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Worship Ministry - July 2024

Firm Foundation
“Oh, rain came and wind blew
But my house was built on You
And I'm safe with You I'm gonna make it through
Yeah, I'm gonna make it through
'Cause my house is built on you”
- Firm Foundation (He Won’t)

We are now halfway through the year, I don’t know how cause it seems like January 1st was two weeks ago, but here we are. Not to freak anyone out but Christmas is 26 weeks away (as of writing this)! I know that the new year is the time for self-evaluation, new goals, and new resolutions, but maybe today is a good day to start a new habit. I had a teacher in High School, Don Roe, who would say “You don’t need a New Year's resolution, you need a now-resolution.” I didn’t appreciate that as a tenth grader, but as a 31-year-old I see the wisdom in that statement. It’s easy to make goals and say “I’m going to start that tomorrow.” Tomorrow comes and goes and nothing changes. So, today is the day to begin the good habits, to seek the Lord with renewed vigor, and to make the second half of the year more faithful than the first half.

“24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25

A few weeks ago we sang the song “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” and I was convicted of my attitude towards the study of God’s Word. It’s not that I didn’t ever read it, I did, but not with a heart and mind for what it meant and what it was proclaiming. The mighty and everlasting promises of God were not penetrating my cold heart! Not because God’s promises had somehow lost their power and truthfulness, but because I had lost sight of the value of His Holy Word.

The conviction hit even harder when I began thinking of my two children. If I don’t teach them to love God’s Word, if I don’t display a dedication to the study of it and encourage my family to do the same then who is going to? The world sure isn’t!

The rainfall, flood waters and winds of life come and “beat” on our “houses” every day. Some days are more intense than others, but it’s always there! For me, and my family, what is going to prepare us for those hard days that have yet to reveal themselves? The Word of God! It is through His Word that we find His wisdom and strength to care for when life is the most difficult!

So, what “now-resolution” did I make in light of this conviction? I grabbed my Bible and a journal book for the Book of James and began reading and writing the things God was impressing on my heart. I hope to do each book of the Bible so that as my two children graduate High School, I will be able to gift them these journals. Giving them the wisdom of God’s Word, and the testament to their dad's devotion to Christ, His Church, and His Word.

What “now-resolution” do you need to make TODAY? Don’t wait for tomorrow, seek Him today!

Love you and mean it!

Grow & Go - July 2024

Indy Crossover Mission Trip

Recently, a group of eleven from Oakhill went to Indianapolis on a four-day mission trip to help renovate the multipurpose worship space that is used for the food pantry and fellowship at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship (Metro Baptist Center). Our project was to start on Wednesday, hang drywall, get it painted, and ready for the church to have 45 volunteers show up for a block party on Saturday for Crossover and then worship together on Sunday. This seemed like a tall order upon our arrival, but the Lord knew that He had assembled the exact people needed to get this accomplished in time, on time, and done well.

This trip was not about getting to go somewhere or saying, “Look at what we did and accomplished”. Our team had a certain job that we were tasked to do to help Cornerstone Christian Fellowship according to their needs, and we worked tirelessly together as a group in unity to complete them. As the pastor who led this trip, I can say without reservation that God put together the right group to accomplish what needed to be done in a short window of time. We not only finished the drywall and painting, but our Mission team also helped put new siding on the second floor of the building, going beyond the scope of work we originally came to achieve.

Hershel York said in his new book titled Pastor Well: A Guide to Faithfulness in Pastoral Ministry, “People ask about mission trips a lot, including missionaries. I hear missionaries on the field say they don’t like mission trips because when churches send teams, they cause more trouble than they’re worth. Well, it’s your job to make sure that’s not so. How do you do that? Well, if you send a team on a mission trip, you need to make sure that they are alleviating suffering problems rather than contributing to them. When we take trips, we make sure we have several meetings ahead of time, and we stress this is not Christian tourism. This is not about getting an experience. This is not about having stories to tell. We’ve got specific jobs that we’ve been asked to do, and we’re going to do those”. (1)

Considering what Pastor York said, we were not a burden, we brought light to a church that needed help. We removed boards from windows that had been covered and the light shined in once again revealing the skylight of the city that had not been seen in decades. Our team made food and fed over 300 people for two days, challenged people with the Gospel, and prayed over the hurting. It was more than just hanging drywall and some paint. Our team, with the Lord’s help, set the stage for the gospel to be advanced (Phil 1:12) for years to come. Yes, our team had fun working together to accomplish the task at hand, but each of us also understood our roles and we did them well, giving glory to our great God who is “able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine” (Eph 3:20). We had sweet fellowship together over food prepared with love and Bible devotion times that I will personally never forget. I say this after every mission trip, we go expecting to change the world, but it is our great God who always changes us.

Please add Pastor Tom and Pastor Steven to your prayers. They are doing great ministry in a very tough context, where there is much spiritual darkness due to addiction, and poverty among many homeless people who come through the doors in need. Pray for their safety and longevity in ministry, and that God will cause a great revival among the
people of downtown Indianapolis. 

(1) Hershel York, Pastor Well: A Guide To Faithfulness In Pastoral Ministry (Louisville, Ky: Southern Seminary Press), 106-7.