Vista Community Church

Psalm 1 sets the book's tone by contrasting the life God blesses versus the life he won't bless. We all want to be blessed by God, but what does God's blessing look like, and how do we attain it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jude Austin, one of our elders, explores Christ's defenselessness and helps us break down our defensiveness to better trust in God's plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The future should fill the present with meaning rather than drain it of meaning. This happens when we spend time with the future in healthy ways but resist the temptation to live ahead of our time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We relate to the present properly by attending to it with stability, attention, and curiosity instead of wanderlust, distraction, and boredom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The past is not what we leave behind so much as what we carry. How do we carry it well? We carry the past well when we carry it with gratitude, acceptance, and contrition – instead of nostalgia, denial, and shame. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psalms takes us on a rollercoaster because that's what life is. But, Psalms ends with five psalms of joy and praise, because the rollercoaster of life ends on the highest note imaginable: hallelujah! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The gospel (when rightly heard and received) is a source of laughter. Because His promises exceed our expectations, we can't help but laugh when God comes through for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you find yourself needing a little more joy in your life this week remember that the tomb is empty, God is good, and heaven is waiting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens at the end of Mark's gospel account? This Easter, we're examining why it ends the way it does and what we can learn about the resurrection story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesus leaves Jerusalem after the palm procession, and we read about a rather odd account with a fig tree. This story leads us to ask, are we bearing any fruit? Or are we just leaves? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we enjoy life when it is so unmanageable and fleeting? By cherishing life's many provisional joys and remembering we are not entitled to permanence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although Solomon declares that much of life is vanity, he recognizes that it's better to live with wisdom. In Ecclesiastes 10, Solomon describes the difference between a life of wisdom and a life of folly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

God alone is who orders our life, and we can't predict outcomes of prosperity or adversity – still, how we live matters. Our response to adversity and how we handle prosperity can influence their effect on our lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to our work, we need to find a proper balance between laziness and pathological productivity. Paradoxically, many of us need to lower our expectations to have lives filled with gratitude and contentment – instead of entitlement and resentment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life can be mean. Given the injustice that fills the world, Solomon has a wise but challenging suggestion: stop waging war on reality, and surrender to the small but important work of being faithful with your little piece of the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ash Wednesday is an invitation into a season of preparation for Easter, and an antidote for our temptation to have "Easter without Good Friday." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We should remember the past seasons and prepare for future seasons, but ultimately we should live in the season that God has us in right now so that we don't miss current opportunities. Life is a gift, so enjoy it and live with a proper fear of God. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solomon recognized that the gifts from God are good and enjoyable, however they were never meant to bring ultimate satisfaction. Far too often, we settle for fleeting pleasures when infinite joy is available to us in Christ–we worship the gift, rather than the giver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The writer of Ecclesiastes wants us to learn about life. In chapter one, the writer is frustrated and sees everything he's pursued as empty and meaningless. No doubt we have all felt this way from time to time, but the real question is "what's the solution?" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're increasingly skeptical of authority, which can be a good thing. We also don't want to live in a world where we trust no authority but our own. Looking at an event in the life of Paul, we discuss embracing the tension between submission and autonomy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We seem to be pushed to be either more conservative or more progressive – politically, socially, theologically, financially, etc. But how conservative or progressive should Christ followers, or the church, be? Maybe instead of being either conservative or progressive, we should seek to be conservative AND progressive in the right ways. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do we have to choose between including people and judging people? No! Inclusion includes a healthy form of judgment, just as Christian judgment always happens in the context of inclusion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The reality is that faith and works do not contradict each other – they compliment one another. Christian "faith" is about trusting in what God has done for us, and then "works" is the evidence of what God has done in us. Those who follow Jesus should have both: internal faith and external works. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Busyness, restlessness, and lack of Sabbath plague our culture; we struggle to truly rest well. Yet, God's invitation to us is to Sabbath – to find true rest. What if 2023 was not about hustling or accomplishing goals, but a year of Sabbath? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s the best gift you’ve received? For Simeon and Anna, it was meeting Jesus! Like Simeon, we realize that Jesus is the only gift that will make us whole and give us peace. As we celebrate Christmas (the arrival of the best gift ever), don’t forget to thank the giver and share the joy with everyone around you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.