Elm City Vineyard Church Talks

Joy is a major theme of the Christmas story, and for good reason—Mary rejoices with her cousin Elizabeth as she carries Jesus in her womb, angels announce the birth of Jesus as "good news of great joy" to the shepherds outside Bethlehem, and the Magi rejoice "exceedingly with great joy" as they approach the place of Jesus' birth. And yet even in the joy, there is much sorrow and pain and loss—Simeon speaks of a sword piercing even Mary's soul, Mary and Joseph take Jesus and flee from Herod as refugees to Egypt, and Herod takes the life of innocent children in Bethlehem after they depart. Today, too, both at Christmas and beyond, our joy is often mixed with sorrow, loss, and pain. This week, we will consider how true Christian joy does not dim in the face of pain, but rather strengthens and encourages us in the midst of it, as we encounter our one true source of joy, the Lord himself.- Series Description -During Advent this year, we join believers around the world as we seek to quiet and reorient ourselves to Jesus in this often busy and fragmented season. And as we both celebrate his first coming and expectantly await his return, we seek to savor and reflect his light, enter into his joy even in our pain, and lift our eyes to the world for whose sake he came.

It’s that time of year. It gets dark before 5pm. It can seem like darkness is all there is. While that is true for December in the northeast, that can also feel real for our souls. But what if we remember that anything can be illuminated by God’s light? This light brings about truth—revelation about what is so, grace—warmth and kindness from the one who has no shadow, and beauty—God’s light making ordinary things beautiful and marked by His power and presence.- Series Description -During Advent this year, we join believers around the world as we seek to quiet and reorient ourselves to Jesus in this often busy and fragmented season. And as we both celebrate his first coming and expectantly await his return, we seek to savor and reflect his light, enter into his joy even in our pain, and lift our eyes to the world for whose sake he came.

On this first Sunday of Advent and of the liturgical year, we reflect on how Jesus was born to humble people in quiet village places, and not in a great city or to the rich and powerful. In our own time, too, it is in humility and quietness that we are invited to encounter Jesus and to receive from him the one true life, so often revealed in whispers and not shouts. Join us this week, bring a friend, and learn to get quiet and make room for Jesus at the beginning of this not-so-quiet holiday season.- Series Description -During Advent this year, we join believers around the world as we seek to quiet and reorient ourselves to Jesus in this often busy and fragmented season. And as we both celebrate his first coming and expectantly await his return, we seek to savor and reflect his light, enter into his joy even in our pain, and lift our eyes to the world for whose sake he came.

In this third and final week before Advent, we will finish our 3-week series on worship with a time of extended musical worship interspersed with brief reflections on Scripture to help us review, reflect on, and embody worship in all areas of our lives. With word and song, our physical bodies, attentiveness to God in ordinary moments, and offering our lives to God as a living sacrifice, we will finish out the liturgical year together in preparation for Advent and welcoming the coming of Jesus. Do join us, and bring a friend!- Series Description -Our Fall 2024 series started with healing and continued with enemy love. It’s hard to admit we’re sick, and we need healing. It’s hard to love our enemies. It’s also hard to submit ourselves to God and worship God alone. Yet, if we worship God fully, healing comes easier as we are oriented around the Healer — not just our wounds. If we worship God fully, we’ll know we’re lifting someone up who loves us…and our enemies. This short three week series will be a primer on how to notice God and be invited to worship, understand obedience as worship in all areas of our lives, and form habits of formation — even in the every day — that help us worship God for the long haul.

Worship is more than music. It is a whole life surrender to God’s will. This kind of whole-life worship reshapes our lives to look radically different than the patterns of this world. This week, in the second installment of our teaching series on worship, we’ll be exploring what it means for us to lead fully submitted lives of worship, beyond our communal singing and our religious services, and what Scripture has to say about how this kind of whole-life worship can set us free.W- Series Description -Our Fall 2024 series started with healing and continued with enemy love. It’s hard to admit we’re sick, and we need healing. It’s hard to love our enemies. It’s also hard to submit ourselves to God and worship God alone. Yet, if we worship God fully, healing comes easier as we are oriented around the Healer — not just our wounds. If we worship God fully, we’ll know we’re lifting someone up who loves us…and our enemies. This short three week series will be a primer on how to notice God and be invited to worship, understand obedience as worship in all areas of our lives, and form habits of formation — even in the every day — that help us worship God for the long haul.

Do we live slow enough to notice invitations from God to worship? We don’t ever start worshipping God ex nihilo, out of nothing. We join in. We respond to an invitation. During our short series on WORSHIP before Advent, we are taking time to see worship as more than music. Worship is the site of our noticing God and drawing near. Worship is obedience. Worship is the place we establish habits of spiritual formation. This Sunday, we’ll look at how noticing God is the beginning of this path and how God can help us overcome distraction, confusion, and self-centeredness. Worship, because of God’s generosity, can even become a place where not only notice God but receive an invitation from God for the rest of our lives. What’s yours?- Series Description -Our Fall 2024 series started with healing and continued with enemy love. It’s hard to admit we’re sick, and we need healing. It’s hard to love our enemies. It’s also hard to submit ourselves to God and worship God alone. Yet, if we worship God fully, healing comes easier as we are oriented around the Healer — not just our wounds. If we worship God fully, we’ll know we’re lifting someone up who loves us…and our enemies. This short three week series will be a primer on how to notice God and be invited to worship, understand obedience as worship in all areas of our lives, and form habits of formation — even in the every day — that help us worship God for the long haul.

This Sunday, we have the privilege of hearing from Julia Pickerill, co-senior pastor with her husband, Eric, at Vineyard Columbus, a flagship Vineyard church and the largest Vineyard church in the world. Julia and Eric have been part of Vineyard for many decades, led Joshua House, a rich and rooted young adult community at Vineyard Columbus for many years, and spent seven years in the Netherlands planting Vineyard Amsterdam, a vibrant urban Vineyard church in one of the most secular cities in Europe. Julia is an accomplished poet and preacher and is committed to humbly building faithful and relevant Vineyard churches that bear winsome witness in the 21st century world. She and Eric have three grown children, a dog named Cosmo, and a hairless Siamese cat. Come hear what she has to share with us from the Lord!

During our series on Enemy Love, it may have been easy to wonder…but what about the Pharisees - the religious teachers that strongly oppose and eventually help kill Jesus? Jesus doesn’t seem too chummy with them. How is that love? Jesus does have a strange way of showing this group love. But by putting the pieces of our series together - creative engagement, proximity, and forgiveness, Jesus somehow manages to call his enemies in vs. cut them off. Come learn more on Sunday.- Series Description -If your sworn enemy asks you to love those who hurt you, you should run. If God asks the same, you should lean in and listen. Most people nod and agree with the teaching to love your neighbor — even if we don’t. But to love our enemies? Most laugh. Why love people who will hurt us? Why prioritize people who want to harm us? This seems foolish, unwise, even abusive. Yet, loving one’s enemies is the foundation of Jesus’ teaching…and his life. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us….For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:8,10) Jesus starts his enemy love — with us. In turn, God’s love for us —not our natural love for our enemies - is the foundation of this radical teaching and practice. But what does it look like? For some of us, we’re confused if we even have enemies. For others, we know exactly who they are and we are not excited for Jesus’ words on these matters. For all of us, Jesus has a good and powerful invitation as we respond to his transformative witness in a time of division, cancelation, and violence.

It can be easy to avoid our enemies, but it may be even easier to be offended by them. Jesus calls us to do something different: to love them. When we give up being offended, opportunities for love abound…even love that gets close. Jesus demonstrates this in his ministry. He gets close to people that his own community would consider enemies. When a tax collector shows up to see Jesus, Jesus doesn’t get offended by his swindling ways. Instead, he gets proximate in a surprising way. Come and learn more this Sunday. - Series Description -If your sworn enemy asks you to love those who hurt you, you should run. If God asks the same, you should lean in and listen. Most people nod and agree with the teaching to love your neighbor — even if we don’t. But to love our enemies? Most laugh. Why love people who will hurt us? Why prioritize people who want to harm us? This seems foolish, unwise, even abusive. Yet, loving one’s enemies is the foundation of Jesus’ teaching…and his life. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us….For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:8,10) Jesus starts his enemy love — with us. In turn, God’s love for us —not our natural love for our enemies - is the foundation of this radical teaching and practice. But what does it look like? For some of us, we’re confused if we even have enemies. For others, we know exactly who they are and we are not excited for Jesus’ words on these matters. For all of us, Jesus has a good and powerful invitation as we respond to his transformative witness in a time of division, cancelation, and violence.

If your sworn enemy asks you to love those who hurt you, you should run. If God asks the same, you should lean in and listen. Most people nod and agree with the teaching to love your neighbor — even if we don’t. But to love our enemies? Most laugh. Why love people who will hurt us? Why prioritize people who want to harm us? This seems foolish, unwise, even abusive. Yet, loving one’s enemies is the foundation of Jesus’ teaching…and his life. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us….For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:8,10) Jesus starts his enemy love — with us. In turn, God’s love for us —not our natural love for our enemies - is the foundation of this radical teaching and practice. But what does it look like? For some of us, we’re confused if we even have enemies. For others, we know exactly who they are and we are not excited for Jesus’ words on these matters. For all of us, Jesus has a good and powerful invitation as we respond to his transformative witness in a time of division, cancelation, and violence. Learn more this Sunday.- Series Description -If your sworn enemy asks you to love those who hurt you, you should run. If God asks the same, you should lean in and listen. Most people nod and agree with the teaching to love your neighbor — even if we don’t. But to love our enemies? Most laugh. Why love people who will hurt us? Why prioritize people who want to harm us? This seems foolish, unwise, even abusive. Yet, loving one’s enemies is the foundation of Jesus’ teaching…and his life. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us….For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:8,10) Jesus starts his enemy love — with us. In turn, God’s love for us —not our natural love for our enemies - is the foundation of this radical teaching and practice. But what does it look like? For some of us, we’re confused if we even have enemies. For others, we know exactly who they are and we are not excited for Jesus’ words on these matters. For all of us, Jesus has a good and powerful invitation as we respond to his transformative witness in a time of division, cancelation, and violence.

In this fourth week of our teaching series on Healing, we’ll be looking at what scripture has to say about the healing of our cities. The brokenness in our connections to one another can be so easy to see in the city around us. But real hope for the healing of our city can be harder for us to grab hold of. Do we hope in our own striving? Or is our hope in Jesus, the wounded healer who loves our city and longs for its wholeness more than we do? This Sunday, Tina will walk us through what it means to lives of hope and lives of worship, tethered to the restored and healed city that is to come at the end of all things, as we join God’s spirit in the work of healing our city.- Series Description - God heals. We see this in scripture. Jesus performs miracles and then his disciples do the same work of healing people from sickness and setting people free from dark forces. We see this in church history. Saints do healing work and communities rejoice. Hundreds of years later, do we see God’s healing in our lives? In our community? This Fall, we’re going to look at who Jesus is as a healer, but also what it means that God forms healing communities in and through us. This is not merely about physical healing though we’ll learn how that, too, is a powerful sign of the Kingdom. This is healing for our minds, emotions, our cities, and our worlds. If you are tired of sickness and eager for health, check out this entire series and ask God for more healing in your life, in our church, and in the world.

God heals broken bodies. God heals troubling thoughts. But what about hearts? Broken hearts are not just the stuff of junior high drama. A broken heart steals our joy, robs our peace, and leads us to numbness. God isn’t only invested in our spiritual lives. God is invested in healing our hearts and emotions. We can ask God for full hearts in order to receive deep healing in our very emotional lives. God is near to the brokenhearted, he saves those crushed in Spirit. Learn and experience more this Sunday.- Series Description - God heals. We see this in scripture. Jesus performs miracles and then his disciples do the same work of healing people from sickness and setting people free from dark forces. We see this in church history. Saints do healing work and communities rejoice. Hundreds of years later, do we see God’s healing in our lives? In our community? This Fall, we’re going to look at who Jesus is as a healer, but also what it means that God forms healing communities in and through us. This is not merely about physical healing though we’ll learn how that, too, is a powerful sign of the Kingdom. This is healing for our minds, emotions, our cities, and our worlds. If you are tired of sickness and eager for health, check out this entire series and ask God for more healing in your life, in our church, and in the world.

God desires an integrated healing for us — body, mind, emotions, communities, and the world around us. In the Gospels, Jesus heals bodies. Does he heal minds too? With our increasing awareness of anxiety, depression, and trauma, it would be great if Jesus’ healing was more than skin deep. This Sunday, we’ll talk about how God does heals us through meditating on truth, rejecting lies, and receiving freedom for a sound mind.- Series Description - God heals. We see this in scripture. Jesus performs miracles and then his disciples do the same work of healing people from sickness and setting people free from dark forces. We see this in church history. Saints do healing work and communities rejoice. Hundreds of years later, do we see God’s healing in our lives? In our community? This Fall, we’re going to look at who Jesus is as a healer, but also what it means that God forms healing communities in and through us. This is not merely about physical healing though we’ll learn how that, too, is a powerful sign of the Kingdom. This is healing for our minds, emotions, our cities, and our worlds. If you are tired of sickness and eager for health, check out this entire series and ask God for more healing in your life, in our church, and in the world.

God heals. We see this in scripture. Jesus performs miracles and then his disciples do the same work of healing people from sickness and setting people free from dark forces. We see this in church history. Saints do healing work and communities rejoice. Hundreds of years later, do we see God’s healing in our lives? In our community? This Fall, we’re going to look at who Jesus is as a healer, but also what it means that God forms healing communities in and through us. This is healing for our bodies, minds, emotions, our cities, and our worlds. This Sunday, we’ll lay out this big picture of healing with special attention to Jesus’ power to heal our bodies. Come with curiosity or expectation about how God can take our sickness and pain and transform it into something so much greater.- Series Description - God heals. We see this in scripture. Jesus performs miracles and then his disciples do the same work of healing people from sickness and setting people free from dark forces. We see this in church history. Saints do healing work and communities rejoice. Hundreds of years later, do we see God’s healing in our lives? In our community? This Fall, we’re going to look at who Jesus is as a healer, but also what it means that God forms healing communities in and through us. This is not merely about physical healing though we’ll learn how that, too, is a powerful sign of the Kingdom. This is healing for our minds, emotions, our cities, and our worlds. If you are tired of sickness and eager for health, check out this entire series and ask God for more healing in your life, in our church, and in the world.

This week, for the final message of our summer series on the book of Ephesians, we will be looking at what it means to live as children of light. In a world like ours, with forces at play that are neither safe nor kind, it can be easy to keep parts of our lives hidden in the dark. But when we hide from God and from others, shame grows, and we become less of who we were made to be. This Sunday, we’ll look together at God’s invitation for us to bring everything into the light of Christ, to be transformed in that light, and to stand in the power of God to overcome darkness as children of light.- Series Description -How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.

In Ephesians 3, Paul writes about his ministry of bringing "the news of the boundless riches of Christ" to non-Jews (Gentiles), "to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God" (3:8) "now revealed...by the Spirit" (3:6).What is this mysterious plan now revealed?Would you believe that it's the church? "Through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known...in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord" (3:10-11).The good news is that all—Jew and Gentile alike—have "access to God" (2:17 cf. 3:12) as they are incorporated into a people, "members of the household of God" (2:19), even "a dwelling place for God" (2:22). Does the church, the Body of Christ, feel like good news to you?Join us this Sunday as we reflect on just how closely connected the good news of Jesus is to the church in the letters of the New Testament we've been reading together this summer. We'll make space for folks to share how they've experienced the good news of Jesus in and as an invitation into the church and also engage with God about what we might need to persist in or move closer to the church as the fundamental location of our lives with God. We'll also look at Ephesians 4, where Paul describes God as a giver of good gifts, empowering each person to build the Body of Christ and find a place in it through the exercise of those gifts. We'll make time to reflect on the gifts that we've each been given and seek both new gifts and an increase in fruitfulness as we invite the Holy Spirit and pray for one another.- Series Description -How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.

What does God’s love mean to you? A question like that can elicit some pretty complicated and beautiful responses. Join us this week for another family friendly service filled with testimonies and lessons on what God’s love means to some of our youngest ECVers.- Series Description -How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.

Church can be one of the easiest places to feel like we don’t belong. In this week’s portion of Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we have been brought in and no walls stand between us and Jesus. Not only so, but Jesus is the cornerstone of the new building being created by God from those who are called by him from the prophets to the apostles and on into today. Our lives are built on Christ and through him, we are and are becoming the dwelling place of God.- Series Description -How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.

When we look around, things aren't perfect, or even ideal. The Bible uses stronger words- there's a way of death, and we see it daily. From wars between nations, injustice among people groups, or the internal strife we each feel. But there's also a promise that something unexpected can come from what we see, and people can be made ALIVE. Join us as we continue our journey through Ephesians and experience the surprising life God has in store.- Series Description -How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.

How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.- Series Description -How often do we lose sight of God’s character? We rupture a relationship and feel guilty. We sin and justify ourselves instead of seeking forgiveness. We lose our job and feel devastated. We need to remember who God is. God is powerful. God is alive. God is a unifier who makes us one. God is love. God is generous. God is light. The letter to Ephesus declares who God is, and we will ask God to help us not only believe these truths but walk them out in our lives.