Because the only thing that is certain about the future is its uncertainty!

When our decisions add to the uncertainty...

Fear versus hope

Fear is a mental position developed through what we see/hear with our natural senses.

Hope is also a mental position developed through what we see/hear with our spiritual senses.

It always seems safer to yield to fear because we believe we are at the mercy of the situation.

And the situation has an incredibly loud voice!

What factors affect our decision to yield to fear?

A guarantee on the results would help...

What about hope?

We do not trust God because we know what he will do but because we know what he has done and what he is able to do.

Hope and trust...

Describe, in detail, some stories from your life in which you yielded to fear. What were the factors that lead to fear being the driving force? What were the results? What did you learn?

Do the same exercise with stories in which you had a solid hope that enabled you to trust God with the situation. Describe the process of resisting fear and exchanging it for hope. What were the results?

What would it look like for you to live with an attitude of having nothing to lose, nothing to gain, and nothing to prove?

II. It's all in the family

Our family life as a local church

We have a cause

We have a community

We have a corporate structure

Our family budget as a local church

An update on our "house"

An update on our budget

Our family commitment as a local church

To the cause, the community and the corporate structure

The only thing I can control is my own participation; my own commitment

A couple of questions for pondering...

2017 will prove to be a great vintage for the Vineyard New Orleans!

As followers of Jesus, cheerful and sacrificial giving is part of our worship. It's the generosity of normal everyday people in our Vineyard family that fuels the life change we experience in our community. Support comes from the normal tithes (10 percent of earnings) and offerings of average folks who love contributing to the kinds of things they see God doing in our midst.

One of the simplest ways to give is via the PushPay app on your phone. Just text the word vineyardnola to 77977 and once you've set up your account, the next time you give it's as simple as entering a pin or touch id. You can also easily set up recurring giving.

Per IRS regulations, in order for a contribution to be eligible as a 2016 charitable contribution, it must be received by or postmarked by December 31, 2016. This includes both cash and non-cash contributions. Please note that the Vineyard Offices will be closed December 26th-30th.

Who do people say that I am?

Who do you say that I am?

The evil one lies to you.

Jesus is our only safe, honest, and trustworthy mirror.

Get to know Jesus well, because the more you know him, the more you'll love him, and the more you love him, the more you'll want to follow him, and the more you follow him, the more you'll become like him, and the more you become like him, the more you become your [truest] self. - Ned Erickson

Phil is challenging us to go all in and join him in a "Revolution of Love."

Christ is counting on you.

Jesus asked the disciples (Mark 8:27-29), "Who do people say that I am?" Put this passage in 2016. How does modern society view and describe Jesus?

Then Jesus asked, "But who do you say that I am?" Share with the group who Jesus is to you.

Why is the question, "Who do you say I am?" so important?

Now think about about who you are to Jesus. What lies do most people believe Jesus thinks about them? Where do these lies come from? (Ephesians 6:10-12)

To Jesus, you are deeply loved; completely accepted; fully forgiven; beautifully and wonderfully made; part of the family of God; co-heirs with Christ, God's masterpiece; worth dying for. How does hearing truth about what Jesus thinks about you impact you?

If we truly understood the magnitude of who Jesus is and what He thinks about us, how would we live differently?

Considering your answers for questions #6, what steps can you take this week towards living differently for Jesus?

A day of celebration!

Origins: Vineyard 1.0

1985 – 2005

Evolution: Vineyard 2.0

2005 – 2015

Revolution: Vineyard 3.0

2016 - ________

Jesus... the charismatic initiator!

Jesus... the compelling ideology!

Jesus... the changed identity of His followers

Jesus... the cataclysmic impact on the world

III. Conclusion

For Further Discussion

What emotions were stirred within you during the talk?

What thoughts have been dominant in your mind as you have reflected on the weekend talk/gathering?

How does it affect you when you are challenged to commit to something larger than yourself? Where do you encounter resistance within yourself?

Do you agree or disagree with the premise advanced in the talk that the church is the hope of the world? Why or why not?

Why should anyone care enough to invest their lives and resources in the work of the kingdom?

I. A classic parable…that is not in the Bible!

A. The parable of the Turkeys and Eagles

II. The lie about humans | Genesis 3:1-5

A. How do you tempt someone who has everything?

1. By convincing them that they don’t!

B. This sets in motion a way of life that is contrary to God’s design for creation/humanity.

1. Living by trying to fix what isn’t even broken!

2. The depths of human restoration through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

C. In failing to realize/experience full restoraHon, humans conHnue to try to fix what Christ has already restored!

D. Instead of…

1. Full human being…empty human doing

2. A gift of grace…acquiring through achieving

3. Freedom…bondage

4. Celebration…desperation

5. Love…judgment

III. The truth about Christ-followers

A. Our real problem is in thinking we still have the original problem!

1. Chasing fullness prevents us from experiencing fullness we already have

2. We are still believing imaginative misrepresentations of reality!

B. The only “if only” that is a real “if only” is this…

1. “If only” we believed what God says about us is true, then we wouldn’t worry about any other “if only”!

C. The only thing I need, I already have!

For Further Discussion

• Where did you see yourself in the parable of the turkeys and eagles? How could you relate to the different parts of the story?

• Trace the elements from Roman numeral II. D., as they appear in the narrative of the first humans in Genesis 3. (i.e. where do you see her/them expressing empty human doing?)

• What has been your experience in “accepting” the new you Christ has restored? Where do you struggle with this?

I. Introduction

A. Home: the place you are known

B. An eventful night at sea begins to reveal the power of Jesus.

C. Gerasa: the place of 1st century nightmares

II. The Madman | Mark 5:1-5

A. The Gerasene demoniac is wild and uncontrollable, until his encounter with Jesus.

B. All of us are in need of Jesus’ rescue and restoration.

C. Even in our lowest places, Christ has come for us too.

III. The Messiah | Mark 5:6-17

A. Christ truly sees him, when everyone else sees his “issues”.

B. Christ has the power to rescue and restore us totally.

C. Sanctification: the lifelong process of restoration

IV. The Missionary | Mark 5:18-20

A. Unexpectedly, Jesus sends the man home.

B. We have been restored with purpose. (Isa. 49:6)

C. The mercy of God is lived out in word and deed.

V. Conclusion

Go home!

For Further Discussion

• In what ways can you relate to the madman? What are some of your hangups and rough edges?

• Have you experienced the rescue and restoration of Jesus? What was that like? How are you different now?

• What is “home” for you? How can you live out the mercy of God in word and deed this week?

I. The invitation August 20th & 21st, 2016

A. The life-giving power of an invitation

B. The life-threatening power of an invitation

II. The dinner | Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 19:7-9

A. Isaiah tells us of a dinner that has been planned by God and is yet to take place in the future kingdom.

B. Between the promise and the fulfillment the dinner preparations are underway both in the heavens and on the earth.

• In the heavens (the realm God fully inhabits) preparations are underway.

• On earth the invitations are going out…

III. An invitation-dependent faith | John 1:40-51

A. Alpha is an invitation-dependent course!

B. What am I inviting people to do?

• Dinner and a conversation

C. Alpha is:

• For everyone

• An environment of learning and laughter

• Centered around a meal

• Designed to help people in their quest for spirituality

• A safe place where no question is off limits

• FREE!

IV. Extending the invitation

A. Here are some helpful hints:

• Ask people you know!

• Never say, “No” for anyone.

• Put yourself in their shoes.

• Put something in their hands.

• Invite them to ONE dinner!

• Remain friends

While it is not certain that all who are invited will come, it is certain that all who are not invited won’t come!

I. The prohibition | Genesis 3

A. The provision: the tree of life

1. God’s provision to share his love and life as we are received into the divine dance of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and thereby reflect his love in creation.

B. The prohibition: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

1. A gracious prohibition to keep us from overstepping our finitude/domain and leaving to God what God wills to keep for Himself, the knowledge of good and evil.

II. Choices at the center

A. Entering and becoming the center

1. The origin, intention and essence of sin

2. Becoming “like God”

“We have tended to define sin as that which is evil, over against that which is good, rather than defining it more profoundly as that which is not in union with Christ, whether ‘good’ or ‘evil’.” - Gregory A. Boyd

3. What was it that influenced this really bad choice?

• A judgment, an accusation…a lie about who God is!

• Judgment destroys trust and squelches love!

B. Losing the true center

1. As the world turns around us, we set ourselves up as the center by which everything else is measured…judged!

2. Consequently, we are cut off from the source of life and the judgments we make become our source of life.

C. Restoring the true center

1. Accomplished in Christ

2. Realized in humanity

For Further Discussion

• Read Genesis 3:1-7. What was the lie that she believed? How did she respond? What were the results?

• Was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil actually evil? What did the “forbidden” sign around the tree signify?

• What are your thoughts concerning Greg Boyd’s definition of sin as related in the outline?

• How are we to experience eating from the tree of life again?

This weekend our entire Vineyard Family will gather together to celebrate and pray for students, families, faculty, and teachers as we start a new school year. You won’t want to miss it as we are all encouraged to #DoLoveToday wherever our mission field brings us - our campuses, neighborhoods, and businesses.

I. John 2:1-11

II. What does all this have to do with Back to School?

A. A good time for new rhythms…

1. Invest time in things that matter

2. Put people first

3. Make space for Jesus in the everyday

4. Do Love Today!

For Further Discussion

• What is God revealing about Himself and His kingdom?

• What is God revealing about you?

• What is God revealing about changes you need to make to deepen your trust in Jesus?