Vineyard Groningen Sermons

Did Jesus come to bring peace to the earth, or to start a revolution? Was He a peace-maker or a trouble-maker? We usually talk about Christmas in soft and peaceful terms. But in this message, Koen will show how the Incarnation was in fact a declaration of war against the empire darkness, and how celebrating Christmas…

Peace on earth? Yeah… not this Christmas. There are currently 32 armed conflicts in the world, and with all the anxiety and burnout we can’t say that people really have a sense of internal peace either. In this message, we will walk through the three dimensions of Advent – remembering with thankfulness that Christ came…

In this message, we hear from Merel vd Ven from IJM (International Justice Mission) about loving your neighbour, being touched by God’s compassion for people and the important work of justice and how we can be involved.

What is the church’s relationship with Israel? And how should we, as the people of God’s Kingdom position ourselves in a time when the ongoing conflict in Israel-Palestine is escalating once again? In this message, we’re trying to give you a Biblical framework for looking at the current situation, to help you to look at…

When the New Testament talks about us being ‘in Christ’ it is talking about that full new reality after grace – a new position, a new function, a new purpose, a new qualification. Being ‘in Christ’ is our new identity. And that identity is something that we are learning to live out as we are…

Like Israel during the exile, taking on your priestly role empowers you to live as a stranger in a non-believing society. In this sermon we explore three aspects of this priestly attitude, so that you can find practical ways to worship and live differently in this world, while still not being of this world.

In this message series that we have called “In the world, not of the world”, we are going to discuss four different postures or roles that will help us to fulfil this purpose Jesus has for us in this world. Today, we are talking about our roles as exiles, connecting to Jeremiah’s prophetic words in…

In the recent past, we have often heard the term, “already-not yet”. What does ‘already-not yet’ mean for our hear and now? In today’s sermon, I speak about what does it mean for us to engage with our present world in light of the already-not-yet kingdom reality. I believe that as a new creation, we…

The life of a disciple of Jesus, including all its rhythms and practices – such as we are discussing in this sermon series – are never only about the individual’s flourishing. Not only are those who eat the fruit of your flourishing relationship with God the main beneficiaries of your spiritual formation. The journey of…

Fasting and praying is just something we are called to do out of faith and obedience. And there is something that fasting unlocks, something that we access, something that Fasting is a mighty weapon God has given us to amplify our prayers, to be heard on high and to hear from on high. And perhaps…

John Wesley once said: “Why are we not more holy? Because we are enthusiasts that want the ends without the means.” Growing in holiness is a lifelong journey. And the practices – including fasting – provide the pathway on that journey to continue to grow and work out your salvation. In this message we are…

This is the opening message of a four part series with Practicing the Way about Fasting. Every world religion, and even Western non-religious spirituality recognises the physical and spiritual benefits of fasting. Also as Christians, we stand in a long tradition of fasting; the prophets, the apostles, the church fathers, the saints, reformers and revivalists…

In this sermon I discuss what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and to follow the Practices of Jesus in our 21st century world. I focus on the Call to discipleship, the Practices of a disciple, and the Why of discipleship. This sermon specifically gives an overview of the call to Discipleship that…

True change starts with a deep change on the inside. Instead of throwing all our willpower and resources at changing the ‘what’, it should start with the ‘why’ – a purpose, a motivation, a perspective. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives us a very powerful ‘why’ for growing in Christlikeness. As he talks…

The Colossean church had a big problem with two different cultural powers that were distracting them from their new life in Christ; the gnostics with their elaborate philosophies and rituals, and the zealous Jewish Christians who thought that also Gentile believers should live by the law of Moses. Paul tells the church in Colossae, in…

Colossians 1:15-23 boldly declares that Jesus is the first, and the last, the genesis and the telos, the origin and the purpose, the beginning and the end. He is before all things and above all things. He is at the center of everything and holds everything together. In this series, as we are learning about…

The Lord is shaping us into a Gospel community, breathing in and breathing out the Good News of the Kingdom. Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians, a group of Christians he never met, but heard good reports about, with some solid advice on how to move forward to grow and bear fruit. This is…

Ephesians tells us to make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Matthijs den Dekker, today’s speaker, has a hard time opening his eyes for the evil in this world. It means allowing anger and allow feeling powerless. This sermon explores these emotions and tries to find ways to not close off…

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do all kinds of ‘cool’ stuff. But as we are wrapping up this series, it is important to also talk about a less ‘cool’ but very real other quality that we receive through the Spirit; the power to endure. Enduring is not something that we look…

Our understanding of the Gospel is far too individualistic and far too narrow. Through various developments in theology, sociology and culture, we have primarily come to understand the Gospel as a message about personal salvation; grace + faith = going to heaven when you die. But the Gospel is much more than that. The Gospel…