Teaching
One of the main metaphors used in the New Testament for the church is “the body of Christ.” Ephesians 1.22-23 says that Christ Jesus is the head and that we are His body, “the fullness of him who fills all in all.” The picture is that Jesus is given to the church as our savior, lord, leader, senior pastor, and great shepherd. He is the focus, the goal, the center, the life of the church, and he fills each of us and all of us with his fullness. What a massive statement – as the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus, so now Jesus is pleased to dwell with his fullness in us! The phrase points back to Habakkuk 2.14: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” The prophet is looking forward to the day when the whole world knows the glory – the beauty, majesty, and weightiness – of God, and Paul is telling us that this day is “breaking-in” now, through the church! It is in God’s redeemed people, those who because of the gospel have “tasted and seen that the Lord is good,” that the whole world will come to know the glory of God.
We could say it like this: We put God on display.
So the question for us is this: What are we preaching about God? What do we communicate about God, about the gospel, about the beauty and glory of Christ? Do our lives preach Jesus? God wants to put his glory on display through our church, saturating our region with a gospel-shaped people who show forth the goodness of our Savior in all that we do. We want Spokane to know the “glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” – a total glory saturation.
If that is going to happen, then one thing is needed: “We are to grow up into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4.15). It’s time to grow up, in every way, into who we are. If we are the people in whom the fullness of Christ dwells, then our lives should increasingly reflect that. If we’re full of Jesus, then every aspect of our lives will begin to look radically different, showing the sufficiency of Jesus in every way, and making the good news wonderfully challenging and attractive to our city.
Over the next few months, we’ll explore this body metaphor, praying and dreaming together of what it would look like for our city to be saturated with the glory of the Lord. We’ll drill down into the nitty gritty of our lives – our basic humanity, our closest relationships, our work, our money, our homes – and work out how the gospel transforms each area, remaking us in the image of Christ, and sending us into our city to put the greatness and goodness of God on display.
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Current Message Series
Body: Deacons 05/20/12
Acts 6:1-7
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
As the Body of Christ got busy doing the work of making disciples, it became readily apparent that they needed not only leaders to shepherd, preach, and lead, but also leaders who could serve to make sure the Body could continue to do the work. In Acts 6, we see the Apostles appoint these key leaders, the prototype of what the early church would eventually call "deacons." The word literally means servants, and in order for the church of Jesus to fulfill her calling of making disciples there will always be a need for these lead servants. So the 2 official leadership positions in the church are elders (servant leaders, who serve the church be leading) and deacons (lead servants, who lead the church by serving). As elders and deacons fulfill the biblical requirements of character and function faithfully in their roles, the whole body is equipped and sent to do the work of ministry, and the number of disciples will "multiply greatly."
Body: Elders 05/13/12
1 Peter 5:1-5
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
This week we tackle the topic of Elders. Throughout the Bible, the church is a body of believers referred to as the flock. Within this illustration there are men appointed to shepherding the flock. Listen in as we explore the role, qualifications, and motivation of elders. As we study this topic our need for a true and perfect leader emerges. All men, including elders, are broken and sinful- we desperately need a chief shepherd. Jesus is this shepherd. He is the source of all life, meaning, and purpose. Ultimately all leadership and direction within the church should be led and guided by the true shepherd.
Body: Hospitality 04/29/12
Romans 15:1-7
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Scott Cooley
This week we continue our series on growth and maturity. So far our study has taken us to numerous topics, such as: men, women, marriage, singleness, dating, and work. In each instance, we have been looking at the gospel and applying it to our life. This week is no different; we take the topic of hospitality and apply the good news of Jesus. Listen in as Scott Cooley explores the implications of the gospel in regards to our home(s).
Body: Stewardship & Generosity 04/22/12
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
What if every single human on planet earth were completely generous with their finances? What the world would look like if everyone liberally gave away their money to actively meet the needs of others? Picture this generosity being without reserve and without hesitation: a completely selfless giving to joyfully supporting others. Wouldn’t this be beautiful? However, this will never happen. Why not? Because we need our money. Money offers us security, in the form of guarding our future. Or maybe money gives you a sense of significance because it gives you power to exercise over others. Money is also a route to comfort and ease; this could come in the form of buying a personal yacht or just a six pack after work. We also use money to earn the approval of others. We tell our selves we will be accepted if we buy certain clothes, live in certain zip codes, or drive a certain car. When we combine all of this, it is easy to see that we use money to buy a personal picture of heaven. We cannot pry our hands off our money and give to others because we are too consumed with serving self. However, there is a way out of this horrible dilemma. Listen in as we work our way through 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.
Body: Work 04/15/12
Colossians 3:22-4:1
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Dirk Unkle
How does the bible begin? In Genesis (the first book of the bible), the introductory phrase is, “In the beginning God created.” This is the first work. From this we get our idea of work. In this sermon we take a look at a few things. First, what is work? Then we go into two deviations from the true nature of work. Finally we take a look at Christ and see how the gospel changes the way we work.
Easter 2012 04/08/12
Colossians 1-4
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
Christianity has some radical claims about Jesus. For one, Christianity claims that Jesus is God; if this is true then God suffered and died at the hands of his creation! Just stop and think about that for a minute. The all-powerful creator of the universe was murdered by his creation! The claims of Christianity are shocking. As the followers of Christ witnessed this event they were left perplexed. Wouldn’t you be? Then something even more astounding happened. God didn’t stay dead. Instead he triumphantly arose from death. This resurrection is why we (Vintage Community) and over 2 billion other Christians around the globe celebrate Easter. Christ death was of immense good to us. Listen in to hear why God suffered. Listen in to celebrate and rejoice with us! Listen in to hear why Christ death was of immense good to all.
Body: Sex, Singleness, and Pursuit 04/01/12
1 Corinthians 6:9-17
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
What does the gospel of Jesus Christ have to do with sex, singleness, & pursuit? At first glance these topics seem completely unrelated. However, in the book of Corinthians we see Paul fuse these two topics. If we were to sum up Paul’s teaching on the gospel it could be said like this, “You aren’t who you were; in Christ, you have been changed.” Because we have been transformed by Christ there are ramifications that trickle down into every aspect of our life. For instance, this changes the way we think about and use sex. This changes the way we think about and use marriage. And this also gives us a new way to view singleness (as a gift). Listen in to the sermon as we study Paul’s writings on sex, singleness, and pursuit.
Body: Mature Parenting 03/25/12
Ephesians 6:1-4
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
There is a lot of talk about how to parent children. For instance, many are advocates of homeschooling while others endorse private school. Some claim the key to raising good children is obedience via stern spankings; while others never spank because they believe it is detrimental to their child’s development. How do we parent our children? This is a great question which demands an answer. This week we specifically bring the gospel to bear on our parenting. During this sermon we study through two texts- Ephesians 6 and Hebrews 12. In Hebrews we see God as a father who disciplines his children. This is not a harsh vindictive correction, but instead instruction for our own good. In order for children to flourish sometimes parents have to restrict their will. The other passage we studied is Ephesians 6. When we take a look at parenting from a gospel perspective, our job as parents is to overwhelm our children with grace. Applying the gospel to the heart of our children is our primary objective. And the only way this can happen is if we are first being transformed by grace ourselves. As parents we need to be continually repenting of our self-centerdness and sin. Out of our transformation will come beautiful parenting as the whole family see their need for a savior.
Body: Marriage 03/18/12
Ephesians 5:22-30
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
As we hit our half way mark in our series, Body: Growing into Christ, we come to the topic of marriage. The purpose of this series has been to explore how we grow and mature in Christ. We now take a look at how we grow and mature within the context of marriage. Marriage is a covenant; which means a whole-life devotion to another, regardless of their performance. The opposite of covenant is a contract: I will do my part if you uphold your end of the bargain. Living a covenant marriage sounds cute and warm but after a short honey moon phase you realize that it is HARD. Marriage is more akin to a fiery furnace than a stroll through the park. Marriage will test you, bring you to the end of your own resources, and reveal that you are more self-saturated (or sinful) than you dare admit. Biblically speaking marriage is not designed for personal fulfillment or happiness; instead, marriage is a sanctification process, where we begin to be more like Jesus. Only when we grab a hold of Jesus and his covenant love can we begin to sacrificially love another. We find the strength to keep sacrificing, serving, and giving up everything only when we see that there was another who has already done this for us.
Body: Mature Women 03/11/12
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
In the beginning, God made humanity in his image as male and female. While both sexes were of equal worth and value as image-bearers, God made them distinct in roles according to his perfect design and plan. Freedom for us as men and women comes as we explore God's original intention for us and together in repentance and faith begin to conform to his beautiful pattern. In this sermon we explore God's intention and design for women. This is a hotly debated topic. In the Bible we see that it is a woman’s role to be a helper. But we naturally reduce this term. We interpret the term helper as belittling. Think of a situation akin to a small child following his/her father to work to be a little “helper.” However when we wrongly define this term we minimalize the importance of women and don’t properly understand God’s design. Instead, we see in the Psalms that God shares this same title. This is not a denigration but instead a source of empowerment for women. Men NEED women. Women are valuable, vital, and strong. Listen in as we explore the life of a gospel shaped woman.
Body: Mature Men 03/04/12
Genesis 1:1-3:21
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
In the beginning, God made humanity in his image as male and female. While both sexes were of equal worth and value as image-bearers, God made them distinct in roles according to his perfect design and plan. Freedom for us as men and women comes as we explore God's original intention for us and together in repentance and faith begin to conform to his beautiful pattern. In this sermon we explore God's intention and design for men, showing that mature manhood is a posture of benevolent responsibility. We also see how men sinfully rebel from this perfect design, becoming either passive abdicators or gross abusers. Jesus displayed perfect benevolent responsibility when he died for our sins, even though they were not his fault. Through repentance and faith in Him, we can once again become the kind of men God created us to be.
Body: New Way to be Human 02/26/12
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
There is a myth about the Bible that it is a "book of rules." A book of rules for Christians to obey. However, this is not true. The Bible is first and foremost a STORY. A story primarily about God and not Christians. A story of how God intended the world to be and how it was lost. The central message of the bible could be boiled down to the simple phrase "Humanity messed up everything, but God is restoring what was lost, by Jesus. Listen in to hear a wide sweep of this biblical narrative. We trace the entire plot line of the bible from creation to fall, then redemption all the way to restoration.
Body: How we grow 02/19/12
John 15:1-11
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Sam Ticas
This week we continue our series on the Body and what it means to be the church. At this point in our series we come to the question; “How do we grow?” In regards to this question there are literally an unimaginable number of answers, thoughts, and opinions- all jockeying for position. For instance, Barnes & Noble Bookstore has an entire aisle on self-help. If we were to do a quick Google search we would find millions of different methods to expand and grow as a person. Bloggers, talk show hosts, and journalists all have ideas on how to grown. It seems that everyone wants to chime in with different techniques on how to improve yourself. In opposition to all of these voices, Jesus has some thoughts. In the book of John Jesus announces a completely different method of growth. His method is not based on our own planning, performance, or effort. Instead, He says something rather peculiar. Jesus says, "all you must do is abide in me." Jesus wants us to be connected to Him and He uses an image of a vine to illustrate this point. If we remain connected to Jesus we will have life. Listen in as our friend from Soma Communities in Tacoma, Sam Ticas, explains this text.
Body: We are the Message 02/12/12
Colossians 1:1-8
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
Jesus never wrote a book, blog, or curriculum. Yet, his good news has literally traveled to every continent on the globe. People are still studying his life and teaching nearly 2,000 years later! Billions of Christians still attest to the life changing power of Jesus! How does this happen? How can an obscure movement on the fringe of the Roman Empire redirect the entire course of human history? Well, in this passage we see that the message and life of Jesus is communicated from one person to another. Jesus message goes viral. People hear this news and they are captured. In turn, they cannot help but joyfully proclaim Jesus in their lives. Humans are the carriers of this message. In Colossians Paul calls this message of Jesus a message of HOPE. Listen in to hear how this hope changes three things in our life. We look at how this hope changes our motivations, our relationships, and where we live. This is also a message that will confront and challenge. What does your life proclaim? What do your neighbors think you value?
Body: God's Glory in our City 02/05/12
Ephesians 1:1-14
Series: Body: Growing into Christ (2012)
Pastor: Steve Hart
In this introductory sermon the ground work is laid for our new series. Habakkuk, a prophet in the Bible, says it like this, " all the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord." In the end everyone will witness God's glory. But how does this happen? Will God reveal himself from the heaven with a miraculous booming voice? No, the Bible explains that the Glory of God will be revealed through the church (God's people on Gods mission). But how does this happen? How does God reveal himself through mere humans. Well listen in to see. If you are curious about terms like- Gospel, Grace, and/or Salvation, then this would be a good starting point because this sermon explains the central tenants of Christianity in detail.