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FEBRUARY 2017 PASTOR'S POINTS

Dear Church Family,

I have been writing an article for the Oakleaves for over ten years now and almost without fail I always start it the same way: “Dear Church Family.”  You know that is what we really are.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ!  We have been adopted into God’s family as we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

We are called to do life together.  And we do not have to guess what that looks like.  God’s Word is clear on this matter.  I have been reading a book called Follow Me, by David Platt.  And this month I want to share an excerpt out of this book for you to consider.  Platt shares…

“Biblically, a church does not consist of people who simply park and participate in programs alongside one another.  Instead, the church is comprised of people who share the life of Christ with each other on a day-by-day, week-by-week basis.”

“We are to live alongside one another for the sake of one another!  The Bible portrays the church as a community of Christians who care for one another, love one another, host one another, receive one another, honor one another, serve one another, instruct one another, forgive one another, motivate one another, build up one another, encourage one another, comfort one another, pray for one another, confess sins to one another, esteem one another, edify one another, teach one another, show kindness to one another, give to one another, rejoice with one another, weep with one another, hurt with one another, and restore one another.”

“These “one another’s” combined together paint a picture not of people who come to a building filled with customized programs, but of people who have decided to lay down their lives to love one another.”  And at the end of all of this we find this understanding of what the local church truly is.  “The church is a community of Christians who love one another and long for each other to know and grow in Christ.”

This is a big part of us being effective in making disciples here at Oakhill.  We need to belong to a community in a “life group”.  “True community exists when we are individually surrendered to God, collectively serving together, and willingly sacrificing for the good of each other.”

I love you and I am thankful to call you all family.

Pastor's Points January 2017

Dear Church Family,

As we enter a new year my main prayer for us is that we can get “Back to Basics.”  By that, I mean to focus on the main thing that we have been called to as followers of Jesus.  Of course, I am speaking of the call to make disciples.

Jesus gave us this task right before He left this earth (Matthew 28:18-20) and it is a task that is still not completed.  So many things push in on us in life and if we are not careful we find ourselves doing a lot of things other than the main thing we have been called to.  I know as your pastor that God is calling us to rededicate ourselves to the task of making disciples.

Each of us must invest in ourselves and grow in our own personal walks with the Lord, but that is not the only dynamic of making disciples.  We are called to invest in the life of others.  We need to do life together as the body of Christ, as a church family!!  We all need to be invested in and we need to invest in others as well.  In my message on January 1^st, I laid out an overview of the importance of this process.  We considered the earthly ministry of Jesus, as well as instruction that the Apostle Paul gave to his young son in the faith, Timothy.  Those truths are the foundation of where we are going as a church in discipleship.  I would encourage you to go online and listen to that message if you were not in worship on January 1^st.

Over the next several Sundays I am going to be speaking on this topic as we consider the importance of making disciples; getting “Back to Basics.” Four words will be used over the next weeks for us to really consider how we are going to make more followers of Jesus.  Behold, Belong, Become, and Beyond.  Make sure to be in worship as we consider what I am calling “The Disciples Declaration.”  As followers of Jesus we need to declare: I am going to Behold, I am going to Belong, I am going to Become, and I am going Beyond.

2016 has come and gone with all its joys, challenges, blessings, and hardships.  It is now 2017 and we must look forward to what God has for us to do for His glory!!  I believe with my whole heart He would have us to get “Back to Basics” and make disciples who will in turn make disciples and take the gospel around the world all for His
glory!!!  Let’s get to it!!!

I love you and I love being your pastor!