Vista Community Church

Paul endured many trials during his life and ministry. The reality is that everyone goes through trials in life. Some of the trials we go through are like storms... they are unpredictable and often unavoidable. However, other trials are more like shipwrecks that we may cause and are often avoidable. Since trials are a part of life, we must learn how to endure the storms and avoid the shipwrecks. H...

In 2 Corinthians, we see Paul at his best and worst. We see insecurity and pettiness, but also kindness, courage, and trust. Paul's honesty reminds us that it's OK to not be OK, and to let others know about it. Paul's imperfections remind us God loves and uses broken people. Paul's courage reminds us that we're often impressed by all the wrong things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

What does it mean to be in the world but not of it? What should the church's posture be towards the culture in which it exists? Historically the church has taken various postures toward culture (ignoring it, fighting it, joining it, etc...), but the apostle Paul shows us that the proper posture is to properly "engage" with the culture in order to reach people for Christ. Hosted on Acast. See acast...

Modern people from all over the spectrum have all sorts of problems with Paul. Why? Because Paul was, in many ways, an anti-modern man who didn't share our love of individualism and freedom because he believed true freedom was not doing whatever you want but surrendering to and serving the God who made you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To fully understand Paul, we need to understand his message. What did he believe? What did he preach? In Acts 13 Paul is preaching to some Jews in a synagogue. In this brief message Paul mentions several things that he had become convinced of. These things would continue to be the emphasis of Paul's sermons and the basis for his ministry throughout his life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Paul is one of the most famous and infamous people to ever live. Love him or hate him, the world was clearly never the same after him. In Acts 7, 8, and 9 we read the story of how he was changed from a zealot for moral purity into a zealot for mercy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Magdalene was the first person Jesus appeared to after his resurrection. However, Mary had a hard time seeing him clearly. Although he spoke to her, she thought he was a gardener at first. Let's be honest, we all have a hard time seeing Jesus clearly at times. In John's account of the resurrection we can learn from Mary how to see Jesus more clearly in our own lives. Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Jesus is betrayed by many people in the moment of his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane; especially Judas and Peter. Judas' is the betrayal of the "overly liberal" and Peter's is the betrayal of the "overly conservative." In contrast to all the betrayal, Jesus is the one faithful person because he purses trust instead of control. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a final lesson to His disciples, Jesus tells them that He has to leave them but it will be to their benefit because He is sending them the Spirit. They don't quite understand the significance of what he is telling them. But they soon will. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesus is having a final meal with his disciples in the upper room. During the dinner, Jesus takes a towel and a basin of water and begins to wash the disciples feet. This astonishing act of humility takes the disciples by surprise. Peter even tries to stop Jesus from washing his feet. Why does Jesus do this? What is he trying to show/teach his followers by this act and what should we learn from it...

After Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave (his most public and astonishing miracle), they had a dinner party at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus with Jesus and his disciples. Mary takes a jar of expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus' feet, and begins to wipe his feet with her hair. This is an astonishing act of love and devotion to Jesus. However, Judas doesn't like what takes place. He cri...

Everybody ages, but not everybody ages well. Three keys to aging well are knowing when you are, knowing how to be when you are, and remembering righteousness ages well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although repentance is not a popular topic in a world that values tolerance, the bottom line is that you cannot be a follower of Jesus without practicing repentance. Jesus calls his followers to repentance. But what does true repentance involve? True repentance involves three things... Confession, Contrition, and Change. We'll explore all of these and be reminded of what should lead us to repentan...

This is a message about the ongoing unresolved fight against evil humanity finds itself perpetually engaged in. This message is about the fear of death that hangs over our lives like a specter. This message is about how Jesus has restored, is restoring, and ultimately will restore everything that humanity lost in the fall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you doubt and still believe? It's an increasingly pressing question for modern people who are increasingly conflicted about faith. The good news here is that the gospel is not about God's demand that you have perfect faith, but God's promise to be faithful despite our imperfect faith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prayer is one of the most, if not the most, important spiritual disciplines. Yet, many Christians feel like they don't really know how to pray or even why it's so important. There are a lot of questions about prayer, even for some people who have been Christians for a long time. Did you know that Jesus' disciples asked him how to pray? Of all the things they saw Jesus do, inclu...

How do we hear God's voice? When God speaks, where does it come from and what does it sound like? Learning to hear God's voice in the convergence of within, without, and around is a good, biblical guide to making sure that when God speaks, we hear it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fewer and fewer people are getting married, and fewer and fewer people are staying married. Why? Because marriage is outdated? Or because we've lost sight of what marriage is really for? The key to staying married, and wanting to stay married, is to understand that we find our best self when we get over our self. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most Christians know that they should share their faith, but many don't know how... or they just feel like they don't know enough to share. In John chapter 4, Jesus has a conversation with a woman at a well. We'll take a look at how Jesus engages with this woman and see what lessons we can learn about how to share our faith with someone else. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

We remember God's faithfulness to us as a church over the course of 2023 by sharing some numbers and stories, and also anticipate God's faithfulness to us over the course of 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An obscure and enigmatic story reminding us that God cares for us in the everyday stuff of life and that God is pleased to use his power to restore what we've lost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Christmas story is wonderful, majestic, and mysterious... but it's also humble, simple, and common. As Max Lucado says, "The story of Christmas is the story of God's relentless love for us." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Isaiah 35, we get a glimpse of the joyful homecoming God has in store for all of his creatures. If we'll submit to being grown into goodness, instead of fixated on quick fixes, we able to receive God's work in our lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isaiah prophesy goes on to mention specific characteristics about God's future kingdom, letting us know that just as God's kingdom is marked by certain qualities, God's church should be too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before we can understand what a text means for us, we must first understand how this prophesy from Isaiah would have been received by Israel in light of their circumstances. Then we can better understand how it applies to us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.