In Part 2 of The Heart of a Warrior, our 3-part series covering the life of David, we continue learning how to become people after God’s own heart. If you haven’t seen Part 1 of the series, Calling & Character, be sure to check it out and prepare your heart for the next chapter in our character study! 

As we continue putting ourselves into David’s story to discover more about life and faith, Eric Jones both encourages and strengthens us throughout his message, Success & Setbacks. In Part 1 of our series, we juxtaposed David’s kingship with his predecessor’s, King Saul. 

Saul’s selfish way of living and unwillingness to change his ways and realign himself with the Lord ultimately led to his demise and destruction. In God’s perfect timing, David takes his place as King of Israel, as we see below in 2 Samuel, continuing through David’s story. 

2 Samuel 5:3-4 (NLT) 3So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant...

We’re kicking off a brand new series, The Heart of a Warrior, where we’re learning about the life of David and discovering for ourselves how to be people after God’s own heart. Throughout this character study, we are diving into the Word and putting ourselves in David’s story as a way to learn from his experiences in life as we grow and develop in our relationship with God. In Part 1 of this series, we’re covering 3 characteristics of David that allowed him to be described as a person after God’s own heart, as Eric Jones brings an encouraging word that both uplifts and inspires us to pursue God passionately, as David did. 

Who is David?

In his message, Calling & Character, Eric starts off by sharing some background information about David, who, by the end of his life, became one of the most famous  men in all of Scripture. Did you know…David is in the Bible more than 1,000 times…that’s more than Abraham, Moses, or...

In honor of Mother’s Day, we celebrate all the moms–future moms, spiritual moms, grandmas–and all the women and men at VFC! Pastor Beth shares an encouraging word for all of us as we strive to delight ourselves in the Lord and abide by His will for us as parents, caregivers, mentors, and beyond. 

Throughout the message 9 Things My Mother Taught Me, we are strengthened and encouraged to be the Christians God has called us to be. As we strive to live a life that honors Him, we’re planting good seeds that produce healthy, prosperous fruits in generations to come!

Even through difficulties and challenges, we can make a point to intentionally love life and laugh often. There’s power and peace in being joyful throughout each season of our lives! God knows our hearts; He loves us and His hand is upon us. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. Amen!

As we dive into Pastor Beth’s 9 Things My Mother Taught Me,...

Have you ever been through a season of life where you had to fight to keep your joy? We’ve all been there! In part 2 of our For the Joy mini series, we’re discovering 3 tips for experiencing the joy of the Lord to the fullest, even through the challenging circumstances we’ll inevitably face in our lives! 

In The Secret to Fullness of Joy, Pastor Aaron Johnson shares an encouraging word filled with relatability and understanding as we discover the need to “Abide and Not Hide,” We all experience seasons of life where it’s challenging to keep our joy–God understands and is here to help!

At timestamp 2:26 in his message, Pastor Aaron shares a personal reflection of a time in his life when keeping his joy alive felt nearly impossible, and it’s safe to say we’ve all been there before! Whether in the past or even the present tense here and now, we have and will face temptations for our joy to be stolen from our lives. 

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With all the craziness filling our world right now–culturally, socially, politically–we need to be injected with a fresh dose of spiritual joy! We’re discovering how to receive the joy of the Lord throughout our new mini-series: For the Joy. Our demarcation mark as Christ followers is our joy!

1 Peter 1:8-9 (NLT) 8You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

In her message, For the Joy, Pastor Beth Jones shares an encouraging word filled with 4 Bible-backed ways to spark joy in our lives and in the lives of others. God’s not done–He has a bright and abundant future in store for us! Let’s check out a few foundational scriptures as we dive into living in joy and gladness, just like Jesus did. 

Proverbs 15:13-15 (NLT) 13A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the...

 In There is Still Hope, Pastor Jeff reminds us that there is, and has always been, hope for all of us. Hope is a universal word that we all experience. Maybe you’ve hoped to get married or hoped to stay healthy. Perhaps you’ve hoped to retire or hoped your kids will behave. We all have all different kinds of hopes at different seasons of our lives. 

Here’s the thing about hope: Without a foundation, hope is kind of useless. We need a plan associated with our hope to make it a reality. Thankfully for us, God has a plan for us and He always has. The kind of hope that God brings is always built around a plan. Before He even made us, God had a plan to sacrifice His son so that we can have a relationship with Him. 

Regardless of our being sinless or not, He knew we would all fail, He knew we would need a Savior. God’s plan is the foundation upon which we build our hope. There’s still hope because there’s still a foundation. Amen! 

On Palm Sunday, we kicked off Holy Week with Part 6 of The Biography of Jesus series. In addition to the comforting, inspiring word that Eric Jones shared, we were also blessed by a group reading of The Donkey that No One Could Ride and we received a visit from the most surprising guest! 

In The Unexpected King, we discover 3 symbols of Palm Sunday that expand our understanding and appreciation of who Jesus is to us and to the world. As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we’re exploring the unexpected, overwhelming peace, love, and sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

Holy Week is filled with drama and tension. There were moments of laughter and great happiness, but also moments of pain and sadness. We’re taking a deep dive into the story of Palm Sunday and considering what took place during the final week of Jesus’ life on Earth. Throughout the week, we see amazing, unexpected moments that reveal truths about our unexpected King. 

Jesus: The Unexpected...

In Part 5 of our Biography of Jesus series, Pastor April Wedel brings a word of encouragement as she teaches on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. She begins with a powerful metaphor that helps us understand our absolute need for a guide–a shepherd–in our lives. 

Pastor April reflects on a trip she and her mom, along with other VFC members, took to Israel where they walked where Jesus walked and prayed where Jesus prayed. One of the things she appreciated most was that the trip was a fully guided tour. 

She didn’t experience any anxiety or stress or fear. She wasn’t at all concerned because she knew every destination had a guide and the guide had a plan. The guide cared enough about the safety and needs of the group to ensure their wellbeing. The guide took the group to places that they never would have seen on their own and the group was able to experience more than would have been possible otherwise. 

In our lives, Jesus is our guide! In Jesus the...

In part 4 of our March and April series, The Biography of Jesus, Pastor Jeff brings an encouraging word that’s packed full of foundational scriptures that support 11 reasons to follow Jesus. Beginning with some insightful perspective, Pastor Jeff reminds us that when we’re seeking answers in life, the way to connect with the author of life is to have a relationship with the Creator of life itself. 

As sinners, it’s not church that we need to seek; it’s a relationship with God. In John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus reminds us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” He is all we need! As if that’s not reason enough to follow Jesus, Pastor Jeff details nearly a dozen additional reasons to pursue Him throughout his message, Jesus the Lion. 

Discussion: 

What reasons do you have personally for following Jesus? 

Have you ever sought to discover your purpose outside of God? 

How did a...

In part 3 of The Biography of Jesus series, Pastor Beth Jones brings an uplifting word that highlights Jesus as the Lamb of God. Her message emphasizes The Gospel and encourages us to stand firm in who God has created us to be as born again Christians. We have been given a new nature in Him! 

Jesus the Lamb is filled with foundational scriptures, pivotal details about who Jesus is, and life lessons for us all as we uncover the gift of righteousness given to us by the blood of the Lamb. As we continue to explore and get to know Jesus through hearing, reading, and consuming the Word, let’s listen, read, and consume with our hearts so that this revelation knowledge becomes part of our spiritual DNA, our belief system, as we passionately pursue Jesus Christ daily. 

We’re answering two big questions: 

Who is Jesus the Lamb and what did He do for us?

What is our response and how does it change our lives?

Righteousness Revelation

Oftentimes, we feel a disconnect...