Thursday, October 28th was not the first time that multiple sports teams from the Vineyard Christian School competed for championships in the Maine Christian School Sports League, and I have a strong sense that it won’t be the last.  But yesterday was unique and special for so many reasons. 

To have the entire school and their parents along with our amazing fans and almost all of the Pathway Vineyard Staff make the trip to a fantastic turf field at Deering High School in the cold rain shows how much support there is behind this wonderful school!  To have two teams playing their hearts out to win a championship and preserve an undefeated season was nerve wracking but exhilarating as well.

To see the JV team complete an incredible season with a record of 8 wins, 1 tie and no losses was fantastic.  Congratulations JV team!

But what was most meaningful to me, both as a coach and as director if this amazing Christian School, was the class, will and intensity the Varsity team displayed in a 1-0 loss against a very tough and talented Coastal Christian team.  For young men and women to hold onto the character that makes them so unique among the peers of their culture under such incredibley intense and challenging circumstances made me the proudest director of a Christian School around.

At the Vineyard Christian School, we win alot.  The combined records of our soccer teams this year was 20 wins, only 1 loss and 2 games that ended in ties.  This season, the varsity team scored more goals (93) than in ALL of the previous years of soccer at VCS COMBINED!  It was only a four years ago that this team WON its very FIRST game.  But, all of the stats and victories aside, what was most impressive to me is how this team discovered that WINNING has NOTHING to do with the SCORE.

Change is happening.  There is nothing that can be done to stop things from changing.  Even dead things change.

People in the U.S. spend nearly $350 Billion on the combination of cosmetic surgery, anti-aging and diet products to try and slow down the effects of changes to our bodies.  But what about change for Christians?

Romans 12:2 speaks loudly from the Message version:

It was great to have Pathway Vineyard Pastor Grimaldi Martinez share at chapel on Sept 29th.  He had recently returned from a quick trip to the Dominican Republic where he was helping to support several emerging and growing Vineyard Churches.  It was inspiring to hear him talk about the level of joy and faith that the Dominican people have in God, even when they aren’t always sure how they will find work, food, shelter, health care, etc..  He commented on how easy it is to believe with them when the needs are so dramatic and obvious.  It seems, almost, like they need a different kind of faith than students like VCS’s at a private, christian school in Maine.

Pastor Gee explained that, in fact, we need the exact SAME faith but for different needs.  Then he taught a great lesson on Romans chapter 8.  He really brought up how God has stacked the deck in our favor when it comes to the daily life of the Christian and encouraged us to throw ourselves open to God and for God on a daily basis.

ENEMIES!

We’ve all been there . . . .that bully that makes fun of you, or a hard fould on the field/court, or maybe the girl that breaks up with you for another guy.

Our first instinct, the one we’re born with, is to retaliate.  “Hey!  You hurt me, then I’ll hurt you.  I mean fair is fair.  Even says so in the Bible.”  But, through Jesus, God instructs us in a supernatural reaction that has better outcomes than our natural responses.  He calls us to forgive when it really hurts.  To not only let the sins against us fade, but the right to demand justice too!  That’s the hard part.

Today we examined 5 questions that may help in dealing with people that REALLY get under our skin.

1.  What is their home life like?                           

2.  How might they have been wounded or hurt?            

3.    What might they be missing in their life?                      

4.     Why are we having problems with each other?                  

5.     When God thinks of THEM, what does he think?

Wonder what would happen to all our little “drama fights” if we all spent as much time praying through these questions during a conflict.

This is a big weekend around the Vineyard School and Pathway Vineyard Church.  It’s homecoming for the school and our Friday JV and Varsity soccer games kick off a weekend of fun at the Pathway Vineyard Family Festival.  It’s all free at 9 Foss Road in Lewiston!   Fun, Food, Games and exciting entertainment.  Go to PathwayVineyard.com for all the info.

 Wow!  What an amazing group of students this year.  Take a look at our first day in Pre-K.  What a treasure.

As part of the Pathway Vineyard senior pastor team and leader of the Prayer Ministry, Jan Strout blessed the VCS staff with some dedicated prayer time on the first day of school.  She challenged us to “watch for God” and find Him in our everyday lives.

Mrs. Quinn (Grades 3&4 teacher) sent me an email last night: “I can tell you where I saw Jesus today. He was in J. Bentley who volunteered to work with another student when two students I paired together didn’t want to work together, and noone else would. And in R. Greenwood who gave one of his extra folders to another student who didn’t have enough. ” 

There were more than 200 students, parents, guests and staff at our orientation night Monday followed by our first day at VCS.  It was amazing start to the year.