Ask Vineyard
While many issues in the Bible are black and white, we do acknowledge that within orthodox Christian faith there are issues which can be understood in different ways. We can engage in dialogue on these issues but all comments or opinions need to be expressed in a "Christian" manner. Any comments which are in any way mean-spirited or hurtful will be erased from this forum.
That being said we hope you enjoy and learn from the dialog.
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Thank you and God Bless the vineyard that saved me from a dark past.
Yes he is located at Lewis Prison in Buckeye within the Buckley Unit. I placed a note in the offering bag this last Sunday during service and asked Brian if a pastoral visit would be possible. Have a beautifully blessed day. Please feel free to email me at hfernandez3@cox.net with any info or questions.
Thanks a bunch! }:-)
Helen,
Our prison ministry here at the Vineyard serves those incarcerated in the Maricopa County Jail system and the State Prison facilities at Alhambra in Phoenix and Lewis Prison in Buckeye, Arizona. We also have some volunteers who are badged and cleared to provide one on one time to assist inmates with spiritual counseling and encouragement. I would encourage you when you visit your loved one who is incarcerated to attend one of several Christian services offered wherever he is incarcerated. I would be happy to see if one of our volunteers could visit your loved one depending on where he is incarcerated.
Thanks for inquiring,
In Christ,
Dan Moe
No the Family Fest is cancelled this year due to the on campus construction that we are in the middle of. You may want to look into some alternatives. We have listed some possible alternatives in this article. I would double check them before you head that way to make sure they are still going to happen.
vineyardnorthphoenix.com/story/2417
Thanks for asking.
Don
Thank you George Fry
That's a tough one. I know a few people who strongly believe that the KJV is the only real/valid translation of the Bible as well. Honestly, very little shakes their boat. People who hold that belief really can't hold on to history very well. While it is true that the KJV is a great translation for its time (17th Century AD), it is certainly not the best translation available. King James I (early 1600s) commissioned the translation of the Bible into English to further his campaign for an English Reformed Church that would be independent of Catholic and/or Papal control. It was not translated with the best ancient manuscripts available in its time, nor the best manuscripts available today. With the somewhat recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars have better, more reliable manuscripts that date back closer to the original documents.
It sounds like your friend is really holding on to a version of the Bible that was translated somewhere between 1600 and 3000 years after the original documents were written. I don't know if I have that much faith in any of the modern translations. However, I do have that much faith in the Bible and its reliability. Through better than two thousand years of history, it has been the best preserved book.
As far as which translation is the best, I don't know if there is any one perfect translation. Every translation has its strengths and shortcomings. Personally, I think the NKJV is a better translation than the KJV, as it takes into consideration more recent archeological findings (like the Dead Sea Scrolls) and follows modern translation practices. I tend to like the NIV, but it was written for reading coprehension more than it was intended to be a word-by-word translation. I can see how your friend might not like the NIV because it wasn't translated word-by-word, but rather was translated phrase-by-phrase. I also like the NASB (the version that Pastor Brian uses a lot) -- it tends to translate word for word well, but can be a little harder to comprehend as ancient Greek and Hebrew gramatical structure does not necessarily follow our modern subject/verb/verb compliment word order. Most scholars tend to use the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) for their base English translation. It, too, can be a little harder to understand, though.
Don't know if that helps or muddies the water. I would be more than glad to help you further if I can, though.
Blessings,
Dave McPherson
We will actually have a few deeper discipleship classes in 2008. You may want to talk with Sonia Dodd, the teacher for the Mind of Christ class, as she is teaching a couple of them.
If you do not already do so, I would encourage you to look into attending a Bible Study small group. While longer classes tend to foster extensive growth, most small groups function in that capacity on a weekly basis. Small groups typically provide a good place to grow and meet for longer periods of time than the average Sunday morning class.
We do have catalog that lists of all Spring 2008 classes available just across from the small group wall in the foyer of the Main Auditorium. I would encourage you to pick up one of those to see all of our discpleship classes for the Spring as well.
If you have further questions, please contact me, Dave McPherson, at the church office.
Blessings,
Dave McPherson
Are we going to have other classes in 2008 which go deep? I understand there are those that don't like to commit for that length of time, but this class has proven to me that for many a longer class is necessary for extensive growth. Please consider! See you there!
Sincerely,
The Ward Family
623-698-3598
E-Mail: babyjo537@yahoo.com
Most of the people who participate in our Single’s ministry (both the small groups and the events) are somewhere between 30 and 55 although any single adult is welcome. Many of the people under 30 are more involved in the Young Adult events then the Single’s events. I hope you can start getting involved in some of the Single’s events. You may also want to get involved in ministries which involve a lot of people (like greeting, the bookstore, the coffee bar) which is another way to meet some great people. You can find out about upcoming Single’s Events on the website Single's Ministry or just keep an eye on the bulletin.
The Vineyard board held an emergency meeting in 1994, to address the “excesses” that they saw in Toronto. They came up with a statement which they sent to the Toronto leadership which said in part:
- The Vineyard has always tried to “bless what the Father is doing” and will continue to invite the Holy Spirit to come with a willingness to pastor the results.
- We should definitely not try to explain a non-biblical manifestation with biblical allusion or “proof text”.
- We should never promote manifestations in any way, but focus on the main and the plain issues of Scripture, such as the fruit and gifts of the Spirit, evangelism and church planting. We are after a long-term fruit, not experiences. If God has truly touched a person, he or she should go home talking about Jesus, not about falling and shaking. The result of true renewal will be seen in new passion for Jesus, and the words and works of the kingdom.
- We don’t want church life to revolve around renewal meetings. We want to stick to what we are about – making disciples and church planting.
- The Vineyard should refrain from equating any movement of the Spirit with any particular eschatological scheme such as the beginning of a great end-time revival.
There have been several books, and articles, that have been written over the years about the Vineyard movement. John Wimber was a lighting rod in many ways for people, particularly for people who believed that spiritual gifts ceased at some time in the past and so in their minds, any working of spiritual gifts or any manifestation of the Holy Spirit is automatically dismissed as evil. I believe some of the people who wrote these things are well-intentioned, but perhaps ill-informed, some of these writers, I think, are just people who want God to stay in the box they have made for Him. Over the years theologians (some Vineyard, some not) have come out with books and papers defending Wimber and the Vineyard movement, some of these are on the Vineyard USA website (vineyardusa.org).
All in all I would say look at the fruit if you want to see the health of a tree. Are people being saved? Are people being discipled and becoming more like Christ? Are the poor and disenfranchised being ministered to? Is the Good News being preached? Is the Kingdom of God advancing around the world and pushing back the darkness? If this is happening, and I believe it is, could this happen without God’s blessing? I don’t think so.
I hope this at least in a small way answers your question and again I highly recommend that you read “The Quest for the Radical Middle” is you want a more thorough explanation of what happened there.
With His Love, Tom Quaid
I currently belong to a small group and a question came up about the old testament. My first question is why didn't God just send Jesus the first time - I'm thinking we weren't ready as humans to accept Jesus yet, and my other question is about the old testament. When the new testament was written, was much of the old testament proven obsolete? In other words, I know Jesus fulfilled the old testament's prophesy of the messiah but did the rest of the laws defining spiritual obedience change with Jesus?
The Spiritual Gift Assessment Survey is now up (migrated from old site).
We will have it up tomorrow. Thursday the 8th.
Thanks for letting us know.
Don
My wife and I are new members and I would like to know where I might fit in at the Vineyard.
The tithe was practiced both by the Hebrews and other nations before the Law was ever given. It was called the “King’s Portion” because most nations gave 10% to their King. The Hebrews who acknowledged no king of their own gave the 10% to God. Abraham does this with Melchizedek. You probably know that in the law there were several tithes. A Jew during Jesus’ time gave over 20% a year in several different tithes. Not one time did Jesus do away with the principle of the tithe, but he did fulfill the law. So it makes sense to ignore the other tithes which were mandated by the Law, but not necessarily the “King’s Portion”. Being a student of church history I am aware that the early church wrote at length about this topic and both the tithe being in force and the tithe being no longer in force were considered within orthodox Christianity. Many early Christians were killed for giving their “King’s Portion” to King Jesus, not Caesar. The leading opponent of teaching the tithe said, “Thank God the tithe has been abolished so we are free to give more!” You are exactly correct that we are to be cheerful givers, in not only our money but our lives. I’m sorry I said I would keep it short but it is such an interesting topic. But before I go trim my beard let me try the other question about forgiveness.
The primary point I would make is that when you accept Jesus as your Savior he forgives ALL your sins, past, present and future. Salvation is not a matter of believers trying to confess and repent from every sin they commit before they die. A person is not saved based on whether he/she has confessed and repented of every sin. Yes, we should confess our sins to God as soon as we are aware that we have sinned. However, we do not always need to be asking God for forgiveness. When a person places his faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, all of his sins are forgiven. That includes past, present, and future, big or small. Believers do not have to keep asking for forgiveness or repenting in order to have their sins forgiven. Jesus died to pay the penalty for all of our sins, and when they are forgiven, they are all forgiven (Colossians 1:14; Acts 10:43). What we are to do is confess our sins: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Yes, Christians do sin (1 John 1:8), but the Christian life is not to be identified by a life of sin. Believers are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have the Holy Spirit in us producing good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). A Christian life should be a changed life. I would have serious doubts about a person who claims to be a believer yet lives a life that says otherwise. Christians are forgiven no matter how many times they sin, but at the same time Christians should live a progressively more holy life as they grow closer to Christ.
Everyone has been wronged, offended, and sinned against at some point in life. How are we to respond when such offenses occur? According to the Bible, we are to forgive. Ephesians 4:32 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Similarly, Colossians 3:13 proclaims, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The key in both Scriptures is that we are to forgive others, as God as forgiven us. Why do we forgive? Because we have been forgiven!Forgiveness would be simple if we only had to grant it to those who come asking for it in sorrow and repentance. The Bible tells us that we are to forgive those who sin against us, without condition. Refusing to truly forgive a person demonstrates resentment, bitterness, and anger – none of which should be the traits of a Christian. In the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to forgive us our sins, just as we forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 6:12). Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” In light of other Scriptures that speak of God’s forgiveness, Matthew 6:14-15 is best understood to be saying that people who refuse to forgive others have likely not truly experienced God’s forgiveness themselves.
I hope this helps a little, forgiveness is both one of the greatest gifts that God gives us and one of the greatest gift that we can give. Sorry about the wordy reply.
One other question... If God only forgives those who repent and ask for forgiveness, why do we need to forgive others who aren't sorry? In the Bible, does God really tell us to do something He doesn't appear to do Himself? There are so many views on forgiveness and it is confusing.
