V I N E   S T R E E T 
 
 
A Village Of Unconditional, All Forgiving,
Never Ending LOVE.
 
 
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H O W   W E   W O R S H I P

Join Us Sunday Mornings

9:00 A.M. Village

Start your Sunday off in a casual, low-key gathering where we share breakfast and chat about Jesus and life. Small groups for all ages – Nursery Available!
 
 
This ain’t your old fashioned
Sunday School!
 
Join us September – May!
 
 
 

10:00 A.M. Worship

“A little something for everyone and a lot of Jesus” is how we worship. Come as you are and experience our energetic, spirit filled service with moving messages and music ranging from contemporary Christian to traditional hymns.
 
 
This service is geared for all
generations!
 
 

Teaching & Preachings

We teach and preach a Jesus that is real and authentic … Taken straight from the gospels with no biased or politics attached. Whether you’re an active participant or a “fly on the wall” listener, we have something for you.
 
 
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interests you!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B I G  I D E A 
 
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).
 
Pastor Bob
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C H U R C H   M E D I A

Recent Devotionals

December 2020

Advent Personal Devo; #7 — Dec 5th

“Advent Personal Devo; #7 — Dec 5th”.


Advent Family Devo; #6 — Dec 4th

“Advent Family Devo; #6 — Dec 4th”.


Advent Personal Devo; #6 — Dec 4th

“Advent Personal Devo; #6 — Dec 4th”.


Advent Family Devo; #5 — Dec 3rd

“Advent Family Devo; #5 — Dec 3rd”.


Advent Personal Devo; #5 — Dec 3rd

“Advent Personal Devo; #5 — Dec 3rd”.


Advent Family Devo; #4 — Dec 2nd

“Advent Family Devo; #4 — Dec 2nd”.


Advent Personal Devo; #4 — Dec 2nd

“Advent Personal Devo; #4 — Dec 2nd”.


Advent Family Devo; #3 — Dec 1st

“Advent Family Devo; #3 — Dec 1st”.


Advent Personal Devo; #3 — Dec 1st

“Advent Personal Devo; #3 — Dec 1st”.


November 2020

Advent Family Devo; #2 — Nov 30th

“Advent Family Devo; #2 — Nov 30th”.




 
 
 
 
 
F R O M   T H E   B L O G

Recent Posts

“The Very Best Place to Pray”

How’s your prayer life been going lately? 

Prayer is probably the single most talked about topic among 21st Century Christians, and yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood and puzzling aspects of our faith lives. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, the Apostle Paul tells us to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It seems that prayer should be something we should be doing all the time … anywhere and everywhere we are. And yet, many of us are still not sure exactly what prayer consists of and how we should be doing it. 

We learn to pray before bedtime as a child, and to pray before meals as an adult. We learn to pray the Lord’s Prayer in church, and most of us have our very special personal prayers that we go to, like when we really need our favorite team to win a big game, or sometimes to get through the stoplight before it changes or to find the open parking spot closest to the Kroger door. 

While those prayers, like all prayers, are a good way to reach out to God, I’m convinced that Paul had something else in mind when he told us to pray unceasingly. So let’s take a new look at prayer and find out what prayer can really mean for our faith lives. 

Most importantly, prayer is personal. It’s a way for you, just as you are, to open up to the presence of God in your life in whatever circumstances you may be in. Think of those times when you just received a phone call about an accident that someone you love deeply has been involved in. It’s almost an instinct to start praying immediately. To reach out to God in that moment and connect with the power and peace of God that is greater than any other power on earth. We want to make sure God is with us, and to know that God can get us through anything that might happen … and especially for God to be there for the person we love, so that they may feel God’s presence and receive God’s healing power and comfort. 

Those are sincere prayers! They come from the very depth of our hearts and we feel God in our soul, as if we could carry on a conversation with God just like we can with anybody else. Often times, when we pray like this, we are scared, worried, or heartbroken. That’s a perfect time to come to God in prayer. God loves our prayers of fear and worry, because God alone has the power to embrace us in our fear and calm our worry. There are times when I pray that I can literally feel God holding me, lifting me, and even carrying me. 

God also loves a heart that’s breaking. We have a God of “amazing grace” that will never let the ways of this world and the hurt it can cause become greater than the good that God can make of it. Every time we face a loss, or a challenge, or feel like we are falling off a cliff, prayer can assure us that God is always there with us, and that, in the end, God will turn our curses in this world into blessings. God never fails. God’s power reminds us that our faith is stronger than any fear, and that God has already conquered death, so that no matter what happens, life will continue into eternity. 

  Our problem seems to be that we only prayer like this when we are in our most desperate place. We cry out to God when we believe that there’s no place else to go. It’s almost as if our best prayers are our “last resort” prayers. But if we are called to pray unceasingly, doesn’t that mean we should always be desperate? And, surprisingly, the answer to that is yes! We should always be desperate for God. 

However, most of the time in our daily lives, we do not feel desperate for God. We know God is there, because we believe in God. But we don’t reach out to God until we really need help … until we’re desperate.  

The truth is, for each and every one of us – whether you’re a Christian or a follower of another faith tradition, or a nonbeliever …. we are all desperate for more God in our lives. We are fooling ourselves when we think we only need God in the most desperate times, and thus we are fooling ourselves when our prayers of desperation come only at those times when we feel most helpless.

I’d like to propose, that if you really want to get close to God and have a relationship with God that is full and life-changing, then get desperate for God all the time! All through the New Testament, the truth is repeated that alone we can do nothing, but with God anything is possible. Have you ever considered that the reason you feel empty sometimes, or unmotivated, or lost, is because you are doing things that aren’t for God or of God. I catch myself leaving God behind almost daily! And then I pray! And I confess that, once again, I’ve left God out of my life and rushed off and started doing things for myself.  

But when I come back to God, pray for God’s help and guidance, ask for a sign or a vision, then I feel calm, and strong, and move ahead with a sense of purpose and even invincibility. Oh, I know that it’s not me that gives me this purpose or invincibility – it’s God. And my prayer … personal and sincere … has brought me back to the reality of my own daily desperation. 

Let me propose how to pray like this more often. 

Whenever you pray … wherever you are … whatever you are doing … stop and ask God to take you to the foot of the cross. Picture yourself walking up the dusty path toward the cross that Jesus has been crucified on. As you get closer, you can begin to see Jesus on that cross, waiting just for you. As you get close enough, Jesus can see you, and He looks right at you. At first, you fear this glance, but then you realize that Jesus is looking at you with a divine love that only He can give to you. 

  He is on that cross for you. It is the single most sacrificial act of love that anyone has ever done for you. Now, as you come to the cross, directly beneath the feet of Jesus, you kneel. You are submitting yourself to His love, and to the power of God to overcome anything and everything this world can throw at you. 

Kneeling at the foot of the cross is your new prayer place. When you come to the foot of the cross, everything in this world changes. It’s no longer a world where you have to struggle and survive on your own. It’s now God’s world, like it always has been, and with God, you know that anything is possible, and that everything works for good. 

You can tell Jesus everything at the cross. You can ask for anything at the cross. Just by your being there, you have shown your faith in Him, and when you pray in faith, God always answers, according to God’s will … which is always best. 

So, how’s your prayer life been going lately? 

Let me suggest a new prayer place — at the foot of the cross. You can go there right now. Jesus is always there, ready to hear your prayer and show you His love. Praying at the foot of the cross is the very best place to pray … no matter where you are.  

Peace, Love & Prayer,

Pastor Bob <><

 


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BASEBALL DURING COVID

I’ll be at Junior High baseball practice today
Players and coaches masking up
But what are the young players really scared of?
That baseball is really hard!
Standing in the batter’s box, that’s all they can think of
It’s really hard!
It’s one thing to hit a ball off a tee
And it’s another thing to have a coach throw pitches to you
But … to have one of the other players … one of my buddies ….
Standing on the mound and preparing to launch one really hardball
Right at me …
Well now, that’s a whole new ball game
Even with the helmet, and elbow pad, and a bat in the hand
It still causes one to shiver to know that ball is heading at you
Because it’s a really hard ball! Heading at you
Now that’s scary
You know what else is scary?
A highly contagious but invisible virus is scary
It’s kind of like that hardball – only you can’t see it
And the helmet won’t protect you from it
Nor does the elbow pad
And even more so than those young pitchers firing that hardball –
This virus can come from any angle
And hit you without any feeling
So, it’s even scarier than a hardball coming straight at you
And the harm it can do could be worse than any bruise
So, here is how we practice
We keep 6 feet between us all the time
That’s like wearing a helmet into the batter’s box
And we wear masks whenever we need to
And that’s better than any elbow pad
We check our temps every day, use sanitizer, and wash our hands
We never let our guard down
Because we never know when or where the virus might come at us
And then, having taken all the necessary precautions
We take our place in the batter’s box
And watch that hardball being thrown toward us
And as soon as it reaches home plate
It’s time to swing
POW!
And the ball sails over the fence
And all is well on the ball diamond
So remember these 4 things
6 feet separation
Mask up
Wash hands, rinse, repeat
Knock a homer!
Let’s play ball!
Peace, Love & Baseball Pastor Bob
 

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WHAT COULD DRIVE A PERSON TO …? By Heather Ivery, Stewpot Community Services, Jackson, MS “I recently passed a man panhandling.”

Guest Article: 

This is one of my favorite little stories about what it might be like to walk in somebody else’s shoes. We are often quick to make assumptions and judge other people by the miniscule interaction or perception we have of them. The truth is, everyone has a story behind their lives. There are situations and circumstances, hardships and struggles, that we often know nothing about, that can help us understand better the reasons that some people live their lives very differently than we do. Usually – it all goes back to their story. 

Here is a short story about a panhandler I thought you might find interesting and thought provoking. 

I hope you enjoy … Pastor Bob

This is not necessarily an everyday thing in our city, but it’s not really a rare occurrence, either. The reason this man caught my attention was the location. He was at an extremely busy and rather dangerous intersection for pedestrians. He was not standing calmly beside the road with a sign hoping to receive some generosity from the cars that were unlucky enough to stop close to him. He was, in fact, working the crowd. 

When the light turned red he was walking up and down the rows of cars trying desperately to catch the eye of someone. His tactic seemed to be to guilt or shame them into giving him some money or hope they would be annoyed enough to give him something to just go away.

I was pretty far back in the line of cars impatiently waiting for the light to turn green. I must have seen the man walk up to 8 cars before the light changed with him in the middle of the road. He seemed oblivious to the light change even as cars began to move until horns started honking. 

His venture into the dangerous intersection yielded him no gain this time, but as I drove past I saw him take his place next to the road watching for the light to turn again.

What could drive a person to put themselves in harm’s way like that on the off chance that someone may give them a few dollars? I’ve had people tell me that panhandlers are just looking for easy money, or they are just trying to feed an addiction or they are too lazy to work a real job. People say these things from the comfort of their warm cars and comfortable houses, though. I don’t see what this man was doing as easy. 

What could cause a person to give up his dignity to beg at the windows of stranger’s cars as they try to avoid eye contact or pretend to be so involved in their music that they don’t even see him? What could cause a person to dart between traffic and risk serious injury or even death just for the possibility of help?

I don’t know the answer. I can only assume that it is an act of desperation. Maybe there is a family somewhere he is trying to support. Maybe the money he asks for is for food or an electric bill. Maybe he is so terribly addicted to something that he is willing to risk his life. Maybe at the end of a long day of begging he will get in a car parked across the street and drive away to someplace that won’t run him off when they see him sleeping in his car. 

What I do know is that this man was not doing something easy. He was standing outside in the cold, dodging cars, enduring rejection after rejection, trying to survive the only way he could, on the kindness of strangers.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< 

Isn’t that how we all get by … in our own little ways? Sometimes it feels like we’re all alone with our problems, dodging cars and feeling cold and desperate. And then … the kindness of a friend … or a stranger … comes forward to reach out and help us. And there is a little light in our world again. I guess we’re all like panhandlers in a way, we all need a little help from others to get through our day. 

Pastor Bob


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Office Manager
 
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Music
 
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Address: 249 S. Vine Street Arthur, IL 61911
Phone:217-543-2292