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The Conman’s Conversion

Posted: 06 June 2013 / Genesis 32

If you asked your friends to describe Christianity with a metaphor, what do you think they would come up with?

I think many people would say, "It's a crutch" or "It's a system of being controlled, like a large bird chained down to the ground, unable to fly."

How would you describe being a Christian?

Some Christians might say, "It's a picnic" or "It's...

The God who has eyes for the unlovely

Posted: 30 May 2013 / Genesis 29

This Sunday we are looking at the story of Jacob's marriage to two sisters: the irresistible Rachel and the unlovely Leah.

It is a heart-breaking story, especially as you consider Leah, a woman who lived her life in the shadow of her younger more beautiful sister. She dreamed of falling in love and getting married, but when her father deceitfully marries...

Experiencing God Course

Posted: 30 May 2013

This Sunday we are starting a free 4 week training course on Sunday afternoons to help people experience God through his Word. It will be a practical course led by Frank Tully to help you hear, read, study, memorise and meditate on Scripture.

This week is your last chance to sign up by clicking here.

     Starting 2 June, 1-3pm
     Vine Church Office...Continue Reading

Rethinking Sunday’s Sermon

Posted: 21 May 2013 / Genesis 24

Yesterday morning I sat down for a coffee with my sister Hayley, and she grilled me on my sermon from Sunday night. While she found much of it helpful, she found a couple of things insensitive and unhelpful. Watch this video to hear our conversation.

Rethinking Sunday's Sermon from Vine Church on Vimeo.

Resources for “Understanding God’s Story”

Posted: 08 May 2013

As Community Groups seek together to Understand God's Story, Vine Church will be providing some helpful resources for you to go deeper, or catch-up on what you may have missed. There will be helpful books to read, video resources to check out, and weekly summaries of where we are up to in God's Story. So keep refreshing this blog post over the weeks to see...

Understanding God’s Story

Posted: 01 May 2013

There are many ways one can approach the bible. Some choose to see it only as a rule book, with God calling down commands from above for his creatures to adhere to. Some choose to see it only as a good 'life-guide', providing different segments of wisdom for many circumstances in our lives. But what about seeing it as a story. I dont mean as a myth or...

Strange Turns (Genesis 12-50)

Posted: 26 April 2013

Life is a winding and troubled road and in Genesis 12-50 we meet characters such as Abraham and Joseph, Hagar and Leah whose stories help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns.

This Sunday we are starting a new series on this wonderful part of the Bible called Strange Turns: How God is with us in...

Resources for Studying Genesis

Posted: 24 April 2013

Here are three books to help you study Genesis:

Iain Duguid, Living in the Gap Between Promise and Reality: The Gospel According to Abraham

Derek Kidner, Genesis

Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15 and Genesis 16-50 (for advanced study)

Faith & Theology

Posted: 23 April 2013

This Sunday we are starting a new series on Genesis 12-50 — a part of the Bible that teaches us that life is a winding and troubled road. Here we meet characters such as Abraham, Jacob, Leah and Joseph whose stories help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns.

To introduce this wonderful part of...

Counseling Those Who Are Depressed

Posted: 16 April 2013

On Sunday Ps. James Stinson gave the second sermon in our series, When the Darkness Will Not Lift, on the topic of depression. To help us think through how to love those who are depressed see this article by Ed Welch.

Topics include:

— Listening to Depression
— Loving Those Who Are Depressed
— Understanding Depression
— Helping Those Who Are...