Vineyard Columbus Sermons

If you were to ask people outside the church, what is the number one reason they don't go to church, the answer you would probably hear is that the church if full of hypocrites. What is the appropriate answer we should give to such an accusation?...

There has been a lot of progress in different areas in our culture, but Paul teaches in chapter 3 of 2 Timothy that in the last days the world will spiral downward. Rich explains that the reason for this downward spiral is misdirected love. In this...

In this message, Rich talks about how to live as a Christian when the storm hits. By the storm, he doesn't mean personal difficulty, or painful circumstances. He focuses on the seemingly overwhelming power of our culture on our morals. By looking...

Often, we hesitate to share our faith because it is difficult, or we don't feel like being obedient. But Christ's will, in so many areas, may run counter to our will and opposition is part of what we must expect if we are going to obey...

You cannot read Christian history without seeing this continual theme of suffering as being part of the requirement of passing along the Christian faith. The suffering that we are called upon to endure is the suffering of shame. Are any of you who...

None of us are self-made Christians. Many of us came to faith because someone shared the gospel with us. Will the chain continue through you or will it be broken? Rich begins a new series that teaches us how to pass on the faith. This sermon begins...

Many of us struggle with the call of leadership that God has placed on our lives. But at some point or other, every single human being faces a choice of continuing to step out with God, or to hang back in reluctance and fear. God calls us into...

Hospitality is usually a measure of how well you can entertain others, like Martha Stewart, but this is not what God has created hospitality to be. In this message we learn why hospitality is historically and culturally important. Rich then teaches...

We often think that God can fill all our needs, and He does, but sometimes he uses community. The number 1 reason Christians fall away or stay stagnant is individualism. In a world immersed in individualism, God uses a radically different means to...

Starting with the book by Robert Putnam titled, Bowling Alone, Rich talks about how community has become less and less important to our culture. Back in the 1960's nearly 8% of American men and 5% of American women belonged to a bowling league...

Rich continues his series by addressing Christian missions. Missions need to be evaluated in light of two worldviews, religious fanaticism on the one hand, and religious pluralism on the other. Rich answers questions in this sermon such as: What are...

The world around us is full of despair. Many Christians have pulled out of society and closed themselves away from the rest of the world in order to protect themselves. Jesus does not pray that we would be taken out of the world, but protected from...

People often move to a city based on the quality of life. The quality of life is a concern of Jesus as he prays for his church. He prays that we would become a community with such an attractive quality of life that people in the world are drawn in and...

In John 17, we have the longest recorded prayer of Jesus. The world is in a desperate place today with the culture quickly spiraling downward. Jesus' prayer points to the beginning point in thinking of God: as a father. In this message, Rich...

Rich begins a sub-series on John chapter 17 considering the kind of church that Jesus prayed for, died for, and is coming back for. John 17 gives us the biblical foundation not only for our church, but for every church in the world. Rich teaches that...

One of the dominant themes that run through chapters 13-16 is opposition from the world. Jesus warns his followers about 21st Century America, 18th Century England, 20th Century Nazi Germany, and 1st Century Rome. In whatever time we're living in...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor, wrote these words right before the start of the second world war, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." If you sign up for a relationship with me, Jesus says, understand that it will cost...

How come so many Christians never seem to change? We rationalize the lack of change that we see in our lives and in the other Christians around us and say, "Well, after all, we're only human. You can't expect perfection. In this...

Despite our overly extravagant use of the word "need," we do have needs. One of our most fundamental needs is for companionship. In the second part of his teaching on troubled hearts, Rich shows how Jesus recognizes the disciples...