The Power of Habit

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The Power of Habit

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about habits. This direction began with a podcast—The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast. On his podcast, Pastor Craig Groeschel interviewed James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. Originally I listened to the podcast simply as a way to grow in my leadership. However, that podcast has taken me on a journey researching and investigating the power of habit.

After listening to this podcast, I picked up Clear’s book and quickly read it. I then picked up another book, Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit and now I’m reading one more—Drew Dyck’s Your Future Self Will Thank You. After engaging all of these resources, my thinking shifted from leadership to spiritual growth. This shift in thinking led me to even adjust Vintage Church’s summer preaching series. Why this shift?

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Don't Miss Easter at Vintage Church

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Don't Miss Easter at Vintage Church

Easter celebrates the biggest day of the year, the day Jesus resurrected from the grave. His journey from Death to Life is what gives each of us HOPE and VICTORY.

Invite your family and friends to Vintage Church this weekend to celebrate Easter.  Our Music Arts Team will lead a powerful worship experience and Pastor Rob Wilton will share a message on the joy that is to be found with Jesus' empty tomb. Also our vKids will participate in an Easter Egg Hunt and egg decorating during their time.

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The Joy of Giving Back

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The Joy of Giving Back

The launch of the early church was an incredible time! When Jesus ascended to heaven after his death and resurrection, he sent his Holy Spirit to stir the hearts of his followers and spread the movement of the gospel. When we search through the Bible looking for examples of the unity within the church, the early church in the book of Acts stands out. The early church understood what it took to be on the same page. It doesn’t mean that they were perfect, but it does mean that they strived for unity through the Spirit of God. One way that the early church was unified was in their giving. The verses above represent a collection of believers coming together, equally and obediently sacrificing to the work of God and the needs of others. The text says that things were “distributed to each as any had need.” This is a difficult concept to grasp for us today because there seems to be so many needs around us.

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Gathering for Gladness

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Gathering for Gladness

Tomorrow is Sunday, a day each week where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church has set aside Sunday for worship and rest for nearly 2,000 years. As we approach Sunday, can we declare with the psalmist, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’” Psalm 122 is a unique psalm in that it is a Psalm of Ascent. These psalms were sung mostly during pilgrimage festivals when the people of Israel would go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. They are called Psalms of Ascent because regardless of where you are coming from, you have to ascend to Jerusalem as the city sits on a hill. The Temple in Jerusalem was the most important building in Israel. It was important because in the Temple the presence of God resided. Thus to go to the house of Lord was a big deal. There the people of Israel would be closest to God.

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Gathering for Purpose

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Gathering for Purpose

We were created for community. Our sin draws us into isolation. In our busy day-to-day lives it’s rather easy to get so consumed with everything we have to do that we fail to remember our need for community. When we are struggling, the moment we need community most, we often push those closest away from us. In Hebrews 10:24–25, we are told to consider how we might encourage one another to love and good works. How are we to do this when we begin to neglect to meet together? Hebrews 10:24–25 reminds us of the truth that we need one another to survive. We need the daily, weekly, and monthly encouragement. 

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Stretch Out Your Hands

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Stretch Out Your Hands

Recently I read in the First5 app about the significance of Moses stretching out His hand each time God performed a miracle through him. Many times these miracles were plagues on the Egyptians but other miracles included calling water from a rock or parting the Red Sea. It was the visual that accompanied the display of God’s authority over all things. It got me thinking about what that means or can mean for us today. 

We stretch out our hands in worship or as we pray over others, but do we realize the magnitude of what we are saying and doing through this outward motion? Do we know the power of the God that we serve? Do we believe that He can and will use us if we ask and allow ourselves to be His vessel?

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From Tabernacle to Spirit: How We Participate in Worshipping God

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From Tabernacle to Spirit: How We Participate in Worshipping God

The word “worship” conjures up all sort of images, experiences, and ideas in our minds. For some of us, the idea of worship takes us back to previous experiences in church. We think about prior worship services we have experienced. This might include the different styles of worship we’ve encountered, including the singing of hymns with a piano and organ or the singing of new, contemporary worship songs with a praise band. Each of our experiences are different and culturally defined. If you go somewhere else in the world, you might experience a very different worship service. 

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