This is the big critique of faith: it's nice that you can believe those things to make you feel better, but it's not really true. But the truth is, there are many intellectually and emotionally satisfying reasons to believe in God. In the Psalms, we see the incredible beauty of creation that points to the reality of a creator.
Following the Prince of Peace in a world of conflict. Conflict in our world - all the divisions. Can't get anyone to agree over anything. Knowing how we make peace in a turbulent world.
Jesus loves us and sees us truly - His eyes are like burning fire and He sees straight to the heart of us and loves us dearly. I John 3:20 "If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." God loves us more than we can believe about ourselves.
What do I need when I go through trials? What we most need is wisdom. The way God prepares us for the brutality of this world is by giving us wisdom.
Living winsome lives begins with a change of heart. We can only see people when we gain God’s heart for the world, and see with his eyes of compassion.
"What is covenant? How does scripture reveal covenant and how do the implications of the OT covenant transform through the NT covenant we have in Christ? What does covenant look like? In the OT, it involved flesh & blood & death. For Christ, it involved flesh & blood & death. For us, it involves another way: grace, through faith in Christ. What does covenant mean for followers of Jesus? What does covenant to us inform us about own places of relationship & commitment (marriage, church) as Christians?
What if there is a promise that can't be broken?"
Rich Nathan
February 13, 2022
Naturally Supernatural
Luke 5:17-26
I. The Critics
II. The Crowd
III. The Friends
IV. The Sick Man
V. Jesus
Asking For More of The Holy Spirit
Rich Nathan
January 16, 2021
Naturally Supernatural
Luke 4:14-21
I. The Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ
II. The Holy Spirit and you
This talk can be a really fun talk in which the congregation is walked through the gospel of Mark as we explore how people are progressively transformed (converted) as they discover who Jesus really is. Although the demons know Jesus' true Identity and God the Father knows who Jesus is, human beings in Mark's gospel get more and more light regarding his identity.
1. Jesus is known as teacher (1:16-4:34);
2. Jesus is known as prophet (Mark 4:35-6:30);
3. Jesus is known as Messiah (Mark 6:31-8:30);
4. Jesus is know as Son of Man (Mark 8:31-10:45);
5. Jesus is known as the Son of David (Mark 10:46-13:37).
Finally at the cross, Jesus is called by a human being, a Roman Centurion no less, the Son of God: "Surely this man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39). It's this progressive discovery of who Jesus is that brings fulfillment to us. It is when he was on the cross that we see most plainly, this is the Son of God. (Tom Holland in his book Dominion contrasts the way Christianity spread w Islam - the Early Christians choose to take this disgusting form of death and man that was put on the cross and worshipped him as Son of God. It completely flipped the worldview - a Roman recongized that this was the Son of God in the death on the cross - now we care about the weak and lowly and those things become valued)
Everyone has a need to for a guide in life to help us through the unknowns. That guide is Jesus. We get guidance from him through the Spirit and the Scriptures, but we hear God's voice and understand the scriptures best in community. We all need guidance as we walk through life and that begins with community.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that discipline is something that is essential to growth. God shows us that the context of discipline is the loving relationship between a parent and a child.
Samuel has encounters with God that he doesn’t understand apart from the coaching and guidance of Eli.
Gathered: Logistics and life-changing ministry. When we gather together we find ourselves called to lead and solving problems for the sake of those in need, both in the church and in the community.
Celebration is an important part of any process of rebuilding! And worshipping God is how we celebrate Him, His faithfulness, and it's what marks us as Christians - we don't just celebrate our own 'wins', we get to celebrate miraculous 'wins' that only happens through the power and presence of God. This sermon will remind us what Vineyard worship is, and how we can take steps toward learning again how to engage in corporate worship.
Implicit in the idea of rebuilding anything is that we're dealing with something that's in rough shape. You don't need to rebuild what isn't damaged! Oftentimes when we survey the damage around us: in our personal lives, culture, politics, relationships, and even in the church... we are filled with despair. But Nehemiah teaches us that the first thing on our to-do list when it comes to rebuilding is turning our eyes toward God. In this message we'll survey the landscape around us, generally learn how Nehemiah will offer us guidance for the task ahead, and be called into intentional prayer for this season of rebuilding.
The Journey to Galilee invites us to proclaim the message of the Kingdom and demonstrate God's coming through signs and wonders.
Let’s listen to a word from our founding Pastor Rich Nathen on how we can love God with our body.
In the culmination of our transition celebration, co-Pastors Eric and Julia Pickerill are formally installed as the new senior leaders of Vineyard Columbus. Watch or listen in as our outgoing Senior Pastor Rich Nathan, shares with Eric and Julia about the three qualities of a senior pastor which include godly stewardship, being saved by grace, and shepherding with great love for the church.
Christmas Eve 2020
Pastor Rich shares a very hopeful word with us about redemption. Through Jesus, our Kinsman-Redeemer, we have been set free from the hold of sin and all the forms it can take in our lives (shame, guilt, addiction, bondage, unhealthy habits, etc.). We learn that sin no longer has to dominate our lives and that we can choose to take hold of the freedom Christ offers us in very practical ways!
Pastor Rich reminds us that in spite of all our current challenges (a pandemic, political division, and social injustice) this is not the hardest time that the Church has ever faced! In fact, history reveals harder times than these. However, in the Book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit gives us wise guidance on how we can heal the church during difficult times by learning to love, being willing to suffer, and holding on to the Truth of God’s Word!
Pastor Rich closes out this series with an important lesson on how to develop healthy relationships, God’s way. We learn to identify pride in our lives and receive the gift of humility to build Christ-centered relationships.
Pastor Rich shares a very practical lesson on how we can repair our relationships in a godly way to cultivate unity. We learn four steps that can help heal the wrong we’ve done in relationships:
By the Grace of God, if these steps are applied, they can lead to healthy relationships in our family, on our jobs, and in our society!