July 21, 2023
Hello Grace Vineyard and friends of Grace Vineyard.
It’s Friday night, and time for another Grace Vineyard Update email. I think I’ll be keeping this one fairly short for a change. First, let me tell you just a little about where our teaching time will take us this coming Sunday. As you know we’re in a series called “Witness – Stories from the 1st Jesus Followers”, where we’re reading stories from the book of Acts to learn from the experiences of those first Jesus Followers who were living out the words of Jesus when He told them that they would be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Last week our journey took us to stories from chapters 3 & 4 of Acts where we learned about the Culture of a Witnessing Community. If you’d like, you can listen to that talk again right here:
We discovered 5 aspects of their culture that we do well to emulate in our community:
- They are deeply committed to each other
- They are a Spirit filled community
- They are committed to their mission of being witnesses for Jesus
- They are immersed in the scriptures and believe they have the authority of God’s very words
- They have a vibrant prayer life together
This week we’ll continue reading in chapter 5 of Acts where we’re told that Satan himself is attempting to subtly destroy this beautiful community by introducing an element of hypocrisy in their midst. I’m calling this week’s talk “Taking Off Our Masks – How Authenticity Is Essential for a Witnessing Community”.
I hope to see you all on Sunday at 9:30. I plan on being in the lobby at 8:30 for pre-service prayer if you’d like to join me.
Make and Bake Sale This Sunday
If you haven’t noticed yet, our women’s ministry is AWESOME! In fact, right now the women are at Daria Delapine’s home for our monthly Face to Face home group. The women are currently working out the details for their fall retreat, which will be in October this year, and are doing some fundraising for retreat scholarships to help make sure everybody who wants to go can go. So, this Sunday, right after church, have your wallets ready to buy baked goods and craft items. There will be so many great items to choose from, and I hope we’ll buy up everything! They also will be using the funds to purchase Bible Study Curriculum for future ladies Bible Studies.
Just a little bit more about the retreat: it will be at Pine Valley, October 20-22. The cost will be $230 for private bath lodge rooms, $210 for shared bath lodge rooms and $180 for dorm rooms. You can begin to pay for this retreat and we’ll keep track of it for you. If you pay online www.gracevcf.org or in person, please note that it’s for the women’s retreat. If you end up not attending, we will refund your money. Please email kimohst@gmail.com or text Kim Ohst at 760.519.4558 to let her know what type of room you are reserving. We have limited availability.
Now I know you’re used to me writing much longer emails every week, but that’s all I have for you this time! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I’ll see you on Sunday morning for another time encountering the Presence of the Lord together.
With blessings and love,
Ron Ohst