Category - Sermon Series

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...

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...

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...

The Gospel Equation

Posted: 28 January 2013

The Gospel Equation, a series in Colossians.
Join us for an 8 week series as we explore how Jesus + Nothing = Everything.

The Gospel Equation ≮ HOPE
Sunday 3 February, 4pm (Colossians 1:1-8)

The Gospel Equation ≮ PURPOSE
Sunday 10 February, 4pm (Colossians 1:9-14)

The Gospel Equation ≮ JESUS
Sunday 17 February, 4pm (Colossians 1:15-23)

The...

The Beatific Vision (1 John 3:2)

Posted: 25 October 2012 / 1 John 3:2

This Sunday we will be finishing our series in 1 John by looking at what some call the 'beatific vision' or the 'visio dei' (vision of God), about which the apostle John writes,

we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2)

Hear how one writer describes what this experience will be like:

The highest...

God & Art

Posted: 21 September 2012

This Sunday we are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Greg Clarke speaking on the topic: God & Art: Do the Arts give us access to the Divine?

What I am really looking forward to is hearing him combine a deep reflection on the gospel with an appreciation and understanding of culture. Greg has a great ability to make complex ideas clear and understandable and...

God’s yes to the world!

Posted: 14 September 2012

This Sunday we are looking at God's "yes" to their world from 1 John 2:12-17.

Very often we think of God's laws and commands as his "no" to us and the world.

"No, don't do that!"

"No, don't touch that!" 

"No don't say that!"

As a result whenever Christians start talking about what we should and shouldn't do we come across as boring grumblers who...

God is Light

Posted: 07 September 2012 / 1 John 1:5-2:2

"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

So says the Apostle John, with such simplicity that we can miss the mind-blowing reality behind it.

Without the God of light you are left to what one famous atheist calls the "night of nothingness."

Without the God of light, "There is darkness without and when I die there will be...

‘Having a coffee doesn’t mean marriage’

Posted: 15 July 2012 / Romans 12:1-3, 9-13

This afternoon Toby gave the second talk in the series A Touchy Subject; "Love & the Dating Game: Flexting, Flirting & Falling in Love". Looking at Romans 12:1-3, 9-13 he spoke about trusting God with all aspects of our lives which includes our relationships. We should think of our relationships with the opposite sex in light of God's mercy and not our own...