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Worship Ministry - February 2025

Here to Serve

I can never say enough how thankful I am for every volunteer here at Oakhill! Not only the many talented people who help lead our church in worship each week, from the band players to the singers and those behind the scenes running sound, lyrics, and livestream; but everyone that serves the Lord through Oakhill. As we serve kids and students from birth till they “leave the nest”, to welcoming guests and making coffee, teaching life groups, serving at the food pantry, and other missions projects; we are the hands and feet of Jesus. Thank you! Thank you for serving the Lord and choosing to do it through Oakhill Baptist Church. 

“We were not saved from our sin simply so that we would qualify for heaven. God delivered us so we would have a relationship with Him through which He could carry out His mission to redeem a lost world” - Henry Blackaby

In elementary school, I remember being handed a diagram of the food pyramid. We talked about the importance of a balanced diet. How we should eat more fruits, veggies, and proteins and less sugary treats. We were encouraged to exercise. If I’m being open with you, I struggled with that then and I struggle with it now! My kryptonite is ice cream and I would rather watch a movie than go on a run. I am confident that I am not alone in these struggles.

As we strive to grow in Christ, I think just as we are to have a balanced food diet, we need to have a balanced faith diet. I struggle with this and I am confident I am not alone in these struggles. For some of us, prayer is easy, or evangelism (sharing the gospel with the lost) comes naturally to us. For others, we find these things and other aspects of our walk with Christ difficult to give the importance they deserve. I want to encourage us to ask the Lord to show us where, in the “balanced diet” of our faith, we need to give some attention so we can be more like Christ.

As I wrote earlier, I am thankful for all those who serve here at Oakhill; but for some of us reading this, we have not been giving service or doing the work of Christ the importance it deserves. It is easy for us to unknowingly live a life like Blackaby wrote about. It is easy for us, once we are saved, to think we are “good.” I have punched my ticket to heaven and I can just live my life now, never accepting the responsibilities that God places on the lives of His followers. Especially the responsibility of serving others!! We don’t live in a world where serving others is encouraged; rather it’s all about you and what you want and what you “deserve.” We are compelled, however, to live out Romans 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." We do this by serving others! Giving our time, our energy, our money, and our emotional space to others so that we may put them before ourselves for the honor and glory of God.

So, be on the lookout for opportunities to serve others, whether here at church or out in the world. I promise that opportunities are abundant and may we do this work with the joy of the Lord in our hearts as we serve Him and His people. 

Love you and mean it!

Worship Ministry - January 2025

Thank You!
Thank you to all who helped make this Christmas season so special! We had a great Christmas Night of Worship where we were reminded that Jesus came to be the “Light of the World!” Thank you to all those who sang in the adult or children’s choir! You put in time practicing when you could have stayed home and napped, so I thank you for your willingness to sing! I hope you had fun and were blessed each week by the fellowship as much as I was! To the band members, thank you for using your talents to glorify the Lord. To all the people who worked behind the scenes, I truly couldn’t have done it without you and you were a great blessing to me!

Be the Light
I will never forget all the lights going out at the NEEDTOBREATHE concert! Of course, there was some light; the exit signs and the light seeping in from the hallways, but the arena was pretty dark. The lead singer stepped up to the mic and encouraged everyone to turn on their phone flashlights. As I pushed the button to turn mine on, lights all around me began to turn on. It started to get brighter and brighter as everyone began to turn their flashlights on and I was amazed at how bright the room became. You could see the people's faces across the room. You could easily walk around with no problem!

It hit me, that this was a great picture of how the light of the gospel can penetrate the darkness of the world. Through each one of us…

“13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:13-16

Christ has called each of us who belong to Him to be the light in the world; letting the world see Him and His love through our faith and works for God’s glory. It can feel at times, that we are that one phone flashlight in a dark arena. Sure people can see the light but it is being swallowed by the darkness around it. However, we must remember that we are not alone for we belong to His church, His kingdom. There are lights shining all around us, believers all over the world doing the work of the Lord and giving Him praise. (Side thought: Do you ever think about how because of God’s people being spread out all over the world, there probably isn’t ever a second during a day that someone isn’t actively praising the Lord?)

As we start this year, let’s pray that the Lord would renew in us a desire to live for Him and that we would show the world the light of His gospel! Let us join together with other believers to worship Him, seek Him, and delight in His Word! We can, just like the arena was filled, light the world with the glory of the Lord and His truth if we bind our hearts to His and encourage other believers to do the same. Through Christ, we can grow closer to Him as individuals, as His church, and reach the world with The Truth.

Love you and mean it!