“Advent” is a word that means “arrival” and in the Christian calendar it usually refers to the four Sundays leading up to Christmas where we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The four Sundays of Advent are sometimes marked by the lighting of Advent candles to represent the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  This year, for our Advent sermon series at Vista we discuss each of these themes.Here is t...  Read More

Proverbs is a book of wisdom. It is direct and demanding, but also clever and fun. It lacks the angst and ambiguity of books like Psalms and Job, but it also serves as a corrective or at least helpful conversation partner with such books because it reminds us that while much in the world is gray, much is also black and/or white. Obey God and it tends to go well; disobey God and it tends to go poor...  Read More

August 11th-September 8th In this series, we’ll be exploring some modern trends by seeking to graciously and carefully understand them in light of Scripture. Austin challenged us by saying, "rather than approaching culture with an attitude of either contemptuous judgment or an attitude of naïvely acceptance, we want to instead approach culture with a posture of critical curiosity, believing that c...  Read More

In this series we are taking church-y sounding words and concepts, and explaining what they really mean, why they really matter, and how they’re unexpectedly interesting, profound, and helpful.For the summer, small group questions will be generic. Plug in the word or phrase talked about in this week's sermon. Feel free to add to your time with our get honest questions. Prior to today’s sermon, wha...  Read More

The ApostleApril 7, 2024 - The Zealot's TurnMain Text: Acts 9:1-181. What do you think has made Paul both one of the most famous and infamous people in history?2. What is the tradition of Jewish zealotry and how was Paul shaped by it? How did that affect his view of Jesus prior to his conversion? (Phineas – Numbers 25:10-11, Acts 7:58 – 8:3, 9:1-2)?3. What are the blessings and curses of being a z...  Read More

Sunday Recap Questions - The Last WeekNote from Joel: These questions are just scaffolding to hopefully launch you into good conversation. You don't have take them in order, you don't have to "finish" all the questions. The questions are written chronologically from the sermon, therefore, if you only/always choose the first two questions you may miss the gospel tie in's that typically come at the ...  Read More