This summer I worked at a Christian summer camp called Pine Cove. Sharing and teaching the gospel through my actions and words was my only job, be it through Bible Study, crazy cheers, or one-on-one hang times. Over the course of the summer I got the blessing of seeing fourteen of my 6th and 7th grade guys give their lives to Jesus. Coming back to New Orleans, I was confident that the Lord would continue to work in a powerful way.
Read MoreWhen we look around, we recognize that each of us is unique and individually different. However, at the same time, we also realize that we hold much in common with others. These commonalities don’t appear to be accidental, but rather seem as though they were purposeful, as if Someone created us with these similarities. If we are aware of it, as we look around, we can recognize one very important similarity among all humans: we are worshippers. Countless attitudes and behaviors are often taught to us and, in time, become assimilated parts of our lives. Yet worship is different. Worship seems to boil up inside us, coming from somewhere deep within our souls. The English word for worship originates from the Old English word, weorthscipe, which literally refers to “actions motivated by an attitude that reveres, honors, or describes the worth of another person or object.”<sup>1</sup> The object of worship doesn’t have to be the same thing for all of us to be worshippers. The reality is that we as humans are often drawn to and naturally compelled to worship something. Nevertheless, why are we worshippers?
Read MoreLast week, we began our discussion on contextualization, examining its purpose and many of its misconceptions. Regarding the ministry of the Church, contextualization seeks to understand the way another person or group of people thinks, feels, and acts and then proclaims the Gospel responsively. This, however, is not a new concept discovered for the 21st century Church. Though recent books and conferences have garnered a renewed interest in the necessity and benefit of contextualized and incarnational ministry, most of the principles of contextualization that are practiced today can be traced all the way back to the biblical writer and apostle, Paul.
Read MoreLast week I wrote a blog, sharing with you about Vintage Church’s ebook, We Are Vintage. I really do believe it is an incredible resource. It’s basic yet in-depth, making the book valuable for everyone, regardless of where they are in their walk with Christ. While the length of it might scare some people, it really shouldn’t. The book is over 300 pages in length, but each chapter is five to six pages in length, making We Are Vintage a devotional type of book. This is the kind of resource you can pick up every day, read a few pages, answer a few thought-provoking questions, and get on with your day. This week I want to share a brief snip-it from the book on the Trinity. Understanding who God is is such a massive but important task. I pray this brief section is helpful.
Read MoreA couple of months ago during Vintage Church’s “CHANGED” series, we gave away digital copies of our first book, We Are Vintage. This was a book Pastor Rob Wilton and I wrote a couple years ago for our church. After months of working on it with several rough drafts, we were excited to give it to anyone and everyone. For many, though, it seems overwhelming. The book is over 300 pages long. However, the book is designed as more of a devotional for someone to walk through daily. And the daily readings are only three to four pages with several discussion questions. So, over the next few weeks we want to share excerpts from the We Are Vintage to give you a taste for what the book is like. Our prayer is that this content would be both equipping and encouraging for you. Look for more excerpts in the coming weeks. Enjoy!
Read More"What do you believe?” Many of us can quickly answer this question. In our current, postmodern culture, there are a variety of people with an even greater variety of opinions on a variety of issues. Unfortunately, however, in today’s world, the question “What do you believe” can only get you so far as you strive to grow and mature in your relationship with Christ. With so many people holding so loosely to so many positions, a second, much more penetrating question becomes all the more critical and important: “Why?” “Why do you believe what you believe?” The answer to this question is your “personal theology,” and developing your answer could be the difference between being rooted in Christ and being consumed by the world.
Read More“Work.” The word immediately brings a number of thoughts to our minds: Hard. Busy. Long. Monotonous. Many of us simply chalk up our jobs and the work we do to just a normal fact of life; a “necessary evil” in order to pay the bills. But is this the way that God views our work, or is it possible that our occupations, household chores, and even our service on a vTeam are meant to accomplish a greater purpose?
Read MoreSeveral weeks ago a Vintage family member approached me and encouraged our pastors to provide the church with some important verses from the book of Acts they could memorize. I immediately knew that was a great idea. Bible memorization is such an important spiritual discipline for Christians. The Bible commands us to meditate on God’s Word (Deuteronomy 11:18; Psalm 119:11; Matthew 4:4) and Scripture memorization is such a great way to do that. So, below are 10 simple verses in the book of Acts that are important and would be beneficial to memorize. By no means is this list of 10 exhaustive. These are simply 10 important verses in the book of Acts.
Read MoreWe are now over a month into our new series, The Movement. You can watch or listen to the sermons HERE. This year Vintage Church is taking a journey through the book of Acts, looking at The Movement Jesus began with his church. To give us a better understanding of the book of Acts we created a small introduction booklet. You can find an electronic version of this book HERE. Over the past few weeks we have answered several questions related to Acts. First we answered: (1) Who wrote the book of Acts and (2) When was the book of Acts written? You can find that blog HERE. Then we answered: (1) What type of book is Acts? and (2) Why was Acts written? You can find that blog HERE. Finally, we looked at the setting of the book of Acts. You can read about that HERE. This week we are going to discuss the various themes within the book of Acts.
Read MoreWe are three weeks into our new series, The Movement. You can watch or listen to the last three sermons HERE. This year Vintage Church is taking a journey through the book of Acts looking at The Movement Jesus began with his church. While we don’t know everything about the early church, we can learn a lot about the church from the book of Acts. The book of Acts is a historical account of who the early church was. This account is a picture of The Movement. To give us a better understanding of the book of Acts we created a small introduction booklet. You can find an electronic version of this book HERE. Over the past two weeks we answered four questions related to Acts. First we answered: (1) Who wrote the book of Acts and (2) When was the book of Acts written? You can find that blog HERE. Then we answered: (1) What type of book is Acts? and (2) Why was Acts written? You can find that blog HERE. This week we are going to discuss the setting of the book of Acts, the time and place in which the events took place.
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