November 8, 2024
Happy Friday to my Grace Vineyard Family and Friends.
Here’s a fun way to look at where we are in the year: this is week 45, and that means there are only 7 weeks left in the year! Last weekend was really special for the 65 or so women who went to our “Being the Beloved” women’s retreat. All the ladies I have spoken with tell me it was amazing. I suggest you ask one of the women about her experience, and you’ll probably hear a really great story! Back in Oceanside, the Encounter Night at the pier amphitheater was also pretty spectacular. I was talking with Doug Reid, the pastor who spearheaded the event, and if I understood correctly, the city personnel estimated that we had 4,000 people worshipping and praying at the event. It’s one of the largest events that takes place at the amphitheater, and the city loves hosting us. Here’s something cool – the Padres contacted Doug and asked him if we could do a similar event at the Padres Faith and Family night in May of next year, which sounds like an tremendous idea! It was an awesome time worshipping Jesus along side other believers from all over North County, and I hope you can all come out the next time we have one of these. I consistently hear leaders from other areas say they have never seen the kind of unity among the churches that we have any place else. What a blessing to be part of the church of San Diego!
Pursuing Holiness by Pursuing Love
When we opened the Bible together last Sunday we read these words from Peter: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Our topic was “The Gift of Holiness”.
We are planning to continue reading where we left off, and we’ll run into these words: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.“ I suppose it should no surprise to us that the very first application of living our holiness is loving each other. We’ve heard that message from Jesus’ teaching over and over. I grew up in a branch of Pentecostal Christianity that had it’s roots in something called ‘The Holiness Movement”. For those folks, holiness was all about what we didn’t do, and I never remember hearing about love as the way to live out holiness. It was kinda crazy as I look back it: for these people if you wanted to be “holy” you couldn’t go to dances, you couldn’t play cards, women couldn’t wear make-up or jewelry (cuz that would be so “worldly”!), you couldn’t listen to rock-n-roll music, “mixed” swimming wasn’t allowed (that meant guys swimming with girls)…and on and on went the list of activities to avoid. How refreshing to read the Bible and hear Peter say the first way to live out holiness is to love each other deeply, from the heart. I look forward to exploring this topic with you all on Sunday morning.
If you’d like to watch our listen to last Sunday’s sermon on “The Gift of Holiness” you can do that right here on our Youtube channel:
or here on Gracetalks.org:
Here’s info about upcoming Grace Vineyard happenings you’ll want to know about:
After Church Prayer This Sunday
Prayer is the invisible, often secret, power source that drives almost everything we do. We invite you to join us this Sunday for about 1 hour right after church in the back on the terrace area for our monthly prayer. God has promised to provide all our needs, but He has also made it clear that He wants us to ask! And when we ask, He answers! If you’ve never been to one of our prayer gatherings, please try it this Sunday. Sharon Evans has created a great way for us to take a few minutes bringing our requests to God regarding a number of strategic areas. Join us at 11:45!
Newcomers Luncheon Sunday, November 17
A number of you are new to Grace Vineyard in the last 6 months or so. We’d love to have a chance to get to know you better, so we’re planning a luncheon after church on November 17th. If you’d like an opportunity to learn more about our history, our vision, our staff, or anything else, please join us. I’ll share a little bit about our story with you, and give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. If you’d like to join us, please text “lunch” to 760-237-4393, or send us an email at info@gracevcf.org.
Decorating the Church for Christmas
Every year we decorate our church for Christmas. We’ll need women and men to join us on Saturday, November 23rd at 10am. For more details, please contact Jeannie Isbell 760.419.1887.
Ladies Christmas Luncheon December 14
Women of Grace, you are invited to celebrate Christmas with a beautiful luncheon beginning at 11am. Margy Hill will be our speaker. The menu is soup, salad and dessert. If you’d like to bring a soup or dessert or host a table, please sign up in the lobby. Tickets are $15. For more information, please call Jeannie Isbell 760.419.1887.
Loving Our Neighbors at Thanksgiving
Our friends from Convicted For Christ are loving our unsheltered neighbors in a practical way for Thanksgiving, and all of us are invited to participate. Brandi will be in the lobby after church with information and a signup sheet. Together, we will be putting on a Thanksgiving Feast on Friday, November 29th, at 11am at Fireside park. There are lots of ways to get involved, including cooking Turkeys (that will be provided for you if necessary). So, definitely find Brandi Mitchell this Sunday and see how you can get involved!
Operation Christmas Child Last Day November 17
If you’ve been in our lobby the last few weeks, you’ve seen our Operation Christmas Child table. It’s that time of year again, when we box up Christmas presents in shoeboxes to be sent around the world. Many of you already know about this program, but if you don’t, check out all the info at samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child. They have a very complete website with everything you would want to know about the mission and history of this great ministry as well as instructions for how to pack a shoebox. Also, stop by the booth in the lobby and pickup a shoebox and get more info. The last day to return your shoeboxes is November 17th.
That’s everything I have for this week! God bless you, and I’ll see you Sunday morning. If you can’t be with us in person, here’s the link for the Zoom channel: Zoom Meeting ID 153 112 432, Passcode 684814, and here’s where you would go for the Facebook Live channel: facebook.com/gracevcf.
With love and blessings,
Ron Ohst
Tithes and Offerings Online
THANKS for taking ownership in the life and ministry of Grace Vineyard! And thanks to all of you who are stepping into a lifestyle of generosity with your tithes and offerings. It really does take all of us doing our part with the income God has entrusted to us for His church. If you’d like to give your tithe or offering online, click the donate button below.