May 24, 2024

Welcome to the weekend, Grace Vineyard Family and Friends!

I hope you had a great week.  I enjoyed our time together last Sunday, and I’m looking for another special time with the Lord and you this Sunday.  Last week was Pentecost Sunday, and we talked about the birthday of the church.   I was especially struck this Pentecost with the idea that while pretty much all organizations, and even nations, are started with a set of written documents that govern how the organization will be organized and deal with various decisions and potential problems, God had something else in mind when He birthed the Church. For the United States we had the Declaration of Independence followed by the Articles of Confederation, then once the War of Independence (more popularly known as the Revolutionary War) was won and our sovereignty as an independent nation was recognized by  Great Britain, our Constitution was written and ratified.  For the ancient nation of Israel, after their “war of independence”  (the Exodus), God gave them the Mosaic Covenant at Sinai, which Pentecost celebrates, and which happened 50 days after the first Passover.  But when God birthed the Church, He didn’t give us a new Torah, or a constitution, or any other document of rules; He gave us His Personal Presence with the indwelling Holy Spirit.  The ramifications of this reality are profound for who we are becoming and how we live out our mission.  Here’s video of that sermon from our YouTube channel:

I felt like I should explore this topic a little more fully with us, so this Sunday I’m following up with a talk I’m calling, “Living in the Light of Pentecost”.

I hope to see you at 9:30 for worship, but if you are not able to be with us in person this Sunday, you can always join online via the Zoom app with this info:  Zoom Meeting ID  153 112 432, Passcode 684814. You may also join us on Facebook Live at facebook.com/gracevcf.

This week I have no new upcoming events to announce, but I do have a couple to remind you of from last week…

Men and Women Needed to Bless the Ladies of FRC

We are inviting men and women to help us bless the ladies at the Family Recovery Center (A residential and outpatient treatment program assisting women recovering from substance use while promoting healthy family reunification) on Saturday, June 1st.  The dinner will begin at 4:30 and we’ll need people to help set up, bring food and drinks, usher the ladies and clean up.  Please sign up at the table in the lobby.  If you have questions, please call Kim Ohst 760.519.4558.

New Monday Night Women’s Bible Study

Our Women of Grace who went to our last retreat will certainly remember our amazing speaker, Dianne Leman.  Dianne has written a book called, “Hello Holy Spirit, God’s Gift of Live-in Help”, and there is a 7 session DVD study to go along with it.  Debby Gidley will be leading this study on Monday nights, beginning June 10th.  The study will take place at Lisa Rogers’ home, 1771 Round Tree Dr., Oceanside.  Please sign up in the lobby after church ASAP.  Signup deadline is June 5th, but these groups tend to fill up fast, so you’ll wanna jump on this right away.  If you have questions, call or text Debby at 760-637-9286.  You can also email her at debby@gracevcf.org.

Finally, I want to remind you about the date change for the Breath of Heaven Golf Tournament fund raiser.

Rescheduled: Breath of Heaven Golf Tournament Fund Raiser