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Worship Ministry - September 2024

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Wisdom and Peace

Why is living peacefully so hard? Why is it so easy to get irritated or angry at someone? Whether it be conflict with your neighbor over a fence line, someone cutting in line at the store or how other people drive, it is so easy for us to give in to our self-righteous anger. I know I am quick to yell at the car next to me during the morning commute, and I am sure you could make a list of things that get under your skin.

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” James 3:17-18

As we live our lives, we must seek Christ and all that is good in Him. We seek His wisdom and pure heart. We desire His strength and humility. His righteousness! We know this, but doing it with a steadfast heart is a bigger task. We give way to our flesh and worldly desires, and then we try to redeem ourselves through our own strength and
works - as if that’s even possible. Has God not made it clear to us where we should find wisdom, strength, and peace? We must remember to turn to the Lord, not just first but God alone. It is only God that can make us righteous and holy, turn to no one else but Him.

“God’s Wisdom produces that which is right, that which is pleasing and honoring to God, and that which is good for the people of God.” - David Platt (Christ-Centered Exposition commentary) When it comes to choosing between God’s wisdom and our own, choosing God’s is never followed with regret. We are never left wishing that we'd gone a different direction when we decide to follow God’s Word and Will. Seeking and following God’s wisdom brings us peace! “The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God” (Matt 5:9)

Have you ever tried picking a restaurant to eat at with a group of people? It’s like pulling teeth to get everyone to decide on one place. This is true for all aspects of our lives! Life would be easy except that there are other people in the world who make it difficult; however, as we walk with Christ there can be peace through Christ. A.W. Tozer wrote, “As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal, how can you hope to find inward peace.” We can’t find peace when we rely on ourselves or anyone other than God.

As we desire Christ, we desire His wisdom and peace for He too desires these things for us. “Peace is what God desires in our relationships, our homes, and our churches.” David Platt (Christ-Centered Exposition commentary)

“5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting....” James 1:5-6a

Ask the Lord for His wisdom and peace! In those times of frustration or trouble, stop and pray that He would guide you and give you a heart and mind like Christ’s. Rely on Him alone!

Posted by Evan Gray with
in Missions, Newsletter

Grow & Go - September 2024

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In Need of Discipleship

I can remember as if it was yesterday when the pastor who baptized me challenged me to grow in Christ. He took the time to share the importance of knowing and learning God’s Word with me. He gave me good books to read that were theologically and doctrinally sound, steered me away from false teachings when I asked, “What about this,” and most importantly he preached the Word faithfully every Sunday from the pulpit. Everyone in Christ needs someone such as this in our lives to come alongside and encourage us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18). Not for us just to grow in head knowledge, but to show us how to practically live out our faith in Christ. What is even better is when it is more than one person who is encouraging us to grow in our faith. 

One of the best ways we can grow in Christ is through intentional, verse-by-verse study of the Scriptures in a small discipleship group setting. Small discipleship groups can be in the setting of either one-on-one or within groups of five or fewer. I prefer groups of just a few adults to comprise the group because if you get too many people in a group, you will find that some are not encouraged to participate verbally whereas others are more comfortable talking in a group. The intimacy of a small group of people collectively sharing their lives, studying the Word together, and then asking God to bring about repentance and change where needed is very transformative. For example, I have experienced that when someone who has never been discipled by someone gets involved with a real, Bible-saturated gospel community, their lives begin to radically change. What brings about real gospel transformation is when a transparent, real, and true community of Christ’s followers receive and love others well into the discipleship or small group setting.

Let’s not get ahead here and define more directly what discipleship is intended to accomplish. Discipleship is for believers in the process of sanctification and to help them grow more into the likeness of Jesus. The root word “disciple” is used 262 times in the New Testament alone. I like what Leon Dufour said about the disciple “The disciple is one who at Jesus’ call follows after Him. He must observe the will of God, and even binding upon himself unreservedly to the person of Jesus, go as far as death and the gift of his life out of love.” 1 The world is not following Jesus, only His disciples are answering the call to willingly give entirely of themselves to the cause of following Christ and making Him known. Therefore, people in discipleship groups being discipled must be born-again baptized followers of Jesus.

Beginning after September 6th , we have multiple groups being offered here at Oakhill, making great opportunities for everyone to find something for themselves. Three times are available for women to be in a Bible study including one early in the morning, one mid-week during the evening, and another Bible Study online. These different time slots of Bible studies make it possible for most to find at least one time that works for them. Also, the men’s ministry has kicked off a new theme called FORGE. It begins on Friday night September 6th at a banquet when all of the leaders will divide up into D-Groups. There will be various times the men will meet to study “Biblical Manhood” by Stuart Scott where the intent is to help one another be men who lead and love their families to Christ.

Why a D-Group or women’s Bible study? Our groups exist to strengthen our community with God and one another in the body of Christ. We all need biblical community where we can share the difficulties we each experience in this fallen world, and then point each other to the hope we can find only through Christ and His Word.

Posted by Paul Willett with

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