Merton Vineyard Church

It seems to me that scripture is quite clear that WHY we do things is far more of relevance, to WHAT we do. In looking at our own lives, we can start to see if it’s a tick box exercise, or a real purpose of being. 

As we look back at 100 years since the end of WW1, we remember those who sacrificed everything in order for us to be free. This morning, we looked at why it is important to remember, and the need to remind ourselves of the great things that people have done for us in the past, and to remember what Jesus did for us all those years ago. 

Continuing in the theme of getting our head around scripture, Sam took us through the theme of Kingdoms, running from Adam and Eve all the way to Christ, and challenging us to look at the what we believe would be the perfect Kingdom.

In his public life, private life, before the resurrection, after the resurrection…Jesus’ life was dominated by Scripture, or the Old Testament, as we now call it. He boldly proclaimed, I have not come to abolish the law, but fulfil it. And, yet, some of his teaching seemed to contradict the words of the law, and to teach a new way. Here Conrad Gemf explores Jesus’ deep and abiding belief in Scripture, and invites us to encounter Jesus in the very words that Jesus believed would last forever. (Audio from SimplyJesus 2018 Conference) 

Where do you get your self worth from? From the outside - your environment, job, family or situation? From the inside - you defining who you want to be? or from God - what does God say about your worth and value?

This morning we looked at Hebrews 12 and the encouragement to run the good race and to give it all we got. Sam explored a few aspects of this and helped us look closer at setting goals.

In this family service, we asked what God could do, if we were brave enough to trust him and not fear. Using Joshua as an example of stepping out in faith and trusting God

The word evangelism brings fear to the heart of most people. But is that really what we are asked to do. This morning we looked at when something is important to you, you talk about it naturally. Thats what we do when we are in love.

How much are you willing to give up, for what is important to you? Do you long for something with mor meaning? Maybe taking the risk N.T. giving it all up, will mean an amazing journey with phenomenal consequences.

David sang about how important it is for people to live in unity and share life together. In this talk, we look at the importance of community life, and ways in which we work this out in reality

My favourite services are weddings and dedications, and this morning we had the joy of a dedication, followed by lots of celebration. It was a fantastic to look celebration as a spiritual discipline- one that is often overlooked and misunderstood.

So much damage and harm has been done in the church through abusive teaching. All of us can remmeber a time when we were told to do something that just didnt feel right. When something inside of us went 'ewwww...' How do we know if this is God talking to us, or man?

We strive so hard to be good chritsian, to do the right thing and to change when we aren't quite meeting the requirements. What if this was the wrong way around? Instead of trying to save our bodies and change our bodies, what sort of life would we have if we focussed on nourishing, and allowed God, to feed our souls.

Most of us believe that Gods clearing of our sins is for show - we know its not really true, as we return back to our ways, and so it must just be lip service. I am convinced, however, that God sees it totally differently, and when we see justification from his view, it makes far more sense than our own and helps us understand the difference between body and soul.

The Law and Grace are often seen as in opposition to each other - one is the old way and one is the new way - but actually when we look closer, the law compliments grace - God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow

Gods nature doesnt change, he remains the same since the begining of time. In this talk we explore how gracious and merciful God actually is in the Old Testament, all the way up until Christs ultimate sarifice on the cross.

In a performance driven society, we are assesed by everything we do. From work, to relationships, to family, to every aspect of life, we are assesed by our actions. This is the absolute opposite to grace.

As we continue in Romans 12, we look at our response to grace, and the way we celebrate, enjoy and practice our gifts

We continue our theme of vision and living how were were intended to, by looking at Romans 12. Paul starts Romans 12 with "therefore", reflecting on what God has done as described in Romans 1-11. This week we looked at how Paul is inviting us to respond in a natural way, to what God has done for mankind. It is an invitation to respond, not an order to 'do'

Matthew 7 looks at the foolish and wise man. This can be applied to foolish and wise Christians, and in this talk, we look at ways of actively practicing being better Christians