The Vine Church OC

The God who spoke the cosmos into existence calls us his friends - and wants us to live out of that reality! Pastor Michael Swanson shared about his journey from God as "consultant" to "boss" to "friend" - a developmental trajectory many of us go through in our Christian life. He explored what it means to be a friend of God, and how to grow in this way of relating to God as an intimate friend.

It is sobering to realize you can be spiritually asleep, all the while thinking you're awake. Such was the situation of the church in Sardis that John delivers Jesus' message to in Revelation 3; and such is the situation in many of our lives. Pastor Michael Swanson explored how Jesus wants us to be spiritually awake, full of life, growing in relationship with him; and how every "wake up call" we receive in our lives is the call of love, an invitation to life.

Dr. Mike McNichols joined us this Trinity Sunday, speaking about the "Threeness" and "Oneness" of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as a call to worship a Triune God.

On this Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Michael Swanson invited us to notice what was happening just BEFORE Pentecost (and, he noted, before many movements of God's Spirit throughout Church history): people were gathered to intentionally seek God's face. This is "presence" language, and we are invited to actively seek the manifest presence of God in our lives now, too - persistent and united in our waiting.

Pastor Michael Swanson talked this Ascension Sunday about one of the most important - and most overlooked! - events in Christian history: the Ascension of Christ. He talked about why it is important, and why it is such good news for us. Jesus ascending to heaven - God's dimension of reality - meant that he can now be present to us at all times and in all places!

Dr. Greg Ganssle concluded out Easter series by talking about how Jesus' resurrection shapes our lives - our past, our present, and our future. We may have past wounds and "baggage" in that have shaped us, but we have the life of Jesus' resurrection in our "past" as well - and it gives us both hope for the future and life in the present.

Jesus came to the disciples Easter evening, met them in their darkest hour, and offered them peace. He does the same for us; we serve a God who loves to come to us in our darkest moments and offer us his presence. In our most anxious moments, he wants to bring us peace. Pastor Michael unpacked this passage in John 20 and how it connects with our anxious world today.

Continuing our Easter season series about the true life Jesus' Resurrection makes possible, Michael Swanson talked this week about one "roadblock" to experiencing that abundant life: failure. He asked the question, "What happens when the mercy of God meets your failure?" Looking at the "denial" of both Judas and Peter, we noticed their different responses, and how one led to death while the other led to restoration - to life. We saw Jesus paying attention to what Peter needed - and the root/heart issues that needed attending - as he worked to restore Peter not only to friendship, but to a future in ministry!

In this season of Easter, we are continuing to explore how Jesus came to bring life. Wherever Jesus goes, resurrection happens. We looked at Lazarus' resurrection and Martha's conversation with Jesus in John 11, and how he IS the life we are looking for. Death doesn't have the last word - Jesus conquered death on our behalf so that we might know LIFE.

On this second Sunday of the Easter season, we continued to explore the true, abundant life Jesus brings through the Resurrection. We looked at some of the metaphors Jesus used for himself in John 10, including being the Shepherd and the Door for the sheep - and how the shepherd's voice is always for life (while the Thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy).