Outer Circle – a journey towards Jesus

Posted on December 2, 2014December 2, 2014 by Andy Wood

Right now in kid’s church, they are learning about God’s Big Story. They are learning how sin entered the world, and completely distorted a perfect, and in fact “very good” creation. More than distorting it, sin has really messed things up and if left unchallenged leads to death and total destruction. Adam and Eve, who once walked openly with God, now hid from him, their Father. They once walked in complete openness and vulnerability – after sin, they hid themselves from each other. Even the earth itself seemed to reel with the effects of this rebellion.

However, God immediately hatched a plan of redemption and restoration (you can read Gen 3:15 for the first glimpse of a plan). He wouldn’t allow sin to have the final say in his creation. Jesus, as our children are learning, is God’s response to sin. Our journey as followers and imitators of Jesus, is towards Christ-likeness. It’s really a journey back to the beginning. We were created in God’s very image, sin distorted that image, and Christ came to make a way for us to live into that again. To walk and talk once again with God our loving creator.

In a big sense, this is what the Outer Circle is all about. It’s our attempt to create just enough structure while leaving room for plenty of flexibility to help us on our journey towards being like Jesus. It’s the task of discipleship. It’s the joy and the work of submitting our wills, habits, desires, our very lives to God, who takes them and forms us into the likeness of his son.

If you are interested in joining the Outer Circle process, now is the time, but you have to commit to the process. Read more about it here or pick up a copy of the Outer Circle manual at the info table.

If you are currently in a Triad, now is the time to make your plan for the coming year.

The first Outer Circle gathering of the new year is Saturday, January 17 at 5:30pm. At this time all Triads need to be formed and everyone needs to have gone through their own discernment process.

Unseen Love Tailoring School

Posted on November 20, 2014November 20, 2014 by Suhail Stephen

The following is an update from our family in the Himalayan Region Vineyard Churches:

We just concluded another of our three month Unseen Love Tailoring Schools – this time in Kathmandu! The schools are intended to train struggling mothers and women with marketable skills and to therefore enable them to generate income and become financially self-sufficient. To date, the Unseen Love projects have trained over 200 people in the Himalayan Region Vineyard.

Below, you can find some photos of the sending off where we commission the women to start their own tailoring shop. It’s a great moment for the church to celebrate and everyone says thank you to our Winnipeg Women’s Co-Op and to those who gave generously to make the school happen.

Prayer Challenge – Day 2

Posted on November 3, 2014November 3, 2014 by Andy Wood

A Big Vision of God: big God, big prayers

When we have a stunted image of God, we tend to pray small prayers. When we have an expanded vision of God, we tend to pray bigger prayers. We know Daniel had a big vision of God by the kind of prayers he prayed. He prayed some high-stakes prayers a number of times – think about him praying for interpretation to the king’s dreams, or pleading for deliverance from the den of lions. How might God want to expand your vision of him?

The Challenge:

Today, ask him to show you something about himself that you don’t already know. This evening, remember to reflect on, and write down what happened.

Prayer Challenge – Day 1 (an introduction)

Posted on November 2, 2014November 24, 2014 by Andy Wood

The vision is to see everyone in WCV walk in a daily awareness and anticipation of God’s presence, and to see that awareness and reality spill out to those around them. We’ll start with a 30-day challenge: Pray 3 times a day for 30 days.

When we set aside time, seek God’s heart, and get a sense of his vision for our lives, our communities and our neighbourhoods, big things can happen. That’s what happened for Daniel. His prayer life set the stage for some life-saving miracles.

For us, there may not be physical lions waiting to devour us, but the call to pray is no less urgent today than it was in Daniel’s time and our lions can be just as deadly. We believe God will do amazing things among us as we devote ourselves to him in this way, together. When his children turn their hearts and attention towards him, he will respond (it’s a promise).

There are three movements of prayer that we’re inviting you to consider during these 30 days.

3 Times a Day – MORNING, DAYTIME & EVENING

Morning:

The morning is full of promise for the day ahead. It’s about looking forward into the future. In the morning ask God what his vision is for you today. What would he like to say to you, show you, and invite you to participate in? Throughout the prayer challenge, we will offer suggestions about what to pray for or think about. But feel free to set it up in a way that works for you.

“I pray that the eyes of my heart be enlightened to know the hope of my calling.” Ephesians 1:19

Daytime:

The day is all about the present and living out the vision you received in the morning. This is when we put flesh to our prayers – the “walking it out” part of prayer. Throughout your day, look for signs of what God spoke in the morning, and/or answers to your morning’s prayers. You may want to be very practical and set an alarm at a particular time during the day to pray. There may also be some kind of action that you’ll need to engage in or there may be some kind of prayer that you’ll need to pray. Whatever it is, make it specific.

“The eyes of the Lord move back and forth across the earth, searching for those whose hearts are truly his, so that he may strongly support them.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

Evening:

The evening is about reflection. After it’s all said and done, look back in gratitude. Thank God for, not only his presence with you today, but for what he showed you, what he spoke to you, how he revealed himself to you. Maybe you have a sense of completion, perhaps something is birthing in you that will take years to come to fruition. Whatever the case, you’re a day closer now. Keep faithful, keep at it, be thankful, write it down – and rest.

“Whatever was true, fitting, extraordinary, pure, beautiful, won my respect” Philippians 4

“Write it down on tablets.”

This is what God told Habakkuk to do with his prayers. Something happens when we put our prayers and prayerful thoughts into writing. Consider keeping some kind of journal for these 30 days. We all need a record to refer to. Most of our memories are short, especially when it comes to prayer. So, whether you’re inclined towards pen & paper, painting a picture, a magazine collage, some other kind of creative (or non-creative) reflection, or an actual tablet, make sure you do something. You won’t be disappointed. For today, let’s simply ask God to reveal himself to us over the course of this 30-Day Prayer Challenge!

For today, let’s simply ask God to reveal himself to us over the course of this 30-Day Prayer Challenge!

Stay tuned for corporate times of prayer and worship…

Winnipeg Centre Vineyard

Worship . Community . Justice

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Unseen Love Tailoring School

Prayer Challenge – Day 2

A Big Vision of God: big God, big prayers

The Challenge:

A Big Vision of God: big God, big prayers

The Challenge:

3 Times a Day – MORNING, DAYTIME & EVENING

Morning:

Daytime:

Evening:

“Write it down on tablets.”

It’s a call to pray three times a day for 30 days.

Are you up for it? Let’s do it and see how God responds!