Northridge Vineyard Church

Anna kicked off our Mission focus for this month on Sunday. This month we are going to intentionally move our focus outward to look at the amazing things that God is doing in our world around us.

Bonnie concluded our morning series on People of the Way.

Bonnie looked at ways that can help us get these rhythm and practices (sabbath, solitude, prayer and fasting) into our every day lives. How do we take all of this out into our every day, all day, every day? How do we make it something that is just a constant rhythm in our lives?

Willem shared on Solitude - Encounter with Our Self, as we continued our Practicing the Way series. Through solitude, we face emotions that live below the surface of our lives and bring them to God.

As we continue our Practicing the Way series, Pete shared on Solitude - The quiet place. "The practice is not about absence but about presence, the presence of God and it's in the quiet that we befriend God and He's already befriended us in Jesus."

Rob continued our Practicing the Way series, focusing on Prayer and Fasting. God wants us to go deep with Him, to pursue Him and hunger after Him. How can you have all of everything, but still there be more of it?

This week Adam shared as we we looked and discussed together, what it looks like to be people who are really great at practicing Delight.

We looked at things that are really helpful to do on the Sabbath because while it may include stopping and doing absolutely nothing, Sabbath isn’t all just about doing completely nothing. We also want to be looking at things that we can do on the Sabbath that can recharge us and revive us and to bring us deeper into communion with the Lord and each other.

Bec continued our Practicing the Way series, focusing on the practice of Sabbath and Solitude. We looked at how Jesus practiced sabbath and how He practices solitude and shared some examples of how we can work this into our own lives.

Bonnie kicked off our new series, People of the Way. In this series, we will be looking at some of the practices and rhythms that Jesus invited us to, and we will also look at how do we incorporate those in a world that seems to live in a complete opposite way.

Ben continued our our Practicing the Way series by looking at the Sabbath, and in particular, at Rest.

In this series we are wanting to take the opportunity to dive into deep transformation with Jesus, that place of intimacy with Jesus where he reminds us who He is, who he created us to be and what he created us for. It's not a silver bullet to “fix” us, but rather we want to create space and time to allow God to come and do the work that He needs to do to help us to become more like Jesus.

Anna shared with us on Resurrection Sunday at our family service. No matter where we find ourselves today, the cross of Christ is relevant for us.

Bonnie reflected on the Easter story and what the Lord wanted to highlight for us.

Rob shared with us on Communion, as part of our Hospitality to Grace series.

The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a practice that is right at the centre of the Church throughout history. Yet, over history this practice has changed from a full meal around a table- filled  with gratitude, joy and celebration; to a quiet, contemplative, individualistic reflection on our sin and its cost to Jesus. What was Jesus’ original design and intention for communion? And how could we reimagine communion as a place of closer intimacy with God and Christ-centred community? 

Pete started off our Practicing the Way series by looking at the Sabbath, and in particular, at Stopping.

In this series we are wanting to take the opportunity to dive into deep transformation with Jesus, that place of intimacy with Jesus where he reminds us who He is, who he created us to be and what he created us for. It's not a silver bullet to “fix” us, but rather we want to create space and time to allow God to come and do the work that He needs to do to help us to become more like Jesus.

Anna continued our Hospitality to Grace series on Sunday, sharing on Who is my Neighbour?

Jesus said: “love your neighbour as yourself”. What if  we were to reimagine our homes not as a castle to hide in, but as an outpost for the Kingdom of God? What if our tables were tangible expressions of God’s love? What if our tables were the setting where strangers become neighbours and neighbours become brothers and sisters.

Anna kicked off our new series leading into Easter. She spoke on Radically Ordinary Hospitality. How do we invite the people around us to meet and be transformed by Jesus?

Rob shared with us what we are pursing as a church, the Kingdom. What is that Kingdom, what does Jesus mean about the Kingdom of God. We opened up Isaiah 61 together and.... Highly recommend watching/listening to this one again as it can’t all be summarized in a sentence!

Kym wrapped up our Fruitfulness series, sharing on FRUITfulness and Seeds. We've heard about abiding, pruning and sewing of seeds and these were all brought together.

Bonnie continued our Fruitfulness series on Sunday, sharing from John 15. She shared with us about Pruning – how do we create the space for ourselves to be pruned?

What is the fruit Jesus is talking about?

Rob continued our Fruitfulness series, sharing on The song of the vineyard, from John 15 and Isaiah.

We want to dive into the idea of: "Lord, what is the fruit and how are you seeking to bring fruitfulness about in us"

Adam kicked off our new series, Fruitfulness, which flowed out from a prophetic word for a church from father’s day last year. Adam looked at John 15, exploring how we can both continue and grow in this life of producing fruit AND seeds.

Anna shared with us on Calling and Identity on Sunday. After our Sharing Stories series, there was a thread of God's stirring deep within, calling into new places/spaces.

We love our summer series Sharing Stories, where we hear from people in our communities.

In Part 3, we heard from Sarah & Ron.

We love our summer series Sharing Stories, where we hear from people in our communities.

In Part 2, we heard from Bri & Sean.

We love our summer series Sharing Stories, where we hear from people in our communities.

In Part 1, we heard from Sallymae and Owen.

Anna led us through the birth stories of Jesus from the gospel of Luke, on the second Sunday of advent (10th Dec). Taking time to intentionally pause and seek to understand how these stories are designed to shape us, as we seek to become more like Jesus.

Thank you Daniel from Celebrate Messiah for sharing on Sunday. Daniel helped us to gain a deeper understanding of our roots.

He shared how it is important for believers in Jesus to understand Chanukah in order to value and appreciate Christmas even more.

Adam continued our Kingdom of God series on Sunday, from the angle of “the good news of the Kingdom of God”. Adam loves talking about this (self confessed), as it’s when God’s heart, His love, His power is on display and it’s a message this world desperately needs!

Rob continued our Kingdom of God series on Sunday, asking the question “how do I receive that Kingdom”. We can be tempted to ask of ourselves, what can I do to qualify..

How do we received the Kingdom of God in the middle of our battles, struggles…

Bonnie shared with us on Sunday, from Luke 18 on receiving the Kingdom of God as a child. We receive the Kingdom of God as a child EVERY DAY.

So what does it mean to come like a child, to receive the Kingdom like a child?

Bec continued our Kingdom of God series on Sunday, focusing on the nature of the Kingdom. Bec took us through Matthew 13, exploring parables where the Kingdom is mingled, small and hidden.

Rob continued our Kingdom of God series on Sunday, sharing with us on the scandalous gift of Grace. What does it look like for someone to receive this scandalous grace…

Anna kicked off our NEW series recently, Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God?

She reminded us that it has always been the mission of God’s people (you and me) to alert people to the presence of the Kingdom of God.

On Sunday, where we heard stories from some of those who were part of School of Kingdom Ministry this year.

Cathy, Neva and Kieran share from their journey with SoKM this year.

Putty Putman shared with us, after National Conference, looking at How the Lord shows up in seasons of wilderness.

“The Lord has things in the wilderness that we only get in the wilderness”

Bonnie shared with us on Sunday (24th September) on Baptisms as we had a number of people choose to be baptised.

Worship is right at the heart of who we are, it is central to everything that we are about as a church. Rob shared on Sunday on Worship, from Revelations 19:6-16. What is core to us in our worship as a Vineyard church... Intimacy, Accessibility, Authenticity, Natural and Kingdom

We had the joy of hearing from Adam on Sunday on ‘Finding Jesus in the midst of life’s battles’.  Thank you Adam for your vulnerability.

Adam reminded us of the importance of staying connected to God’s presence. God is our safe place to go.

Anna wrapped up our Justice series, focusing on Justice in our World.

How do we apply the principles of Justice to our own lives and professions today? As we wrap up our series, we practically look to the ways that we can ‘live out’ Biblical justice in our own lives.

We had the pleasure of hearing from IJM and the incredible work they do. Brennan shared in the morning what does holistically the bible have to say around the idea of biblical justice and what our response should be to it.

Bec continued our Justice series, sharing on The Economy of the Kingdom. Jesus challenges his followers to reassess entire paradigms of thinking and move beyond their own cultural assumptions of honour and shame; or justice and injustice. Through word and deed, Jesus models a new way of living that his disciples are meant to follow. 

The word ‘justice’ can produce many different responses within the Church. Many of us associate ‘justice’ with a specific cause or ‘issue’, which demands some kind of response from us. Justice is a long and complex theme that is woven throughout the Bible that finds its origins in Genesis, with the very first instance of injustice being found between Cain and Abel. Here, and in many other places throughout scripture, we see that God hears the cries of those in distress or facing injustices. As God sets apart Israel, he reestablishes basic human interactions to demonstrate mercy, compassion and love as fundamental expressions of faith.  

Ultimately, this is most clearly expressed in Jesus as he seeks to set free those in bondage and heal and transform the lives of those who are abandoned, marginalised or forgotten. Jesus reaches out in love, mercy and compassion to those on the fringes of society, and reveals God’s heart for those who are suffering. As believers, we are called to imitate Jesus and continue to show mercy, compassion and love to all around us. 

Bon shared with us last Sunday asking us: What are we hoping for, right now? What are we waiting for? 

How are you feeling in the waiting? What does the bible say about how we wait so we don't feel exhausted, disappointed and like giving up?

Rob wrapped up our 1 Corinthians series on Sunday, sharing from 1 Corinthians 15. He spoke on the Resurrection Reality.

“Jesus’ resurrection stands right in the middle of the real world and says, you know what, I’m changing it all…

We had the joy and blessing of having Kirk and Nic, our National Directors, share with us on Sunday (23rd July) from Colossians 1. LOVE be multiplied. 

“... 1 time, 2 times, ALL the time, come Holy Spirit come…”

After a couple of weeks break, Kym continued our series from 1 Corinthians 14:1-12 on Tongues and Prophecy, on 16th July. Pursue love… 

Paul is always drawing them [the Corinthians] back to Jesus, to unity, to Christ, to love and service.

It was so good to hear from Lisa on 25th June, as she spoke on 1 Corinthians 13 on Love.

God LOVES You! We really need to know who love is… the closer we draw to God, the more we abide in Him, the more we are shaped into love by Him.

Bec continued our 1 Corinthians series, speaking on Spiritual gifts in the Body, from 1 Corinthians 12 on 18th June. If you have questions about spiritual gifts, you’re in good company, so did the Corinthians!

Bon shared with us from 1 Corinthians 11:17-29 on 11th June, on discerning the Body of Christ. But in Christ, we are one… God’s heart is that we would find Him in our differences with each other. 

Matt Gelding, from Soul Survivor, shared with us back on Pentecost Sunday (28th May), on 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, Losing to Win as part of our series on Freedom. Matt encouraged us to continue to be a people who give up in order to build up, especially the Gospel.

Throwing back to Maria’s talk from 21st May on 1 Corinthians 7:25-35, The blessing of singleness. Married or unmarried, how do we live in that right way, in that undivided devotion to the Lord? How do we live in right relationship, as we honour God and love God, and love each other?