To Go or Not To Go

We have just launched our new series called "Dilemma". I'm really excited about unpacking I Corinthians 8-9 over the next few weeks. This past Sunday I did an introduction of the series by looking at Mark and the Great Commission. You can listen at http://vintagenola.org/2011/09/18/dilemma-%E2%80%93-to-go-or-not-to-go-%E2%80%93-91811/. God is calling our Vintage Church family to become all things to all so that all might come to know Jesus. I broke down the book of Acts proving this point and promised that I would post it online.

Here it is:

Summary of the Book of Acts:
Acts 1 - Jesus Prepares the Disciples to “GO”
Acts 2 - The Spirit launches the Church to “GO”
Acts 3 - Peter & John “GO” around Jerusalem
Acts 4-5 - Persecution hits those who “GO”
Acts 6 - The Disciples “GO” to different people groups
Acts 7 - Stephen is killed and the church is forced to “GO”
Acts 8 - Philip “GOES” to a Magician & Eunich
Acts 9 - Jesus “GOES” to Saul
Acts 10 - Peter “GOES” with the men from Cornelius
Acts 11 - Paul “GOES” to Antioch
Acts 12 - Peter “GOES” to Jail
Acts 13-14 - Paul “GOES” on his first missionary journey to Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe.
Acts 15-18 - Paul “GOES” on his second missionary journey to Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, Traos, Phillipi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth and Ephesus.
Acts 18-21 Paul “GOES” on his third missionary journey to Galatia, Phyrgia, Ephesus, Greece and Caesarea.
Acts 21-23 - Paul “GOES” to Jerusalem
Acts 23-26 - Paul “GOES” to Caesarea
Acts 27-28 - Paul “GOES” to Rome

We Are United

I want you to check out a song and video that our Vintage Creative Arts Team has put together. I think that Travis and Jake are two of the most talented guys that I know. Jake's song and Travis' video share the heartbeat of God's vision for our city through art. Thanks guys for this gift!

We Are United from Vintage Church on Vimeo.

As we have journeyed through 1 Corinthians, God has really been challenging our church family in the area of unity. I believe that this message from Pastor Paul is not only a plea for unity "within the church" but also "among the churches". As the Word has challenged us, God called us to promote unity among the churches in New Orleans. By no means do we believe that this first step is the answer to division. In order for unity and togetherness to happen we are going to have to pursue Gospel partnership daily. However, we are really excited about this first step and will be praying for many other churches in our city to link arms in proclaiming the Gospel.

Over the next three weeks I have invited some of my pastor friends to preach to our Vintage family. I am so thankful for each of these pastors, their family, and their church family. Each of these men inspire me to keep fighting the good fight. I feel blessed to serve alongside them in our city. Please pray with us over the next three weeks as we "punch Satan in the throat" by throwing away territorialism and embracing unity.

Week 1:
James Welch
Harbor Community Church (harbornola.com)
Uptown Campus (4523 Mag St.)
Feb 12 @ 6pm
Feb 13 @ 10:30am

Matt Tipton
Hope Church (hopenola.com)
Metairie Campus (3927 Rayne St.)
Feb 13 @ 9am

Week 2:
Richard Johnson
Desire Fellowship (desirefellowship.org)
Uptown Campus (4523 Mag St.)
Feb 19 @ 6pm
Feb 20 @ 10:30am

Mike Miller
FBC Kenner (fbckenner.org)
Metairie Campus (3927 Rayne St.)
Feb 20 @ 9am

Week 3:
Michael Carney
Calvary Baptist Church (calvarynewolreans.com)
Uptown Campus (4523 Mag St.)
Feb 26 @ 6pm
Feb 27 @ 10:30am

Ty Waivers
Grace Faith Family Fellowship (gracefaith.org)
Metairie Campus (3927 Rayne St.)
Feb 27 @ 9am

Fall 2010 Reflections: First Chapter Down!

This past fall we started a journey in I Corinthians called "In the City. For the City." We took a few breaks but we spent 13 weeks walking through the first chapter of this great book. You can go to www.vintagenola.org/inthecity/ to catch up with our journey. I've joked around with our Vintage family by stating that we might be hanging in this book for the next 40 years...that might be true.

Here are some reflections from our journey so far:

> THE GOSPEL - A lot of people dive into this book because of the craziness of Corinth or the controversial issues that Paul addresses. Above all things presented in the book, the Gospel is major anthem that is proclaimed. Paul's desperate plea with this young church plant was our memory verse for the first chapter which is an incredible proclamation of the Gospel:
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Cor 1:30-31

> THE CITY - The more I study, the more similarities I find between the city of Corinth and the city of New Orleans. The other day at one of our Community Group Leader meetings, a CG Leader stated that he was amazed at how similar his group is to the struggles found in Corinth. This book is a timely book for our church family. Paul loved this crazy city and he believed in the great potential impact in the world if Corinth was reached by the Gospel. I believe that God is going to teach us so much about how to be in New Orleans for New Orleans and the glory of God.

> CELEBRATING STORIES - Some of my favorite moments this fall have been hearing and witnessing the many different stories of our Vintage family being the church in our city. I could fill a book with all the incredible stories. You can watch some of the stories at www.vimeo.com/vintage. Thank you Jesus for moving through us in our city!

> LIFECHANGE - The Gospel is transforming people in the city of New Orleans. I am blown away by His grace. We have had so much fun witnessing people being saved and baptized. Join us in praying that God would save every soul in our city for His glory. Here some pics from our baptism gathering in September.





> UNITY - Most of the first chapter is Paul's plea in the Gospel against the division that was leaking into this young church plant. God really humbled me throughout this first chapter and helped me get past sin in order to remain focused on the main thing. I have loved witnessing our church family grow stronger over the fall. We are currently gathering around 200 people on the weekend but our unity isn't found when we gather, our unity is found as we scatter. We have around 250+ gathering in homes all over our city. These community groups are living out "truth, love, and community" and I am crazy in love with them.

Vintage Family, let's stay humble and focused upon the Gospel. I can't wait to launch back into I Corinthians in the Spring.

Lent Lesson #3

By no means did God only teach me three lessons through Lent. My notebook is filled with nuggets of wisdom that I received through discussions, experiences, Scripture, my family, etc. However, these three stick out the most. To review, Lent Lesson #1 was “God is so good”. Lent Lesson #2 was “listen to Jesus and do what He says”. Here is the 3rd:

LENT LESSON #3
GET CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE

Now this might seem a little strange to you because of my second lesson. Why would God teach me to get control of my life when He has called us to listen and surrender to what He has called us to do? Lent Lesson #2 is the preface to #3.

This world is not our home. This life is not our own. For those who have been saved by Christ, the only reason why Christ has saved you is that you might glorify Him with your life.

I Peter 2:9 is by far one of my favorite verses in God’s Word.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This is such a great reminder of God’s call upon my life as a believer.

With this truth established, God began to convict me of the fact that I wasn’t being a good steward of what He had called me to be. Every believer has two primary callings in this world. One is to “go and make disciples of all nations”. This isn’t an option. All have been called to reach all. That definitely includes the unreached people groups around the world. The second call is a specific call. Paul was called to the nations, but he specifically served as an apostle traveling the world planting churches. Jesus certainly was called to the nations, but focused on 12 regular dudes. You and I have certainly been called to the nations, but what has God called you to specifically? These two are intertwined.

As I began to ponder that question, I first reflected on what God has placed in my life. I don’t like segmenting my Christ-life, my personal-life, and my work-life. Christ is primary and interwoven throughout my life. Understanding this, here is my specific calling from top priority down:
• To be a husband to the most beautiful woman in the world.

• To be a dad to (NOW) 3 little dudes who are the absolute joy of my life.
• To be a son and brother and grandson to an incredible family.
• To be a pastor to a new church plant called Vintage in the heart of New Orleans. This involves being a leader to an incredible staff, being an influencer to a devoted vision team and community group leaders, and being a faithful servant to a loving church family as we together love God and people.
• To be a preacher of God’s Word each week at Vintage, during camp seasons at MissionLab, and whenever God gives me other opportunities.
• To be a friend to those in my life who care more about me and my family than what I do or don’t do. They just love me and I love them.
• And lastly, to be a student at NOBTS even though I feel like I deserve an honorary MDiv for all the time I have spent on that campus. Hopefully I will done this fall.

That’s my list. As I looked at this list, God convicted that I wasn’t being a good steward of the LIFE THAT HE HAD GIVEN ME. As I shared in the first Lent Lesson post, the last two years have been crazy awesome. But the unpredictable schedules, the lack of definitive office hours, the full access from everyone without boundaries has begun to lead me away from what God has called me to do. Annabeth pleaded with me this spring to put some structure into our lives. I started to receive visions of my sons growing up hating Jesus & the church because daddy cared more about church than them. I NEEDED TO TAKE ACTION.

Let me share what this looks like in my life. During Lent I came across a blog somewhere that talked about “Reclaiming the 9-5”. I wish I could find it. Anyways, this pastor talked about how he hates segmentation and that he loves serving with completely schedule freedom. However, this freedom had begun to spin his life out of control. He wrote about the importance of working, playing, resting, and dating at certain set-aside times. He wrote about reclaiming the 9-5 so that his kids could enjoy daddy time and that he could truly focus on what God had called him to do.

As I read, God smacked me in the face with this third lesson, “GET CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE.” He said, “Rob, I have blessed you with the responsibility of being a husband, dad, son, brother, grandson, preacher, friend, and student in accordance with my plans for my glory.” This isn’t about you; this is about my sovereign plan for this world.

For me taking action looked like this:



• I put together a time budget and weekly schedule where I assessed and planned work, sleep, study, meetings, family time, Sabbath, workout, etc. I also set up an accountability system for sticking with it.
• I led our church in finding a solid office space for us to work. Sure, its ghetto, but that’s how Vintage rolls.
• I set aside a week to go on vacation with my family and worked hard before we left so that I didn’t have to work while I was away.
• I started rejecting meetings and opportunities that didn’t fall under the category of what Christ has called me to do.

Now anyone in ministry knows that ministry isn’t that clean and neat. I completely agree. Ministry should look a lot sloppier than the institutional business-like expressions that we find all over our country. However, if my schedule leads me to neglect my family, cheat on my wife, go into depression, and even kill myself…how effective will that be? Getting control of your life isn’t about making life easier, getting control of your life is about being faithful to God’s call.

I pastor a church filled with young adults. For the most part I am counseling one person after another that is being controlled by their life. From work obligations, to parties, to church duties, to new babies…the busyness of life is killing them. The question that I had to answer is the same question that we all need to answer, “What has God called me to do?” When clarity comes from God, DO IT! That means that you might have to get rid of some things. That means that you might have to say NO to some (even good) things. Prioritize your life around what Christ has called you to do. He wants to use you in a mighty way for His glory!

Drenched Wk 2

Here is my outline from today's message. I am big time thankful for what Christ is doing through Vintage. Come Holy Spirit!

John 16:7-15
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Why have we called this series DRENCHED?

We are praying for the Holy Spirit to completely DRENCH us because....
• We are promised it in Scripture.
• We have been called to an impossible mission.
• We have a God who demands all glory and praise.

Last Week
THEOLOGICAL journey through Acts 1&2
• Who He Is
• When He Comes
• What He Does

I am really praying for the Holy Spirit to move throughout our church family. This has to happen within each of you.

Our strategy at Vintage is three-fold:
Individual Expression
Community Group Expression
Gathering Expression

When does He come?
He comes within everyone who is saved by the Gospel and also comes upon the church to display the Glory of God for the salvation of the World through Christ.

From Pentecost till Now –
Works in the Individual
Works in the Church
Works in the World

Let’s look at the 3 ways the Holy Spirit is at work:

INDIVIDUAL
I Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Can you be filled? You must be born again
John 3:5-7
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Are you sure you want to be filled? (John 6 “Are you sure you want Him?)
Matthew 10:16-22
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

For most, this is ALL that you want from God. Christ has become your insurance plan into Heaven. You have no desire to live radically for Christ because your concept of Christianity is social and convenient instead of spiritual and sacrificial.

How are you filled?
• Surrender (Rom 12:1-2 “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.”)
• Ask (Luke 11:9-10 “Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find: knock and it will open)
• Obey (Acts 5:32 “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”)
• Believe (Gal 3:2 “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?”)


CHURCH
Ephesians 2:18-22
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Through the Holy Spirit:
We Experience God’s Presence
We Obey God’s Commands
We Fulfill God’s Purpose
-To glorify God by making disciples of all nations.

WORLD
The Holy Spirit:
Empowers the Church for the Gospel
Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Regenerates the lost through the Gospel
Titus 3:3-7
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
• The Spirit opens our eyes (sin/separation)
• The Spirit convicts our soul (true repentance)
• The Spirit transforms our life (holistic)

Glorifies God through the Gospel
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

All of life is about the Glory God. So when the Holy Spirit works in the world, it always magnifies the Trinity (Father, Son, & Spirit).

Knowing how the Holy Spirit works in the individual, upon the church, and throughout the world...I wanted to close giving you some summary thoughts on how you can live a Spirit-filled life.

• The Holy Spirit Life is a DAILY EXPERIENCE.

Daily Walk with the Holy Spirit:
• Cultivate the Person (think about your relationships)
• Glorify Christ (honor, trust, follow, obey)
• Pursue Righteousness (actions & thoughts)
• Meditate on the Word (His Word is Spirit & Life)
• Activate His Power (Believe)

Drenched Wk 1

Yesterday we launched into a 2-week series on the Holy Spirit called Drenched. My prayer in 2010 is that the Holy Spirit would come within everyone who is saved by the Gospel and also come upon Vintage Church to display the Glory of God for the salvation of the World.

Here are my notes from the first sermon in our Drenched Series. We walked through Acts 1-2 while looking at three important aspects of the Spirit (Who He Is, When He Comes, and What He Does):

Francis Chan “The Forgotten God”
You might think that calling the Holy Spirit the “forgotten God” is a bit extreme. Maybe you agree that the church has focused too much attention elsewhere but feel it is an exaggeration to say we have forgotten about the Spirit. I don’t think so.
Perhaps we’re too familiar and comfortable with the current state of the church to feel the weight of the problem. But what if you grew up on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read? Imagine being rescued after twenty years and then attending a typical evangelical church. Chances are you’d be shocked. Having read the Scriptures outside the context of contemporary church culture, you would be convinced that the Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer’s existence as air is to staying alive. You would know that the Spirit led the first Christians to do unexplainable things, to live lives that didn’t make sense to the culture around them, and ultimately to spread the story of God’s grace around the world.
There is a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and how most believers and churches operate today. In many churches, you would be stunned by the apparent absence of the Spirit in any manifest way. And this, I believe, is the crux of the problem.

1) WHO HE IS

• THE PROMISE (1:1-11)

Who is He?


*The Holy Spirit is a Person.
He speaks Rev 2:7
He intercedes Rom 8:26
He testifies John 15:26
He leads Acts 8:29
He commands Acts 16:6-7
He guides John 16:13
He appoints Acts 20:28
He can be lied to Acts 5:3-4
He can be insulted Heb 10:29
He can be blasphemed Matt 12:31-32
He can be grieved Eph 4:30

*The Holy Spirit is God.
He is eternal Heb 9:14
He is all-powerful (omnipotent) Luke 1:35
He is present everywhere (omnipresent) Ps. 139:7
He is all-knowing (omniscient) I Cor 2:10-11
He is called God 2 Cor 3:18
He is the Creator Col 1:16-17
He is God. Eph 4:4

2) WHEN HE COMES

• 1. THE OBEDIENCE (1:12-14)

• 2. THE LEADERSHIP (1:15-26)

• 3. THE ARRIVAL (2:1-4)

When does He come?

Before answering this question, we need to establish an important fact. The Holy Spirit has always been.

*For the most part as we study the Bible, here is our conclusion in regards to the Trinity:
OT – Work of God the Father
Gospels – Work of God the Son
From Pentecost – Work of the Holy Spirit

However, Scripture is very clear that God the Father, Son, & Spirit have been working together as three in one since the beginning of existence. Let’s look at the Spirit through Scripture & today.

*From Creation to Bethlehem –
In creation of the world Gen 1:2
In man’s creation Job 33:4
In the saving of man at the flood. Gen 6:3
He came upon, rested on, & filled men like Gideon, Samson, Zechariah, & David.
He told of the coming Messiah in Isaiah.

*From Bethlehem to Pentecost –
Jesus
Begotten of the Spirit Luke 1:35
Baptized by the Spirit John 1:32-33
Led by the Spirit Luke 4:1
Anointed by the Spirit Acts 10:38
Empowered by the Spirit Matt 12:27-28
Became an atonment for sin by the Spirit Heb 9:14
Raised by the Spirit Rom 8:11
Gave commands by the Spirit Acts 1:2

*From Pentecost till Now –
Works in the Individual I Cor 6:19
Works in the Church Eph 2:22
Works in the World John 16:7-11

When does He come?
He comes within everyone who is saved by the Gospel and also comes upon the church to display the Glory of God for the salvation of the World.


3) WHAT HE DOES

• 1. THE CLARITY (2:5-13)

• 2. THE WORDS (2:14-40)

• 3. THE RESULT (2:41-47)

What does He do?

We see the Holy Spirit coming within believers and upon believers for the Glory of God. In more detail here are some other examples of the Spirit at work.

Helps us speak as our MOUTHPIECE. Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12
Teaches us and reminds us as our CONVEYER. Ps. 143:10; John 14-16 Acts 9:31
Empowers us to witness as our EQUIPPER. Acts 1:8; Rom 8:26
Convicts us of our sin as our CONDEMNER. I Thess 1:5
Free us from our sinful slavery as our REDEEMER. 2 Cor 3:17
Protects us from our sinful nature as our DEFENDER. Rom 8:2
Surrounds us into His presence as our COMFORTER. Rom 8:15-16
Leads us by His fruit as our SANCTIFIER. Gal 5:22-23

*taken from "The Holy Spirit" by Billy Graham

Knowing...Who He is, When He comes, What He does. What is God stirring within your heart? I can tell you that what He is stirring within my heart is a longing to experience a DRENCHING movement of the Spirit of God within my life, within Vintage Church, throughout NOLA & the world.

Leonard Ravenhill Why Revival Tarries – A classic on revivals
In his chapter “As the Church Goes, So Goes the World” he writes,
For this midnight hour, incandescent men are needed. On the day of Pentecost, the flame of the living God became the flame of the human heart to that glorious company. The Church began with these men in the “upper room” agonizing – and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The Church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the Church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!......We need knights of prayer to lead nights of prayer.

Join the Conspiracy

Following our ENOUGH series through the book of Colossians, the Vintage Church family is in the middle of a series called ADVENT CONSPIRACY. For 4 weeks our church is uniting together to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas. We are sacrificing the money and time that we would normally spend on ourselves in order to give to others who are in greater need. Vintage will give in two specific ways: our money & our time. We will give money to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (supporting foreign missionaries around the world) and Matties Little Angels (supporting a daycare in our neighborhood). We will give our time by adopting over 60 kids from Matties Little Angels and hosting a Christmas party on Sunday, Dec 20th.

Here is a video summarizing what Vintage will give toward this Christmas:



Churches from all around the world have joined this conspiracy. You can find out more info about this movement at www.adventconspiracy.org.

To summarize, we want to focus upon Christ this Christmas. On November 29th, we launched this series by laying out a foundational theology as to why we celebrate Christ. Here are my notes and a link to my sermon:

WORSHIP FULLY

Philippians 2:5-11

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Why should we WORSHIP CHRIST FULLY?

Christ...

Exists As God (vs. 6)

Served As Man (vs. 7)

Obeyed As Savior (vs. 8)

Reigns As Lord (vs. 9-11)

http://vintagenola.org/podcast/2009/11/29/advent-conspiracy-112909-worship-fully.html

ENOUGH is ENOUGH

Enough Series from Vintage Church on Vimeo.

This past Sunday was an amazing day. We launched a second gathering at our Valence Campus, had a great block party called V2K, and began a journey through the Book of Colossians called ENOUGH. We are going to learn through preaching and Community Group study that Christ is enough for our authority, identity, community and mobility.

You can subscribe to the Vintage Podcast and listen to the first sermon in our series:

www.vintagenola.org/podcast

Here is our journey this fall:

Christ is Enough from Vintage Church on Vimeo.

Wk 1/Aug 23 - Authority: Your Call (Col 1:1-2)
Wk 2/Aug 30 - Authority: Your Prayers (Col 1:3-12)
Wk 3/Sep 6 - Authority: Your Position (Col 1:13-18)
Wk 4/Sep 13 - Authority: Your Need (Col 1:19-23)
Wk 5/Sep 20 - Identity: Your Suffering (Col 1:24-29)
Wk 6/Sep 27 - Identity: Your Wisdom (Col 2:1-7)
Wk 7/Oct 4 - Identity: Your Sins (Col 2:8-15)
Wk 8/Oct 11 - Identity: Your Death (Col 2:16-23)
Wk 9/Oct 18 - Community: Your Life (Col 3:1-4)
Wk 10/Oct 25 - Community: Your Actions (Col 3:5-17)
Wk 11/Nov 1 - Community: Your Relationships (Col 3:18-4:1)
Wk 12/Nov 8 - Mobility: Your Speech (Col 4:2-6)
Wk 13/Nov 15 - Mobility: Your Mercy (Col 4:7-15)
Wk 14/Nov 22 - Mobility: Your Endurance (Col 4:16-18)

I am really excited to launch our Community Groups this fall. We have changed from 11 LIFEgroups to over 20 Community Groups. The biggest change is simple. We aren't encouraging people to have a Bible study once a week. We are encouraging people to "do life" together. Acts 2:47 says that "the Lord added to their number DAY BY DAY those who were being saved". That means they weren't just meeting on Sundays and Wednesdays. They were always on mission...being the church. As our CGs live out the Gospel, we have equipped them with a study that is parallel to our journey in Colossians.

This study is intended to facilitate an opportunity to learn and apply the truths that are preached on Sundays. Each week’s study takes the central themes to higher level of understanding and application. The central theme will be based on the weekly Colossians passage, but will focus upon a parallel text.

In preparation for our study this fall, we will provide the following to our church family:

• Sermon Notes & Podcast Download
• Vintage Kidz Bible Study Notes and Guide
• Weekly Community Group Study Guide (includes worksheet overview and full study)