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Worship August 2018

Church Family,

Fall is quickly approaching, and I know we’re all ready for some cooler air. It’s been an exciting season of ministry here at Oakhill, and we are excited to see what God is going to do as we press forward into the future. This month I want to ask a question and encourage you to ponder with it: How do you worship in hard times? In hard times and hard seasons of life, do you inch closer to God, or do you lean further away from God? I think we can all agree that it’s easy to worship when things are going well. But when things aren’t going well, sometimes our worship of God is more absent from our lives than present. I want to encourage us all to remain faithful in our worship, in every season, just as God remains  faithful to us at all times.

Psalms 46:1-3 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.” The reality is that there are only two times in our lives when we should worship God - when we feel like it, and when we don’t. What we need to understand is that even in the hardest of times, God is just as faithful as He is in the good times. He’s always the same God, never changing. So many times we wrestle with the idea that because we have fallen on hard times, God’s love for us has altered, or we start to think that He somehow has changed. But the reality is that He has not changed, but we have changed. Our hearts have changed. Our hearts have become cold and distant because our lives haven’t gone exactly how we planned for them to go. We have to trust that God’s plans for us are far better than the plans we can make on our own. God doesn’t lead us to the fire, He leads us through the fire.

So this week, be encouraged to worship God even in the hard times. Don’t hide from God. If you’re sad, bring your feelings to Him in prayer. If you’re angry, tell Him. If you’re lonely, tell Him. Whatever your trials may be, bring them before God, as He already knows them very well. He is our Perfect Creator, and our Good Father. He knows you and He loves you. We can be comforted in the middle of a storm, because we know the maker of the storm, and He knows us. A great worship leader, Aaron Keyes once said, “Worship is like breathing, it’s something we were constantly created to do.” So lean in. In the good and the bad, lean into the presence of God. There’s nothing quite like it.

In Christ,

Jared

Worship July 2018

Church Family,

I hope the summer is treating you well and you are all having lots of summer fun with your family and friends! It’s been a busy season of ministry here at Oakhill, as we have seen God move in big ways this summer! We are just coming off an incredible week of VBS, and we hope you and your family were here to enjoy it. As I reflect on our time in VBS, I can’t help but thing of the great times we had at the worship rally as our kids danced, sang, and worshipped through music! It’s always a joy to hear a child speak and sing about Jesus.

If you’re like me, you wish you could hear children worship like this all year long. The good news is that you don’t have to wait until VBS every year to worship with your children! Worship with your children can happen any day, and any week. Yes, it may look and sound different. You may not have the fun VBS songs, the crazy lights, or dance   motions, but you have the opportunity to teach your children more about what worship truly is. You have the opportunity to teach your children that worship doesn't come through your singing or dancing, but true worship comes through your heart. Here are 3 ways to worship with your children every day and week.

1) Bring your children to Church on Sunday mornings. This may seem like an obvious answer, but this is a guaranteed time to worship together once every week. Here at Oakhill, we have our Children’s worship, and we also have our corporate worship times. Come and be a part every Sunday.

2) Worship in the car. This may seem different, but we all have CD players, IPods, etc., and these are all great resources to worship with. Find out some of your kid’s favorite worship songs, or show them some new worship songs. Play these in your car, and encourage your family to sing along. Take the time you have in the car to talk about what the songs mean. Lead your children in worship while you are in the car together.

3) Find time for family worship in your home. In the evenings, in the mornings, whenever works best, find a time to gather around with your children and worship. You don’t have to play an instrument, but you can sing some songs that they can easily learn. Amazing Grace is a great hymn to teach your children. And have your Bible with you. Take 20 minutes to read scripture together, pray, and sing. It will be well worth your time. We don’t have to wait for times like VBS to worship with our children. Opportunities are all around us, we just have to take advantage of them!