The first story we read in the gospels about Jesus as an adult is His baptism. The last thing Jesus said to His disciples before ascending into heaven was that they should go throughout the world making disciples and baptizing them. Baptism is obviously a very important activity in the New Testament.

Baptism is also a subject that Christians don’t all agree about. Here at Trinity Vineyard, we view it as a secondary issue, allowing some room for disagreement between sincere believers. We have, nonetheless, tried to be faithful to the bible and faithful to what the church has done historically.

Though you can’t give your child a “moral vaccine”to ensure freedom from debilitating spiritual diseases, you can give your child “daily doses of spiritual vitamins” as you expose them to the Living God, his trustworthy Word and the lifegiving Holy Spirit.  Most life-long healthy habits are learned at home.  See your child as an “apprentice in the ways of Jesus”, one who will someday decide whether or not to continue in their journey as a student of God. So, be a role model for what you want to develop in your child. Prayerfully saturate your child in God’s Word and Spirit. Model a commitment to serving the church community. And live a life dedicated to following Jesus in the power of the Spirit. As your child grows and daily ingests these “spiritual vitamins” he or she will be better prepared to hear the gospel and follow Jesus as an adult.

Every day is filled with open invitations from God to enjoy and commune with him in every area of our lives.  Communion is a special invitation to spiritual growth.  It is often called a sacrament (a religious ceremony) because it reminds us of what Jesus did on the cross and so is sacred.  As the old Anglican Catechism put it, it is a “physical token that expresses a spiritual reality” and an “outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”

Prayer is the way we make contact with God. It is also one of the most self-revealing acts of a human being. Through prayer, we let God know what we need and where we hurt. More importantly, prayer is listening for the voice of God in our lives. The Bible teaches that we are to pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

The bible teaches that once we accept Jesus, we become friends with God and also with other believers. These friendships are basic to what it means to follow Jesus. (Romans 12:4,5)

Unfortunately, it’s hard to experience real friendship or community at our weekend worship services. Meeting “face-to-back-of-head” once a week for an hour and a half with a crowd of people is not what the writers of the New Testament had in mind when they wrote about community. While our worship services are a very important part of our church life, it’s at our small group meetings that we can experience and build lasting friendships.

The bible says a lot about the Holy Spirit. For example, Jesus always referred to the Spirit as “He” and not as “It” (John 14:15-17). This tells us that the Spirit is a person and not some kind of intangible force like electricity or gravity—He is someone with whom we can relate.

But the bible also refers to the Spirit as the breath of God, wind, fire, a dove, counselor, helper, bringer of truth, giver of gifts, source of power. The Spirit is said to “fill” people, “come on” people, “speak through” people, even “move” people. It can all become very confusing. So, how should we relate today to God, the Holy Spirit?

A simple way to think of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives is as the experienced or “felt” presence of God. Paul said that Jesus was the [visible] image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father,” Jesus said (John 14:9). The Spirit, on the other hand, is the felt presence of the invisible God, which means the Spirit is meant to be experienced (see John 7:37-39; Acts 2:1-4, 17-21; Romans 8: 11,13-16).

Worship is an important part of the DNA of Trinity Vineyard. Very often, the lyrics and ideas conveyed in the songs we sing express (more adequately than we could otherwise articulate) the deepest cries of our heart. It is not unusual to see people responding emotionally and/or physically during worship by raising their hands, closing their eyes and, at times, crying. There is no pressure for you to participate in worship in a way that makes you uncomfortable, but each person is encouraged to seek God during our times of worship and to respond to him accordingly.