Pastor's Points October 2017
Dear Church Family,
I am convinced more than ever of the importance of having close, meaningful relationships with other believers in Christ. This world is just too hard to go it alone. Of course, those relationships are grounded in the most important relationship of all with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
My prayer for our church is that we truly will be, “A Family for Life”! We need to be a gathering of believers that does not just see Oakhill as “a” church that we attend, but that this is our church family where we belong.
I see the benefit of this reality every week in three separate ways. On Sundays, we gather in our worship services to worship together as we sing and hear God speak to us as we listen to His Word. I love seeing my church family as we worship together. It encourages me and is part of what God uses to prepare me for a new week. Second, I love meeting with my Life Group!! As we gather on Sunday nights we fellowship, discuss God’s Word, and pray together. This has been so good for me because for years I have not been able to participate in a group like this and now I can and I have benefited greatly from it! And third, each week I get to come together with some of my church family as we gather for our Wednesday luncheon where we fellowship, hear God’s Word, and pray together. There is nothing better than to know that the people I go to church with are not just other attendees, but they truly are my brothers and sisters in Christ! We get the privilege of living out the “one another” passages together. You see we do not live those passages out between God and ourselves, we live them out in community with each other! How awesome is that!!
So, I want to encourage you to a few things this month.
- Make a commitment to be apart of worship each week unless you are sick, working, or on vacation. God will encourage you as He speaks to you and you will encourage others with your presence.
- Get involved with one of our “Life Groups”. We have some on campus on Sunday mornings and many off campus as well. These groups will help you really get to know other people and will encourage you to grow in your faith. Most of the off campus groups meet in homes and I can personally testify to how much these groups have impacted those who are apart of them.
- Make a conscience effort to switch your thinking from Oakhill being “a” church that you attend to being a church family that you belong to. Serve often, worship weekly, give regularly, surrender fully, prioritize others, and love deeply.
God is doing great things all around us! He is moving, changing lives, and will continue to open doors of opportunity as we continue to walk faithfully with Him! This fall and winter will be filled with ways that you can love and serve God like never before. Take those opportunities and watch what God will do in your life and the lives of others!
Finally, I want to share with you some exciting news! We have had a very generous monetary gift given to the church to be specifically used toward the purchase of a new church sign. Our current sign has served us well since the 1960’s but this gift will allow us to place a new sign in that spot for many more years to come! Praise God! Look for the new sign sometime around the first of November!
I Love you and I love being your pastor,
Pastor Alan
