesus because he fed them actual bread and they're not really interested in the spiritual "bread" Jesus was speak...

Jesus passes through a region called Samaria and stops to have a brief conversations with a woman who had come to get water from a well. The conversation takes a lot of twist and turns, but ultimately this woman comes to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. In addition, the text tells us that many other Samaritans come to believe in Jesus because of this woman. You might say that this brief conversati...

In John chapter 3 Jesus has an encounter with a man named Nicodemus. Through this conversation, we learn some really important things about what God does and doesn't want for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John writes his gospel so that people will know Jesus. In chapter 1 he uses three different titles for Jesus... Jesus is "the Word, the Light, and the Lamb." Each of these titles has a way of pointing people to Jesus and helping us better understand who he is. At the end of the day, our calling is the same as John's... to know Christ and point people to him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

As Christians, the New Testament says that we "belong" to Jesus and that we "belong" to the church. But what does it mean to really belong? So many believers settle for simply visiting or attending rather than belonging. In other words, so many people settle for less than what God wants for them. Why do we settle for less than God has for us and how can we move towards belonging? Hosted on Acast....

The biblical world was filled with spiritual energy and activity, and our world isn't. Or at least, it doesn't seem to be. Why? Because we live in a secular age in which we've forgotten how to expect to experience a living God who shows up in our lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We want to be a church that diligently seeks wisdom because we live in a foolish age. We're the smartest people to ever live, but we are very foolish because we've untethered ourselves from ancient sources of wisdom in the mistaken belief this is liberation, but it's madness. True wisdom is not being your own authority, but submitting yourself to the authority of God mediated through Scripture. Ho...

We spend some time looking back on God's faithfulness to us in 2024, and then looking forward to the future in anticipation of what future faithfulness awaits us in 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Our relationship with our past can be complicated. We can allow our past to hold significant power over us. We can allow the stories we tell ourselves to define who we are. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus can rewrite our stories and use our past to refine us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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John 3:16 is by far the most popular and quoted verse in all of the Bible. It's been called "the gospel in one verse." In many ways it is a verse about Christmas. It explains the greatest gift ever given... a gift given by God to us all because he loved us. If you take time to really break this verse down and contemplate it's meaning, you'll see just how deep and rich the love of God really is. Ho...

One day all the nations will be drawn to God by the beauty of God's peace, so why do we resist that peace so much now? And what is the greatest obstacle to you living a life of peace? It's you. Becoming a person at peace with yourself is the key to becoming someone who can share God's peace with others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What brings you joy? Where do you find joy? These are great questions. We often assume that things we enjoy will produce in us more joy. However, scripture seems to indicate that obedience, even to things we don't always feel like doing, is actually what produces more joy in our lives? In other words... the things that produce more true joy in us are not always enjoyable in the moment. So, the que...

As believers, we know that our HOPE is found, or should be found, in Jesus. But what is HOPE? Where does this emotion come from? And why is it so important in the life of a believer? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Church should be the first place we come with our questions! Over the past month, you submitted questions you wanted tackled, and Austin and Dave select a few to discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.