Vista Community Church

The words that describe Silas best are "consistent" and "reliable." From the text, we can see that he was consistent and reliable in his service, his worship, and his message. Because of this, he was a great asset to both the apostles Paul and Peter and the early church as a whole. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Mark was a close associate of both Peter and Paul. He got to work alongside two of the most prominent men in all of the New Testament. There are a lot of positive characteristics about this man's life that modern Christians can learn from. However, he wasn't a perfect man, and we can learn from his mistakes as well. One thing seems clear about Mark's life: he surrounded himself with great peo...

It's a weird time to be a man. And yet while masculinity and fatherhood are more complicated than they used to be, the most important part of being a man and father is not. Fathers exist to serve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barnabas was known as an encourager... his name actually means “son of encouragement.” In a world where it’s easy to get discouraged, we could all use a Barnabas in our lives. Barnabas encouraged people in many different ways. He encouraged others by his generosity, his advocacy, his exhortation, and his humility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ananias is an obscure name in the New Testament. He's only mentioned in Acts 9 and in one other verse in Acts 22. However, without the consistent faithfulness and courageous obedience of this man, the ministry of the Apostle Paul never really gets off the ground. God uses Ananias in a powerful way in Saul's (Paul's) life. His story is a strong reminder of what God can do in our lives if we will pr...

Christ is calling us to remember and return to our First Love for him and others. In doing so, he is not asking us to strive for his love; he is asking us to abide in his love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The good news of the gospel is that while God's faithfulness to you will produce goodness in you, your goodness is not a prerequisite for God's faithfulness. So are you good enough? Who cares? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us have a guilt and anxiety complex about our responsibility to change the world. What if our responsibility to the world is not to change the world but to be a good neighbor? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding God's perfect will for our lives can be a huge source of anxiety in our lives. Instead of finding God's will, Scripture tells us to do God's will because Scripture assumes we already know God's will for our lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

God doesn't expect you to be certain. God expects you to trust in his faithfulness to you instead of your ability to have perfect, certain faith in him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Jesus is raised from the grave, he meets his followers on a mountainside in Galilee and tells them what they are to be doing now that he has risen.  This is Jesus telling all of his followers (the church) why we are here on this earth and what we are to be doing with our lives.  Our mission and calling as followers of Jesus is to make disciples. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...

All the important people reject the good news of Easter, but all the unimportant people receive the good news of Easter. Why? Because belief in the resurrection is less a matter of knowledge and more a matter of whether you're willing to give up control. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the beginning of Holy Week, Jesus marches into Jerusalem to take his rightful throne. But instead of conquering others on our behalf, Jesus conquers our desire to conquer through his refusal to conquer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Jesus talks about the process of confrontation and reconciliation, Peter asks an important question... How many times are we supposed to forgive someone who sins against us? Jesus responds by saying that our forgiveness of others should be basically limitless... just like God's forgiveness of us. He then tells a parable to drive home his point. It is hypocritical and sinful for Christians wh...

Jesus' instructions for resolving conflict are very clear: go directly and discreetly, take others, take it to the church. And even though we've found all kinds of ways to pretend these instructions don't apply to our conflicts, they usually do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesus speaks a hard truth about forgiveness which causes us to wonder if his forgiveness for us is dependent on something we do. Forgive others or he won't forgive us? Really?? What we actually find in this command is Jesus revealing to us the truth about ourselves; if we can't forgive others, we don't understand God's forgiveness for ourselves. He teaches us how to pray so that our hearts can lea...

Loving our enemies may be the most difficult thing that Jesus asks us to do and yet it is also the most Christ-like thing we can do. God loving his enemies is the essence of the gospel – if God didn’t love his enemies there would be no Christians. So, we extend to our enemies the same love that God in Christ extended to us. But how does love of one’s enemies look and what are some practical ways w...

Payback is not a Christian practice. Questioning our assumed right to retaliation, Jesus teaches us to stand up to evil and injustice with aggressive and creative kindness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we prepare for Easter, we acknowledge our sinfulness and mortality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesus tells his followers to be peacemakers.  Far too often, rather than being peacemakers, we end up being peace-breakers, or even peace-fakers resulting in a great deal of conflict.  In this text, we learn that Jesus takes reconciliation very seriously and we see how He is our great example of how to pursue reconciliation with someone, even when we've been wronged. Hosted on Acast. See...

Everybody loves authenticity! But what, exactly, is it? And how do we distinguish real authenticity from imposters? The Apostle Paul has an imaginary conversation with Brene Brown, and we put together biblical and modern understandings of authenticity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is no shortage of things to be anxious about. The question is what do we do with our anxiety?  Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul have some wise and practical words for us. We’re reminded that Jesus himself was also greatly distressed and troubled (some might say anxious), and it’s important to notice how he responded in such situations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

We are the safest people in the history of the world. So why do we feel so fragile and unsafe? Because the remedy for our fear is not safety, but trust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All of mankind shares a common general identity in that we are all made in the image of God. However, scripture reveals that each person is also unique and has been uniquely shaped by God. Our uniqueness is not a testament to us, but it's a testament to the God who made us. We have all been uniquely shaped, gifted, and placed by God to accomplish his purpose. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Technology is a blessing and curse. How do we know when it’s become a curse? When it’s producing distraction, consumption, and hurry in our lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.