Our Blog

Pastor's Points - April

Dear Church Family,
This month as I write my goal is to do two things. I want to encourage you with the Word and challenge you to remain faithful.

A Word of Encouragement
I can honestly say that I have never missed my church family as much as I miss you as I am writing this article. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I must absolutely agree with that statement. The words of Philippians 1:3-11 ring in my ears as I think about you all.  Paul writes…

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all    making my prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul wanted the Philippians to know a few things. He tells them that he prays for them often and when he does, he prays with thanksgiving and joy for them.  He cared and loved them deeply.  Apparently, there were set times that Paul prayed for them, and every time he prayed his heart was full of joy and thanksgiving towards them.

I can relate to how Paul felt.  I miss you all tremendously.  I pray for you often, and when I do I am filled with joy and      thanksgiving as well.

Paul says in verse 8 that he “yearns” or “longs” to see them again.  He says that God is his witness in feeling this way towards them.  These were not words that he was just writing down. He truly meant what he was writing, and so do I.  I miss you all terribly and in our separation, God is knitting my heart closer to you all than ever before.  The absence of your presence to me is absolutely making my heart grow fonder towards you all!  I cannot wait for the Sunday that we are all able to come together again and worship our great God together!  What a great day that will be!  But until then please know that I am praying for you all and thank God for every remembrance of you.

A Word of Challenge to Faithfulness
Please remain faithful to worship with your church family.  There is the threat of the novelty of only worshipping online to wear off after a little bit of time.  You could be tempted to let other things interrupt this time.  Please dedicate yourselves to worshipping with your church family every week.  Even though our options of other things are greatly limited right now, the old enemies of laziness or distraction are still there.  Please use the worship packs we are emailing you.  Watch online, or on the DVD/CD that we are providing for you.

Also remain faithful to your Life Group. I know it is different trying to stay connected through online connection.  It can feel a little awkward to be together but not really be together, but we need to make the effort.  For some of you reading this, your group is not even able to use this online option and I hate that for you.  But please make the effort to watch our Wednesday noon Bible study which will be on our public Oakhill Facebook page every week.  And if that is not an option for you please make sure to call, text, or write one another for encouragement and prayer. Let’s do our best to stay connected so we can encourage one another through discussing Scripture, enjoying fellowship and praying together.

And finally, I want to ask you to remain faithful in your financial giving.  I know that this can be interpreted as a self-serving  request. But I believe you know me better than that.  My heart is for our church to have the funding necessary to support and   provide for the ministry that flows out of our church through the many ministries that God uses to affect lives in our city, nation, and around the world through our giving.  I have read that a lot of churches are experiencing about a 30-40% drop in giving during this time.  We of course will be affected by a drop in giving as well. Some have lost their jobs and are struggling. We need to pray for God to provide for them once again, but we also need to be ready to help them as part of our church family. So as God continues to provide for you and your family would you please be a part of God’s provision for His bride the Church. We need to ensure that as we make our way through this pandemic, (and please know God will see us through this hard time) we continue to function in ministry to continue sharing the message of hope to a world that is going to be looking for hope for life. Please remain faithful in your giving so we can continue to be a lighthouse of hope in our community.

I love you and I love being your pastor!!

Spare Change - April

Our family's new favorite show is Lego Masters.  First, because we love to see the awesome creations that the contestants come up with.  Second, it’s a show that the whole family can watch, and third, we just love Lego! The fact that you can create anything you can imagine, you can follow the directions, or you can go off script and create something original.  If you have never played with Lego, I would strongly encourage you to get in touch with your inner builder.

This reminded me about a great truth that I felt was very appropriate for this time.  God is the greatest builder and one of His greatest builds is the church. We see this in Ephesians 2:18-22.

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the  cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:18-22

We all know the church is not a building, it is the people of God.  God has built the church through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has collected people, His children, creating a great structure called the church.  We see the foundation of this is the apostles and prophets. The great teaching from these two groups of men forms our foundation of God’s Word and points to the greatest part of the structure…Jesus.  Jesus is the cornerstone. This is the perfect stone that keeps the foundation in line, the walls straight, and makes the whole thing work. This structure, the church, is a holy temple created to bring glory to God.  He brings this all together by joining all His children in the Holy Spirit.

This truth points to the fact that we are all united because we have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ.  When we become believers, the Holy Spirit comes into our lives to help us, guide us, convict us, and strengthen us.  All believers throughout all time have had the Holy Spirit on them. This is a great uniting factor that helps us to know we are a part of God’s family.

What a timely admonition, especially as we are under a Stay-At-Home order from our governor.  Even though we can’t meet in person for worship or Bible study we are still one in Christ, bound by the Holy Spirit.  Remember the church does not exist because we have a brick and mortar building. Don’t get me wrong, buildings are nice.  We can provide a ton of ministry for our church and community because we have a building; however, we are reminded that the church is more than a building.  We have had to find new ways to connect through old and new technology. Our staff is actively seeking to keep connecting, teaching, and discipling even though we are not physically together.

The truth that we are united in Christ should be a great encouragement to all believers.  God still wants to use us during this difficult season. He is still building the church! Just because we do not get to be together does not mean we should not be looking for ways to grow the church.  I would encourage all our families to connect with teaching opportunities that the church is offering through worship, and teaching. We should all be looking for ways to connect with others during this time.  Call them on the phone, write letters, send emails, text, or video chat with each other. While we are sitting at home, possibly bored, use that time to do something for the Lord. Grow your relationship or encourage someone else.  Don’t let this time be wasted! God is going to continue to build the church, be a part of what He is doing!