It seems that lots of people are time poor
but those same people have lots in their hearts they would like to do
so …
some Sundays we don’t gather
we GO
we go and do something that is already in our heart
to help someone in their journey to knowing God
It could be making a meal for someone
or fixing their garden
or meeting up to eat somewhere
or giving a whole lot of kids a game in a park
anything you feel is ‘missional’ for you
all in Jesus’ name
Get read for the next one !!
See what you can plot up to do !!!
and let us know if you want others to join you
Every month we do this … simply gather to eat and converse. Getting to know others, meet their kids, or hear about their dog and maybe get to listen to their story or you tell them a bit of yours. No pressure, just the sacredness of being at the table together. This is one of the ways we at West Vineyard intentionally live out our faith walk. We need others and they need us, and God wants us to be interconnected; to be able to help one another in the tough times, celebrate in the great ones, and plot to do marvellous things for others. Bring food to share, and clothes that need a new home, you’ll be surprised what you go home with, both inside and out.
Here is our Statement of Faith. (In case you were wondering)
It’s a pretty good read, it endeavours to go through the Whole Story of the message of The Bible.
So grab yourself a cuppa and enjoy. There are references for everything, but I wouldn’t try looking them all up at once, unless you have all day… do that in short bursts and when you are ready.
Vineyard Churches Statement of Faith
A great start to youth life.
send us a message via the connect page if you are interested.
Once again, send us a message through the connect page if you are interested
has been different for us …
as a faith community …
believing all the same things abut the goodness of God
but taking time to enjoy each others homes as we gather
so each week, checkout our instagram page to see where we will be
text 0212872280 if you are not sure
Wow! We have so many talented and interesting people among us.
This week we will hear what Nia Val Tali has been up to in the last two years
Traveling to Paris and London
to honour and remember 500 Cook Island Soldiers
and see the short film that was made about the journey
And… you are also in luck because …
we begin our new series
Diving into Thesselonians
We have Kai together
and we host a POP-UP OP SHOP
Bring clothes you don’t wear and let them get a new home
take home anything you find that you will love to wear or give to s friend
We love the sacredness of time together over food and conversation
God loves us to do life together.
Bring food, invite your friends and turn up for our Kai night!
Invitation is what Jesus is all about.
We always have an Op Shop Swap on this night,
so bring your mates to peruse our stock of preloved clothes!!!
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Sunday November 5
This is our GO Sunday. Go and do what is in your heart for others.
But it is also Guy Fawkes night. Not sure that we want to celebrate a man who tried to blow up his government or the punishment he received;
but we do want to get together and celebrate family and friends aro
und a heartwarming fire.
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Sunday 29 October
Strahan Coleman is gonna speak !!
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Sunday 25 June
KAI
Everyone bring snack food
drink, eat, talk and enjoy
each other
and feel the friendship
see God through seeing his people
BE together!!!
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Sunday 30 April
It is the Sunday we call “Choice”
There will be a couple of options…
One is to have time to be led in personal prayer and meditation….
Led by a Spiritual Director
Many of us have never experienced thinking about God and interacting with him in this way.
The other choice is to listen to Pete Bennett speaking to us about Spiritual Gifts, so’s we can all begin finding more about where we fit
We are a bunch of people who have found that we need God, and want to be a part of what he is doing and can do in people’s lives.
Wherever we gather, there is coffee, friendly people, good music, lots of room and activities for kids, a youth community, and people of all ages.
We want to provide a space where people can come and consider some of the bigger things of life and where they fit in, and where all this God stuff fits in. It’s a journey and it’s an event; its life making us ask questions and look for answers in the direction of God.
Come join us!!
We want to see many people in West Auckland have their lives become free from the things that damage us and those we love, not by our own efforts but by realising that there is a God who made us and cares for us.
Learning how to be alive and well on planet earth, committing ourselves to following Jesus, living in the real world, engaging in relationships, bringing up our families, or getting jobs, or studying, caring for our neighbour, growing up as we grow older, and bearing the image of the God who loves everyone, being an influence of his goodness in this world or becoming such.
Have you ever watched any videos from the Bible Project?
Check them out on Youtube.
Here are a few tasters.
We watched these over a couple of Sundays during our gathering.
One on Wisdom itself and one on the book of Proverbs… if you missed them, here they are.
Need some thinking time? Need to connect with and have more of a sense of God? Try some of these resources to help you
A suggested tool for daily Reading and thinking is the Bible in One Year App or email subscription. This comes from Nicky Gumbel who is the pioneering vicar from “Alpha” at Holy Trinity Brompton Church in Britain. Alpha is a course designed to help people find answers when they are looking into having faith in God. I think it is one of the many inspiring daily readers you can get, so I mention it here. (Cindy)
Book Recommendation
NT Wright has written some excellent devotional comments on the books of the New Testament, such as Matthew for everyone, Mark for Everyone, Luke for Everyone, John for Everyone; you’ll be seeing a pattern here! Google the books if you want to buy them or down load the kindle versions, here are a couple of places to start
Matthew for Everyone and N.T Wright for Everyone
What is prayer? Simply talking with our amazing God! So many ways to do this, alone or with others. If you are not confident to pray, drop us a line on our contact page and we can get someone to call you and see how we can help.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray and there are plenty of prayers in the Bible to read and see what others did, but the best way may just be to start telling God our Father what is on your heart and listening or watching for his response.
Many people begin their relationship with God by simple prayers such as “God help me!” or “ If you are real, please show me” or “ I now believe in you, and I commit all of my life into your hands, please forgive all the things I have done that were wrong and give me the power to live with your ways first. Please come and make me alive to you, and I will follow you for the rest of my days” or many other variations, but once you are his , you will want to have an ongoing relationship with your creator.
This is where more prayer comes in. You could come to our Sunday Gathering and meet people who are walking this faith in Christ, and maybe get someone to pray with you or join one of our PODS (Places of Discipleship) and find out what others are doing.
Praying is usually just an honest conversation with God that may include; honouring him, thanking him, asking for help for yourself or someone else, saying you are sorry for something you have been doing that you know is not right or good and asking for forgiveness and strength, looking for guidance, asking questions, or expressing pain; you might sing it, shout it, whisper it, or breathe it. But it is connection to God through Jesus, and it will help you live your life more fully and securely knowing that you are connected to the Creator and living in his love and purposes for you and the world you live in. Usually people seem to pray as they think it, and this is a good thing, but I have included a couple of ancient prayers here for you to maybe look over if you feel stuck for words.
These were prayed by people from other times and places than us, but they are both longstanding prayers that people have prayed for centuries. If you have any more written prayers you would like to see added here, drop us a line through our contact page You probably have heard of St Patrick’s Day, but the story about the man who changed Ireland from Paganism to Christianity is mind-blowingly awesome, and his famous prayer covers a lot. Some of it is a bit strange to us, and about things we have no experience of, but we can relate to his passion and total surrender to God.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgement of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In prediction of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me.
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and souls,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born
to eternal life.
Amen.
So.. every month, we invite anyone who wants to come to a clothes swap. It is not like direct swapping, it is a bring or take as much as you want kind of swap. It’s free. Most people have good stuff they don’t wear in their house. Bring it on down and see what others have brought there!
Let all these clothes have new homes.
Freely we have received; freely give.
We have groups of people getting together to ask the big questions of life and find answers together. This is for those who feel they already know God and for those looking. there are some great short videos to watch and a community of friends usually forms over the 10 weeks.
CAP Money is a great free course to help you sort out your finances. the founder of this course was horribly in debt himself years ago and managed to crawl out of the agonisingly difficult place he was in. He knows the stress and debilitating reality of living with debt. he and his team have developed a simple plan, with easy steps to help you stay in control of your money.
Thinking of coming? Invite your mates to come with you and see if this could help you do better with money. The course will be starting soon, and the time and date will be decided by the needs and availability of the participants.
Contact us through our Connect page to get some more info.
If you are already part of the SUNDAY CREW … (You know – the workers)
CLICK below to see the roster and check if you are on.
Or, if you have just landed with us, or are keen to visit sometime;
On this page, we will have things that could help you with your daily life.
It is really easy to drift along and not make good plans.
We hope you find this helpful and good food for thought.
So.. every so often, we invite anyone who wants to come to a clothes swap. It is not like direct swapping, it is a bring or take as much as you want kind of swap. Most people have good stuff they don’t wear in their house. Bring it on down and see what others have brought there! Watch this space for the next one.
Let all these clothes have new homes.
Jesus said “Freely you have received; freely give.”
If you have fantastic recipes that are inexpensive, yet delicious.. please send them to us through our contact page and we will share them here.
WISH YOU HAD MORE MONEY?
CAP Money (If you haven’t checked out the video above… push play) is a great free course to help you sort out your finances. the founder of this course was horribly in debt himself years ago, and managed to crawl out of the agonisingly difficult place he was in. He knows the stress and debilitating reality of living with debt. he and his team have developed a simple plan, with easy steps to help you stay stay in control of your money.
The course will be starting soon, and the time and date will be decided by the needs and availability of the participants.
Thinking of coming? Invite your mates to come with you and see if this could help you do better with money.
Contact us through our Contact page to get some more info.