Fasting | Part 3 | Amplify our Prayers
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…
Read MoreFasting | Part 2 | Growing in holiness
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…
Read MoreFasting | Part 1 | Offering ourselves to God
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…
Read MoreGospel Community | Part 5 | Say Yes to the Dress!
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…
Read MoreGospel Community | Part 4 | Set Free
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…
Read MoreGospel Community | Part 3 | Mature In Christ
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…
Read MoreGospel Community | Part 2 | Jesus At The Center
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…
Read MoreGospel Community | Part 1 | Qualified
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…
Read MoreLife After Pentecost | Part 5 | Empowered to Transform
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…
Read MoreLife After Pentecost | Part 4 | Empowered to Heal
At Vineyard, we believe that Jesus transferred His Kingdom ministry to His disciples and to the church. This means that we are called to do everything that Jesus did through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to partner with us to bring God’s Kingdom to people, and this includes miraculous healing…
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