This is the Sunday teaching from Urban Vineyard, in central Auckland, New Zealandhttp://www.urbanvineyard.churchThe Sunday morning teaching from Urban Vineyard in central Auckland, New Zealand.http://www.urbanvineyard.churchhttps://admin.ezystream.com/static/images/podcast/1826636a-e92b-40aa-bc8c-f904ca633f78.jpgUrban VineyardUrban Vineyardoffice@urbanvineyard.churchen-usUrban VineyardnoLearning how to walk with Jesus through the narrow gate and along the narrow pathChristian life is about rhythm not balance. (Kingdom Expansion/God encounter AND Building Community/Building a lifeWe are tracking both the development and practice of Kingdom virtues/practices as individuals and corporately as a church.Everything in God starts with surrender (submission and obedience)Sun, 14 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin30d9834762-a52e-4624-a8f1-ef39eecb1004noSun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000Emma CrawleyEmma Crawley20:4374754cba-659c-4137-99e3-f5b6934ef384noSun, 14 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000Peter HuskinsonPeter Huskinson33:07e10dcb2f-6828-41db-af25-703022d7e2e8noSun, 11 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin23:05403544c9-6d92-424e-be78-2ee7a1b1a9canoSun, 02 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000Peter HuskinsonPeter Huskinson26:292be22c59-8ae8-4848-b4e0-b3f54f202480no5 speakers (Jonathan Rankin, Matthew Hutching, Emma Crawley, Peter Huskinson & Victoria Rankin) reflect on remembering what God has done in the past in Urban Vineyard, to help us see the future better.Ex 12, 17 Jer 6.16Sun, 09 May 2021 00:00:00 +00005 speakers reflect on God's work in the past in Urban Vineyard5 speakers reflect on God's work in the past in Urban Vineyard39:125394fbab-2aa0-4188-a7bb-a5623c44de14noThe doctrine of the Ascension is one of the neglected parts of theology. But the fact that Jesus' ascension was prefigured in the Old Testament, and reaches it climax with the bodily ascension of the resurrected Christ 40 days after resurrection Sunday, is one of the most important aspects of New Testament theology for us to live into. Jesus became a human being in order to save us through the incarnation. He was resurrected as a human body, and He ascended to the right hand of God as a human - fully God and fully human. And He is at the helm of all creation right now.Sun, 16 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000Jonathan RankinJonathan Rankin49:48707dabb1-621d-46b1-bf86-aec9b9cf9ee1noSun, 30 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000Peter HuskinsonPeter Huskinson35:19d277c8b4-1ef9-4762-a47a-7e3dcceaa36fnoSun, 06 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000Emma CrawleyEmma Crawley26:4992837b39-54a1-4a60-a061-f174696c6e96noActs 5Ananias & Sapphira - the "original sin" of the ChurchIt happened to show that the Church is Holy - is belongs to God not people.The miracles that continue to occur remind us that God touches anyone.The rhythm of church life is Kingdom Expansion AND Building CommunitySun, 13 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin36:0091048e57-b1a7-42bf-89c6-8621fd6d21f5noActs 8Philip, one of the 7, models evangelism as sharing the story of Jesus, and announcing that "you are included in the story if you want."Sun, 27 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000Jonathan RankinJonathan Rankin35:19c1527b61-f53b-438a-b203-e3a93ee5a7cfnoActs 9Saul's conversionPeter's signs and wondersSun, 04 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000Peter HuskinsonPeter Huskinson34:58ab69a819-68da-43c5-824a-04a36057d06fnoActs 10Outsiders an now be welcomed in and become insidersSun, 11 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000Emma CrawleyEmma Crawley30:490adbdc96-26c1-4f1e-951f-66068c8c1d3anoMatarikiNew season for UrbanSun, 25 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd & Victoria Rankin and Emma CrawleyLloyd & Victoria Rankin and Emma Crawley43:4261e548e1-f7d0-4393-b6fe-7959f8211260noActs 15Sun, 15 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000Peter HuskinsonPeter Huskinson37:4738ab767c-23ee-4b3d-81ff-f5f40a1c2378noWe are gospel centred peopleGod relates to us as body soul and spirit.Our physicality is as important as our spiritualityRom 12:1-23 John 1:2-41 Thess 5:23Phil 4:8-9Jude 1:17-25Sun, 29 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin10:24a3a7cd07-9fd9-40f2-af4e-5df8a1ed7706noWe all have longingsIn Phil 1:8-11 Paul speaks of His longingsPs 42 is all about longing and where to take those longingsWhat is my longing and what do I do with itJust like Jesus asked Bartimaeus "what do you want me to do for you?" Let's respond to Jesus by naming that longing and asking Him to respondSun, 10 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin09:013564022b-bb1e-4fcd-9e01-4af4d1a13acdnoA Lectio Divina of Psalm 19, led by Victoria RankinSun, 24 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000Victoria RankinVictoria Rankin12:3120de77cf-ec79-4b9d-8e2f-c2ebc06fe48bnoA reflection on Psalm 137 from Lloyd Rankin. Sun, 31 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin07:4769f77832-3277-4bcc-845d-cc72d9ffb3e0noThe First Week in Advent (referencing the Venn Foundation Advent cards). Lord, my hope is in You. Isaiah 64:1-3.Jonathan Rankin, 28 November 2021. Sun, 28 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000Jonathan RankinJonathan Rankin08:48693ad24b-1d81-49fe-8770-e534ce36393fnoThe Second Week in Advent - The true King will reign (Romans 15)Matthew HutchingSun, 05 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000Matthew HutchingMatthew Hutching16:43709255da-66e3-4c6b-80ee-5c3bd6af67denoThe Third Week in Advent - Isaiah 9:2,6-7 (Peter Huskinson)Sun, 12 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000Peter HuskinsonPeter Huskinson09:19acb4a627-f6f0-4fb3-8194-b71524e5d2a7noJonathan Rankin introduces our new series on the book of Mark, then focuses on Mark 2. Sun, 20 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000Jonathan Rankin, Urban VineyardJonathan Rankin, Urban Vineyard20:53bd410cea-caa2-4aae-93c7-d550a64cfe0anoLloyd shares the second message in our series on the questions that are presented in the book of Mark. Mark 4:35-41 - Why are you so afraid? Sun, 27 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd Rankin, Urban VineyardLloyd Rankin, Urban Vineyard23:312f016772-d7c9-4af0-8d49-382c7dd95709noThe third message in our series on the questions throughout the book of Mark. Sun, 06 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000Peter Huskinson, Urban VineyardPeter Huskinson, Urban Vineyard22:02df039e0a-052c-4a4d-b866-d1d5de30ffb6no"Let me ask you a question" - Conversations with JesusJonathan Rankin explores the question in Mark 3, "who are my mother and brothers?". Sun, 13 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000Jonathan Rankin, Urban VineyardJonathan Rankin, Urban Vineyard24:1440299d61-7e59-4571-b2b2-6e614a7468ddnoDon’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? Mark 4:1-20 Sun, 27 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd Rankin, Urban Vineyard ChurchLloyd Rankin, Urban Vineyard Church35:26dac19cc5-b718-454a-8957-3a0e996d2ba2noJonathan shares on Mark 14:1-11. Sun, 10 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000Jonathan Rankin, Urban VineyardJonathan Rankin, Urban Vineyard23:305b0861c8-52c8-4c4d-af7b-b32ccbb51af2noAn Easter ReadingMatthew 27:1-54, voiced by Amber-Rose Henshall. Thu, 14 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard ChurchUrban Vineyard Church07:378987a152-05e3-4429-ac08-66ec70d7c60cnoAn Easter ReadingLuke 23:1-48, voiced by Daniel Watterson.Thu, 14 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard ChurchUrban Vineyard Church07:2735dbf2e7-5a17-4adc-a0d3-bd4c0fd04da8noMark Series, Easter Edition: 'Why have you forsaken me?' & 'Who will roll the stone away?'Sun, 17 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000Emma Crawley, Urban VineyardEmma Crawley, Urban Vineyard18:53c58a6ed8-20a1-4657-bd48-f5e202d9d846noPeter speaks on the question 'What do you want me to do for you?' from Mark 10:32-52Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000Peter Huskinson, Urban VineyardPeter Huskinson, Urban Vineyard28:41f7b8251b-8420-4b85-984d-f02ec0a96756noMark 11:12-33Do I believe Jesus’ baptism was from Heaven?What am I authorised to do?(What is He authorising us to do as a church?What is He authorising you and me to do in our home and workplace) Is His presence the same as His power?Sun, 08 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd Rankin, Urban Vineyard ChurchLloyd Rankin, Urban Vineyard Church37:356c546c58-96bd-4047-9ce6-7decb026c28anoMark 12:28-34Sun, 15 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000Matthew, Urban VineyardMatthew, Urban Vineyard23:598d54776b-951d-44c8-85f2-e6456390a9a3noJonathan speaks on Mark 8:1-21. Sun, 29 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard, Jonathan RankinUrban Vineyard, Jonathan Rankin26:20d05592a1-a131-4676-9344-347ce1b98a03noLloyd speaks on what it means to participate with God. Sun, 12 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin29:4640953081-ab2b-4cd9-9cde-ed355eb704bcnoIn the first episode of our series about spiritual health and living life in its fullness, Emma teaches on how we can deal with burnout.Sun, 19 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000Emma CrawleyEmma Crawley34:4417d1503d-4b98-40d1-b2ab-d327f2993a6dnoPete teaches on fear and anxiety - a timely topic - and God's astonishing promise to us. Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000Pete H, Urban VineyardPete H, Urban Vineyard35a061d8b5-52f1-4121-8933-2c82c8f0e064noVictoria teaches on grief, and how we engage with grief spiritually. fSun, 03 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000Victoria RankinVictoria Rankin43:037a666438-5e0d-428e-a9a3-7b5d3aa0fe60noLloyd teaches about depression, including his own encounters with it, and what the Bible says about depression. Sun, 10 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin36:088a0686cf-95bd-49db-a90a-cdc7cb1c26b5noMatthew teaches on the Christian value and gift of forgiveness. Sun, 24 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000Matthew H, Urban VineyardMatthew H, Urban Vineyard30:10873e20cf-975e-4f69-8670-3adcf6d65e09noSun, 31 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard; Peter HuskinsonUrban Vineyard; Peter Huskinson31:39020e021f-d49d-4f35-8865-d41c2854d790noLloyd speaks on faith, beliefs, and doubt - and explains how doubt is not something to be afraid of but something that challenges us to go deeper in connection with God. Sun, 07 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin23:1007bc389c-32bf-4800-a0b2-60fdd2c80785noLloyd teaches on disillusionment, the stages of faith, and how to make hope your anchor. Sun, 14 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin37:52dea50ee3-acfd-4319-b1bb-92cfffeb8f67noPerennials - what we love, what we value and why - a series about the identity of Urban Vineyard.Matthew starts the series by speaking about worship, and our special value for an expression of worship that is simple, accessible, intimate, and welcomes Kingdom breakthrough. Sun, 28 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000MatthewMatthew31:48d025318a-2c83-42e3-aee7-163bb609216cnoLloyd teaches on the value of Scripture - God's Word - for Urban Vineyard. Our lives are built on Jesus Christ. We're people of the Book. Everything we do has to be rooted in the Bible.Sun, 04 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin34:2899ee3234-ac68-444e-b2a9-c46a29a7be23noSun, 11 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard; Peter HuskinsonUrban Vineyard; Peter Huskinson43f7ecc6ff-a09c-41fd-9da8-5b9390992d99noSun, 25 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000Paul & AnnePaul & Anne31:173efa610c-9c14-4c7c-bdf1-a2d52f16a219noIn our series on key values at Urban Vineyard, Jonny speaks on the value for community, or, a more appropriate term - fellowship. Sun, 18 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000JonnyJonny25:18759d0fd7-9c7f-4f69-854f-dd8d6968db7enoSun, 02 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard; Peter HuskinsonUrban Vineyard; Peter Huskinson33:46fe599c9f-2863-4f8b-a4fc-b1ee8b990534noIn the first message on Apostles' Creed, Jonny teaches on the first statements - "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth."Sun, 09 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000Jonny RJonny R32:4590c34192-7332-4a00-b56f-d03003a85ac8noLloyd teaches on the second part of our series on the Apostle's Creed. Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000Lloyd RankinLloyd Rankin27:008c9dbc96-4c5b-45c4-a2da-33d596c7d6c3noLance and Claire share their beautiful and powerful testimonies of their walk with God and their journey together, showing the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of his people. Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard21:379b773e0b-abfe-43ba-bc31-23b5e6090ba1noPaul delivers a powerful teaching on Rahab - his second-favourite Biblical hero after Ruth. Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:303d06a50d-3846-41e7-a4ff-2167c0ec7607noPeter teaches on the Apostles' Creed. Sun, 06 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard26:596cf569fb-aee2-4edf-97a9-9bf8c31e847dnoJonny teaches on the Apostles' Creed.Sun, 13 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard18:50337c7be0-5f13-4b6a-aa83-210a35aae0a0noSimon teaches on his Biblical hero Joseph, sharing Joseph's story from an interesting first person point of view. Sun, 20 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard20:298de47f92-c7a6-4655-ad2c-37979ed90113noPete teaches on the first Sunday of Advent, about preparing our hearts for God's arrival. Sun, 27 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard14:35eb580a31-008f-4948-ba4f-770b28b1287fnoOn the second Sunday of Advent, Jonny teaches on the incarnation - God pitching his tent among us, moving into the neighbourhood. Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard22:158fa6b86a-dbbc-42fc-9097-a15d97ffdf0enoLloyd teaches on the hope in God that anchors us. Sun, 11 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard20:45797f595f-768e-49f9-85b5-5f0d108f9650noIn the Apostles' Creed we say Jesus ascended into Heaven. What is the ascension? What does it mean? Jonny teaches about the resurrected and ascended Jesus. Sun, 19 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:598da24563-909e-4738-b1bf-9760c322572cnoPeter teaches on Mark 4, when Jesus calms the storm from the boat where he was resting, while his disciples were afraid. Sun, 26 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard19:388cb5f7a1-103f-4055-9a65-95326599efb8noLloyd teaches on the statement in the Apostles' Creed - "I believe in the Holy Spirit."Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:5892bc6f00-befc-43ad-8f89-2da9b6e7abc2noIn the latest teaching on the Apostles' Creed, Jonathan teaches on what the 'holy, catholic and apostolic Church' means. Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard28:45424f9ae2-e4bc-4c0f-9b38-99e765470d6cnoPeter, Victoria and Jonathan share on the prayers, decisions and vision for the future of Urban's leadership and fellowship. Sun, 26 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:0976f454ba-025c-43c8-a70c-dbbbd004b604noIn the latest part of our series on the Apostles' Creed, Jonathan teaches on what it means for us to believe in the forgiveness of sins. Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard23:020c518b9a-657d-40bc-883d-53bd20c8f6b0noPeter teaches on some of the last lines of the Apostles' Creed: "I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting."Sun, 16 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:224e5ad572-6c9f-4a29-bb14-6e81b442c459noIn the last of our series on the Apostles' Creed, Jonathan teaches on what it means to believe in life everlasting. Sun, 23 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:23abae75cd-4e20-4b6d-bd1a-990c1c9d2b15noIn the lead up to Pentecost, Jonathan starts a new series on the significance of the Holy Spirit to the life of the world, the church, and the believer. Sun, 30 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard27:3197151697-3524-4701-b0a7-955d0ec1697fnoOn Sunday, Vineyard Aotearoa national leader David MacGregor joined us to commission Jonny Rankin as the new pastor of Urban Vineyard. Sun, 07 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard20:41a7420b03-02fa-4519-b20e-2361a4b8dcb2noVineyard Aotearoa national leader David MacGregor teaches on the Holy Spirit, on the second Sunday of Urban Vineyard's "Empowered" series. Sun, 07 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard21:5793349dc3-3f36-4521-9c6d-971a3231ddefnoLloyd teaches on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and encourages us to keep trying with using the gifts in praying for each other. Sun, 14 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard44:42aabf4fa7-a6a3-4b2b-a89d-86961ea0a6c4noJonny teaches on Pentecost as the undoing of the curse of Babel. It's the anti-Babel event in the life of the Christian Church. Pentecost promotes a multilingual, multiethnic, multicultural approach to our Christian faith. Sun, 21 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:13d71d52e3-4d49-4735-b87c-bff918e82650noOn Pentecost Sunday, Jonathan continues the Empowered series, teaching on waiting for the harvest, and the sending of the Holy Spirit. Sun, 28 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard22:13b5530cb2-a676-4d4e-b5a2-c055c92368b0noAs part of the Empowered series, Simon teaches on his experiences trying to 'do the stuff' that Jesus and the disciples did through the gospel stories and Acts. Sun, 04 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard33:33b04afd1e-05e6-4145-8721-912cb061f149noAs part of the Empowered series, Pete teaches on receiving the Holy Spirit as part of responding to the good news of the Gospel. Sun, 11 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:3981318e84-b280-45f2-91fe-c428f757b156noAs part of our Empowered series, Jonny teaches on what it means to be a people who "bear" or carry the Name of God, and to be the aroma of Christ in the world. Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:240707ef80-a6ae-4fbf-a6d4-36d5f77872b0noIn finishing the Empowered series on the Holy Spirit, Jonathan teaches on John 15, where Jesus says "I Am the True Vine." He teaches on what it means for we - the church - to be and bear the fruit of the Spirit. Sun, 25 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:3778ece9ca-03c9-48e7-900c-29337d09b3abnoPeter Huskinson continues our series on what it looks like to be a people who carry God's name, as together we bear the Spiritual fruit of joy, kindness and gentleness. Sun, 02 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard31:480d47ce03-11ba-41ca-bfa3-ce58a7ba2d19noLloyd continues our series on bearing fruit, looking in particular at what it looks like to be a people of peace. Sun, 09 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:4532be6824-d6a8-4453-a857-32115c312de2noTo mark the season of Matariki, Jonathan drew out some of the treasures and promises God has given our church over the years, all of which speak of His great faithfulness to us. Sun, 16 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:36f3ea31d4-2975-4070-8599-1992dcbdba7cnoJonathan continues our series on being a people who bear fruit, looking in particular at the Spiritual fruit of faithfulness. He tells the story of Te Mānihera and Kereopa as examples of the fruit of faithfulness and connects this to the faithfulness of Jesus. In the end, we pondered what it would look like to be a people of faithfulness and concluded it would look a lot like the work of Jesus – being incarnational, connected to the city, identifying with our neighbours and offering self-sacrificial love. Sun, 23 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard39:560a0432a9-e3c4-4e95-926c-27949f64370bnoPaul teaches on Psalm 67 - God shining His face on us so that we may bless the world. Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:421630fee8-126e-47de-a739-6a0846325215noAs part of the Bearing Fruit series, Lloyd teaches on the fruit of patience - a gift we receive through the Holy Spirit. Sat, 05 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard34:037438fa9c-41cf-4664-bb39-5ec10650df45noSun, 13 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 13:022ca13ba4-8607-4ad1-ad67-4a7c72df0cbbnoIn wrapping up the series on Bearing Fruit - Jonathan teaches on the Hebrew word 'Tov' which can be translated as 'good' but so much more than what we think 'good' is. Sun, 20 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:482be0bf21-b6c3-4820-aaab-18e01ff80783noJonathan begins a new series on the theme of ‘rebuilding,’ based on the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah and Esther. The Old Testament is a strange place for many of us. In the early years of the Church there were influential voices who even questioned the need for the Old Testament. They saw it as belonging to a bygone era. Thankfully these voices did not hold sway, and the Hebrew Bible was affirmed as sacred scripture for the Church. Nevertheless, the tendency to skip over what we perceive as the stranger bits of scripture persists among many, even today. For that reason we are diving in deep to explore the rich treasures of the living word. Sun, 27 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard42:3975471054-7885-44ca-8099-56ee9bb9135dnoIn part two of our new series, Rebuilding: Finding Faith in the Rubble, Pete teaches on the story of Esther, and as we're in election season he focuses on the themes of providence and politics in Esther's story. Sun, 03 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard40:11c2462597-099e-4486-9a12-570e3851be9bnoJonathan continues to teach on the beginning of Ezra - looking at the second wave of returnees and pondering what lessons we can learn from their attempts to rebuild faith in the rubble. Sun, 10 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard41:00e4ab5aa6-7179-4e75-a423-6aad7a3e376anoJonathan concludes our study of the Book of Ezra by discussing the overarching theme of what to do with disappointment and how to live faithfully even when things aren't working out as hoped. Sun, 17 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 41:395c4f082d-8d3b-49a3-a5e2-5be4cce0def1noTo mark the Season of Creation, we take a break from our "Rebuilding" series to reflect on what it means to be creatures living under our Creator's loving and generous care. As part of the sermon we spent time hearing from different members of our church to learn about how they worship God through their acts of caring for creation. Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 47:31527053e8-291c-48ec-93b9-013a9a7ae24fnoPete finishes off our 'Rebuilding' series on the Book of Ezra-Nehemiah. This builds on his earlier sermon where Pete highlighted the relationship between Nehemiah's sorrow for Jerusalem which led to his prayer which led to transformative action. In this final sermon in our series, Pete evaluates the fruit of Nehemiah's reform, highlighting the deep society-level transformation that occurred as a result of Nehemiah's wise leadership, as well as pointing to the ultimate fragility and failings of his reform in the end. Pete concludes by reminding us that the only lasting spiritual or social reform is that which is initiated, carried and completed by God. Sun, 08 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37b0e2a70e-608b-45f1-9170-a6eb726e31a9noJonathan begins a new teaching series on the multifaceted implications of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). He discusses the pattern of creation in Genesis 1 and shows how God has set creation up as a cosmic temple and the place where his presence rests. He also discusses the role of humans, as image-bearers, who are called to enact God's reign as his representatives in the world and to reflect the praises of creation back to God. Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 26:45b2909cf6-a3eb-44b6-a1a2-271a6f99a640noJames continues our new teaching series on what it means to be God's image by exploring the nature of our work in God’s creation. He begins by pointing out how flawed beliefs about work do great damage to our God-given identity before going on to remind us that God values, delights in, and takes part in work. It is not a 'necessary evil' but an inherently good part of being human. James highlights how God’s work involves bringing order out of chaos and providing life and nourishment for all his creatures. He also discusses how God's work is inherently creative and leads to flourishing for all, hence, being made in His image means our work ought to follow in this very same pattern: bringing order from chaos, creating structure in the world, valuing and delighting in the work of our hands and in the work of others, and working together to make our neighbourhoods, our city, our country and our world a beautiful home for all. Sun, 22 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 16:264e9188f3-ab43-4fde-b8aa-f2459f5d3ca8noIn carrying on our series on Being God's Image, Lloyd teaches into the vital issue of how suffering and human frailty doesn't invalidate our status as image bearers but instead reveals, in the pattern Christ established, our deepest identity. This is an important message. Sun, 29 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 46:485ab9c183-b6dd-4090-b3b3-2054c4229f5enoSarah continues our series on Being God's Image by exploring the relationship between human embodiment and our identity as image bearers. She makes the important point that being an image bearer is not based on our capacity for certain functions (e.g. moral reasoning, rational thinking, creativity etc) but simply on the fact that we have (and are!) human bodies. All bodies – young, old, male, female, fragile, strong, impaired, growing – are an image of God and there is no ontological or value hierarchy between them. She meditates on the story from John 9 where Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth and in doing so, troubles the categories of ideal bodies by showing how impaired bodies are also the site of God's glory. Sun, 05 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 38:1719d5cc01-948d-4af9-a7e4-051b90547bb2noGenesis 1:27 is one of the most radical statements on the status of males and females as equally bearing the image of God. Genesis 1-2 not only teaches us that our physical embodiment holds the key to understanding what it means to bear God's image, it also teaches that our sexed bodies, and the reciprocal relationship between male and female, reveal something important about God's relational character. In a world where many stereotypes around gender roles have squashed people into painfully constrictive and dehumanising boxes, its tempting to see our sexed bodies as a curse. In this sermon, Jonathan shows how Jesus, Paul and the early Christians overturned the dehumanising gender stereotypes of their day in formational and transformational ways to help believers uncover their true identity in God and according to the pattern of creation. Sun, 12 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 40:05fe918e2e-0135-4d9f-bb96-ecc9d95dcae0noJonathan concludes the conversation from last week on the significance of being made male and female in the image of God. Working from the ground up, he shows how the male and female body, when united as 'one flesh' is designed, in its original intent, for life and fruitfulness. This reveals much about God's nature as a divine community of love that exists between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He then looks at a often misunderstood passage from Ephesians 5 where Paul speaks of marriage as a profound mystery, or sacrament, which reveals God. However, lest we fall into the trap of thinking marriage is the ultimate goal of human life, he also shows how life in the presence of the future in-breaking kingdom of God relativises singleness and marriage as equally valid ways of expressing Christian faithfulness. In the final analysis, Jonathan argues that the Gospel offers a uniquely liberating path for men and women irrespective of whether they choose to marry or remain celibate in that it reveals the path to satisfying our deepest longings in union with God. Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 39:5515f5442b-f937-4742-8a3b-6b8a95c8b403noPete continues our series on Being the Image of God by addressing some of the wider implications of what it means to be made male and female. He highlights the way Jesus scandalously embraced people in their brokenness while also calling everyone to a righteousness that far exceeded the narrow religiosity of his time. In this sense, we are reminded of our calling as a church to embrace each other as Christ has embraced us, and call each other to be renewed in the image of God, as Christ has done for each one of us.Sun, 26 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard28:01df4b0a7e-7300-4332-a6c4-ff1728ed9c79no– RE-RECORDING – We had some issues with the recording from Pete's sermon. The live version is still available in our podcast feed; this is the exact same message but re-recorded without the glitchy issues. Sun, 26 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 37:0298c7bd6c-bdcc-4b66-986e-aa1446b31390noJonathan reflects on the difference between optimism and hope in the Biblical imagination by looking at Abraham and Paul's life experiences. He also tells some of his story about the perils of 'hoping' for an outcome that is never strong enough to carry the weight of our deepest hope. The episode ends with a benediction from Romans 15:13. Pray it over yourself and others this Advent season as often as you can. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."Sat, 09 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 35:20c27f4094-9ba4-44d6-9a39-85b6703644banoJonathan shares an encouragement from Deuteronomy 30 to "choose life" by living in a continual state of openness before God, ourselves, and each other, returning again and again whenever we fail, and holding fast to the life that is always ours in the Lord. Sun, 21 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 22:11e87ff53e-c3e0-43dc-9c15-888366a35764noIn a continuation of the conversation on repentance/choosing life in 2024, Jonathan explores the significance and efficacy of baptism as a concrete sign and means of grace by which we choose life. For those who have been baptised, the invitation is to constantly remember the moment we crossed from death to life in the saving floodwaters, and for those who haven't been baptised, the invitation is to make an appointment to get baptised this year. Sun, 28 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 33:422a1487bb-e91b-42b4-90d8-b252b711331anoAs part of a special Waitangi Day Sunday, Pete reminded us of the story, characters, and spirituality that shaped Te Tiriti and established the bi-cultural foundation of Aoteaora/New Zealand. He then provided space for us to reflect, as a church, on what it means to be followers of Jesus in a bi-cultural context. As Christians living in these islands, the story of te Tiriti sits within the nested stories of our lives, the life of our city, the life of our nation, the life of the global church, the story of Scripture and the ultimate story of God’s redemptive plans. The more we understand the trajectory of these interconnected stories, the more we will be able to live lives attuned and responsive to God’s sovereign plans for his world. Sun, 04 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 43:26767e8d4a-5e68-47fb-8ba1-c98351e098f1noWe were so blessed to have our dear friend Matthias Bühlmann share with us on the joyful and exhilarating 'world-adventure' of God. Reflecting on Colossians 1:13-27, Matthias reminded us of the magnitude of the Gospel, or what the Apostle Paul described as "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but now disclosed to the saints" (v26). For Paul, the gospel is, quite simply, Christ in you, Christ in us, "the hope of glory" (v27). Matthias then encouraged us not to give into the 'venom of neo-stoicism' which is the shrunken life of self-preservation and fatalistic detachment from the world at large, but instead to join with our adventurous God in his 'world-adventure' of revealing his glory through the work of the church. Sun, 11 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 46:450a9720af-2385-4cec-a174-28ded5861ddenoIn this first of a four week series, Lloyd Rankin, former national director of the Association of Vineyard Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand, tells the story of the Vineyard in the context of global and local Church history. In doing so, he sets up the next three sermons which will reflect on questions like: what does it means to be 'Vineyard'? What does it mean to care for that "sacred trust" God has given us so we can offer it as a gift to the world and the wider body of Christ? And what does it mean for each of us to belong to such a people? At one level, to be Vineyard means to recognise that we carry and cherish similar values. For instance, our desire for intimacy in worship and an openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our gatherings. Perhaps it also means a willingness to be trained and equipped to carry on the work of Jesus (rather than leaving it up to the professionals). It probably also means a commitment to a life of service, caring for the poor in particular, and cultivating an expectation that the kingdom of God can break into the present moment bringing with it all the signs of Jesus' lordship... We don't always get these priorities right, or in the right order, but for the next three weeks we are going to explore some these values with the hope that we can remember once again who God has called us to be, and what he has called us to do. Sat, 17 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 48:56d83a370f-a550-43d2-87ab-2bebc551046fnoIn this second message on our series on what it means to belong to the Vineyard Church tradition, Jonathan brings attention to our unique emphasis on pursuing the presence of God, showing how it connects to a robust theology of God's kingdom. Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 44:12be2721bd-811d-41d5-82db-2bad79abbf23noIn the third of our four part series exploring what it means to belong to the Vineyard tradition, Jonathan talks about our value for doing 'the stuff' of the kingdom of God, not to prove anything, but instead to become completely turned over to Jesus and his heart for the sick, the poor, the outcast – all those who find themselves at the advancing edge of God's expanding kingdom. Sun, 03 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 23:207f970513-d7ce-4d8f-b532-293a4e988f7dnoTo mark the beginning of Holy Week and Palm Sunday, Jonathan reads the story of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and explores what the event teaches us about the kind of king Jesus is, the king of kingdom he is bringing, and the kind of worship we can offer him. Sun, 24 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 27:392c255267-449e-4c82-a3b5-60d3f4408651noJonathan shares on the centrality of Jesus' resurrection as the Truth that shapes all truth and the Meaning that shapes all meaning. He also reflects on the reality of living with the presence of death in life and the pain that it brings whilst we wait for the culmination of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. In the end, the encouragement is to learn how to weep with those who weep and to "be steadfast and immovable in hope, always giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord because we know that our labour is not in vain" (1 Cor 15:58). Sun, 31 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard28bce283ee-4f67-4729-8d2a-14bf16669f53noIn a timely one-off sermon, Peter speaks on the way God comes to us in our grief and walks with us. Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 22:148a5fbecf-b0fb-4d31-8fc3-91e59d6acf73noIn the final of our series on the Vineyard, Lloyd shares on the value of worship as touching God's heart. He reflects on the immediate responses to the resurrection by Jesus' disciples as a paradigm for our worship – bowing as a sign of reverence and clasping Jesus' feet as a sign of intimacy. Sun, 07 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 49:130e9c9c2a-4061-4681-bb8a-121ac9740849noThis is the first sermon in our new teaching series exploring the implications of Jesus' ascension. The doctrine of the ascension has largely disappeared from view in the contemporary Church. This has left a void in our understanding of Christ's ongoing work in us and the world. Traditionally, the ascension of Jesus was understood as the crowning of Jesus' tripartite role on earth as prophet, priest, and king. A deeper understanding of three roles or ministries helps us to understand where Jesus is now and what he is doing.In this sermon, Jonathan explores how the ascension crowns and extends Jesus' ministry as our great priest. In the end, the invitation is to simply allow Jesus to minister to us; washing us of all the muck that get's stuck in our soul and bringing us home to the Father. Sun, 14 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 41:458c2b242c-569a-4934-8207-9b4a5e811c3fnoIn this first of a two-part sermon, Pete highlights the way Jesus acted in the role of an anointed prophet during is earthly ministry and now, in his ascension, is continuing to guide us by revealing God's word and will to his Church. Sun, 21 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban Vineyard Urban Vineyard 31:033cd58e1e-9c73-4e9c-b6e1-5333a0e8b4cbnoDavid MacGregor, National Director of Vineyard Aotearoa New Zealand, concludes our series on what it means to be a fruitful Vineyard church. In this sermon, Dave charges us to never stop being a people who remain alert to the reality that God is at work all around us. He also encourages us to continue seeking ways to partner with God by hearing his voice, speaking his words, and inviting his kingdom to come so we might see lives transformed in a way that far exceed our human abilities. In conclusion, he reminds us that we are not called to become "powerful people", but on the contrary, to recognise that our frailty and weakness can be the site where God works most powerfully through us.Sun, 28 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard33:07b8b582bb-aad2-4c88-8d48-5b51549090afnoFollowing on from an earlier sermon given on the 21st of April, Pete helps us to see what Jesus is continuing to 'do and teach' (Acts 1:1), as the ascended anointed prophet, through us, his Spirit-filled prophetic people.Reflecting on the question of what it means to be prophetic, Pete shows how scripture reveals prophets expressing the heart of God, confronting the ways of humankind, and bringing hope. He points out how for us, in today's era of mercy that Jesus' ascension heralded, being prophetic means being his hands and feet – demonstrating the love of the one who is full of grace and truth. Sun, 05 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:005392c710-419a-46cb-bac8-42fab99ac44anoIn recognition of the special place Mother's Day holds in the Vineyard, Jonathan brought a message reflecting on the way in which motherhood has been central to the way God’s promise has makes its way through "the crooked course of history." Surveying the grand narrative of the Bible, Jonathan showed how at the great turning points in the drama of salvation, we find "a woman pregnant and an infant child bring brought into the world by the powerful promise of God" (Myers) God values mothers. Indeed, he himself was pleased to be nourished and sustained by a woman and to cast himself completely into the care of Mary. This clearly shows God’s value for pregnancy and motherhood. At the same time, Jonathan points out that we can also over-inflate the importance of motherhood and treat it as a kind of idol, as the story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar potently illustrates.To those who are mothers, we hope the day brought encouragement. To those who are not or can not be mothers, we hope the day brought a reminder that you belong to God's strong and eternal family and have inherited sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters too numerous to count. And to those who have lost their mother, we hope the day gave you space to remember. Sun, 12 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:50a0abff33-a765-4812-8432-89840326afc9noJames teaches on Pentecost SundaySun, 19 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard31:269b75ddad-bff8-4daf-8fae-63e108918f66noSun, 02 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard28:3626fa7e98-50c0-4201-801a-acc4d0f869danoSun, 09 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard46:569bd43a44-c7b4-4fe6-bd7c-4031defcb104noSun, 23 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:561d4bffba-c2af-4035-a27f-3df7f9319d5fnoSun, 28 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:506b01cfcd-75f9-44d4-90d5-53afe365aed2noIn this first talk of a new teaching series on the Ten Commandments, Jonathan frames the context of God's ten words. He shows how they are best seen as the words of a father to a son, spoken to a liminal people who had been freed from slavery, and freed for a new identity as a priestly nation and holy kingdom.Sun, 04 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:213c9501a0-8da9-4449-9c75-97d5000e3b38noJonathan speaks on the first of the Ten Words in Exodus 20 (And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.“You shall have no other gods before me). He makes the point that worship is not something we voluntarily opt into but instead is an innate and inescapable impulse of the human heart. Looking at Romans 1:18-25, he shows how our proclivity toward worshiping created things rather than the Creator leads to an exhausting and unmanageable life. Using the acronym N.E.W. he proposes that we ought to name (N) the false gods that have gripped our imaginations, expose (E) them for what they are – slave drivers with no power to save – and to turn our worship (W) back to the one true God who wants to set us free to live under his gracious care.Sun, 11 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard40:339a46813b-f47f-4269-a2d4-c885a9f5360bnoLloyd carries on our series on the Ten Words, looking at the second commandments which prohibits the making of images to substitute God. He makes the point that just as the first commandment pertains to not worshipping false gods, the second commandment pertains to not worshipping God falsely. It turns out to be very easy to twist our image of God by 'creating' Him in our own image (contra Genesis 1:26-27) and making this novel image agree with all our thoughts, values, and preferences. In conclusion, Lloyd reminds us that the only antidote to this tendency which lives in all of us is to continually fix our eyes on Jesus, the true image (Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-4).Sun, 18 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:3383fc1583-a14b-49fa-b6c0-552247815e5fnoOn Father's Day and the first day of the Season of Creation, Jonathan teaches on what it means to honour parents. Sun, 01 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:4334bfb932-6ccb-4ff8-bff6-1592ad233fd7noPete shares on the third 'word' from Exodus 20 – "You shall not make wrongful use of the of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name." He shows how this is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the commandments and therefore, perhaps the most important for us to recover. In the end, we learn that the commandment is not about being fastidiously polite so as not to offend God, but rather living in such a way that, by our words and deeds, his name is given the glory and honour it deserves. Sun, 25 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:5883349a0e-c209-4a79-841e-8fb01468c53anoSarah shares on the profound reality that God is Lord of all time and that his commandment to "remember the Sabbath" is a call to proleptically enact the future age of salvation and freedom which has been secured for us in Jesus. She uses the metaphor of Sabbath as a lamp which we light every seven days as a reminder that the true dawn is coming. For now, we gather around the light of the lamp, but we do so knowing that one day we will live in the true light of Jesus forever. Sun, 08 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard33:3955b0a01e-4213-49c0-9dc6-64a061cd4f53noIn a continuation of our series on the Ten Words spoken at Sinai, Lloyd addresses the sixth commandment prohibiting murder. He makes the point that despite feeling like a particularly extreme act which not many of us could ever fathom ourselves committing, to kill is actually the outcome of a much longer chain of events which begins with dehumanising our neighbour in our hearts. Referencing Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:21-26, Lloyd reminds us that our attitudes, thoughts and words often expose the seeds of violence in our hearts, and it is only through Jesus that we can really be free from this tendency. He concludes by bringing us back to the truth that we all need to be healed and forgiven so that we can offer the same healing and forgiveness to those who we would otherwise wish to annihilate. Once again, we discover the very good news of the Gospel that sets us free to live in God's gracious care, free from malice and the desire to constantly seek revenge. Sun, 15 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard38:55ad37061a-e3c1-4697-a6f3-92a8fbb5c2a3noCarrying on in our series on God's Ten Words at Sinai, Pete shows how the Biblical prohibition against stealing goes far beyond our modern ideas of private property rights. He shows how theft in the Old Testament also included participation in unjust economic systems which disposed some to enrich others. In this way, Pete challenged us to see where we too might need to be set free from patterns of hoarding and withholding which ultimately trap us in a mentality of never having enough. In the end, Pete invited us to open our hearts to allow God to lead us toward a lighter grasp of what we have and to show us how a more active use of what we have can restore the mana of those in need, in light of the one who became poor that we might become rich. Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard40:197d65ffb6-f80c-4774-80a3-4b6410deeff2noJonathan continues our series on God's ten 'words' spoken at Sinai by looking at the seventh which prohibits adultery. He makes the point that the temptation to adultery affects us all because it is connected to a very good and human desire for true vulnerability and embrace. Our God-given sexual desire points to our need for vulnerability and embrace, but it also necessitates some restraints given the awesome power of our desire. Scripture commends a life of chastity both in marriage and in celibacy, not as a way of shutting down desire but of deepening it. In the end, these two ways of chastity –  whether in celibacy or in marriage – are designed to glorify God and lead us to fulfil our deepest desire for life in Him. Jesus both models and achieves this for us. Where we all fall short, Jesus takes our brokenness and replaces it with his wholeness. In this exchange, he invites us to find our life in Him as he brings us into the very heart of the Triune God who is love all the way through. Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:5225a9cf6a-715b-44e7-b663-423d6f8360f3noJames continues our sermon series on the Ten Commandments, looking at the prohibition against coveting. He uses stories from the Hebrew Bible to show how damaging coveting has been when it has taken hold amongst God's people, and he shows how the early church was characterised as a joyful 'anti-coveting' community of abundance, because of how Christ made them truly rich. Sun, 06 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard21:5659463101-b61d-4a60-a27a-3f8685652037noIn this final sermon in our series on the ten words, Anne presents a compelling and convincing interpretation of the prohibition against bearing false witness against our neighbour. Anne shows that the commandment is more than a prohibition against slander, but instead, is an invitation into a life of truth-seeking and truth speaking that builds up our neighbour and brings us deeper into God's gracious care. This is a fitting conclusion to a series that has sought to show how the commandments are always designed to lead us to perfect freedom in Christ. Sun, 13 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:1648d71ca0-199b-440d-947c-8abf32039194noSun, 20 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:38ec2c44f4-a670-4369-82cb-009f6e19c9deno“Behold, the home of God is now among humans!” (Revelation 21:3)The New Testament reaches its crescendo with this startling declaration: God’s home is arriving among us.At the final consummation of history, as death itself is destroyed and all “mourning and crying and pain” pass away, we find, perhaps to our surprise, the image of a home, a residence, a dwelling. The home is not often presented in such significant terms. Typically the domestic sphere is seen as less important, less serious or consequential as the public. The metaphor of home conjures images of insularity and smallness. A cozy pocket to retreat into. A bourgeois dream reducible to the pages of Home and Garden magazine or a real estate agent’s listing. And yet, the “loud voice from the throne” does not pluck this metaphor of home out of nowhere. Home is threaded throughout scripture, stretching all the way back to the very first pages of the Bible. What does it look like when God makes His home among us? For Luke, it looks a lot like a meal. Home is where the heart is - so the saying goes - and if the most direct route to the heart is through the belly, then a meal is the quintessential enactment of home.For Jesus, the table was a site of transformative encounter with rich and poor, the sinner and the self-righteous, the doubter and the believer. His meals were moments in which He welcomed people to be at home with one another and with God. In the same way, our meals can become moments where we taste more than what’s on the plate; they can become sites of encounter with the God who is making his home among us. This is not to say meals are inherently warm and fuzzy moments of domestic bliss. Our relationship to what’s on the plate is far more complicated than that. But when we welcome Jesus to meet us in that most ordinary and essential activity of eating a meal, we may find that His work of establishing home in our neighbourhood has already begun. We may find that a meal forces us to rethink everything. In this first sermon, Jonathan introduces the theme of God's homemaking work, and shows how Jesus acts as the herald of the Home of God by enacting the jubilee meal where ever he went. Sun, 27 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:3844b0a5bb-7c8f-40ea-bd8b-cf94312c6c4cnoWe are in the middle of series exploring how Jesus' meals in the Gospel of Luke reveal God's work of making the world his home. In this sermon, Victoria Rankin shares how Jesus used the table as a place to welcome outsiders into God's home. She gently challenged us to consider how hospitality, when grounded in it's proper context of Biblical theology, can be a life-changing ministry for us and for those around us, particularly, those on the margins. Sun, 10 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard34:25c27a2bb1-ac3f-418f-95bd-e3f2fabf70b3noWe are in the middle of a series exploring how Jesus' meals in the Gospel of Luke reveal God's work of making the world into His home. In this sermon, Lloyd offers a deep reflection on the significance of the meal which Jesus instituted the night before he was crucified (Luke 22:7-30). Every meal we eat can (if we are paying attention) be an opportunity to anticipate and even experience a taste of the great banquet God which is preparing for all of creation. Sun, 17 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard42:355cc6e54e-210c-407b-9c1c-7c66cbc54940noPeter brings our series to a conclusion showing how Luke presents Jesus as the one who is "made known in the breaking of bread." In this way, Pete (following St Luke) shows how our meals, and all the ordinary moments of our lives, have the capacity to become sites where we are welcomed into the home of God. Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:34d6b3e53e-6def-4285-b4c5-56ee031f7031noThis year we are exploring advent through various "eye-witness" accounts of Jesus' first arrival. In the first sermon of this series, Anne offers both a playful and deeply thoughtful reflection on what the angels might have experienced as they witnessed the unfolding action of God's saving mission. Using characters of Tolkien's Middle Earth (as a way of making the familiar strange), Anne imagines how different angels would have reacted to the 'plot-twists' in God's mission to save us. In doing so, she maps out some familiar tendencies and responses which the people of God have made over time in the face of uncertainty and disbelief. In doing so, she invites us to see our own stories in the context of God's ongoing saving work and to adopt the posture of Mary and Jospeh, that is, to tremble and trust in the faithfulness of "the God of the plot-twist." Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard34:59f4bee26b-fe76-4fb6-a495-c5220c543be1noJonathan continues our advent series by reflecting on the way the Star of Bethlehem functions as a symbol of that which brings us to the edge of our control. He looks at how Herod and the magi's divergent responses to the star represent the choice we face in our own discipleship to Jesus. Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:510399ab4a-2f2b-4b9f-aa22-1641e301d751noIn our final sermon in this 2024 Advent series, James Hennings reflects on the role of shepherds in the story of God's salvation plan. In doing so, he shows that God has always chosen to reveal himself to 'the least, the last, the lowly' and he reflects on what this says about the way God wants to meet with us in our own lowliness too. Sun, 15 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard21:4598d40d53-6af7-4b71-9b35-0c8d493808c6noJonathan begins the new year by preaching a sermon on the parables of the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price. He encourages us to consider the phrase "if the kingdom of God is worth anything, it's worth everything."Sun, 19 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:40fa93878c-4d85-43b7-b979-aedd950dd6a1noJonathan begins the new year by preaching a sermon on the parables of the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price. He encourages us to consider the phrase "if the kingdom of God is worth anything, it's worth everything."Sun, 19 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:40ed713933-536f-4999-bc24-9b89b7a43701noPete continues our series on the parables of the kingdom, looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan and inviting us to consider the surprising and subversive ways God's mercy shows up where we least expect it, and to respond in kind. Sun, 26 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:587a3d7710-5d9f-4b9f-8312-eb8d7259f71fnoJonathan continues our series on the Parables of the Kingdom looking at four parables in (from Matthew 13:1-35) about things that grow in the dark in ways we can't control or understand. In doing so, he reminds us that God's work of establishing the kingdom in this world and in our heart is in His hands – all He asks us to do is to live a life of deep trust in His faithfulness. Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard44:16394b94f7-29da-4897-bc77-38a8e47a88e2noAnne continues our series exploring Jesus' parables by looking at a story, a parable and a memorable saying of Jesus, all of which speak to the dynamic of how we enter into the kingdom of God, not by wallowing in shame, but by recognising the goodness of the one to whom we return.Sun, 09 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard29:4784496ffa-46ba-491e-9a8b-2e631cc4ac1anoJonathan continues our series on Jesus' teaching on the kingdom by looking at the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35). Sun, 16 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:49ed1eb864-3736-416b-9bbc-3e53bbd7a907noWe are in a series exploring Jesus' parables of the kingdom. In this sermon, Lloyd unpacks the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) showing how it perhaps ought to be called "the parable of the generous landowner." Lloyd reminds us that whether we 'raise the dead or take a nap, the pay is the same' and that the reward of following Jesus is worth everything. Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:265324a90f-da63-4d30-b713-36c3f2e99001noJonathan concludes (for now) our series on the kingdom parables by looking at the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). In what, on the surface, appears to be a story about earning our way to God's good graces, Jonathan shows that life in the kingdom is about entering into a cycle of generosity with the God who desires to give gifts to us and through us. Sun, 02 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard43:5978b92fd3-5a1d-4dbb-81f2-fbb714410571noLent is a season of repentance, renewal and preparation. Traditionally it is has been a time the Church has welcomed people to be reconciled to God and to be baptised. While we don't wait for lent to invite people to be baptised, we do seek to understand the significance of the act theologically, spiritually and relationally. In this sermon, Pete offers a rich theology of baptism which will be encouraging for those who have already been baptised, and stirring for those who haven't. Sun, 23 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard30:245074ed11-8cd4-48b4-8059-fe5531bf8367noWhat does it look like to live a life that is guided by the Holy Spirit and which seeks to please God? It looks like great spiritual highs and great spiritual testing. Jesus offers not only a blueprint of how to overcome the core temptation – to believe we are alone and have to solve our own problems – he also acts as our substitute, succeeding where we fail. In the end, it is in our weakness –  our 'deadness' – that God's power begins to work. Baptism is both a picture of this and a pattern for how to overcome temptation. You are not alone. Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard38:5089ca0291-5e82-4a8c-b4d0-d34155141df6noLloyd offers the final reflection on the baptism and testing of Jesus in the wilderness focussing on how we can learn to respond like Jesus to the common temptations that we all face by utilising particular spiritual disciplines/practices. Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard42:07d943ca0e-20dc-4911-89aa-c5d4b42859c2noJonathan concludes our lenten series with a reflection on why we still hold palms on Palm Sunday, how they represent our incomprehension of the sheer magnitude of God's grace, and how, as the palm leaf becomes a cross, we catch a glimpse of our true desire. Sun, 13 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard25:20ee838dd4-03df-4e1a-b133-e0763261d9a9noOn Easter morning, Jonathan offers some reflections on our hope of resurrection, encouraging us to see how our little deaths and resurrections find their ultimate fulfilment in Jesus' death and resurrection. Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard28:16dc0ebc32-f844-4705-b67e-a711f8d56c57noJonathan reads from John 20:19-31 and reflects on the way Jesus disregarded the doors his disciples had hidden themselves behind in an effort to preserve their fragile lives.The disciples were quite rightly afraid of what the Jewish leaders might do to them; they had seen what happened to their master only a few days earlier. Hiding behind big locked doors seemed the only sensible thing to do. But then, in a sudden and inexplicable way, Jesus appeared among them and said "peace be with you."His peace was not a Pollyanna-ish "relax guys, it's not that bad, everything will work out just fine" kind of peace. It was the peace that came from a visible display of death's inability to touch the indestructible life of God. The scars and wounds were evidence of death's impotence. Jesus' scars are the high-tide mark of evil; Life has risen above it.Jesus was not unscathed by death, but he was not defeated by it either. Holding out his scarred hands was his way of saying to the disciples, "Look! There is no person, no system, no illness, no failure, no disaster, no power or dominion, no circumstance or loss that can take away the kind of life that lives in me!" And then he breathed on the disciples and sent them out to bear witness to the indestructible life of God that now lived in them. A week later, in a wonderfully relatable kind of anticlimax, the disciples were back behind a locked door. Did Jesus come to scold them? Perhaps we think he should have. We certainly scold and condemn ourselves for such faithlessness. Did Jesus tell them "I am so disappointed in you"? No, he once again walked right through their fictitious "doors" and spoke peace to their fear, reminding them again – it's all true. How often do we find ourselves locked behind big doors in an attempt to preserve our life? Or to change the metaphor slightly, how often do we find ourselves banging on locked doors trying to get them to open so we can shelter safely inside? Doors to rooms that say "successful career", "perfect marriage", "impeccable reputation", "promotion and pay rise", "the right school", "the right crowd"... How much our life is a struggle to get a foot in the door? A struggle for survival? And as we work and sweat and hustle to sure up the gap between inside and outside, again and again we find Jesus standing there beside us saying, "that peace you are looking for? You won't find it in there. It's here with me.""I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture." – John 10:9Sun, 11 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:0032b98d07-978c-4e76-adab-61c728051a02noIn this sermon, Anne show how Jesus both teaches and demonstrates the God-honoring, life-giving attitude toward servant leadership. She makes the point that while this attitude must undergird any of our leadership endeavors, it does not provide guidance on what it means to lead or what we should be leading toward. For that, it is helpful to understand the human experience as a combination of two axes, our capacity for meaningful action (authority) and our exposure to meaningful risk (vulnerability). The flourishing life that God invites us into is “up and to the right”: the quadrant where high authority is coupled with high risk. However, we tend to find ourselves in other quadrants, requiring strong leadership to guide us into the flourish quadrant. In particular, starting with Adam and Eve, we grasp for control (high authority/low vulnerability), including independence from God. Yet, in doing so, we not only set ourselves on a fast track towards death, we also lose the relationship with God that empowers us to take meaningful, life-giving, lasting action (suffering: low authority/high vulnerability). As High Priest, Jesus leads us out of the suffering of our own making, first by his death that breaks the power of sin that drives us to seek control and then by inviting us to confidently draw near to his throne of grace, knowing that he is intimately familiar with our suffering and is eager to empower us in our weakness (Hebrews 4:16). And we, as his royal priesthood here on earth (1 Peter 2:9) participate as Jesus leads them into the flourishing life by embodying his sympathy that invites people to draw near and receive grace and mercy from us, that they may build confidence to draw near to Jesus on his throne of grace.Sun, 18 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard33:47f35d5019-e606-4e97-a174-63327dab3bbdnoIn his earthly ministry, Jesus functioned in the mode of a prophet. In his ascension, he continues to act as a prophet to us, calling us out of patterns of existence where we try to live self-protected and overly controlling lives. Jonathan offers an example of how Jesus acted as a prophet by looking at Jesus' encounter with the rich young man in Mark 10. In doing so, he draws out lessons for us in terms of how we can learn to let go of our need for control and to enter into the kingdom of God with our hand held safely by Jesus, our loving lord and saviour. Sun, 25 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard39:51c2af2b96-5dc5-4a3e-9426-16a7e8a27adenoPete concludes our ascension series by looking at how Jesus acts as king, and what it means to live the adventure of faith as we follow him and seek his kingdom today. Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:08d9be2717-4a50-416d-89f0-8c8ac29bf3e6noFor Pentecost Sunday, Lloyd grounds the story of Acts 2 in the bigger story of God's redemptive work and encourages us to desire more of the Spirit's work in our lives. Sun, 08 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard39:5535abbce0-3653-4b59-9476-293d49125e65noPete begins our new series by exploring the radical way of reconciliation in Paul's letter to Philemon.Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard38:24d7bb1166-0760-4ecb-b8bd-2642c9179e8enoJonathan continues our series on the nature of Jesus' upside-down kingdom by looking at the opening and closing remarks in Paul's letter to the Colossians. Sun, 13 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard46:0639ce23eb-50da-4e50-8d8f-c3cc2ced490cnoAs part of our series on Jesus' upside-down kingdom in the letters of Philemon, Ephesians and Colossians, Jonathan teaches on the so called 'household codes' or Paul's teaching on what happens when the gospel of grace enters into the most domestic, ordinary and foundational contexts of life. Sun, 10 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard51:00345e6a3f-ee2d-46d5-a957-ec3ababb04ccnoPete continues our series on Jesus' upside-down kingdom, looking at the implications of our new life which is hidden and contained safe forever in Christ. Sun, 03 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:011699fa10-0e29-4d86-b755-d39e25b1c18dnoIn this sermon, Jonathan continues our series exploring Colossians 2:6-23. In doing so, he shows that Christ has everything we need and that all attempts to modify ourselves to make us "more" than human are ultimately going to fail. Instead, our role is to continue to find our life hidden in Chrsit because the irony of Christian hope – of the upside-down kingdom – is that it is in dying that we are raised to life.Sun, 27 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:297c6b71de-03f5-4ab3-a863-c1485cb11548noCarrying on in our series, Pete brings us into the letter to the Ephesians, exploring the opening lines and showing what a rich inheritance we have in Jesus. With this gospel of grace, Pete reminds us the Father has planned it all, the Son has paid for it all, and the Spirit applies it all. Hallelujah. Sun, 17 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard37:41eee0b653-c18f-4956-8630-8fafe5bc6066noHow do we hold onto hope in the face of no-exit situations? How do we live when death seems to be running amok? In this sermon, Jonathan explores these questions in the context of Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. Sun, 24 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard34:56edfdb2e3-9e4e-4253-9628-815286805f4dnoAs part of our intergenerational service, and as part of the Season of Creation, we spent some time in our worship out of the building cleaning the streets. Here Jonathan offers a very short message explaining why this is a distinctly Christian thing to do. Sun, 14 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard07:222cda51f7-03bb-4734-84c0-4f0965de78f1noSun, 21 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard34:46bd7b5e45-dbde-41cb-a8c9-9a793bca70f7noSun, 28 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard21:29d85be7d5-3c58-4c24-8730-3d62e8cabe38noIn the conclusion of our series on Jesus' upside-down kingdom, we look at Paul's final instructions to be made strong in the Lord and to take up his armour so we can stand against the schemes of the enemy. Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard40:08eaac3780-e476-4d41-a4f0-a2a4cc90b053noSun, 07 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35df5a6449-314d-4b27-9edb-8bf12924e2a5noIn this sermon, Lloyd (following the apostle Paul) reminds us of the core elements of the life of discipleship – prayer, worship, and witness. Sun, 12 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:11f825ddd1-2e44-4fbe-9842-53a1918cf6denoIn this opening sermon in our new series on God's generosity, Jonathan reflects on Jesus' teaching in Luke 12:13-34 and its grounding in the creation narrative. He concludes by challenging us to open our lives up to become participants in God's generous flow of gifts in the world. Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard41:497f248508-445b-4c63-b4ad-fa74c6c46de9noIn this follow on sermon from last week, Jonathan returns again to Jesus' "difficult" words about our blindness to greed and our need to learn how to live open handedly when it comes to sowing for the kingdom. While it is true that some giving produces a clear and direct feedback loop of receiving, there is another kind of giving which the Bible affirms; one which is shocking and scary – the scattering of gifts – and yet when we look at the life of Jesus we see that this too is a path toward "the life that is truly life" (1 Tim 6:19). He wont lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on us, and yet at the same time he holds out his hand and says follow me into places where we would not ordinarily go. Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard45:44248a4256-9ec6-4986-8a2a-a510c74c9a14noIn this third sermon in our new teaching series, Lloyd opens up various parts of the Bible to show how we can discover our identity as steward's (rather than owners) of God's abundant resources. He makes the case that as we live into our identity as stewards, we discover freedom from being "possessed by our possessions." Lloyd encourages us to consider our role as stewards of time, money and energy, and to see these three resources as being there for us to put to use to bless the poor, the support the church, and to advance the gospel. Sun, 16 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard49:055d93ce6c-2fec-4d52-ac56-154e03d1df63noIn this final sermon in our series, Jonathan returns to some themes from earlier messages, looking at how fear leads to malfunctions in our giving but that God's commitment to forming Christ in us, both individually and collectively, will ultimately bring us through these malfunctions and into the freedom for which we so keenly yearn.Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard45:155eba9d80-4ffd-4460-aa6a-c75a93a21779no"You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers. The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near" (Romans 13:11-12).What does it mean to discern the dawn of God's new creation? It means to recognise the time; "the night is nearly over; the day has drawn near." As we enter into the season of advent as a church, we are taking time to explore the traditional readings from the common lectionary to help prepare our hearts for the arrival of Jesus our lord and God, who is coming to make his home among us.Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard39:19acb20ce8-90fd-4f5f-aa8b-15efba9fe894noIn this second talk in our advent series, Lloyd returns to that question of what it looks like to hope in the dark. Reading from Isaiah 11:1-10 he shows that people of faith have always hoped when things looked at their worst. How can fruit grow from a stump? How can he bring renewal into this world, and into our own hearts when all seem as hard and cold as stone? The same way he always does – by raising the dead. And so we learn to hope in the God who has come to us once already, and will come again.Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard31:3133b44944-3b58-49d2-8756-d3409a6f3b9bnoThe third Sunday of advent is a time for reflecting on the joy of the gospel. In this sermon, James makes the point that joy cannot be established by any earthly power or agency; no human circumstances can secure our joy; it can only be brought by Jesus who draws people in to be freed from evil, transformed, renewed and shaped to be like him. In Jesus' earthly ministry we the seeds of God's Kingdom were laid in the ground. Through the faithfulness of God and the believers who dared to trust him, everywhere for 2000 years those seeds have been popping up in the form of little communities of faith where deserts have been transformed into places of rejoicing and where wastelands of the soul have blossomed into gardens. Our hope is not in our own ability to make life go well, it is in the God who raises what is dead back to life. That is why we are people of joy. Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard22:573e5f6c7a-274a-476d-b3bd-0e51002b01f8no"Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Lloyd opens our first gathering of the year by reflecting on the wisdom and challenge found in psalm 90 and inviting us to examine and adjust our lives, habits and practices in light of God's grace. Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:2696d7b6e2-1ccd-4975-aa85-e7da21188502noIn this second sermon of the year, the magnificent John Peachy offers us a heartfelt, insightful, and grace-filled reminder that the God we serve is one who loves us 'without flaw' (perfectly, completely, utterly) even within our flaws. Sharing from his own story, John reminds us that while our awareness of flaws lead us into the lie that we are abandoned, rejected, forgotten, and unloved (like the so-called "bummer lambs") the truth of the gospel is that God is a shepherd who comes to gather us in his arms, to bring us close enough to hear his heartbeat, and to seat us at his table to eat with him in true and perfect peace. That is what it means to feel completeness/shalom, to know God's goodness, and experience his loving kindness. That is what it means to be saved.Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:48afc4b92f-beb5-4bc6-bf14-f54c66b237fbnoJim shares an encouraging message from Mark 4:35-41 to remind us of three things: 1) Jesus Loves taking us into the unknown, 2) we might think Jesus doesn't care 3) but Jesus wants to see what we are made of.Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard24:3412d7d6fd-71d6-4259-b153-5c670bebe597noFollowing on from Jim's sermon last week on Mark's account of Jesus calming the storm, Pete takes us through Luke and Matthew's account of the same event showing how Jesus is present to us whether the storm is raging or whether the storm has been stilled and that he wants to bring his blessing not just to us as individuals but to all the other 'boats' in the same sea.Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard35:516c10eafb-392d-4f53-9b3e-ac1d479a6a11noWhat would Jesus want to say to us in 2026? Following Matthew 4:17-5:11, we see that he would firstly want to remind us that in him, the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Second, he would want to stroll into our lives to call us by name and interrupt everything we thought we knew about how this world works. Finally, he would want to speak a blessing over us; not in the hollow terms of the kingdoms of this world, but in the terms of his kingdom where the poor, the hungry, the empty are honoured above all others. Of course, this is not a call to privation and suffering for its own sake; God doesn't desire the worst for us. He doesn't delight in poverty and pain. No, but his favour rests on those who recognise that they already belong in these categories. The good news is that as we are brought to the end of ourselves we discover our need for God, and as we tumble into his arms and give up building our own kingdoms, we discover our place within his and what it means to be truly blessed. Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard39:17e192bbb3-4599-43c9-90de-2f2fb90a89d5noLent is an invitation to 40 days in the wilderness with Jesus. The wilderness is a place of simplicity and stripping away. In the wilderness we carry only what is essential to our survival and we journey beyond what is familiar and comfortable. The wilderness is also a place of disorientation and reorientation – where the easy pathways are obscured and where we must learn to navigate by different means. This Lent, at Urban, we are reorienting our lives toward Jesus because we believe he has everything we need. We recognise that our hearts, like all hearts, long for truth, beauty, love, justice, power, freedom, and a deeply grounded spirituality but that these things are hard to come by. Indeed, following the argument laid out in NT Wright's 2020 book "Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World" we recognise that these seven longings of the heart are fundamentally out of reach. Try as we may to navigate our way toward them, we find that the path is marked only by broken signposts. But as we turn to Jesus and journey with him to the cross, we come to see, in a shocking way, that in this most unexpected person and place, love, truth, beauty, justice, freedom, power and true spirituality are finally and fully put on display. Lent invites us to redirect the longing of our heart away from broken pathways and broken signposts, toward Jesus, the only one in whom our hearts find their true rest. Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard43:01c5f3baa5-efb6-426e-a01e-c3197f548bc5noIn this second sermon in our Lenten series on broken signposts, John Peachy offers us wisdom on the topic of freedom. Freedom is a universal longing, but as the story of the Bible and the story of human history goes, we don't often know what to do with it. Framed in the negative ("freedom from" rather than "freedom for") we tend to default to pleasure seeking. This, ironically, leads us into a different kind of slavery – slavery to our disordered desires. But God has given us a glowing neon sign in the desert – first in the form of the passover meal, and then in its fulfilment in the cross of Jesus. What we discover, as we look to Jesus, is that our longing for true freedom can only be met as we open our hands and hearts to receive his guidance and lordship. "But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." – 2 Corinthians 3:16-18Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard28:3819fcc7cb-6900-4fd9-9286-03f66c1f6f81noJonathan continues our series on finding our way in the wilderness, leaving behind broken signposts, and finding our way with Jesus. In this sermon, Jonathan looks at the longing for truth and the problem with our inability to secure it. Using the Gospel of John, he shows that Jesus' ministry was centred on revealing truth and casting out lies. Jesus both embodies truth as its source and pure expression, but he also challenges lies that lead to death. For us, we are invited to follow Jesus and to establish ourselves in his truth. Jonathan closes the sermon with a lectio divina (sacred reading) from Jeremiah 17 to help us hear God's voice inviting us to plant ourselves in truth again. Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard38:37a8788ed2-3b2f-4595-9093-248e7b46057bnoAre humans merely flesh and blood or is there a vital part of us that can't be measured by microscope and test-tube? People all over the world and right across the great span of human history have unanimously claimed that we are more than the sum of our physical parts; we are also spiritual. However, beyond that claim any agreement breaks down and quickly splinters into a million different 'spiritualities,' some which elevate matter over spirit and others which elevate spirit over matter. In all such 'spiritualities' and religions, all we find are broken signposts which hint at something true but which lead us around in circles. So, what does the Bible have say about how body and spirit work? And even more particularly, what does the life of Jesus tell us about true spirituality? In this sermon, Lloyd makes the case that God has, from the beginning, always intended heaven and earth, body and spirit, to function as an integrative whole. Where death severs this unity, Jesus has come to restore us to wholeness, not by making us 'super-spiritual' people who float above the material world, but by bringing heaven and earth together in his body and ours. Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard38:3431610737-d1dc-4228-9367-9d0795b61880noIn this first sermon in our new series, Jonathan introduces the idea of prayer as 'opening' to the God who is already speaking. Following David Benner and Eugene Peterson, he looks at the promise of prayer as a means for us to unite our lives to God, not as a means of religious achievement, but as a way of becoming human.Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard42:383c903463-257d-4558-8131-0d66237cdf53no"Love got up" That is the message John Peachy brought us this Easter Sunday. The cross and resurrection is the unbroken signpost which points fully and finally to the perfect love of God. Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard42:3048787182-b4ec-4012-ad90-29a24f26a729noThe basis of prayer is a response to what God has already done. His is the first word and ours is the second. Prayer is the aftermath of the event of God. It naturally follows, therefore, that the first words from us is an acknowledgement of who he is. In this talk, John begins our journey through the Lord's Prayer by reflecting on the call to "hallow" His name. Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard40:59699755ca-081c-4ff2-8974-94f9a85e5723noIn this third sermon in our series on prayer as opening to God, Jonathan explores the nature of prayer as relinquishment. Reflecting on the life of Jacob, and St Ignatius of Loyola, he draws connections between their lives as stories of being brought low, forced to relinquish, and discovering the blessing of God in the darkness. This is expressed perfectly in Jesus' prayer of relinquishment in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not my will, but yours be done. Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard36:12a5a5115c-e94d-4aa5-938f-32e1e8cdad11noIn this sermon, James highlights the way prayer is about learning to hear what God wants and to add our agreement to it. This does not mean we can't ask God for the things we are seeking but rather, that a clearer perspective on who God is reframes our desires and reorders our asking. Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard21:0924a455c5-0ef4-44d0-a046-33a32ea302denoJesus taught us to pray that God would bring his kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven." We might be tempted to think it is up to us, and our busy missionary activity, to bring the kingdom of God to earth but this would be a reversal of what Jesus taught. In this fifth sermon in our series on the Lord's Prayer, Makerita introduces us to the heart of contemplative prayer as a continual returning to God to seek his face, his mind, and his heart. The Apostle Paul described this same dynamic to the Corinthians when he wrote "We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." In this sense, contemplative prayer is at the heart of mission, first we behold, then we see transformation. Makerita also introduces us to some helpful prayer practices and in doing so takes the whole contemplative prayer tradition off the 'top shelf' so that we can all access what is in reality a simple and life-changing approach to prayer. Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard32:1018e99cfb-f60b-4ede-8fe5-2fac596dc266noLloyd teaches on the great Biblical themes of Pentecost and in doing so, invites us to thicken our theology of the Holy Spirit and the Church. Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000Urban VineyardUrban Vineyard44:56e5b18d5a-e95a-4299-9b90-46721352752fnoSun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000