Balham Vineyard Church Podcasts

Righteousness: what is it? Why does it matter? What does God have to say about it? And how does being righteous affect the world around us? Follow Steve as he discusses what true righteousness really is, how it runs hand in hand with social justice, and how it points to the truth of who we really are. As you listen, feel free to engage in your own way. As we symbolically shredded our negative aspects of personality, find a way that you too can physically let go of something.

Continuing his sermonette "Jesus, Welcome to the Mess" from BVC's Carol Service, Steve brings us back to the reality that life is messy. 2017 was of course, no exception. Many of us faced challenges of many kinds and are semi-expectant that 2018 may offer us similar push-backs. But even in the midst of these trials and tests God is moving upon our behalves. Listen in as Steve leads us through Psalm 27 and invites us to heed the words of the psalmist..."Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Be encouraged and be inspired as you hear story after story of what God has been doing in the lives of those who have come to call BVC their home. And be reminded; God is in the details of our lives -- working all things out for our good.

For nearly three hundred years now, churches have practiced the tradition of assembling and lighting the Christingle. Symbolizing Christ as the Light of the World -- it reminds us of just how lost we are without him. Join Steve as he revisits this meaningful yet slightly quirky tradition as he walks us through step by step what each part of the Christingle signifies. Feel free to assemble your own at home and be reminded of just how significant this time of year really is. Happy Christmas!

Leading up to our January launch of the House of Prayer, Terence continues our Prayer Series with an emphasis on fostering an attitude of expectancy within our prayer lives. Listen in and be encouraged as he breaks down biblical truths and passages about how Jesus teaches us to approach prayer and how it's his good pleasure to respond to those prayers. As we continue this season of Advent leading up to the holidays may we also be swept up in eager anticipation for what God wants to do in our lives today!

Continuing his series on spiritual formation, Alexander confronts the dilemma between action and contemplation. How do we, in fact, remain a people of peace even in the midst of so much busyness? What does it mean to be a peacemaker in our community or through our vocation? Follow Alex as he transparently speaks from his own struggles and reflects upon John 20: 19-21 & 1 Corinthians 3: 5-7. What is the balanced perspective God wants to impart?

"Lord, teach us to pray..." This is the only recorded account within the gospels where the disciples out-rightly ask Jesus to teach them how to do something. With that type of singularity in mind it should certainly grab our attention, even stir in us the same response for the tutelage of Christ: Lord ,teach us to pray. Steve pinpoints that the root of Jesus' power and unmatched wisdom stemmed from his active and abundant prayer life and that his disciples would've noticed this. Like he did with his very own disciples, he draws us into a deeper and more meaningful prayer life with the Father.

What was it about the temple scene that pushed Jesus to the absolute limit? What set him off? Why was he so willing to risk his life all for the sake of prayer? Viv takes us back to the temple courts of Jesus' day and walks us through what Jesus saw; the alienation, the discrimination, sexism, and exploitation. All of these things literal barriers put in place by the sinful hearts of men to keep people from the presence of God. And what Jesus saw were the very things he came to dismantle. He would do anything to ensure his brothers and sisters the privilege of his Father's presence. Today, these very same concepts come to disconnect us from God, but Jesus made a way through the sacrifice of his body so that we might find ourselves within the Holy of Holies, face to face with our Father and Creator. "My Father's house is a house of prayer for all nations..."

Most of us are all too familiar with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. But have we ever taken the time to break down the story and peer through the eyes of each character. It may surprise you just how much you and I are quite similar to the priest or the Levite. Join Phil as he concludes his three part series on The Heart of Obedience and challenges us with brand new insight into one of the most renowned yet overlooked parable of the gospels.

Picking up where he left off, Alexander continues his series on personal spiritual formation. Through the ancient practice of lectio divina he inspires us to look and process scripture in a whole different way. As you listen take the time to reflect on the presented passage in a peaceful place and hear what God is saying to you through the text. You'll notice the passage is read multiple times. See if something significant and altogether singular stands out to you each and every time.

If you sadly missed this past Sunday with us here's a chance for you to listen in. Hear the testimonies of Coco & Tabitha and be reminded and refortified in your faith by their compelling stories of God's pursuing love and redemptive power. He is alive. And He is making all things new!

There are often unpleasant or uncomfortable realities that as people we'd like to pretend don't exist or have any such impact on our lives, but as followers of Christ and fellow human beings shouldn't we have something to say about such injustices happening all around us? Don't we have a redemptive role to play in all of this? As Karen draws our gaze to the harsh reality of human slavery, she begs us with this same question. She kindly reminds us of God's feelings towards such evils and how we as his people get to be a part of his redemptive plan to change things. Now that we've been made aware what are we going to do about it?

The poor and marginalized have always been a people close to the heart of God. Woven throughout scripture He commands his priests, his kings, and his people to tend to the helpless, the destitute, the orphans, and the widows -- those powerless in the wake of society. In light of this what does it mean for us? How are we defending the rights of the poor and subsequently seeing their needs met? Listen in as Steve delivers a message straight from the heart of God or better yet, the "gut" of God. Find out just where the word for compassion comes from and how that affects the way we minister to the world around us today.

Over the course of this year God has been faithfully involved in and through the people and ministries of BVC. Listen in to story after story of those He has healed, pursued, revealed Himself to, and championed in their faith. This podcast is a tribute to the goodness of God more than anything else. It is singularly because of His goodness that BVC remains an efficacious and necessary instrument to and for the people of Balham, Greater London, and beyond. There is still so much more to come!

For many the word 'fear' has mostly negative connotations, and it's no wonder believers have such a hard time conceptualizing why we're instructed hundreds of times in scripture to fear the Lord. Even so, this is what we as children of God have been designed for. And if He has designed us for such things then there must be a healthy approach to it all. Join Viv as she lays out the true reality of what fearing God actually means and looks like, and how this holy fear has promises and benefits attached to it. By the end we may discover it has way more to do with God's goodness and holiness than anything else. "The fear of the Lord is not the opposite of love. It's what love is about." -Viv Bateman

In a brilliant expose, Phil links satirical stories from his own life along with biblical teaching to translate the nature of the 'obedient heart'. Through comprehensive teaching, Phil gives us a clear portrayal of what obedience practically looks like in 6 key areas of our lives -- all of which, bedrock themselves upon the linchpin of relationship. He holds true to the fact that true obedience comes out of a place of relationship and not out of empty servitude. As Jesus once spoke, "If you love me, you will keep my commands..."

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." Echoing the words of Jesus, Steve reminds us of what we're packing as followers of Christ. Just as we have freely received from the bountiful depths of God's infinite power, we've also been commissioned to release that same power for the benefits of those around us. Putting this into practice; Steve coaches us through the Biblical definition of words of knowledge and releases the congregation to participate with the Holy Spirit to give specific words and to pray over those those words are for. As a listener, if you find that any words are applicable to you, receive them as your own. God is able and willing to heal you no matter your physical locale.

Finishing up our Summer in the Psalms series, Anna & Terence drive it home with an exposition on Psalm 91. Taken from the point of view of a lover, they break down the declarative vows that God is, in fact, inviting us into a marriage type relationship where He gets to be the one that hides us, protects us, and satisfies us. Through classic American directness and vulnerability, they share from their own lives where self-sufficiency and trust in false messiahs has kept them at bay from experiencing the true fullness of their salvation through hearfelt openness and trust with Christ.

The awesome SP and Addison dive into Psalm 73 today unpacking how this Psalm impacts our lives today.

Phil finished our series on 'Born Identity' with a brilliantly visual and practical talk on how to walk out your identity and to keep putting on your true identity. Using some data on values, a powerpoint presentation, an easel and several T-shirts this was a powerful and inspiring sermon.

After two weeks away in Turkey, Steve brings us first-hand accounts of what it would've been like to visit 1st century Ephesus. We find that in many ways modern day London mirrors what Ephesus in Paul's day would've been like. And if Paul, one man, was able to turn a city upside-down with the gospel what does that mean for us? Can we also be a force for dramatic social change -- upsetting the forces of oppression in our land and beyond?