Weekly Update 05-17-2025

May 17, 2025

Greetings to my Grace Vineyard family and friends of Grace.

I hope you’re having yet another great week as we head into this beautiful spring weekend.

We have a great weekend in store for us, so let me jump right in and tell you what’s happening this coming Sunday.  A couple months ago I was at a Saturday morning meeting for Vineyard pastors in San Diego and Orange County.  Steve Nicholson from Evanston, Illinois (one of the original Vineyard sages, for those of you who don’t know him) was sharing with us, and he encouraged us to do something really practical that he has found so beneficial for his church over the years — he suggested that we at least occasionally go on ministry trips to each other’s churches, and simply share our ministry gifts with each other. Well, a pastor friend from Anaheim and I had already been talking about doing a “pulpit swap” for some time, so we said let’s just put it on the calendar.  This Sunday, Damian Allen from the Canyon Vineyard church will be preaching at Grace Vineyard, and he’s bringing a few people to be on the ministry team here. Then on June 8th I’ll be speaking at Canyon Vineyard and I’m hoping at few of you will come with me.  You can imagine, when you go to minister in another church, you get a little more serious with your prayer prep, and your faith tends to increase, and it just seems like the Holy Spirit works through you in a greater way than usual.  You hear about this dynamic when people go on missions trips to foreign countries.

When Damian asked me if I had anything in particular I’d like him to speak about, or if I’d prefer him to just pray and do his best to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, I chose the 2nd option, of course.  Here’s what Damian said felt led to talk about with us this Sunday:   “We receive a lot of training in the Vineyard about giving prophecy, but understanding how to receive prophetic words in a healthy way is just as vital. Keeping a balance between loving the dynamic voice of the Spirit and weighing impact, value, and the heart of God in the process is a sometimes painful but essential part of body life.”  That sounds like some good, practical, wise training right in line with what we’ve been learning about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our recent biblical studies. I think you’ll like his title:

I mean, when you’re reading the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 and you get to the part where his brothers sell him as a slave, don’t you think at least a little:  “Joseph should have kept his mouth shut!”?

I met Damian over 30 years ago when we were both a lot younger.  I was leading a young adult home group in a home rented by 3 bachelors, and Damian was one of them (along with our own Ernesto Talamentez).  I reconnected with Damian probably about 5 years ago, so I’m excited to welcome him this Sunday.

In addition to a guest preacher, we also have a guest worship leader.  Many of you will remember when Christina and Roy Inzunza were with us back in February.  They’re doing a concert/live-recording with their Jazz group and a number of guest artists this Saturday, and we’ve invited them to stay over and join us for worship on Sunday morning.  When I talk to them about our times worshiping together, I really can’t tell who’s more blessed by their coming – us or them.  They were profoundly impacted by our congregation’s engagement with the Lord when we come to gather to offer Him our worship in song.  (By the way, here’s some details on their Saturday concert – https://lu.ma/x5925fvw.  They’re rehearsing in the building as I write these words, and it sounds like it’s going to be pretty great, so you might want to come Saturday night if you enjoy gospel inspired jazz-fusion and other great music.)

We’ll see you on Sunday at 9:30!  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.

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day , and I brought a message about how God reveals His own heart in His creation, including His creation of motherhood.  We looked at a number of places in scripture where God mentions some beautiful character trait of mothers to describe His own nature.  If you missed it, or would like to hear that message again, here it is, from our YouTube channel (consider hitting the subscribe button in YouTube to be notified when these videos are posted there):

Steve Rogers and David Yoder Return This Week

If you’ve been following Steve and David’s adventures in Malaysia and Indonesia, you know they’ve had quite a missions trip.  Thank you for sustaining them with your prayers.  They will be returning this Wednesday, May 21.  As they finish out their tour, let’s keep them before the Lord, praying that they continue to be empowered to proclaim the Gospel everywhere they go, and to be safe and strong in their travels home.

Prayer After Church This Sunday + Tuesday Evening + Tues/Thurs Mornings

You’ve heard me say it before, but I’m gonna say it again – Prayer Is Crucial! Pretty much everything of value in the Kingdom of God has prayer as a foundation.  We have three opportunities to pray together this week.  First we have after church prayer on the terrace.  Sharon Evans leads this prayer time, and has put together a really simple and effective way for us to spend about 15 minutes praying at each of a number of prayer “stations” set up on tables on the back terrace.  It takes about an hour to pray through each station.  At each table there are resources to guide us through the needs related to a particular prayer focus (for example, the ministry leaders at our church, or missionaries we partner with, our city leaders, etc.)  I do hope you’ll join us this Sunday.

Then on Tuesday nights at 7:30, Roy and Josefina Lopez lead City Prayer.  You’ll start with a little time of inspiration in the Word, and then you’ll launch into prayer for the churches of Oceanside and beyond. This prayer time meets in the lobby of the church.

We also have morning prayer on Zoom at 7am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Shannon Frye leads this group, and it is really an encouraging time in the Lord.  We read a chapter of the Bible together and discuss it for a bit.  Then we share prayer needs and lift them up to the Lord.  To join that prayer meeting, just click on this link on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00am —

Meeting ID: 812 2225 0027
Password: 006314

Please call Shannon Frye with prayer requests or for any questions, at 760.419.4242

Our Next Mom2Mom Group is May 30

Are you a mom in need of support from other moms? Or are you a mom who has been there and wants to lend your support to others?  Then you are welcome to Mom 2 Mom, a peer to peer and mentoring group designed to uplift, enrich, share and connect moms.  We’ll gather Friday May 30th at 6pm at Grace Vineyard on the terrace for a program that will include sharing a meal, connecting, inspiration and resources.  Childcare will be provided- please let Sheri know how many kids/what ages.  To find out more, call Sheri Winter at 760-208-8403.

Ladies Retreat November 14-16th at Pine Valley