Viva Vineyard Church

'John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”' Mark 1:6-8

Ascension Day was one of the earliest festivals of the new church. Today, we rarely note it. Why? And what critical piece in our understanding of Jesus might we have missed in the process?

Jono Ives dropped by to guide us through the final instalment in our G.R.O.W series: Witness. And yes, it's possible.

In this third installment of G.R.O.W. we're talking Obedience. It's not a popular word but look it up in the dictionary of Jesus and we discover it's anything but stuffy religion.

Easter was a week ago but we don't rush on. We stay in the Easter story reading John's account and discovering the incredible resources to be found in the news of the Risen Jesus.

Paul takes us into the heart of Father God and the incredible lengths he has worked to reconcile this world to himself, us included.

Dave Esgate talks us through the spreadsheets and the generous heart of God.

Jesus tells the people a story about a man who thinks like this: Invest. Flip the property. Go again. Buy more. Flip them. Go again…and you’ll be set. Retirement will be early and a time of infinite happiness as you take things easy, drink and be merry. On a cruise, in the south of France, at a billabong in the north of Australia somewhere, whatever… What’s the trouble with that plan? The only tro...

Helen Gould from Brisbane West Vineyard dropped by and shared her story...

Jesus always sees the person in front of him. Fully. How did he do that? How do we?

Tired? Jesus gets it. And he gets what real rest is. Here's how he says you find it. 

The Christmas story is a story of hope. But it's hope in very unlikely places. What might these stories teach us about where to find hope when despair is the air we breathe in some many places today? Eve is our speaker. 

And then there was us...

Well this could have been a 1.5 hr sermon... and Jesus is so worthy of it, but here we are, beginning the silly season, harried, tired, in need, not of information but encounter... So this week we did something a little different...

As we walk through the biblical story we’ll discover that exile is a recurring feature. The first exile was Adam and Eve banished from the garden, then there’s Abraham called from his homeland and shifted around by famines and violence. And of course there’s the massive exile of the Israelite nation which is the focus of this talk today. It shouldn’t surprise us that it’s a thread through the bibl...

As we follow the story of Scripture we come to kingdom and Saul and David two very different kings, with very different hearts. 

God saving plan gains momentum. At the centre of this chapter of that story is God's decision to reveal himself as I AM. God present and Lord. Then, now, forever.

So the story got off to a great start and then... That's what this talk is about. Something is very wrong, isn't it? We all seem to agree on that but until we understand what that is any sort of solution we propose is going to be bandaid at best. 

This series is all about helping you get into the Bible. It's a big story. But there are key themes that we can use as guide rails as we explore the landscape of this incredible story. Here we explore two and dive into the start looking at the Who? and Why? of humanity's origin story. 

Paul described it as treasure in jars of clay. It's so easy to overlook the Gospel invitation, particularly, given the state of the messengers but it's still an unbelievable treasure. The King's banquet will be extraordinary.

Compassion, authority, go!

Matthew 9:1-13 Here we see Jesus getting to the heart of his mission, talking about his purpose in coming and demonstrating that purpose in his interactions with the people.

Matthew 8:18-34 In this series of stories we see there is risk, cost, adventure and even danger as we follow Jesus among the people.

Jesus comes down the mountain and does an incredible thing: he practices what he just preached! In the mess and demand of damaged lives he lives out the Sermon on the Mount. It's all done among the people... and he's calling us to love like that too....

Gifts are a means by which God expresses Himself. Get that and Monday and Tuesday and... and... begin to look quite different.