March 20, 2020

Hi New Vine Family,

I’m looking forward to our online worship gathering tomorrow at 4PM via Facebook Live. As a reminder, you don’t need a Facebook account to join. Just click on the link above at 4PM. And in case you missed our online worship from last Sunday, you can watch it on our website at newvine.cc.

Pastor Ted will be sharing from God’s Word tomorrow and he wanted to share a simple thought about tomorrow’s online service. He was planning to record a simple live worship set from his home but decided not to do so for one main reason… our worship has always centered around a stage, relying on skilled people to lead us. He had to wrestle with one question this week: will God’s people be able to worship in spirit and in truth when our musical instruments, lights, and stage are taken away? Worship was never meant to be a service provided by just a few skilled people. What about Paul and Silas singing from a small and dark prison cell when their freedom was taken away? Or the beloved disciple of Jesus who was imprisoned on a small island without the gift of a community? Worship was never meant to be a service that is provided for us, but a service we offer up to God.

So as you join Facebook Live tomorrow afternoon, set aside 30 minutes before for your own time of worship. You can pull out an old hymn book, or prepare a few worship songs from YouTube or from your Spotify playlist. Make it your own service to God. If you will be joining as a family, Mom and Dad, you will be the worship leaders for your family. Let your living room be God’s sanctuary.

While we may not be able to gather physically as a church family for the time being, God has allowed us to utilize technology and various platforms to still meet together online. Please do not be afraid to do so and keep yourself isolated as now, more than ever, we need to be connected in community! Several of our small groups and SoulCare groups have all transitioned to an online format. Our own Vine Kidz plan to meet virtually tomorrow afternoon prior to our 4PM worship service.

I want to invite you to a couple of other wonderful opportunities to connect:

• Join Table Talk right after our online worship service at 4:45PM (join at newvine.cc/zoom) – see other brothers and sisters online, join breakout groups, discuss a few questions, and pray together as a Body of Christ.
• Join our New Vine Prayers & Praises Facebook private group (facebook.com/groups/newvineprayer) – similar to Family Time, open to all in our New Vine community where we can share prayer requests and praises and see prayers actually being written out.

As we are living in unprecedented times, I fully believe that God can do unprecedented things… if we trust Him and allow Him to. May we not distance ourselves from what God is doing or from each other and may we continue to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). See you online at 4PM!

Blessings,
Douglas

March 13, 2020

Dear New Vine Family,

In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, God is teaching us how to be the Church.  The virus may prevent us from coming together in one place as a larger Church family, but it cannot break the bond of fellowship we share in Christ. We’ve been thinking hard about what it meant for the first-century believers to be the Church in the face of persecution and opposition.  Or what it means for Chinese Christians to continue their worship and fellowship when their buildings have been taken away.