Vinings Lake Church

When societies lose the ability to tell the difference between truth and propaganda, cruelty and righteousness, collapse has already begun. In this prophetic exploration of Ezekiel 5, we confront public grief, unraveling systems, and the remnant of humanity still refusing to become cruel in cruel times.

What you consume eventually shapes who you become. In this prophetic exploration of Ezekiel 4, we examine how societies normalize cruelty, how constant outrage and fear deform the human soul, and why resisting empire is not enough. The deeper call is to become a new humanity, one rooted not in fear, rage, or reaction, but in presence, tenderness, courage, and healing.

This one is for those who didn't grow up inside rigid evangelicalism. Malynda Hale joins us to share a story that doesn't include a dramatic religious deconstruction. A conversation full of wisdom, honesty, growth, and challenge.

In this message, we explore the prophet Ezekiel's shocking symbolic actions and what they reveal about moments when truth has been spoken, but no one is listening. From ancient exile to modern movements, this teaching confronts the cost of silence, the danger of aligning faith with power, and the call to embodied resistance. Because sometimes the most powerful message is not spoken, it's lived.

Jesus wasn't just crucified—he was executed by a system threatened by truth. And the resurrection? It's not a soft spiritual idea. It's a protest. In this episode of Creative Resistance, we explore how the empty tomb exposes the illusion of control, breaks the power of fear, and calls us to resist what dehumanizes our world today.

The world says power takes a throne. Jesus picks up a basin and a towel. In one quiet, embodied act, he dismantles the entire imagination of the empire, and reveals a new way of being human. This is not a weakness. This is resistance. This is what real power looks like.

Jesus didn't curse a tree; he exposed a system. In this message, we explore the fig tree as a prophetic sign against religion that looks alive on the outside but bears no fruit. What happens when faith becomes all leaves and no life?

In A Creative Resistance Pt. 7, we explore Jesus' dramatic disruption in the Temple, not merely as a burst of anger, but as a strategic act of protest exposing the alliance of religion, money, and power. By overturning tables and stopping the system, Jesus reveals that access to God cannot be bought or controlled, and invites us to practice that same kind of creative resistance today.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt during Passover, it wasn't just a celebration—it was a protest. As Rome displayed power with soldiers and war horses, Jesus staged a counter-procession of humility and hope. Two parades. Two visions of power. In this teaching, we explore how symbolic action exposes injustice—and ask the question: Which parade are you marching in?

Join us for a chat with guest speaker Dr. David Gushee.

In this message, we explore one of the Bible's strangest acts of protest: Isaiah walking naked and barefoot for three years as a warning against trusting the empire for safety. This sermon looks at symbolic action, spell-breaking resistance, and why faithfulness in the face of power isn't about volume, but endurance. When lies feel normal and cruelty is normalized, the call is simple and costly: stay present, stay awake, and outlast empire.

Some systems won't change with words alone. This sermon explores Isaiah's shocking act of embodied protest and what it means to resist empire today, not by shouting louder, but by showing up longer, breaking the spell of false security, and bearing faithful witness.

The killing of Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, revealed a moment of moral clarity in our nation. This sermon explores three responses to her death, unchecked power, narrative control by empire, and Renée's own final words, "I'm not mad at you"—to reveal a vision of creative resistance rooted in Jesus: resisting injustice without mirroring its cruelty, holding systems accountable while refusing to surrender our humanity, and choosing courageous compassion in the face of fear.

In A Creative Resistance, Part 1, we focus on Jeremiah's shocking act of smashing a clay jar as a public, prophetic protest. This embodied act exposes the illusion of strength in a nation convinced it was divinely untouchable. Jeremiah reveals that some corrupt systems cannot be repaired, they must be shattered. The sermon invites us to imagine how creative resistance can still awaken truth and confront injustice today.

In the final sermon of A Revolutionary Anthem, Mary's Magnificat exposes the lie of empire: proclaimed prosperity built on hidden suffering. "He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty." This message reveals a God who overturns rigged systems, lifts the lowly, humbles the powerful, and calls us to give birth to a world turned upside down.

Mary's Magnificat reveals a God who topples the powerful and lifts the lowly. This is Exodus again, oppressive systems overturned and dignity restored. Advent isn't sentimental; it's a radical reordering of power. In this episode, we explore the holy reversal at the heart of Mary's song.

Mary's Magnificat is more than a song, it's a revolutionary anthem. From the margins of society, she sings joy that resists despair and challenges empires built on fear. In this episode, we explore how her journey, her spirit, and her words still call us to hope, justice, and daring joy today.

What if Jesus wasn't telling us to get rid of fear - but to relate to it differently? "Do not be afraid" isn't a command to suppress emotion, but an invitation to stop letting fear control us. Fear has a purpose; anxiety isn't your enemy. This episode explores how to integrate anxiety instead of being defined by it.

Jesus said no—without guilt, shame, or apology. He didn't take on what wasn't his to carry, and we are invited to do the same. This episode is an invitation to set boundaries, release people-pleasing, and focus your energy on what you're truly here to do. Saying no isn't selfish—it's sacred.

In this episode, we explore what I call "The Energetic Audit." Even in the middle of constant demands, Jesus paid attention to His energy. He didn't give endlessly or mindlessly but lived with a wise awareness of both His limits and His love. Together, we'll unpack how His example can reshape the way we give, serve, and rest today.

In a world full of noise, power struggles, and people claiming to speak for God, how do we know which path truly leads to life? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns of wide roads that end in destruction and narrow ways that bring life. He calls us to test the fruit, examine the foundation, and choose carefully whom we follow. This message explores Jesus' timeless warning in Matthew 7 and how it speaks directly to the deceptive voices of our own day.

Healing the world comes at a cost. In this episode, we explore how Jesus felt the personal toll of his work in the world. From exhaustion to intentional boundaries, we uncover the sacred give-and-take at the heart of life—and how paying attention to our energy can transform both us and those around us.

Your life is speaking. The real question is—are you listening? Wisdom doesn't shout; it whispers. It speaks softly through your longings, your limits, and even your fatigue. Today, we learn to listen: to ask better questions, to interview ourselves, and to hear what our lives have been trying to say all along. That's where we begin to move beneath the exhaustion and burnout.

What if the fatigue, exhaustion, depletion and burn-out has come to tell you something about your life? What would it look like to find a place of solitude and silence and begin interviewing these feelings and experiences you are having? What could they be saying? If your body is weary, it's time to stop and listen to that communication.

What do you do when you are tired, exhausted, depleted, and burned out? Our culture tells us to push through, power through, grind it out, and keep going at all costs. But how is that working for us? What if instead we stopped? What if we took a deep breath, and didn't do anything? What if instead we listen to the fatigue instead of pushing through it?

Neglecting yourself for the sake of another can appear as a noble sacrifice. But after a while, it can lead to your own personal burnout. What you begin to realize is that neglecting yourself actually limits your capacity to love the other. Today we talk about making your own well-being a priority. We are called to love our neighbor AS OURSELF.

Tired, Exhausted, Depleted, Burned out? This one goes out to the weary and ones carrying heaven burdens. Christ invites you to come to him. Why? He can give you rest.

This week the senate passed H.R.1 also called the one big beautiful bill. Afterward, speaker Johnson said, "I give glory to God." Did God push the vote through? Does God support H.R.1? Let's talk about it.

Are you tired, exhausted, depleted, on the brink of burn out? If that's you, today we talk about loving your neighbor as yourself. But before we get to, "as yourself" we need to talk about loving our neighbor. Because what is happening with immigrants in this country can make us exhausted.

There is a common expression swirling in the air when asked, "How are you?" Generally the response is, "I'm tired, weary, fatigued, exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed, drained, spent, depleted or burned out. Today, we begin a new series of teaching on why we all feel exhausted and what this exhaustion might be telling us.   

This is our final teaching in the book of Revelation. In this final section, John extends an invitation into the new city to all those who are thirsty. Who does John see inside this city? Who is left out? The gates remain open. This is the ultimate ending with a picture of universal restoration.

In the final chapter of Revelation, John takes us back to Genesis 3 with an image of the tree of life. People in the new city are recovering their original goodness. The leaves on this tree are for the healing of the nations. In this new city, John sees no more pain and hurt but healing of all the harms that have been done and received.

When John describes a new city of Jerusalem, it is important to remember that the old city of Jerusalem has been largely leveled and burned some years before. This vision he gives us is deeply personal and the details inside that city matter to him. One of those details is a city with no temple and bright lights. Revelation 22 today.

John moves from pulling back the curtain on the "Eternal City" of Rome and gives us an image of what could be with the "Holy City" of the New Jerusalem. This week we look at the images and words John uses to describe what could be.

At exactly the moment these first century Jesus followers were feeling utterly powerless to change their fate, John shows them a realm where wholeness, harmony, health, bliss, peace, joy, justice, healing, and universal flourishing become a reality. The old Eternal City of Rome has ended to give room to the new Holy City of Jerusalem that is emerging.

The image of a throne is explicitly political in Revelation. It reflects the Roman Imperial Court. The first century Jesus followers knew something about standing before this throne for not participating in emperor worship. John subverts the image and reverses the roles. He portrays a judgment without partiality. This time it is all about actions.

All Empires will come to an end. Rome is no exception. We come to the place where the Roman empire collapses. This collapse of the old way of arranging the world gives room for the rise of a new way of arranging the world. Something has to end for something new to begin.

This week we get all the way into the depths of the weird, gory, and violent wrath of God as John portrays it through the seven bowls of judgement. Is Armageddon coming? Is Jesus coming back on a white horse to kill all those who rejected him? Let's get into it.

How about another week on the second beast? This week, we will explore a brief history of the church as it relates to the merging of empire + religion. We look at Constantine and his use of Christianity in (306-337). What can we learn from our history and how John understood the repercussions of the Jesus movement intertwining with the empire?

This week we look at the second beast, or the beast of the land. John describes this beast as one that has the appearance of a lamb but the actions of the dragon. From the first century world to our American world, we will examine the rise of Christian Nationalism to see if there are any parallels.

Is The Anti-Christ coming? Is he already here? Is the mark of the beast coming? Is it already here? These questions have been speculated for thousands of years. Today, we look at Revelation 13, the primary source for much of these speculations. How would the first audience have understood this story?

Hail, fire, blood, scorched earth, scorpions, locusts with lions teeth, two-hundred million troops, plagues, serpents, falling stars, bottomless pit, mountains thrown into sea, Wormwood, eagles, fire breathing horses like lions, China, Russia, and India. We are into the thick of Revelation and it is NOT a prediction about what is to come.

As John breaks the seven seals, what He uncovers might surprise you. The empire is not as secure and stable as it might appear. John is intentionally shaking the foundation of our security. He is not trying to induce anxiety but he is inviting us to trust in the salvation of something greater.

The creative artist John sets up the reader with an expectation of a fierce, violent, and ferocious lion coming to save the day. Just when you think the warrior is arriving, John surprises us with an image of a slaughtered lamb coming to save the day. This is about deconstructing notions of power.

Let's talk about the rapture. A word or concept found nowhere in the Bible. Yet, many believe and wait for the moment when all christians will be caught up in the air to meet Jesus and leave behind all non-Christians. Which leads us to some questions, where did the concept come from? Does Revelation even hint at it? And who cares if people believe in a rapture? Why does it even matter?

This week we visit the spiritual collective @ Laodicea. You know the one? They are lukewarm and getting spewed out of God's mouth. Does that ring a bell? It is a strong image. But what is behind it? Turns out John is serious about those who have gotten too comfortable inside the empire. John calls them to open their blind eyes to the reality of the empire.

John begins his specific address to the seven spiritual collectives in Asia Minor. The collective at Ephesus is praised for their willingness to accept the cost of calling out those who have willingly aligned with the empire. But he also pleads with them to make sure their work of justice is centered and grounded in love.

To know what the text means you have to first know what the text meant. Let's go deep into the historical context of Revelation. Then let's go deep into the literary context John is using. What do we discover? Not simply history but our own stories inside of this first century story.   

Today we begin our series on Revelation with a simple yet profound truth.  Revelation is not a prediction about the end of the world. Revelation is about the uncovering of things that were hidden. Revelation is not written to us in 2025. Revelation was written to people in the first century living under the boot of the Roman Empire. It is in this context, we discover EVERYTHING REVEALED.  

In Romans, Paul arms us with weapons of peace. He invites us to consider overcoming evil with good. The result? We will "heap burning coals on their heads." What does that mean? I believe the answer can best be summed up in what Dr. King called, "A Double Victory."