Aylesbury Vineyard Church talks

In her final talk as Senior Pastor at Aylesbury Vineyard, Lyn Burnhope envisions us for the future by exploring Moses in the Bible, encouraging us to stay a strong community by supporting each other and centring ourselves around the person and values of Jesus. Watch at https://vimeo.com/452924425

Through the lens of Psalm 23, Nicola Neal explores how the reality of ‘God with us’ during the challenges and pain of this last season will help us to both define and fuel the way we now move forward as we interact with a hurting, disorientated and fearful world. Watch at https://vimeo.com/446453149

In his final talk as Senior Pastor at Aylesbury Vineyard, Steve Burnhope explains what the word “Gospel” actually means and how Jesus, through the ways he lived, loved and challenged others, was the same good news to people 2000 years ago as he is to us today. Watch at https://vimeo.com/443859381

“Has God gone ‘AWOL’ during the past four months? Does he care about this pandemic? Does he hear our prayers?” Luke Martin looks at the experiences of various biblical characters who sought God, even when he felt far away and shares his own experiences of connecting with God, even when he feels absent. Watch at https://vimeo.com/443330097

The Government and its advisors are telling us how to stay physically healthy, but how do we stay spiritually healthy? Steve Burnhope suggests five things — five questions we can ask ourselves every day — to “track and trace” how well we’re doing, both as individuals and as part of Christ’s Body, his Church. Watch at https://vimeo.com/440067489

‘The invitation to be with God is for everybody.’ In this week’s talk, Guest Speaker and comedian Andy Kind confronts the theme ‘Heaven and Hell’ and a person’s eternal destiny. He explains that God does not place orders, but instead invites us to choose to be part of his family. Watch at https://vimeo.com/437988448

Lyn Burnhope tells an amazing story from the Bible of how Jesus restores the sight of a blind man, overcoming the barriers of discrimination and showing how someone excluded, on the ‘outside’ deserves to be included. Through physical and social restoration, Jesus challenges an entire community to change the way they see! Watch at https://vimeo.com/437192463

What are your dreams and does God care about them? Assistant Pastor James Tweats explores what the Bible has to say about dreaming and how God can play a big role in helping us to fulfil our dreams today. He encourages us to dream courageously and partner with God in the dreams he has for us too! Watch at https://vimeo.com/434875297

During these unprecedented times of global turmoil we look at how we can take our place as followers of Jesus. What is his unique plan for our individual lives and for the church as a whole during this season, and how can we step into the roles he has prepared for us? Watch at https://vimeo.com/430812767

Steve Burnhope looks at how God created us in his image — one of the ‘big themes’ that we see running through the Bible — and three major implications for what that means for us. Watch at https://vimeo.com/428881543

Aylesbury Vineyard will have new leadership when Steve and Lyn Burnhope retire as Senior Pastors this September. Steve and Lyn share what will be happening and explain the background and the timing. The video ends with a few words from Assistant Pastor James Tweats, who will be succeeding them. Watch at https://vimeo.com/426968584

Assistant Pastor James Tweats shares how God’s love, leading & faithfulness will never fail us as we prepare to step out into the new normal. Watch at https://vimeo.com/426210650

Senior Pastor Lyn Burnhope takes up Augustine’s idea that hope has two daughters: anger at the way things are, and courage not to leave them that way. Watch at https://vimeo.com/423263013

Young Adults Pastor, Luke Martin, shares some thoughts about the Church's need for reflection at this time. The Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ has given us a great opportunity to assess the ways that we are called to be counter-cultural in our world. God may well be bringing a move of his Spirit to our nation, but it may not look the way we think … Watch at https://vimeo.com/manage/419268175

Becky Stevens from the Church staff team shares about her experiences of mental ill health and some thoughts about how we can best engage with God and one another in those times. Watch at https://vimeo.com/416643824

Steve Burnhope shares some thoughts from (Second) Isaiah’s prophetic words to Israel while they are in exile in Babylon, in Isaiah 40 through 55, to encourage us in our present situation. He then turns to the “invisible enemy” that the whole world is fighting, with some thoughts about how to handle another invisible enemy that many of us are facing at this time. NB The slightly cryptic title is explained at the start of the talk! Watch at https://vimeo.com/415861165

A timely reminder from Assistant Pastor James Tweats that we have a God who loves us and wants the best for us. We discover the importance of perseverance in God’s perfect timing and trusting in Him for blessing and breakthrough. Watch at https://vimeo.com/411823863

In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul says “these three remain: faith, hope and love,” but we don’t talk so much about the middle one. In the third and final talk in this mini-series, Steve Burnhope focuses on the meaning of “hope” in the Bible — that it’s not just “hoping for the best” — and how we want all three to be “remaining” in our lives during these challenging times. Watch at https://vimeo.com/408334637

Senior Pastor, Steve Burnhope, explains why he doesn’t think it’s his job to get people to believe in God … The talk was preceded by an edited version of this video: https://youtu.be/1Eh5BpSnBBw Watch the talk at https://vimeo.com/407949671

Lyn Burnhope looks at Psalm 8 as a helpful source for answering the basic questions: Who is God? Who are we? What does He want us to do? How are we going to do it? Sunday 5 April 2020

“If there’s a God, why do bad things happen? Why does God make them happen, or allow them to happen? Why doesn’t he stop them happening?” In the second talk of our current mini-series, Steve Burnhope offers some personal thoughts on these really difficult questions. Watch at https://vimeo.com/401960845

In the first of a three-part series, Steve Burnhope starts with a ‘one-point’ sermon instead of the traditional three: “Do not fear.” Why does God say that over and over again, throughout the Bible? 365 times, according to Rick Warren — one for every day of the year. Steve shares his thoughts on that big question, in these difficult times. Watch at https://vimeo.com/400026116

In our Kids’ Takeover Service, Liz Machell talks about Joshua leading the people of Israel through the Jordan into the Promised Land and building a memorial of stones for future generations to remember (Joshua 3 & 4). She encourages us that sharing our stories with one another can encourage us that God is always faithful and able to do amazing things. Watch at https://vimeo.com/398672807

In our most recent Baptism Services, Steve Burnhope explains six key features of baptism in the Bible — why we do it and what it’s all about. Watch at https://vimeo.com/396964970

Assistant Pastor James Tweats encourages us to think about what it means for Jesus to be the light of the world (John 8:12) and what that means for us — how we can move from darkness into light in our own lives through the presence and power of Jesus. Watch at https://vimeo.com/395448802

Following on from last week’s talk about Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17, Senior Pastor Lyn Burnhope thinks about what it means to be centred around Jesus, as a ‘Love Comm-unity,’ living for each other and for the world. Watch at https://vimeo.com/393980843

Shortly before his death, resurrection and return to the Father, Jesus' prayer in John 17 is his ‘second most-famous’ prayer (after The Lord’s Prayer) and his longest. Two millennia on, Steve Burnhope invites us to think about why Jesus was so concerned for the future unity and oneness of his Body, and how — by being wise about the spiritual battle that unity involves — we can help that prayer to come about, if we’re willing to bear the cost. Watch at https://vimeo.com/392220183

On the Sunday that we’re looking at fostering and adoption — and hearing from the team who are involved in fostering and adopting at Aylesbury Vineyard — Steve Burnhope does a quick whistle-stop tour of what the Bible has to say about that and, in particular, why fostering and adoption is so close to God’s heart. Watch at https://vimeo.com/390299192

Guest Speaker Ben Lindsay talks about Gideon’s call in Judges chapter 6, relating it to God’s present-day call to each of us. As we see with Gideon, he encourages us to embrace our environment, our true identity and our present circumstances. Watch at https://vimeo.com/389059208

Assistant Pastor James Tweats invites us to think about what it means to ‘honour God’ — a word we don’t use very often day-to-day. What does honouring God look like in our lives? Watch at https://vimeo.com/manage/387283425

Charles Ekong invites us to consider afresh who God is — the awesome creator of the cosmos — a God who, although we are so insignificant in comparison, sees us as his prized possessions, wanting to win our love and for us to spend eternity together. This is where we fit, in his story. But where does God fit in our story? Where is he, in your story, right now? Watch at https://vimeo.com/386297941

Steve Burnhope takes inspiration from Philip Yancey’s best-selling book of the same title to look at God’s amazing grace which, when we really understand it, is ‘scandalous’, ‘outrageous’ and even, ‘dangerous’. He explains why it’s so important for us to ‘take the risk’ of ‘the scandal of grace’ being misunderstood — just as it was in New Testament times — and to avoid diluting it, rationing it, limiting it, or setting pre-conditions for it, however tempting that might be. Watch at https://vimeo.com/384569717

In our first Services of 2020, Steve Burnhope thinks about New Year resolutions and how throughout the Bible it seems that God is a God who delights in making things new — in his Church, in his world, and in our lives. He looks at the story of the Exodus, with the Israelites standing on the border of the Promised Land, and asks whether that’s a picture of where we ourselves may be at, as we stand on the brink of coming into all that God has for us in 2020. Watch at https://vimeo.com/383148958

‘How Not to Found a New Religion’ — Steve Burnhope takes a light-hearted look at the original Christmas Story and how correcting a few simple ‘errors’ would arguably have made the Christmas Story far more successful … Watch at https://vimeo.com/381061153

Steve Burnhope’s 10-minute talk in this year’s Carol Services, where he talks about the central message of Christmas — that God himself became part of our story so that we could become part of his story. Watch at https://vimeo.com/379597185

In the week leading up to the election, and one week into advent, we think about Jesus as the perfect leader, as King over his Kingdom. We look at how He wants to include us in carrying out His justice and bringing peace to the world. Watch at https://vimeo.com/378110157

Speaking at our most recent Baptisms Sunday, Lyn Burnhope reflects on how the baptismal pool represents a bath, a grave and a womb. Sunday 24 November 2019 Watch at https://vimeo.com/375444423

At our once-a-year Thanksgiving Services, where we take up a special offering to invest in the work of the Kingdom, Steve Burnhope shares some thoughts as to how we should (and shouldn’t) think about financial giving, from Jesus’ famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matthew chapters 5 through 7).

Vision is being able to see in our imagination what the future can be like. Vision is being able to picture something in our hearts and minds that can happen and will happen if we play our part to make it happen. Vision is the bridge between the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet.’ God has a vision for us, vision for his Church and vision for his world — that he wants to share with us and invites us to join him in. Steve Burnhope offers a ‘checklist’ of six key features of what it means for each of us to be a person of vision.

In the lead-up to our annual Thanksgiving Services gift day on 17 November, Steve Burnhope shares some statistics of how the Church has grown over the past five years. He explains how, to accommodate our ‘growing family,’ we’ll be devoting this year’s offering to expanding the main Auditorium and creating three new rooms for Vineyard Kids, including a permanent Soft Play room. The talk includes a short video (starting at 17:05 minutes in) picturing what the main new areas will look like. Watch at https://vimeo.com/370931703

Guest Speaker Peter Tate invites us to think more deeply about what it means to ‘love one another’ in a multi-cultural Church where we welcome and honour different cultures within God's people. He challenges us to think about the difference between what’s ‘theological’ and what’s ‘cultural’ in our assumptions about our faith practices. Watch at https://vimeo.com/369270601

Continuing our Birthday Month, Steve Burnhope talks about some of the things he personally loves about the Vineyard. He starts with some ‘Vineyard theology’ and ‘Vineyard values’ that are shared throughout the movement — wherever one goes in the world — and finishes with some of the things he loves about Aylesbury Vineyard in particular. Watch at vimeo.com/367572533

As we continue our Birthday Month Services, Assistant Pastor and Head of Compassion Ministries, James Tweats, talks about the central importance of helping those who are disadvantaged and in need, both in the heart of God and the heart of the Vineyard movement. He explains the scope and the scale of what Aylesbury Vineyard is currently doing and invites us to ask ourselves how God is calling us personally to become involved, for Jesus and His Kingdom. Watch at: https://vimeo.com/aylesburyvineyard/compassion-and-aylesbury-vineyard

Guest speaker Nicola Neal (CEO of Every Life, https://everylife.org.uk/) talks about the unexpected and generous welcome that Jesus offers Zaccheus in Luke 19. She parallels that with the welcome she and her family received when they moved back to the UK from Uganda and encourages us to imitate Jesus by being unexpectedly generous welcomers, just as he was. Watch at https://vimeo.com/364727383

Following on from his recent talk, ‘What Does It Mean to ‘Have Faith’?’ (Sunday 15 September 2019, https://soundcloud.com/aylesburyvineyard/what-does-it-mean-to-have-faith), Steve Burnhope goes on to ask, if ‘faith’ isn’t about having unshakeable mental certainty that something we want is going to happen, then ... what does it mean? How can we be people who pray confidently and expectantly? Watch at https://vimeo.com/363256767

Head of Youth Ministry, Amelia Godden, interviews Vineyard UK&I youth leader Zeke Rink about the Summer 2020 DTI Festival that succeeds Soul Survivor. It includes a video about the event, featuring Mike Pilavachi (leader of Soul Survivor), and Senior Pastors Steve and Lyn Burnhope explaining how Aylesbury Vineyard wants to support DTI with a financial offering, prayer and volunteering. Watch at https://vimeo.com/362315279 The interview includes a film by Vineyard Churches about DTI 2020 which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Y8zgMcB4SN8

Clearly, ‘faith’ is vital to being a Christian, but what is ‘faith,’ and how do we ‘live by’ faith? Does faith get prayers answered? Does too-little faith stop them being answered? Steve Burnhope runs through the problems with the standard way that many Christians think about faith — as striving for mental certainty, with no doubts allowed — before then explaining what biblical faith does in fact look like. Watch at https://vimeo.com/360135722

Wreaking havoc with the traditional church calendar, Steve Burnhope looks at Pentecost in September as we start this new term. Rather than Acts 2 inaugurating ‘speaking in tongues,’ as generally assumed, its significance is the inclusion of people of every nation, tribe, and language on equal terms ‘in Christ’ in the Kingdom of God, reversing what happened at Babel in Genesis 11, and foreshadowing heaven. He encourages us to be a church that commits to modelling Pentecost, not one that models Babel. Watch at https://vimeo.com/359365484

Lyn Burnhope reflects on the significance of the meeting together in the Temple with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. As we meet together, all of those same ingredients are with us as we pray and long for His Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. Sunday 1 September 2019

What does God want? What does he want from us, as people? Steve Burnhope runs through some of the options and then suggests three simple, easy-to-remember themes — repeated throughout the Bible — which sum up God’s perspective on that question. [Editor’s note: Steve was wrong about his new shirt; the style is Cuban, not Hawaiian, but try not to let that put you off …]

Life is a true story. Guest Speaker Andy Kind asks which of the major world-views makes the most sense of what you know to be true about yourself. Watch at https://vimeo.com/353409965