Bar Mitzvahs, graduations, weddings, and funerals all mark a significant stage in someone’s life. But what about Baptism? This ancient rite of passage has been given many meanings over the years. This week, we will look at some of those meanings. Can baptism still be a meaningful ritual for us today? What might it mean for us today?

If you grew up evangelical, you know about, “The Sinner's Prayer.” Romans 9:10-11 is usually the prooftext for this prayer. Today, we are exploring this passage in its larger context of Paul's extended riff (9-11). It turns out, the very thing Paul is arguing for, salvation by faith not works, is the very thing the sinners prayer has become, a work. The good news is that there are no requirements to be a child of God. To emphasize this full inclusion, Paul closes his argument with a hymn of euphoric praise, “For from him and through him and to him are ALL things.”

Today we take a deep dive into one of the prooftext for original sin, Genesis 3. This story is typically described as a falling down but perhaps it can be better understood as a waking up. Just as the eyes of Adam and Eve are opened, so our eyes will be opened to the good news that lies at the heart of this story.

Central to the evangelical notion of salvation is original sin. The belief that humans are born broken, flawed, and separated from God. One prooftext is Genesis 3. Turns out, just as Adam and Eve were lied to in the story, we were lied to about the story. Original sin is nowhere to be found. What can be found? The fundamental truth that the core of our being is not opposed to God but made in the image of God.

We are given three images in the Old Testament of salvation. The first is in Exodus. Here, Salvation is about liberation. The second is in Isaiah. Here, salvation is about return from exile. Third is in Psalms. Here, salvation is about enemies. All of these are about something concrete, real, literal, present, here and now. What does this mean for us? James Cone said it best, “To see the salvation of God is to see this people rise up against its oppressors, demanding that justice become a reality now, not tomorrow.”

Have you been saved? Have you accepted Jesus into your heart? Have you trusted Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? If you grew up evangelical, you know these were the most important questions you could ever ask. So much so, that many people spent their days obsessively, anxiously, and frequently reciting a sinner's prayer to be sure they were saved. We now know this is called scrupulosity. Today, we will talk about this religious OCD and how to begin the process of healing.

We sit down with author and speaker Felicia Murrell to discuss her new book, AND: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World. IN an election year where sides are being demanded, Felicia offers a third way. She proposes the way of Love that shatters all categories of left and right. Is it any wonder, Jesus said, narrow is the way that leads to life? You can purchase Felicia’s new book anywhere books are sold. 

Ever heard the phrase, “Thoughts and Prayers?” Do you cringe at the sound of it? I am almost certain this expression began from a sincere place of sympathy. 

But overtime, it has become a trite, empty, and meaningless cliché. Why? Because it has become a substitute for responsibility. 

Today, we talk about prayer not as a substitute for responsibility, but an invitation into responsibility. 

Our friend Shane Claiborne sums it up best, “If we ask God to move a mountain, God often gives us a shovel.”

It’s easy to lose connection to the sacredness, depth, vitality, wonder, and meaning of life. Many of us unconsciously get caught up with everyday demands and lose sight of the magic and point of it all. But what if we could pull ourselves out of ourselves from time to time? What if we could regularly reconnect with source, sacredness, depth, and meaning? Today, I want to show you how to do that. Today, we will talk about prayer as a practice of grounding.

What would it look like to think about prayer as a kind of listening, to the world, to one another, to the Divine? How can we let go of our small agendas and listen for a bigger story, what Thomas Merton calls the "general dance?" How can we learn to pay attention, as an act of prayer, rather than just thinking about prayer as using words to address God?

Everything is energy. All energy creates vibrations at different frequencies. When we speak a word, it vibrates at a certain frequency. This is not psychology but physics. Now, what if prayer was no exception to this reality. What if prayer is not just about the horizontal but the vertical? What if our praying has been facing one direction for too long? What if prayer is more about sending and receiving energies with others and not trying to persuade or manipulate the Divine? What if we all had more power than we realize? 

What if prayer could be a practice of lament? An intentional time of ripping our heart open and giving language to that which lurks inside your internal universe. What if prayer could be naming the anger, rage, joy, and pain within you. Perhaps this type of expression could get us one step closer to finding release. This week we examine the most common type of Psalm from ancient Israel, the Lament Psalms. Perhaps it leads us to our own practice of lament.

What is prayer? What is the purpose of prayer? How does it work? Do you pray? What do you pray for? Can prayer change things? If not, why do we do it? Does prayer change Gods mind? Does God answer prayer sometimes but not all the time? Have you ever prayed for someone or something and it didn’t happen? Are miracles dependent on prayer? If so, what is the criteria? How sincere the prayer is? How often we pray? How many people we have praying? Is prayer about convincing, persuading, or manipulating God to do something? Is prayer an empty ritual that exist for a magical/mythical time of consciousness? Is there a way to approach prayer and talk about prayer differently than we have? Can prayer still be a meaning, helpful and transformative practice for us? Today we are simply opening the door to this complicated ancient practice called prayer.

Jesus once said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Is Jesus talking about eternal conscious torment? Did He talk more about hell than any other subject? And what do we do about the part of tearing are eye  out? Is this hyperbole? Is this literal? Let's get into it.

The English word “hell” is used roughly twelve times in the New Testament. Almost all those occasions are exclusively by Jesus himself. In one place Jesus says, “If you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire” (Mark 9:47). What does Jesus mean by this? To get at it, we must know something about the valley of Hinnom. Never heard of it? Come find out all about it. Today, we talk about Hell + New Testament. 

Is Hell in the Old Testament? Why do some translations have hell in the O.T. but others do not? What did the ancient Israelites believe about the afterlife? Were they concerned about life after death? Is there any evidence they believe in life after death? How did their Egyptians neighbors influence their understanding? This week we talk about Sheol, ancient Egyptian texts, King James, Jerome, and what ancient Israel believed about the afterlife.

Can a loving God send some to eternal torment? One response I’ve heard, “God doesn’t send anyone to hell, we send ourselves there.” Can you feel the strain in this response to absolve God of all responsibility. Why? Perhaps, it's because deep down in all of us, we intuitively know someone burning forever and ever in conscious torment is immoral no matter how evil they might be. Today we talk about the morality and ethics of everlasting torment. What does Hell say about character of God? 

In Acts 21, Paul is asked, "Aren't you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorist out into the wilderness some time ago?”

Paul’s response… um no, where did you hear that? How great is that story? Paul then goes on an extended riff about who he is. In today’s sermon, we cut through all the ambiguity and give you as much church clarity as we know. This is the final installment of question one- Who is VL?

In 1955, New Hope Baptist Church began on the outskirts of Atlanta. 
In 2006, New Hope Baptist Church became Vinings Lake Baptist Church.
In 2008, Vinings Lake Baptist Church became Vinings Lake Church.
We were a traditional Baptist church
We were a contemporary Baptist church 
We were a non-denominational church
We were a progressive christian church.
We are not who we were. 
We are an ever-evolving spiritual collective. 
Whether this is your first time, you've been around VL since its origins, or you have a curious skepticism about organized religion, you are welcome to join us as we hit the reset button yet again. Welcome to VL 17.0