Vineyard Church of Augusta Podcast

Angela Otero | Looking at some short verses about Jesus withdrawing from people, we ask: How is God forming us when we feel abandoned by Jesus? What is the invitation from God? You are not as alone as you think you are. Jesus is there in the darkness waiting for you.

Reese LeRoy | In Mark 5, there is a "story within a story" that demonstrates how Jesus is with us to turn our fear into faith in our Heavenly Father.  In both parts of this "double feature," we see how our faith honors God and serves as the channel through which His power can work in our lives.

Rodger Otero | The secret of the kingdom is sticking around after class.

Reese LeRoy | In this passage from Mark 2, Jesus invites a tax collector to follow him and confronts self-righteous critics.  The interaction reminds us that the Son of God came to earth for sinners in need of forgiveness.

Rodger Otero | On the Sabbath we stop long enough to be able to recognize what is truly good.

Reese LeRoy | On Pentecost Sunday, we look at the end of Mark 1 to see how Jesus' Holy Spirit-empowered prayer made it possible for him to do Holy Spirit-empowered ministry.

Mary-Margaret LeRoy | Wherever Jesus went he set things right bringing healing and freedom. As his followers, we're empowered to do the same.

This Contemplative Prayer is led by one of our own spiritual directors, Becky Mecredy. Sit, wait, listen, and pray with prayer prompts and meditations that attend to our relationship with God as friend. For the Visio Divina, click HERE to view the painting of the Trinity by Andrei Rublev.  

Reese LeRoy | In our series on the Gospel of Mark, we consider Jesus' invitation to his disciples to come and follow him.  As followers of Jesus today, we see this first as an invitation to personal relationship with God. But it is also a daily invitation to welcome God's rule and reign into every part of our lives and everything we give ourselves to.

Reese LeRoy | In our series from the Gospel of Mark, we focus on Jesus' baptism. We see how this important act launched Jesus' public ministry and serves as a powerful picture of God's kingdom breaking into our broken world.

Reese LeRoy | Our new series on the Gospel of Mark begins with a focus on Jesus' identity as Good News, as King, as the culmination of God's plan to save the world, and as the ultimate model of the Spirit-filled life.

Rodger Otero | In the hands of the resurrected Jesus, doubts are the seeds of fresh faith.

Tamara Noel | We are all incredibly loved by our heavenly Father. Even when we can't see Him, He is working. The Holy Spirit does want to partner with all of us. When helping hurts, ask how may I serve?

Reese LeRoy | Resurrection Morning is the perfect time for us to conclude Paul's letter to the Galatians.  He ends the letter with the same theme he presented at the start: The Gospel is Jesus plus nothing else!  This message focuses on the Cross of Christ and how Jesus' death and resurrection launched new creation for the whole world!

Reese LeRoy | This Palm Sunday message looks at how Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem is a model of life in the Spirit and the ultimate example of sowing and reaping in God's kingdom.

Rodger Otero | Feeling healthy is not the same thing as actually being healthy.

Dan Wager | God is calling us to something new and different.

Reese LeRoy | Paul continues to explain how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is superior to the Law.  At the end of Galatians 4, Paul illustrates this truth with the story of Hagar and Sarah - one representing human effort and the other, God's promise. We are reminded that we become "children of promise" through grace and faith in Jesus Christ, not with our failed human efforts.

Mary-Margaret LeRoy | Before and after. The Galatians wanted to go back to the ‘before' Christ. Everyday we get to chose if we'll lean into the “after” of following Christ. It's terrifying and beautiful and good.

Reese LeRoy | At the end of Galatians 3 and the beginning of Galatians 4, Paul continues to champion the superiority of the Gospel of Jesus Christ over the Law. He calls us to reflect on who we were under the Law, and who we are because of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, those who are in Christ are called to live each day knowing that God loves us just like He loves Jesus!

Rodger Otero | The invitation of Christ is to leave the safety of domesticated religion for freedom and flourishing.

Reese LeRoy | In chapter three of Galatians, Paul focuses on the superiority of the Gospel and the failure of the Law to redeem humanity.  This passage also encourages us to examine our own hearts and minds regarding our own spiritual identity. We should ask ourselves, "Is my identity rooted in the cross of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, or is it rooted in works of my flesh?"

Angela Otero | Here we go again! Add-ons and Othering. True faith is remembering what Jesus did for us that we could never do for ourselves.

Rodger Otero | The wise follow Jesus through the fog of life with the help of companions and sages.

Reese LeRoy | In this next section of his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul defends his apostleship by recalling how Jesus was unveiled to him and called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul's experience reminds us that God wants all of us to have our own personal revelation of the gospel from Jesus Christ so that we can share and live out the good news of His kingdom.

Reese LeRoy | In this series on Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia, we are reminded that the true Gospel is Jesus Christ and nothing else.  Like Paul, we should live each day as members of God's family sent by our loving Heavenly Father to share the good news of grace, peace, and rescue through His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reese LeRoy | In this message, we consider the prayer practices of two people who encountered the infant Jesus and see how their routines and rhythms might inspire us in the year ahead. In their examples, we see how prioritizing prayer and other spiritual practices helps us grow closer to God and experience His comforting presence.

Reese LeRoy | On this third Sunday of Advent, our theme is joy, and our focus is Mary's Song commonly referred to as The Magnificat.  Mary's response to God in Luke 1 reminds us that our "yes" to God expressed in worship and surrender fills our lives with the joy of His kingdom.

Rodger Otero | Learning to pray is like learning a second language.

The Advent stories feature people who were moving through their ordinary, everyday lives - Mary and Joseph were preparing for marriage, the shepherds were keeping their flocks together, and the magi were stargazing - but when God began to move, they allowed themselves to be swept into His story. The Advent Contemplative Prayer service will offer you an opportunity to reflect on your everyday life. Where is God moving? What is His invitation to you? How will you respond? Pause from the busyness of the holiday season and join us for a time of quiet pondering, asking, and listening.

Reese LeRoy | On the first Sunday of Advent, we examine Isaiah's prayer found in Isaiah 64 and consider how we can use it to invite hope rooted in God into our lives and world today. As we wait and pray, we are reminded that Jesus came into the world at a hopeless moment and continues to meet us in our hopeless moments today

Rodger Otero | We need Christ to come like sheep need their shepherd to come.

Thor Colberg | Jesus has called us to take His message to all the world.

Reese LeRoy | Proverbs makes it clear that care and concern for the poor are essential components of living wisely. Proverbs is also very practical and gives us specific instructions - namely, to share our food with the needy (Proverbs 22:9).  In this message, we highlight the way Vineyard Church has fed the poor in Jesus' name in 2023 and look ahead to more opportunities in 2024.

November is Compassion Month for us at Vineyard Church, so our prayers this month will center around this theme: First, God's compassion for me; then God's compassion for those I love; then God's compassion for my neighbor; and finally God's compassion for the poor. You can do this all at once, or take each movement one by one for four days.

Reese LeRoy | November is Compassion Month at Vineyard Church.  It's a time each year for us to focus on God's heart for the poor.  We continue our study of Proverbs and focus on its teachings on how we should care for those in need. There we clearly see that care and concern for the poor are essential components of living wisely.

Mary-Margaret LeRoy | Proverbs 31 is a picture of what it's like for men and women to be present to the things God calls each of us to. It's an invitation to wisdom.

Rodger Otero | Our world needs fewer people who unmake peace, and more people who make peace.

Reese LeRoy | God is love, yet His perfect and protecting love requires Him to hate anything that seeks to harm or diminish those He loves. In this look at Proverbs 6, we will see how the way of wisdom calls us to rid our own lives of the behaviors God opposes and to avoid those who practice them.

Reese LeRoy | Proverbs has a lot to say about the wonderful satisfaction sex can bring when we follow God's guidelines, and the devastating pain it can bring to us and to those close to us when we choose to ignore them. Proverbs 5 helps us explore the purpose, power, and preciousness of sex.

Angela Otero | Making use of those things that help to bring us closer to God and leaving aside those things that don't.

Rodger Otero | Particularly when the stakes are high and the path forward is unclear, what we need is spiritual discernment.

Reese LeRoy | In our series on Proverbs, we focus on the introductory talks from a father to his son and the poems of "Lady Wisdom."  These chapters provide the foundation for reading the rest of the book and show us how God invites us to gain wisdom from Him and to express it in our lives for this generation and for future ones.

Reese LeRoy | In this new series on Proverbs, we start right at the beginning of wisdom with "the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 10:9).  We see how awe and reverence for God and a healthy respect for His definition of good and evil serves us well as we navigate everyday life.

In a season of unprecedented loss in the life of our church family and many of our personal lives, it's important to process our losses prayerfully. But how? As Christians, we can pray into, or lament, our suffering and pain. We struggle with loss, grief, or injustice in our lives and community, yet it is rare to hear about Prayers of Lament in the 21st Century church. Yet the Bible records Prayers of Lament in Psalms, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. Chapter 3 of Lamentations provides an outline to voice our complaints, transition from despair to hope, and acknowledge God's sovereignty.

Mary-Margaret LeRoy | Let's Party. The heart of the Father is invitational-it's welcoming to all. We get to participate in the party God's throwing!

Reese LeRoy | In this message based on a parable from Luke 14, we see that Jesus invites every part of every person to his banqueting table to receive His grace and goodness.

Rodger Otero | The way the Kingdom comes and makes disciples of Jesus is the same way we go and make disciples of Jesus.

Reese LeRoy | Our God who is love desires that each of us experience His love and then share it with others. Jesus' parable of the sower reminds us to faithfully sow seeds of God's love and to trust Him to take care of the results in the lives of others

Are you new to contemplative prayer? Start here for a super short peek into what you can expect.

Rodger Otero | Gratitude—like all good things—begins in the heart of God.