Vista Community Church

There is a worldwide migration away from religion and toward spirituality. But are we supposed to be spiritual instead of religious, or should we be spiritual and religious? Jesus was a deeply religious and spiritual person, showing us what it looks like to be both instead of one or the other.

Luke takes his time describing Paul's epic journey to Rome. Paul is a prisoner of Rome and at the mercy of the sea. His life is not in control, but he still proclaims the message of the kingdom "unhindered". How can this be? Maybe the way to live the full life is to not have control of circumstances and outcomes, but to move beyond control into something greater. The Discipleship Pathway is designed to form a person who is responsive to the Spirit.

Paul get's arrested and is led through a series of trials. One trial is before Felix the governor or Judea. Felix fails to render a verdict and just keeps Paul in custody. During that time Felix has a lot of opportunity to hear the gospel from Paul, but he never responds to it. Felix's life is a lesson/warning to us in missed opportunity. At the same time, Paul's life is a shining example to us of opportunity seized.

Paul's presence in Thessalonica incites a riot and he is accused of turning the whole world upside down. This is one instance of a pattern in The Acts of the Apostles: faithfulness to the gospel constantly gets the early Christians into a good kind of trouble.

As the gospel goes to the Gentiles a question is raised by the Jewish believers regarding what is necessary for salvation. Is faith in Jesus enough, or is it necessary to obey the Jewish laws and customs also? In Acts 15 they hold the first church council meeting to decide this issue. Essentially, it's a question many still ask today. What is necessary for Salvation? Is it just Jesus, or Jesus plus something else? How do we maintain unity in the church when the church is made up of different groups of people with differing views?

As the early church continues to grow, seven men are chosen to help minister and serve the growing congregation. Acts 6 tells us that Stephen is one of the seven chosen and he turns out to be a very important part of the revolution that is the church. His life and death stand as a transitional part of the book of Acts. After his death, the church falls under a lot of persecution. However, rather than bringing the revolution to a halt, it has the opposite effect. The church rapidly expands from Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria and ultimately, the whole world.

In the early days of the Christian revolution, we catch a vision or radical sharing and generosity. But the idyllic picture is lost when the church faces its first internal crisis and is reminded of the seriousness of her call to holiness.

Leah is unloved and rejected most of her life. We'll see Leah set aside her affliction and agony to offer God a sacrifice of praise. We'll also see God use this seemingly secondary character in the Bible to begin ushering in the ultimate Salvation of the world. He always has the final say.

Lydia is a wealthy business woman who becomes the first convert to Christianity in Europe. She responds to the gospel preached by Paul in Philippi and immediately responds with obedience, hospitality, and generosity. She opens her home to Paul and his team and provides a space for the new church to meet.

Mary Magdalene is one of the more popular women in the New Testament, but her life has also been the subject of much speculation and false teaching. She was a woman with a rather dark past, but Jesus frees her from her demons and she is completely transformed by his grace. In Christ Mary finds a new freedom and identity, and in the end she becomes one of the most faithful followers of Jesus.

The story of Jephthah's daughter is perhaps the strangest, saddest story in the Bible. A young girl is senselessly sacrificed because of her father's self-absorbed, faithless vow. We remember her story so we can do better, but more importantly, we remember her story because God has done better.

Mary is probably the most famous woman in all of scripture. Her life stands as a great example to us of grace and humility. As a young unwed teenage woman, she had a lot of reasons to fear and worry after the angel came to her and announced that she would be the mother of the Lord Jesus. But Mary chose to surrender to the will of God and to remember his past faithfulness rather than worry.

After a brief discussion regarding the primary views on roles of women within the church (specifically looking at both the complementarian and egalitarian views), we'll explore the life of Anna. She was a faithful elderly widow mentioned in just a few verses in Luke's gospel. Yet her life has much to teach us about living faithfully for the Lord.

As believers, we are recipients of God's generosity to us through His son Jesus. As such, we should be the most generous people in the world. In order to be generous we must understand that we are not owners of anything, but stewards. So the questions becomes, how do we steward well and invest in God's kingdom?

Sinners loved being around Jesus. Do they love being around you?

Salvation isn't just about believing some things in your heart so that you can go to heaven. Salvation is also about joining a family (community) of faith where you're on mission together building the Kingdom of God. Community is essential to being a Christ follower for several reasons and there is an inseparable link between your faith in Jesus and your love for his family (the Church).

Examining Isaiah 7, John 1, and Exodus 25, we look to the incarnation of the Son of God. We discover a disappointing God who walks with us through sin, suffering, and death, instead taking us around sin, suffering, and death.

At Christmas, we celebrate an Advent (coming) that has already happened. As believers, we also look forward to a day when Christ will come again in the future. But there's another Advent that's happening right now, and that's the advent of Christ into our hearts/lives. Ultimately, from the moment we take our first breath to the moment we take our last, Christ is after our hearts. And when He comes into our hearts he wants to completely change us in some really beautiful ways if we'll let Him.