Pastor's Points January 2018
Dear Church Family,
It is very hard to believe that another year has passed and we are at the beginning of a new year. This past year has had it shares of ups and downs, but through it all, God proved Himself to be more than faithful!! He always does! That is just who He is. As we rest on the sure fact of God’s faithfulness, I am so excited for what God has in store for us in 2018.
God has laid an emphasis and direction on my heart for our church family. This coming year we are going to emphasize, and encourage our church family to invest the Bible in their lives like never before. The more secular our culture becomes, the more urgent it is for us to know, love, and live the Bible. In fact, that is exactly the phrase that Pastor Nick came to when thinking about this Bible emphasis and I fully agree with it. We want followers of Jesus to know, love, and live the Bible!! And we are going to help encourage this to happen in 2018 in two main ways.
First, we are encouraging everyone to pick up the Bible Reading Plan at church and commit to read the Bible in a year. What a great goal to have for 2018! Using this plan, you will read the whole Bible in a year. If this sounds overwhelming to you because maybe you are a new believer, or not a strong reader, you can read the New Testament portions daily and read through the New Testament in a year.
Second, we are providing a general overview of all 66 books of the Bible in 2018 through our Growth Initiatives. We will get together for three hours on five Saturdays in 2018 to grow in our understanding of the structure, themes, and truths of God’s Word. Think of the huge spiritual impact that could be made in your life personally and in the corporate life of our church family if we commit to regularly reading the Bible, and attending these Growth Initiatives to better understand the Bible?
Finally I want to encourage you in 2018 to see Oakhill not as “a” church that you attend, but rather as a family where you belong. Ask God to help you grow in your love and commitment to your church family. We desperately need Jesus in our lives, but He has made us to be in relationship with one another as well. I pray we can BEHOLD God together as we worship weekly. I pray that we can truly feel like we BELONG as we commit to be a part of one of our Life Groups. I pray that we will BECOME more like Jesus together as we spend time with a small group of our church family to help us grow and be accountable. And finally, I pray we will go BEYOND together as we look to serve Jesus inside and outside the walls of our church building!
We have a great year ahead of us! Ask God to use you like never before for His glory!!
I love you and I love being your pastor,
Pastor Alan