Oakhaven Church Podcast

06.07.26 - Pentecost III - Identity in Christ II - Renewing Your Mind

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0500

When we live our lives aware of who we are by virtue of our bearing the Image of the Creator AND bearing His Spirit within us, we live transformed lives. The Apostle Paul urges us to begin that journey with the renewing of our minds, toward which there are many paths that can be pursued. Colossians 3:1-17.

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05.31.26 - Pentecost II: The Holy Spirit - God in Us

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:00:00 -0500

Our identity is derived from our relationship with the Trinity through the Holy Spirit. We are each fashioned in the image of God, wonderfully made, and bearers of the news of the King. The Holy Spirit empowers our walk when we choose the way of Christ, and we live in partnership with the Eternal One who dwells within us. Romans 8:1-11.

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05.24.26 - Luke XIV - Pentecost Sunday: The Spirit Descending

Tue, 26 May 2026 10:00:00 -0500

In Christianity, the Feast of Pentecost is shifted from the Hebrew themes of wheat harvest and the giving of Torah to the arrival of the Creator Himself in the form of His Holy Spirit descending in power. This follows 10 days after King Jesus ascended to His throne at the right hand of the Father, having been handed even more authority than He had before. The Spirit's work in and through us defies description but we take a crack at it in today's lesson on Acts 2.

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05.17.26 - Ascension Sunday - Luke XIII: The King Ascending

Wed, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 -0500

The Apostle Paul quotes an ancient Christian hymn that encapsulates Jesus' mission in a few lines of poetry in his letter to the Philippians. Philippians 2:5-11 marks Jesus' descent from glory to mortality in order to begin and fulfill His rescue mission. Luke ends his gospel with the ascension and begins the Book of the Acts of the Apostles with it. In this sermon we mark the completion of that mission, with the Father taking Jesus to sit at His right hand in glory. The King has died, the King has risen, the King has ascended. Long live the King!

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05.10.26 - Mother's Day - Monologues from Women in Scripture

Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:00 -0500

We hear from "Mrs. Noah" and Sarai as they tell their stories of patient faith on Mother's Day at The Barn.

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05.03.26 - Resurrection Ripples IV - Promise Made, Promise Kept

Wed, 06 May 2026 13:00:00 -0500

A great number of God's promises made since the beginning of time are fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are many other promises that are still in force in our lives here and now. Since we know He kept earlier promises, we know He will keep these, even (and especially) when that truth feels far away.

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04.26.26 - Resurrection Ripples III

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0500

We will be resurrected to a new body that synthesizes spiritual and physical just like Jesus’. This captures Paul’s (and our) imagination and gives us certain hope. Jesus’ return coincides with the coming of the similarly synthesized “new heaven and new earth” and “new Jerusalem” that straddle physical and spiritual reality. We are linked to Jesus’ resurrection from the beginning of our walk with Jesus through our baptism. The power that raised Jesus repeatedly raises us from the dead in everyday struggles in our everyday lives. Grounded and powered in our resurrection identity, we replace our old self with an ever-growing new. Romans 6

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04.19.26 - Resurrection Ripples II

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0500

We are still celebrating resurrection in this Season of Easter. Paul refers to the Resurrected Christ as the "firstfruits" of a massive resurrection harvest. Firstfruits are the first, best portion of the annual harvest that signal a bounteous crop to follow. We will be resurrected in the bounteous kingdom that comes finally and fully at the Second Coming. Until that happens, Paul describes what will happen as a way of encouraging us to remain faithful, because it is all going to be worth the wait and effort!

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04.12.26 - Luke XII - Resurrection Ripples

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Luke 24:30-49 The resurrection of Jesus has far-reaching implications in our lives. Understatement!

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04.05.26 - Luke XI - Easter Sunday: It Is Finished

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0500

The resurrection of Jesus is the lens through which everything else in scripture is to be seen and understood. His victory over sin and death changes the universe, including our small portion of it. Luke 24.

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03.29 - Palm Sunday Communion Meditation: Dirty Feet, Humility, and Unity

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0500

Larry looks at John's account of Jesus' last night with His disciples, beginning the evening by washing their feet, ending it by praying for their unity. And ours.

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03.29.26 - Luke X - Palm Sunday: Recognizing the Time

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0500

Luke 19:28-44 is Dr. Luke's account of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, launching what we call Holy Week. The good doctor is spare in his details so that we can focus on one thing.

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03.22.26 - Luke XI - Comfort & Warning II

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:00:00 -0500

In the second half of His Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses colorful, nearly comic illustrations to convey His primary point of our need to see to our hearts and lives before we presume to check others'. Then Jesus shares the core secret of how to live the best of all lives: (1) Come to Him; (2) Hear His Words; and (3) Act on Them.

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03.08.26 - Luke VIII - Comfort & Warning I

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:00:00 -0500

Jesus chooses His 12 closest disciples and then teaches for the first time in the Gospel of Luke in today's message. A parallel to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Luke has Jesus convey the bulk of His teaching in today's Sermon on the Plain. It's not in Spain, nor does it rain, at least during this episode.

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03.01.26 - Luke VII - A Fresh Start in Hope & Healing

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:00:00 -0600

Today’s Luke sequence begins with a miracle and ends with a parable, but parable is present from the beginning. The featured friends believe and care deeply enough to take dramatic action to bring a friend to Jesus. We can do the same with and for those we love, family or friend. Jesus’ display of power and compassion continues in us and others. We are called to witness with wonder & awe. Levi, like Peter, sets an example of immediate full following of Jesus, telling everyone he knows about it. Our new walk with Jesus in His kingdom is not something to add to our life. It is our life. He is our life. Pass it on.

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02.22.26 - Luke VI - The Call of Jesus

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:00:00 -0600

We come to Luke 5:1-11 in our journey through that gospel and see how Jesus customizes His call on Peter (and his gang) in a way uniquely suited to the fisherman's sensibilities. He does the same with us, just not with fish.

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02.15.26 - Luke V - The Kingdom Has Come

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 13:00:00 -0600

Here's the audio podcast of Sunday's sermon, the next lesson from Luke's gospel. Jesus pushes back against darkness and brokenness as His kingdom break in, then and now.

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02.08.26 - Luke IV - The Real Jesus at the Center

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:00:00 -0600

In Luke 4:14-30, Jesus is without honor in His hometown because everyone is too familiar with Him, His family, etc. We run the risk of being too familiar with Him to the point of losing our wonder and taking Him for granted.

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02.01.26 - Luke III - Identity Given & Tested

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 11:00:00 -0600

Focusing on Luke 3:21-4:13, Jesus begins His ministry by submitted to baptism by His predecessor, John. Jesus' identity is majestically confirmed by the presence of the Spirit and the voice of the Father booming affirmation from the heavens: You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased! We are each His beloved children as well, just as affirmed and blessed as part of the family (of which His Spirit is a seal upon us). Jesus goes straight into temptation - a pattern of the enemy's, coming after us when we've had a mountaintop experience. Jesus shows us the way to parry the temptations sent our way by being centered in our identity in God and knowledge of His word.

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01.25.26 - Luke II - Renewing Our Walk

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 17:00:00 -0600

The ministry of John the Baptist fulfills prophecies made about him by Isaiah and Gabriel, and as he calls the people to repent and be baptized, we are called to do the same, and if we've already done so, it's time to renew our commitments to the King. Luke 3:1-20.

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01.18.26 - Intro to Luke: Promises Made - Promises Kept

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0600

We begin a series on the Gospel of Luke today, whose first sentence states he will summarize "the things that have been fulfilled among us," in a far reaching work that begins with Gabriel's visit to Zechariah in the temple predicting the birth of John the Baptist through to the gospel being taken to all the known world at the end of the Book of Acts, the companion volume to Luke's gospel. Luke devotes his introductory first two chapters to Jesus' birth, and we look briefly today at Luke 2:22-40 and its themes of waiting and promise fulfillment.

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01.11.26 - Fresh Start - New Year - New Creation

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:00:00 -0600

The mercies of God are new every morning, and each day offers us a fresh start in Him. God is in the business of making all things new, including us, and He reminds us today of the moment when everything changed.

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01.04.26 - Christmas II - Kings & Magi

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0600

We focus today on the convergence of multiple themes around the visit of the wise men to the Christchild. In looking at that story today (in Matthew 2:1-12), we focus on two prime lessons: they represent all of us as OUTSIDERS being welcomed into the family of God. And Matthew holds two kings up to us to ask which one we follow: the Heroes of the world, or the Christ in a humble manger?

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12.28.25 - Christmas I - Mild, He Lays His Glory By

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 17:00:00 -0600

One of the dangers of telling the Christmas story (or Easter, or how your grandparents walked from home to school uphill both ways...) as often as we do is that the stunning, mind-blowing aspects of God becoming human - and all that that means - can become ordinary and unremarkable. In this message we ask John in his prologue (John 1:1-14) and Paul in his use of an ancient Christian hymn (Phil 2:5-11) to help refresh our wonder.

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12.21.25 - Advent IV - Love's Pure Light

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0600

The good news of Jesus begins with four humans and one angel: Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, and Gabriel. The angel startles the humans with news of God’s upcoming action in and through their lives. Their different reactions are patterns for us to follow - or avoid - as we walk in their steps. None of them are of great import in their world. In fact they are decidedly ordinary. If God can use them to transform the universe, He can certainly move His plan through us. *If* we walk in their steps of willingness and walking in His promises.

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12.14.25 - Advent III - Joy - Ready or Not (Dramatic Narrative Sermon)

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0600

On this third Sunday of Advent we hear from someone intimately acquainted with the early goings-on associated with the Incarnation.

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12.07.25 - Advent II - Peace

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:00:00 -0600

On this second Sunday of Advent, we focus on the theme of peace. Our sense of peace (and hope, joy, and love, etc.) is far more a function of perspective rather than circumstance. The prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul both set touchstones for us with which to orient ourselves and live in “Peace on Earth.”

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11.23.25 - Sabbath Rest II

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:00:00 -0600

Keeping Sabbath is a test of faith that removes a day’s wages (or a day’s progress in our projects for workaholics) so that we recognize that his care for us far surpasses our efforts. At the core of observing Sabbath rest is an intentional use of time aimed at personal (and church body) renewal. That renewal is driven by an awareness of God’s goodness, provision, and presence flowing from prioritized time in worship together with family and church. Sabbath provides a weekly opportunity to cease from things that crowd our spirit, to rest deeply, to feast on things that fill our spirit, and to embrace God’s way more fully. When we regularly reboot in Sabbath rest, we are in much better shape OEL to serve as ambassadors for the King.

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11.16.25 - Sabbath Rest I

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 -0600

The culture around us defines us according to our occupation and income. We are human “doings” in the eyes of the world. We are created in the image of God, the true source of our value, worth & identity. We are human “beings” in His eyes. Because we are made in His image, His example of resting from His work from the very beginning is a precedent for us. Jesus’ teaching that the Sabbath was made to benefit us is a guiding principle that surpasses the legalistic rote obedience exemplified by the Pharisees in His time. Sabbath provides a rhythm of reset that feeds our soul and refreshes our identity in part by remembering God’s faithful actions on our behalf in the past.

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11.09.25 - Orphan Sunday

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:00:00 -0600

God very strongly identifies the orphan/fatherless, widow and immigrant as being objects of His special attention. His identity is bound up with how much He cares for them. YHVH commands a structure in Israel’s everyday society that provides for the poor in their midst. That provision includes various “flavors” of food. We are called to live like and look like our Father in our treatment of the orphan/fatherless, widow and immigrant. Mistreating the poor is equal to worshiping other gods in YHVH’s view of Israel. Their failure to compassionately care for the poor is a chief reason for their exile. The purest way to follow/please God is to care for the poor.

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11.02.25 - Faith & The Kingdom VII - Shepherded

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:00:00 -0600

Several times in scripture humans are likened to sheep. This is not a compliment. Isaiah famously intones that "all we like sheep have gone astray." We are weak, learn slowly, and require the leadership of a shepherd. Sheep that do have a shepherd - especially when His name is Jesus - reap countless benefits of safety, provision, community, and on and on. Those without a shepherd are lost in every way. Jesus' answer to this is His call to US to ask the Lord to send out workers (Matthew 9). Most of the time, part of His answer to that prayer is to send us. Quoting Bill Hybels, we never lock eyes with someone who doesn't matter to God, who doesn't merit an all out search. (Read here.) We are His search and rescue team!

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10.26.25 - Faith & The Kingdom VI - Hearts that Care

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:00:00 -0500

Last week we concentrated on seeing people the way Jesus does. The next thing Jesus does after seeing a person is: He loves them. He has compassion for them. He cares about them and for them. One of the challenging things He sees in them is that they "are harassed and helpless." They are under the thumb of the enemy, and unable within themselves to change their situation. Jesus, however, can handle it. All of it.

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10.19.25 - Faith & The Kingdom V - Eyes that See

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Jesus sets a clear pattern in His ministry of deeply seeing people. Many of those people are on the margins and are not seen by others. Human tendency is to self-protect with distance and an “eye bounce” that avoids seeing them. In contrast, when Jesus sees someone, His first reaction is to love them. BECAUSE He loves them, He speaks and ACTS in their first, best interest. To follow Jesus in loving and living like He did, our hearts must soften and our agendas must shift from pursuing our needs first to meeting others’.

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10.12.25 - Faith & The Kingdom IV - At Just the Right Time

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:00:00 -0500

Looking at Jesus' Kingdom through the lens of Romans 5, we are encouraged to remain faithful and confident in our salvation because of the lengths to which God, Jesus, and the Spirit have gone to rescue us from sin and death and restore us to eternal friendship with our Creator.

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10.05.25 - Faith & The Kingdom III - Faith in Hard Times

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Being a Christian doesn’t remove us from the hardship in our lives. Far from it. However, because of the Kingdom of God (and its King), we take strength and comfort from three things: His past faithfulness: His current indwelling (and PERMANENT) presence, and the perspective established for us by Jesus' resurrection and the promise of His return. Until He does, His presence beside us brings us comfort.

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09.28.25 - Faith & The Kingdom II - The Psalms on Kingom & Faith

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:00:00 -0500

The Book of Psalms is sometimes called “The Little Bible.” It mirrors the five books of law, and Blake Adams tells us “We should read it not as an assortment of poems and songs but as a single rhapsody on God’s covenant promises.” This year’s Midwest Preachers’ Retreat was held this past week, led by Hebrew scholar and former Oakhaven member, Dr. Lance Hawley, focusing on the psalms as a deep, remarkable resource in our walk with God. In addition to an overview of the book, we examine more closely Psalm 103. The final sentence of Psalm 103 is the one upon which all else in heaven and earth turns: YHVH has established His throne in the heavens; His kingdom rules over all. If all these things are true then…”

Technical note: center third of sermon was without sound and so has been cut from podcast. You'll barely miss it.

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09.21.25 - Faith and The Kingdom I - The King

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:00:00 -0500

According to the standards of the world, Jesus assumes a very low profile in His ministry that launches the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God not by edict, governmental action, or human might, but by compassion that drives Him to recover the helpless sheep that need a shepherd. Through it all, though, Jesus is the glorious King revealed as the Son of Man to Daniel, not a wolf in sheep’s clothing but a king in shepherd’s clothing. He is the same to us, invoking His authority to assure us that His death is His choice, and then invokes His authority one last time to spur us to share the amazing news of what He has done.

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09.14.25 - Moses, Peter & Me

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Recent sermon themes converge today as we see the arc of God’s interactions with humans adapting over time as He matures the human race to have the capacity to receive His greatest self-revelation: Jesus. We note again how Moses’ and the hebrews’ experience of Yahveh met them “where they were at” and moved on from there, spiritually and literally! Then God reveals Himself most fully in Jesus, who intones the inbreaking of the kingdom of God here and now. Peter joins the story as our representative, and Jesus calls him in a way tailored to Peter’s sensibilities in a huge catch of fish in impossibly hot water. Then as this fisherman turns into an ambassador of the kingdom fishing for people, our example is set to follow in his footsteps and fish for people ourselves. This is all the result of who Jesus has made us: His brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters of the king. Cultivating awareness of our identity and call are essential if we are going to walk them out in every day life, for “if we aim for nothing, we’ll hit it every time.”

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09.07.25 - Homecoming Corn Roast - Eyewitness News

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:00:00 -0500

It’s a mighty special day at Oakhaven Church: our annual homecoming corn roast! Today’s message will be in a creative vein as we hear one of Jesus’ followers describe some of the highlights of their years of ministry together.

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08.31.25 - Dwelling Places of God III - From God at Large to Mountain Dweller

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Scripture says that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. However, humans are not. We are on a huge learning curve when it comes to understanding God and His ways, and we examine how He customizes his revelation and relationship with us on levels far beneath Him but right on our wheelhouse. Take, for instance, the story of the burning bush...

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05.24.25 - Dwelling Places of God II - Easy Does It

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0500

God sets a pattern of revealing Himself in ways that are simple enough for His children to understand. These revelations are far from where He will eventually “arrive.” The sense of where God is begins with Him being distant and separate and VERY gradually grows toward a sense of His nearness, even though at the beginning He is thought to be in specific places. We also cannot understand everything about God. (!!!) Each one of us is on a similar journey of learning and maturing. HOW is He revealing Himself to you? Where is He leading you?

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08.17.25 - Dwelling Places of God I - In the Beginning

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 16:00:00 -0500

We embark on a journey to discover how God "customizes" His presence (via our perception of where He dwells) to meet the needs and frame of reference of different people across time. We start with a spoiler alert and read the final chapter first. In Revelation 21 we are promised “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” This side by side, face to face reality is begun in Eden, wherein the great fall/schism occurs, the repair of which will occupy the rest of the bible. After quite a rough and tumble start to things, YHVH makes numerous promises to be with His people, even though what that "withness" looks like will change over time.

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08.10.25 - Faith in Hard Times II - In Over My Head

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Today we revisit the story of Jesus walking on water, this time in Matthew 14. As a template for our experience, we acknowledge that storms happen, often in the natural course of things. At other times they are caused by human influence, whether our own or others’. Regardless of storm type or strength, at some point Jesus shows up to “divinely intervene” in the moment. Jesus’ intervention is manifest when we engage and interact with Him with faith in HIS POWER TO SAVE US. Jesus’ intervention often does not end the storm. Instead, He empowers us to keep walking in spite of it until the storm is over (and beyond).

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08.03.25 - Faith in Hard Times I - Deep Calls to Deep

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 18:00:00 -0500

Today we look closely at Psalm 42, a beautiful psalm of lament that we often don’t get past the first verse on: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you.” As we track with the psalmist, we learn that the seasons of life shift at times. There will be chapters in our life in which it feels like God is far away, and we will thirst for His presence. (We should thus be deeply grateful for times of smooth abundance.) Being honest with God about our frustrations helps us sense His presence and reassures us He sees us. The things we tell ourselves are extremely important and can connect us to God’s truth (or do the opposite). When we are walking through a difficult chapter we must remember God’s faithfulness in the past. God has been faithful. He will be again. This is always true.

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07.27.25 - Jesus Making Sense(s)

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0500

Today we look at Jesus’ call on Saul on Acts 9. God appeals to the next apostle through an experience that reaches all Saul’s senses, capturing his attention and heart. At times Jesus places a dramatic call on each of us through sensory experiences that may be physical, spiritual, emotional, or relational. How we respond to that call determines our next steps on the road to our own Damascus.

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06.29.25 - Testimony Sunday - Josh Patterson

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Oakhaven Church has the tradition of setting aside "regular sermons" on fifth Sundays to instead hear members and their testimonies of how God has worked in their lives, especially how He has drawn them into life with Him. Today, Josh Patterson shares his story with us. Dust off your disco ball.

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06.22.25 - Prayer V - From Groaning to Glory

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:00:00 -0500

As we continue to examine Paul’s wide-ranging message in Romans 8, we come away with several insights. First, following Jesus will include moments of pain and suffering that are sometimes overwhelming. In those hardest moments when we don’t know what to say, the Spirit is there with us in the heart of our anguish to translate it all to God as a cry for His intervention and healing. God knows every aspect of the journey He has called us to and He will bless us along the way by using every circumstance for our good and the good of His kingdom. In the face of temporary trouble, hardship, and persecution, God reminds us of His ultimate perspective and ultimate outcome of endless glory for His entire family. We are His children, and nothing can separate us from Him or His love. Not now. Not ever.

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06.15.25 - Father's Day - Prayer IV - Part of God's Family or The Father's Lap

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:00:00 -0500

On this day celebrating fathers we look at the amazing access God grants us to Himself using Romans 8:9-19 (NLT).

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06.08.25 - Pentecost: Prayer III - Not Alone

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:00:00 -0500

We are in a complex and mysterious, adventurous and powerful, permanent relationship with the Spirit who lives within us to anoint and nudge and save and remind and inspire and empower and equip and comfort and counsel and reform and transform and reshape and renew and ultimately resurrect us just as He raised our Older Brother from the dead.

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06.01.25 - Prayer II - Your Will Be Done

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 15:00:00 -0500

We continue to look at Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Luke 11. After He teaches His disciples “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus goes on to use humans in everyday situations to illustrate God’s care and attention to our prayers. A human in bed will get up in the middle of the night to help his neighbor. A human father will not give his child a snake instead of bread. If humans can act so well - in spite of their motivation - surely God will act even more kindly. He then tells us to ask and thus receive, to knock and thus have the door opened. We examine more closely these promises that seem to guarantee our desires, but find they have a greater purpose and context.

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05.25.25 - Prayer I - Your Kingdom Come

Wed, 28 May 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Luke 11:1-13. Today we look at two different episodes in Jesus’ life with His disciples. First is His teaching them “His” prayer in Luke 11, with a key focus on the prayer that God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Then in Luke 8, we look at the disciples’ fear of the storm and find ourselves with them. Also with them, though, is Jesus. If we focus on Him instead of the storm, our hearts and minds will be as calm as theirs.

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05.18.25 - The Math of God

Fri, 23 May 2025 16:00:00 -0500

Shepherd Brenda Wilusz discusses the many ways God shows His love.

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05.11.25 - Daughters of the King - Mother's Day

Fri, 23 May 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Oakhaven Church founding member Deb Cleveland shares a special Mother's Day message featuring the women of the bible.

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05.04.25 - Mark XXVIII - The Journey Continues or Rounding Up Mark

Fri, 23 May 2025 15:00:00 -0500

We complete today our year long journey through the Gospel of Mark with a summary of his masterful storytelling. We focus on two of his primary themes: identity and expectation. Our identity is built upon that of Jesus’ the King of kings come to bring His kingdom on earth. We are the beloved sons and daughters of the Father, and the younger brothers and sisters of the King. We also check our expectations of Jesus, as His followers in Mark have a skewed view of Who He Is or should be.

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04.27.25 - Mark XXVII - He Is Risen! (Part Two) - The End of the Beginning

Fri, 23 May 2025 12:00:00 -0500

We continue to explore life in the Age of Resurrection along with the unique ending of Mark's Gospel.

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04.20.25 - Mark XXVI - He Is Risen! (Part One)

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0500

After the grueling pain of Good Friday and the silent waiting of a dark and quiet Saturday, Sunday comes in power, light, and victory. Sometimes our Saturdays last a long time, but Sunday is coming! Mark 16:1-8

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04.13.25 - Mark XXV - Gethsemane

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:00:00 -0500

Jesus asks for a different path in the Garden of Gethsemane. God says no. Jesus stays on the path anyway, because the only way out is through this time. His followers desert Him right and left, before and after. But Jesus stays true to The Plan despite what it will cost Him. When everyone else around Him gives in to fear, He alone faithfully stays the course. For you. Mark 14:26-52

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04.06.25 - Mark XXIV - The Last Supper

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Our journey in the Gospel of Mark brings us to a poignant, difficult final meal of Jesus with the twelve. The resonance of the past that is celebrated in the Passover meal carries forward not only to the cross and empty tomb but to our lives as well. Mark 14:12-26

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03.30.25 - Fifth Sunday Testimony - Duane Canon

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Longtime Oakhaven member Duane Canon shares his testimony of God's faithfulness in his life over the years.

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03.23.25 - Mark XXIII - Top Honor

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 14:00:00 -0500

We are firmly in Act III of the Gospel of Mark today as Jesus is anointed for burial by a woman at the home of Simon the Leper. This anointing points to Jesus’ Kingship, Messiahship, and pending sacrifice. The woman’s total commitment to Him is shown in this “no going back” breaking of this extremely expensive vessel in order to bring Jesus honor to the greatest extreme of which she is capable. There are moments in our lives when we receive the same nudge, including the daily call of Jesus to follow Him with total commitment. This woman’s devotion is seen in stark contrast to Judas’ betrayal, which ends this “sandwich” episode that begins and ends with men who have no clue (religious leaders, then Judas) with the “meat” of the sandwich being this heroic, insightful, Sprit-led, nameless woman who surpasses them all and thus is set in our memories by none other than Jesus Himself.

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03.16.25 - Mark XXII - Vigilant Perseverance

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 17:00:00 -0500

We look today at Jesus’ longest discourse in the Gospel of Mark. Mark 13 contains some of the most dramatic language and images in the gospel. As Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, we take away five lessons:

God’s Promises and Plan are CERTAIN but Surprising.

Expect Challenging Times.

You’re Not Alone - Rely on the Holy Spirit.

Don’t Be Taken In or Led Away - No One Knows the Time or Hour.

Persevere with Vigilance - Live in the Promise!

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03.09.25 - Mark XXI - Spare Change

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 18:00:00 -0500

We return today to the Gospel of Mark (12:35-44) and find again that Jesus/Mark have packaged 3 stories together that seem unrelated at first but in fact interpret each other. Jesus first quizzes the people about the Messiah, a descendent of David, somehow also be David’s Lord. Then Jesus warns against desiring attention and influence like the religious teachers, many of whom prey on naive widows for income. Then the stories pivot on the character of widows, as the most famous widow of all time drops her two small copper coins in the offering box. She is all in. Jesus is all in. Are we?

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03.02.25 - Whose Are You? - Duey Unbehaun

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0600

Duey shares a message on Jesus' command in John 13:34. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

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02.23.25 - Cookoff Sunday - Lost and Found in Luke 15

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 16:00:00 -0600

Stories of a lost sheep and a lost coin in Luke 15 point to how much Jesus wants us to be found, and the great lengths to which He will go to do so.

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02.16.25 - Mark XX - Missing the Point

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 15:00:00 -0600

In our journey with Jesus through the Gospel of Mark we have recently arrived in Jerusalem after Jesus' triumphal entry on a donkey. (Mark 11:11-25) As Mark's structure passes from Act II to Act III, the joyful pilgrims who'd shouted Hosanna! to Jesus have gone their separate ways and He is now concerned with the Jewish leaders and with how the worship of the entire nation has been structured so as to be as unwelcoming as possible to outsiders. Jesus renders judgment by overturning the tables of commerce, aiming His ire not only at transactional worship but at their disregard of those to whom they were called to witness. To make sure we understand, Mark and Jesus structure this story as the meat of a sandwich, with Jesus' judgment of a fig tree before and after to make clear the meaning at the temple. We are faced with our own ease and convenience in worship, tailored to our preferences and our frame of reference, in ways that can be quite inaccessible to someone from "outside" coming in for a visit. Just as Israel's prime directive was to "be a light to the Gentiles," so we are called to be ambassadors for Christ whether we are out in the world or comfortably snuggled at home.

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02.02.25 - Mark XVIII - Now I See

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:00:00 -0600

We return to our survey of the Gospel of Mark today and find ourselves at a key structural point in Mark’s storytelling. Mark’s gospel can be divided into three “acts.” Act I takes place in Galilee, Act III takes place in Jerusalem, and Act is the bridge “on the road” between those two locations. Today’s brief story occurs at the end of Act II (10:46-52), and is the last story before Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem and all the events of Holy Week, to which Mark devotes a huge percentage of his gospel. Blind Bartimaeus is a template for all of us, teaching us to cry out to Jesus when He is near, be transformed by His power, and cast our pasts behind to follow Jesus “on the way.”

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01.26.25 - The 4 G's of Grace: Go

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:00:00 -0600

As a result of the grace that Jesus has showered on us, we are moved to share His story with others. Jesus is the King who comes with His kingdom to break into the present while ensuring its eternal future. in 2 Corinthians 5 (and elsewhere), we are called to be ambassadors of this King and Kingdom, first leading lives that represent well the One we serve. Those lives will be markedly different from those steeped in the culture around us, so we can expect to be questioned about our hope and must be ready. God empowers our ambassadorship with His Spirit as we carry His amazing treasure in our broken/mended clay lives. The final words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew contain His command for us to GO make disciples. Sometimes that includes geographic travel. It always includes our leaving our comfort zone and seeking out new relationships no matter where we are.

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01.19.25 - The 4 G's of Grace: Gracious

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 17:00:00 -0600

Because God has lavished His grace upon us through His Son, our lives reflect that grace in how we live with one another. Today we look at how His grace moves us to live lives of forgiveness, patience, and kindness. We love because He first loved us, and He makes our forgiving others a requirement for receiving forgiveness ourselves, starting with “forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus tells a striking parable about forgiving one another in Matthew 18:21-35.

We are moved by the Spirit to consider the depths of a person’s life, knowing that we are all dealing with more things than those around us know about, with the exception of the Holy Spirit, of course. We are empowered to live gracious lives by His presence within us and within the Body of Christ.

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01.12.25 - The 4 G's of Grace: Grateful

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 14:00:00 -0600

We’ve begun 2025 with a brief series on “The Four G’s of Grace,” examining how the grace God has lavished on us impacts our attitude and behavior. This week we focus on how grace gives us a grateful orientation, aware that God is providing all the good in our lives, striving to not take the blessings (especially the people around us) for granted. The Apostle Paul starts us off with his opening statements in his letter to the Ephesians, reminding them and us of the grace God has lavished on us in Christ, establishing a new identity in us and adopting us into His family. We are challenged to cultivate a grateful mindfulness, an “attitude of gratitude,” and to EXPRESS that gratitude as much and often as possible.

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01.05.25 - The 4 G's of Grace: Generous

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:00:00 -0600

We complete the Christmas Season together as we examine the story of the Magi, the first humans to know of the coming King, and the furthest from Him both geographically and demographically. As the Abraplan reaches its climax to bless all nations, these astrologers from the east herald a new age in God’s dealing with humanity. They set so many precedents, and also examples for us all. Their generous gifts given in worship of the newborn king teach us how to go about our lives in the year ahead, recognizing that everything already belongs to Him and we are merely caretakers and stewards of it all. Just as the magi planned ahead and had all the resources they had decided upon with which to worship the king, so we are called to more than checking our saddle bags for what’s leftover to give to Him ourselves.

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12.29.24 - Testimony Sunday - Sophia's Story

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0600

Welcome to Oakhaven Church! The Christmas Season is well under way, Advent having finished on Christmas, we are now in the “12 Days of Christmas,” celebrating with joy the coming of the Messiah. This season ends with marking the journey and arrival of the magi on January 6 and the Feast of Epiphany, so there is yet a bit more of the story to tell. Today at The Barn, however, is the fifth Sunday of the month, and we follow our tradition of hearing one of our family member’s testimony (in place of a traditional sermon). Today one of our more recent members, Sophia, shares her story of God’s faithfulness in her life.

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12.22.24 - Advent IV - Love

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0600

On this final Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the love of God, shown most clearly in the gift of His Son to us. “For unto us a child is born… and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Even those four titles given by Isaiah point to human and divine joined together in One Person: Jesus. We visit the shepherds and angels today in Lesson Seven, noting that the “multitude of the heavenly host” that sing “Glory to God” is a countless myriad of special forces troops - the armies of heaven - that are singing what amounts to “Hail to the Chief,” only this time the “chief” is the Lord of heaven and earth, bringing new creation in His wake, bringing the Abraplan to its climax, and bringing us all back home. Come home for Christmas.

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12.15.24 - Advent III - Joy

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:00:00 -0600

We look at two passages from the Gospel of Luke today: Gabriel's visit with Mary in Luke 1:26-38, and Luke's sparse account of Jesus' birth in Luke 2:1-7. The angel's statements to Mary are incredible, as is Mary's reaction and acceptance. Then when Dr. Luke describes the Messiah's birth, he could not be more plain in his verbiage, and neither could the birth of the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

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12.08.24 - Advent II - Peace

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0600

Two passages by Isaiah are highlighted in today's, both prophecies describing the coming Messiah and His far-reaching impact. Isaiah 9 and Isaiah 11 both make clear that the fabric of the universe shifts when He comes to dwell among us. Jesus walks beside us, casting His light into our darkness, showing us the way as our Wonderful Counselor and Our Prince of Peace.

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12.01.24 - Advent I - Hope

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 14:00:00 -0600

As we cross into December today, we step into an ancient season, Advent, set to focus our minds and spirits on the great gift given us by God in the form of His incarnate Son. Working toward our special service on Christmas Eve of lessons and carols, we will reflect on the scripture passages upon which that evening will be based. Today we look at Lessons One and Two. The first reminds us of the problem of sin born in Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. We are reminded of the presence of an enemy who seeks to distract and accuse us falsely, and of Jesus’ ultimate victory over the serpent. The second lesson reminds us that God immediately began working on repairing the problem of sin with His call upon Abraham, and Abraham’s faith becomes a model for us, moving us to trust in God’s call even when there is little else to trust in.

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11.24.24 - Mark XXVII - Clueless

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0600

The Gospel of Mark has turned a corner and Jesus has left Galilee on His way to Jerusalem to fulfill His destiny. Twice before today’s passage He has told the disciples that he will suffer and die there. Somehow, though, the disciples manage to think this language must be metaphoric, and they continue to believe and look for Jesus’ victorious ascendance to an earthly throne in spite of Jesus’ repeated and more detailed prediction of His death in today’s reading. James and John are so convinced of this that in today’s passage they ask Jesus for cabinet posts in the new kingdom, manifesting in their requested throne room seating being on either side of Him. No room for Pete this time. Jesus responds with a climax to Mark’s 3 episode crescendo of Jesus’ describing His passion, with the universe changing summary that He has come to give His life as a ransom for many.

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11.17.24 - Jesus Placed His Hands on Them and Blessed Them

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:00:00 -0600

In Luke 18 and Mark 10, Jesus makes a point of focusing on children, touching them, and blessing them - this in a culture in which children were seen more of a nuisance than anything else, as evidenced by the disciples' shooing the children away. In today's message, Cynthia Mudd connects stories of mission work in Haiti with Jesus' attention and care for children in the gospel, and in a moving gesture assembles all Oakhaven families together to pray blessings up them all.

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11.10.24 - Swine Song

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 14:00:00 -0600

Luke 15 contains 3 parables with a similar, powerful message: God delights in the salvation of His children.

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11.03.24 - Mark XXVI - Render Unto Caesar

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0600

Let's put things in a larger perspective and look at politics, money, and religion through the lens of Jesus' wise "bipartisanship" in Mark 12:13-17.

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10.27.24 - Mark XXV - Loosely Held

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:00:00 -0500

Mark 10:17-31 holds the story of Jesus' exchange with the rich young ruler who had lived a devoted life to that point but balked at Jesus' rigorous request that the man sell his possessions, give to the poor, and then follow Jesus. Our discussion reminds us that all we have is a gift from God, that we are blessed in order to bless, and we are merely temporary caretakers of it all.

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10.20.24 - Mark XXIV - Child's Eye View

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 17:00:00 -0500

Jesus tries to shift the disciples' fundamental orientation on multiple fronts in today's passage from the Gospel of Mark. Twice He uses children and their frame of reference (as the quintessential have-nots at the bottom of the day's foodchain) to convince the 12 that life is not a contest unless it be to see who serves most.

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10.13.24 - Mark XXIII - I Believe! Help My Unbelief!

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 15:00:00 -0500

Mark 9:14-29 may raise more questions than it answers when the issue of having "enough" faith is raised when a man's son has got a tough to budge demon. One of Jesus' comments seems to point to "devil levels," over which He easily holds sway. Not so the disciples, though, who for some reason can't cure the kid. The ONE in Whom we have faith has got the power, but something in this instance is required of dad - and of us.

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10.06.24 - Mark XXII - Transfiguration

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Jesus' transfiguration (Mark 8:34-9:13) is a multi-layered moment in which Jesus is ministered to and strengthened, his disciples are schooled in glory, and we are reminded that Jesus is always present, with the imperative command from God: This is my beloved Son. LISTEN TO HIM.

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09.29.24 - Fifth Sunday Testimony - Carolyn McPherson

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 16:00:00 -0500

In months with five Sundays, we forego a formal sermon in favor of hearing testimony from one of our members of how God has worked in their lives. We are blessed this week to hear from Carolyn McPherson, a longtime member of Oakhaven. Carolyn uses the story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John as part of her story.

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09.22.24 - Mark XXI - Works in Progress

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:00:00 -0500

As we return to the Gospel of Mark (8:22-33), we come upon the climax of the gospel so far in a double story that once again provides lenses for greater understanding past the nuts and bolts of “just” another healing. A blind man is healed in stages, from a primitive level of sight to full clarity. This process is a symbol of our own journey and that of the disciples, whose clarity of sight is evidenced in the companion story in which Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah. We are also works in progress, with the truth of Jesus’ identity (and ours) ever evolving at His hands.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

09.15.24 - You Have What It Takes - Guest Speaker Vic King

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:00:00 -0500

Stepping off from Ephesians 2:8-10, Vic encourages us to remember our identity and our call, and the One Who has made His home in us.

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09.08.24 - Oakhaven Homecoming - Untouchable

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 15:00:00 -0500

Oakhaven Church kicks off a new season with our annual homecoming worship service and corn roast potluck feast! We’re blessed today with an augmented worship team as well as a special “character sermon” embodying a hero from the new testament who puts life with Jesus in colorful perspective!

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09.01.24 - Mark XX - Improvising the Plan

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:00:00 -0500

In today’s episode of the Gospel of Mark (7:24-30), Jesus attempts an anonymous getaway in nearby territory (the region of Tyre and Sidon). It turns out He’s a rock star up there too, and as soon as He unpacks, a local woman immediately finds Him, throws herself at His feet, and asks Him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter. This comes directly after Jesus’ spat with the Pharisees down in Capernaum over their botched thinking about what impurity/uncleanness really is and where it comes from. This Syrophoenician woman is as Gentile as they get (thus unclean by definition). At first Jesus makes a case that His first responsibility is to the Jews - in faithful adherence to God’s covenant with Israel - but she asserts a plucky faith by meeting Jesus head on in His (hopefully) playful dog parable banter. She clearly moves Him to CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT HIS PLANNED COURSE OF ACTION (or rather, non-action). Our takeaways are pretty big. First, we are part of God’s massive master plan. The Abraplan is still in force and rolling on to eternity. We walk in the grace and presence of Jesus the Christ as well as the God of history: of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has added us to His family and we are now just as much heirs as the physical progeny of Abraham. And Jesus makes clear in this exchange that what we say to Him MAKES A DIFFERENCE (see Luke 18’s importunate widow) and the possibility exists of His changing His mind in response. So in addition to just asking in prayer: reason, argue, plead your case, give Him an earful. He’s listening.

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08.25.24 - Mark XIX - Tradition!

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0500

It’s practically impossible to live life without establishing traditions. They add richness, connection, and meaning to our lives. When, however, they become more important to us than the deep ways of God, or more important to us than the welfare of our fellow humans, we’ve crossed a line. In today's passage in Mark 7, Jesus addresses some of His harshest words at those who value tradition more than anything else, and ini doing so, He reminds us of the need for a new heart that only He can give us.

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08.18.24 - Mark XVIII - Magician or Master?

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0500

In today’s episode of Mark’s Gospel (Mark 6:45-56), a crescendo of displays of power on Jesus’ part - healings, exorcisms, raising from the dead, multiplying loaves & fishes - climaxes with His walking on water. The 12 are straining at the oars in the boat - a symbol of our doing life in our own strength - when Jesus surprises them, to say the least. Because of their hard hearts, they have focused on the “what” of Jesus’ actions instead of the WHO they point to. We are in the same boat, called past our fears to trust in the One Who is Lord of Heaven and Earth: and the wind, waves, and worries.

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08.11.24 - Mark XVII - Multiplication Tables

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0500

As we continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark (Mark 6:30-44), the 12 apostles are just returning from their own journeys on mission from Jesus, sent two by two with no resources but His provision. In their efforts to get away and get some rest, Jesus has become so popular in the area that a crowd of over 5,000 beats feet around the lake and meets Jesus’ entourage at their arrival on the opposite shore. A well-known story - the only in all four gospels excepting Jesus’ baptism and passion - ensues as Jesus sees them as “sheep without a shepherd” and “teaches them many things.” By the time He wraps things up, the sun is low in the sky and it’s suppertime. As Jesus takes the meager supplies offered by a boy (a humble resource on both levels) and multiplies them to meet the needs of 5,000 men (plus their families as Matthew tells us), we are schooled in Jesus’ provision for our multiple hungers: physical and spiritual. He satisfies both. He shows that if we put whatever He’s given us into His hands, He can work wonders that bless those among us and empower their being fed on every level too.

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08.04.24 - Mark XVI - Past v. Present

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0500

In today’s stories from the Gospel of Mark (Mar 6:1-13, 30-32), we see how Jesus’ hometown, Nazareth, doesn’t appreciate their “local boy done good” at all. So unimpressed are they by the son of Joseph and Mary that Jesus does very few miracles among them, as all the stories we’ve seen thus far are of people asking Jesus - even literally reaching out to Him - while seeking healing. This cold reception is contrasted with the next story where the 12 are sent out to preach, cast out demons, and heal while relying on the hospitality of (UNKNOWN) strangers. We are called to trust in the same faith that Jesus will supply our needs as we step into our new identities as heralds of the Kingdom of God.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

07.28.24 - Mark XV - Healed, Raised & Ready!

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 15:00:00 -0500

In our journey through the Gospel of Mark (5:21-43) we today come upon a “sandwich” story in which we first encounter Jairus requesting Jesus’ presence in his home in order to heal his sick daughter. On the way, though, another story is begun by a woman who’s suffered a bleeding illness for 12 years (the age of Jairus’ daughter BTW). In spite of being interrupted in the midst of a very important mission, Jesus stops to engage the woman whose been healed just by touching the hem of his outer robe. He calls her “daughter,” the only time he uses this term in Mark. In the arc of this series of stories, including 2 previous, we find that there is NOTHING Jesus can’t handle: storms, demons, illness, even death itself. Whatever you’ve got, He can handle it. Reach out to Jesus, and He will send you forth as He does the woman: “Go in peace!”

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

07.21.24 - Mark XIV - A Fresh Start

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 17:00:00 -0500

We continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark and today come upon one of the most dramatic stories in Jesus’ ministry in Mark 5:1-20. A man possessed by a “legion” of demons is freed from his bondage, cleansed and made whole, and then commissioned by Jesus to tell the news of “what the Lord has done for you.” We find in this man a pattern for our own lives, as Jesus’ kingdom (on earth as it is in heaven) overcomes that of darkness; as we are made new by His steadfast love with a fresh start; and as we are commissioned to bear witness to others of what the Lord has done for us.

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07.14.24 - Questions God Asks

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 16:00:00 -0500

Using Job 38 as her text, Elder Brenda Wilusz shares a sermon entitled "Questions God Asks."

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07.07.24 - The Work of God

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 16:00:00 -0500

Elder Max Banaszynski shares a message centered on 2 Peter 1:1-11 entitled "The Work of God."

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06.30.24 - Mark XIII - Calming the Storm(s)

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 12:00:00 -0500

After teaching in parables in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus takes His disciples into a living parable as they cross the Sea of Galilee in Mark 4:35-41. In the midst all the symbolism of leaving the known and striking out into the unknown, a storm arises that tests these seasoned fishermen’s faith. Jesus is very human and very tired and sleeps through it, until their fear moves them to cry out to Him (and wake Him up)! Jesus is fearless because of His trust in God; the disciples are fearful because of their lack of faith. We are in the boats beside them going through storms as well, often not remembering Who is in the boat with us. The wind and the waves of the storms of our life still obey His command.

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06.23.34 - Mark XII - Sowing Light and Life

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 14:00:00 -0500

You have been entrusted with light and life. Listen closely to Jesus and His life-giving news of His kingdom, then share it: the news itself and the mercy you’ve been shown. God will do His part when you do yours, and together (you and the Spirit) will have an amazing impact that far outweighs the sum of your efforts. Mark 4:21-34

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06.16.24 - The Father of All Who Believe: Abraham

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Since today is Father’s Day, we are paid a visit by Abraham, the most important human father of all time, who tells us his story. (Hebrews 10:36 - 11:19) “The father of many nations” has many lessons from which to learn, the chief one being one of faith. God’s call to Abram is incomplete, to be generous. In spite of having very limited information, Abram trusts God’s promise and answers His call. As Abram’s journey continues, his faith (and obedience) increases in the face of circumstances that are less than promising. We are called to a similar trusting faith in God, even when we don’t fully understand our circumstances or His present call. Like Abram - now Abraham - shows us, we are to do what we do know God is calling us to, and to be faithful as He reveals Himself and His will to us further along the way. Happy Father’s Day!

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06.09.24 - Mark XI - Stronger than Strong

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 13:00:00 -0500

As we resume our journey through the Gospel of Mark (3:20-35), we come upon two intertwined stories that seem unrelated: the account of Jesus’ family’s concern for his sanity, and Jesus’ refutation of the scribes’ hypothesis that Jesus is casting out demons because He has demonic power itself. At the core of both stories, though, is Jesus’ identity: Who Jesus is. In the course of His brief exchange with the scribes and the crowd, he shares three very brief parables that speak against division but also point to His power that instead of coming from the dark side, binds and overcomes it. His power is ours. His identity is ours. His call to be agents of reconciliation, healing and deliverance - to follow Him in His footsteps - make us full brothers and sisters of the King.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

06.02.24 - Testimony Sunday

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 18:00:00 -0500

Julie Nast shares her testimony about Jesus in her life.

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05.26.24 - Mark X - Twelve Ordinary Men

Tue, 28 May 2024 17:00:00 -0500

After celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost last week, we return to our journey through the Gospel of Mark in Mark 3:7-19. The Kingdom of God continues to break in through Jesus and His healing, and crowds have begun to follow him. So many people are pressing in on Him that He teaches from a boat near the shore. From the crowd of followers, Jesus chooses 12 of them to fill special roles in the new Kingdom: the Apostles. Among them is the quartet of fisherman He called at the beginning, and the rest seem to be as unremarkable in their background and ability. Over the course of their close walk with Jesus, however, they are made to be better vessels, and once His Spirit is poured out upon them on Pentecost, they are brave, emboldened, articulate, fearless healers and preachers of the Gospel themselves. The ruling authorities even note the apostles’ remarkable abilities, each of them unschooled and humble, and remark that these simple men had spent time with Jesus. We are called to the same journey and are transformed, empowered, healed, and compelled by the same Spirit!

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05.19.24 - Pentecost - Where the Spirit of the Lord Is...

Mon, 20 May 2024 16:00:00 -0500

On Sunday, we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. So much changes in the universe that day, the prophet Joel uses extreme language about shifts in reality that point to God’s presence within and use of all people regardless of gender, race, age, or station. The scriptures use several metaphors in describing the Spirit to help us wrap our minds and hearts around the multiple layers of His presence, power, perspective, and our partnership with Him. He uses us long before we are perfect, and when we look back on our journeys with Him, we can be amazed at all He has done in us and through us!

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05.12.24 - Mothers' Day - Eve, Ruth, and Mary

Mon, 20 May 2024 16:00:00 -0500

In our Mothers' Day worship service, we explore themes from Proverbs 31:25-31 and then hear narratives of Eve, Ruth, and Mary the mother of Jesus through the voices of Oakhaven sisters.

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05.05.24 - Running with Perseverance: Harbor 2024

Mon, 06 May 2024 15:00:00 -0500

The book of Hebrews begins with an “ocular feast” depicting Jesus in all His glory. It ends with a call to remember that we are called to the throne of the living God. In between are messages of encouragement and perseverance in the face of persecution and struggle. Larry shares highlights from this past week’s Harbor conference at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures.

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04.28.24 - Mark IX - The Heart of the Matter

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0500

In this week's sermon we look at Mark 2:23-3:6. We see a convergence of meaning in what seems to be a simple act on the part of Jesus’ disciples: grabbing a grainy snack from a nearby field. That this happens on a Sabbath puts the Pharisees on high alert, but the exceptional precedent Jesus names as an equivalent special circumstance points to David and the beginning of his journey to kingship. Jesus claims the mantle of kingship, invokes the Son of Man from Daniel 7, and makes clear that one of the signature hallmarks of Israel’s identity - the keeping of the Sabbath - is something He is Lord over. The healing of a man’s withered hand at church further enflames the leaders and starkly reminds us that PEOPLE are more important than protocol.

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04.21.24 - Mark VIII - Second Chances

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:00:00 -0500

In Mark 2:13-22, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had trouble with His fraternizing with “tax collectors and sinners,” people far from the acceptable life of rigid obedience fostered by the scribes. Instead of judging these outcasts, Jesus welcomes them and joins them at the table. Food is the center of lots of religious law at the time, and Jesus' dining with the riff raff is a huge affront to the religious. When Jesus spreads the table, though, everyone is welcome. The sinners are known from then on as followers of Jesus, not the labels of their pasts.

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04.14.24 - Mark VII: Forgiven - Healed - Sent

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0500

As we continue our journey into the Gospel of Mark, we come upon the memorable story of a lame man lowered through the ceiling in order to be healed by Jesus. The doorway was too crowded to get through, and the man’s friends had faith that Jesus would heal their friend; and so they did what had to be done in order to get Him to Jesus. This story functions on so many levels when applied to our lives. We too face barriers to Jesus, whether put there by circumstance or actively erected by the enemy. Like the paralyzed man, we often need the influence and effort of others (buddies), and in turn can be of assistance to others in their journeys. A strong theme in Mark’s gospel is the link between belief and healing, and Jesus announces that the man’s (and his friends’) faith have brought both healing and forgiveness. Having been healed and forgiven, Jesus sends the man home, and the man obeys. Once home we can be certain the man will be as chatty as the healed leper at the end of Mark 1, and there will not be a soul in his town that doesn’t know what Jesus has done for him. We are called to do the same on every level!

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04.07.24 - Mark VI - Let's Keep Teaching!

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0500

In our survey of the Gospel of Mark, we are still in Chapter 1, but Jesus has already had several opportunities in which to be identified as God's Son, the Holy One who heals diseases, teaches with authority, casts out demons... and spends time by Himself with the Father in order to refresh and reset His Spirit. Duey Unbehaun shares a lesson based on Mark 1:29-39.

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03.31.24 - Mark V - EASTER SUNDAY - Up from the Grave

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:00:00 -0500

In his Gospel, Mark is careful to lead us to the deep meaning of Jesus’ first spoken words in Mark: "The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news." If all time has been working towards Jesus’ arrival, Jesus’ mortal life has been working towards the climax of His story and ours: the climax of His resurrection from the dead. We are in danger of treating as commonplace the most extraordinary truth of our existence, but instead Jesus calls us to revisit the empty tomb and then examine the tombs of our lives that we have not given over to His resurrection power. The enemy would have us all crawl back in the graves of anxiety and shame, and live defeated, silent lives. The Spirit that raises Jesus from the dead is poised to do the same with us and pull us up out of our graves day after day.

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03.24.24 - Mark IV - Hosanna to the Humble King

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0500

As we gather together on Palm Sunday, we skip ahead in our young study of the Gospel of Mark to his account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Mark’s account in chapter 11 is spare in comparison to its parallels, but there is still a clear purpose in Jesus’ decisions and the reactions that flow from them. His courage, power, authority, humility, and love shine through it all. In the end, we are asked whether He is the king in our life - if He is the one holding the reins, because something is, whether its Jesus or something far lesser. We stand beside the crowd that day and have the same choice of whether to lay things down before the King and whether to raise them up before Him in thanksgiving and praise.

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03.17.24 - Mark III - The New King in Town

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:00:00 -0500

The first words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark are “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” This is the theme verse of the entire gospel: all that has happened before now has been building to this moment. And how does the kingdom come near? The King brings it with Him. His first considered act upon launching his mission in Galilee is to call four fishermen to follow Him, indicating that HE would make them fishers of men. Their example of radical turning from their old way of life (aka repenting) and turning to follow Jesus is reminiscent of Abram’s call into the unknown. The same Spirit with Whom Jesus empowers and equips those disciples is ours as well, and we are ruled by the same King. So is the enemy, whose days are more than numbered.

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03.10.24 - Mark II - You are God's Beloved

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Mark's description of Jesus’ baptism is quick, cryptic, and powerful. The Spirit descends upon Jesus to empower the ministry He is at this instant embracing as the heavens are torn apart and the Father’s voice proclaims the most important affirming statement ever made. This statement of being beloved by the Creator, the One Who takes great pleasure in us His children, is as true for us today as it was for Jesus in the Jordan river that day. He is the pioneer going ahead of us, through baptism and affirmation, through temptation at the hands of the enemy, and ultimately through victorious, impervious resurrection when our journey does not end, but is transformed into that which all things are working toward.

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03.03.24 - Mark I - On Your Mark!

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 18:00:00 -0600

We begin our journey through the Gospel of Mark by examining his (and his gospel's) role in the New Testament and Scripture as a whole. In just a few phrases, Mark conveys the importance of the coming One Whose sandals a camel-hair-wearing John the Baptist (see Elijah for fashion notes) Whose sandals John is not worthy to untie. And Who, BTW, has a universe-changing experience in the Holy Spirit up His sleeve.

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02.25.24 - Ready? Action!

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 14:00:00 -0600

An overview of the gospel is presented by a close friend of the apostle Peter. One particular insight involves one of Jesus' healings in which sight is restored through two ministrations by Jesus. The lesson of His staying with us through the healing process until we are healed and our sight is restored is an encouragement when things we hope and pray for do not come about immediately.

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02.18.24 - Spirit V - This Means War

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0600

Today we finish our brief series looking more closely at the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives (and our role in His). At the end of Colossians, Paul describes a significant shift in our identity and circumstance: God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. We look today at some of the issues surrounding these two kingdoms, and how God has prepares us for battle against the dark side by putting His powerful Spirit within us, and through Him protecting us with God’s multi-faceted armor (Ephesians 6).

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02.11.24 - Spirit IV - The Best Defense is a Good Offense

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 14:00:00 -0600

As the Spirit empowers our walk with Christ, the Apostle Paul approaches our relationship with Jesus and His Spirit from several different angles. In the book of Colossians, Paul has a straightforward discussion of living with a focus on Jesus and our gratitude to him. In Romans, Paul examines the role the law has had in suggesting disobedience Paul would never have considered in what we’re calling a wet paint syndrome. If we focus on our weakness and past failures, it increases the chance of our failing again, in contrast to leaving the past behind, walking in the truth of who we are, and “keeping in step with the Spirit.” We finish by looking at Galatians 5 and the replacement of our sinful nature with the gifts of the Spirit. He’s got the power.

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02.04.24 - Spirit III - Our Powerful Permanent Guest

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 16:00:00 -0600

When the waters of judgment receded from the earth in the time of Noah, it was a dove that brought back the sign that the judgment was over. And so it is a dove that descends on Jesus at His baptism, a sign of the peace and peaceable kingdom that Jesus is bringing (Isaiah 11). The dove rests and stays on Jesus as a sign of abiding presence. Then when the Spirit is poured out on Christ-followers in Acts 2, flames of fire rest upon them much as the dove rested upon Jesus at His baptism. The prophet Joel points to this outpouring as a significant shift in how the universe is run, and we are the benefactors of that fulfillment. He comforts, empowers, seals us, and establishes and maintains our identity as children of the King. February 4, 2024 worship service.

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01.28.24 - BONUS EPISODE - Table Message

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0600

There are at least three different historic and significant meals invoked by The Lord's Table, each of them bringing added meaning to our taking of communion together.

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01.28.24 - Spirit II - Empowered

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0600

We are seeking to learn more about the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives as individuals and as a church. We began at the very beginning last week, from the opening sentence of Genesis, and found the Spirit at work from then until now. As Christians we benefit from a drastically different experience of the Spirit than even the prophets of the Old Testament. Ezekiel prophecies that God will put a new, softer, undivided heart in us, and because of that Spirit, Paul writes that we can - are able to - walk in the Spirit in a new way unattached to the law but instead driven by Jesus’ faithful righteousness and empowered by His Spirit.

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01.21.24 - Spirit I - A Strong Family Resemblance

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0600

The Spirit of God is present at creation, hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. Ages later, John in His Gospel tells us that Jesus is also present at creation, that all things are made through Him. And so the Trinity is together before time, the “family” of God united in this most important work. Then in Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul says that God has chosen us since before creation. So that as the God Family creates, it is with us (with YOU) in mind. Then across the ages, the God Family works to bring us deeper and deeper in so that we can live out our true identity, and live intentional lives that look like our older brother. We are made of the same “stuff” as Him, after all.

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01.14.24 - Starting Fresh

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 17:00:00 -0600

We turn our thoughts to the turn of the year today since we spent last Sunday with the magi and the layers of theme in their story. In the Book of Lamentations we are reminded that God’s mercies are new every morning, providing a fresh start with each rising of the sun; however, the seam of the calendar is a chance to be more intentional and aware of new beginnings. Paul talks often about putting off our old self and putting on a new person. John the Baptist kicks the gospels off with that message, and we visit with him this morning, prayerfully hoping that in 2024 we will pursue Christ with every rising of the sun (whether we can see it or not, but that’s another sermon). And by the way, the ambient outdoor temperature as we begin is 2 below zero here at the barn!

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01.07.24 - Christmas III - King of Kings

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 14:00:00 -0600

The season of Christmas comes to an end in Matthew 2 with the arrival of the magi at the Bethlehem home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. There are several themes of consequence in Matthew's account of matters concerning the magi, the stars, the king, Egypt, incarnation, exaltation, Pax Romana, the Prince of Peace, the way of the cross - not to mention gold, frankincense, or myrrh (we won't). See if there's something that sticks to your awareness and brings a nudge along with it...

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12.31.23 - Christmas II - Why Lies He in Such Mean Estate?

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0600

Jesus' birth in a stable puts Him beside animals destined to be sacrificed. He is not simply "born to die," though, but to establish His kingdom, to set the captive free, preach good news to the poor, and to commission followers to continue in His steps* once His days of incarnation are finished. *That includes us!

And on the outside chance you're seeing this bottom paragraph, we're sending a "shoutout" to our listeners in Germany to kick off the New Year. Drop us a note and tell us about your journey (actually, all listeners are invited to do so, not just folks in Deutschland.) Email us at oakhavenchurch@gmail.com. Happy New Year!

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12.24.23 - Advent IV and Christmas Eve - Love and Lessons & Carols

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0600

We celebrate the birth of Christ with a traditional service of Lessons and Carols. Nine Scripture readings lead us from the beginning of humanity’s walk with (and exile from) God, through the prophets, and then the virgin birth, shepherds, and wise men. Each passage is paired with a carol or song that matches its theme, and at the end of the service, we share the light of Jesus with one another, symbolically passing his flame and good news to each other with candles.

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12.17.23 - Advent III - I've Got the Joy (Joy, Joy, Joy) Down in My Heart!

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 13:00:00 -0600

As we reach the halfway point in our journey through Advent toward Jesus' birth, we pause to reflect on the Joy Christ brings with Him in His first coming, and the joy that is promised at His second coming. It is for this latter joy - "the joy set before Him" - that Jesus endures the cross. This eternal perspective is ours as well, and is the source of joy deep down in our hearts in spite of our immediate circumstances. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.

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12.10.23 - Advent Peace Theme Intro

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 16:00:00 -0600

As we walk through the season of Advent, each week has a specific theme on which we focus. Last week's "Hope" introduction was bundled into the sermon podcast (in case you missed it!). Because this week's message is an in-character narrative sermon, here is the reflection on the theme from earlier in the service. He's brought us peace that passes understanding!

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12.10.23 - The Crafted Craftsman

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 16:00:00 -0600

This narrative Christmas message reminds us of how very human all the humans are that take part in the amazing story of the Incarnation. We are just as human, if not moreso, and just as usable by God to bring about His powerful purposes.

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12.03.23 - There's No Place Like Hope

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:00:00 -0600

We enter into a time of anticipation and reflection as we look forward to the birth of Jesus AND at the same time to His return when He comes again. We are able to put our hope in the trustworthy God Who has been working toward the birth of His Son in a stable for thousands of years.

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11.26.23 - Save It, Or Lose It?

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:00:00 -0600

How we prioritize our lives and how we spend them is a continual challenge as we seek to be used by God and to make the most out of the life He's given us. Jim Harwell brings this message on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, reminding us that Jesus tells us that whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Jesus' sake, will find it, and live the most meaningful life available this side of heaven.

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11.19.23 - Count Your Blessings Not Your Worries

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:00:00 -0600

As we prepare to gather with loved ones for Thanksgiving, we look at giving thanks and its role in scripture and in our lives. Mentioned over 150 times in one form or another, giving thanks to God for everything is the antidote for anxiety, and yields a life that is filled with peace and even joy in the face of even challenging circumstances. Jesus promises that we need not worry: He’s got His eyes on the sparrows, and we matter a whole lot more than them! And the word for thanksgiving in Greek? Eucharist!

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11.12.23 - God's Family on Orphan Sunday

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 13:00:00 -0600

On International Orphan Sunday, Cynthia Mudd speaks on the life and heart of God for all His children, with with a special place in his heart for the marginalized and disregarded. "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you (James 1:27, NLT). Cynthia is the founding president of The Haiti Education Alliance, dedicated to improving the lives of orphans and other impoverished in Haiti through education at all ages and on multiple fronts.

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11.05.23 - The Long Way Home IV: Identify Yourself

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:00:00 -0600

We are in a season of looking at the larger context of our life with God, starting at the very beginning. A striking moment in the early stories comes whey Yahveh curses the serpent, promising that the seed of Adam and the seed of the serpent will be enemies and “strike” or “bruise” one another. Later (2nd century) Christian writers assign this scene to Jesus’ triumph over evil in His resurrection. Instead, we look at the related theme of “seed” in the promise to Abraham, that the moving forward of God’s rescue plan is carried by (often very flawed) humans descended from Adam, coming full circle to “the second Adam” of Paul’s writings. In the end, God never shakes His head and says, “Too bad those kids made so many bad choices. It’s a shame they’ll have to suffer the consequences forever.” Instead, He uses our consequences to lead us back to Him, and the compassion with which He treats us is how we are to treat each other.

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10.29.23 - The Long Way Home III: Incarnation

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:00:00 -0500

We are in a series of lessons focused on the large context of God’s relationships with humans, starting at the beginning of time in our direct contact with Him in the garden, walking side by side “in the cool of the day,” through all the consequences of our sin. God nurtures humanity as well as our redemption from the earliest chapters of the Bible, embarking on our rescue with the promise to make from this old man and wife an entire nation through whom all families on earth will be blessed. Specifically, Yahveh promises that Abraham’s seed will carry blessing forward to the entire earth. Today we look at how that seed finally brings to earth God Himself, “God with us,” Emmanuel.

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10.22.23 - The Long Way Home II: Exile

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0500

Today we continue our survey of God’s “long game” in preparing humanity for His kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven.” Our original design is to be in direct contact with the Creator, to walk side by side with Him as in the Garden. In order to restore that level of relationship, both our sin AND our understanding of it (and God and us and…) must be dealt with. God has always had a plan, and patiently works it out over millennia, including now. Just as He revealed Himself to His people in ways they understood in their time and frame of reference, and then took them further down the road with Him, He does the same with us. How is He revealing Himself to you today?

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10.15.23 - The Long Way Home I: Foundations

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0500

In our discussions about Jesus' Kingdom in these final months of 2023, we stop today and consider an even broader perspective that helps define the Kingdom of God. Starting at the very beginning, we see God's design and desire for us is to be with him, in His presence. Piggybacking on last week's lesson focused on the power of God's presence, we survey His patient partnership with humans, beginning with Abram all the way up through the coming of Jesus, all in one fell swoop of a sermon. Buckle up!

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10.08.23 - Abiding Fruitfulness

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

In John 15, Jesus tells a simple but powerful parable that likens our relationship with him to vines, branches, and fruit. We consider this metaphor today and its many implications: He is the source of power, nutrition, and life as we abide in Him and bear fruit. Meanwhile the gardening Father has his eye on the whole process and prunes us so make us more fruitful. And we’re all in it together with the Trinity and each other!

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10.01.23 - Forgiven for Good

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

As we consider our place in Jesus’ kingdom as His subjects and ambassadors, we look today to Paul and one of the ways the apostle bore witness about Jesus to others. He both proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ love and mercy, but then also illustrated those things in his own life by sharing his testimony of who he was before Jesus came along. His awareness of Jesus’ mercy and grace at the core of Paul’s identity is the nuclear reactor that fuels his passion for Christ and the boldness of his witness. If Jesus can forgive Paul, the “worst of sinners” who worked to destroy the church and His followers, Jesus can forgive you. And when He does, He gives your own story to tell.

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09.24.23 - Partners in Prayer

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

As we embark as a congregation on a 90 day journey, we are reminded of how important prayer is in this endeavor. We are not doing something FOR God, we are doing something WITH Him.

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09.17.23 - Called to Be Empowered Subjects of the King

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

At the finish of a special weekend with Marvin Bryant in which we have focused on God's Kingdom, Jesus' Kingship, and our role as His subjects, Marvin leads us through a powerful summary of the good "NEWS."

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09.10.23 - Called to Be Untouchable

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

We continue today our series on God’s call in each of our lives by looking at the Apostle Paul and the dramatic way Jesus calls and changes his life.

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09.03.23 - Called to a New Identity

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

We are in a “mini-series” of messages focused on God’s call on our lives. Last week we examined Peter’s call to ministry, and this week we will look at an aspect of Paul’s call to be a Christ-follower. Both men left their old lives and ways and followed and preached Jesus. We are called to do the same.

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08.27.23 - Called: Out of the Blue and into the Kingdom

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Today we look at how Jesus calls Simon Peter in the Gospel of Luke. Peter has a series of encounters with Jesus that crescendo to a miraculous catch of fish both in number and in the whole “you don’t catch fish in the heat of noon” thing. We consider Jesus’ call on each of us in both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances, and how Jesus makes clear to Simon and to us that He can be trusted, even if His commands are on the counterintuitive side.

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08.20.23 - Bubble Busting

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Elder Brenda Wilusz takes a closer look at scriptures we may be a bit off on...

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08.13.23 - Grace and Gratitude

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Elder Duey Unbehaun shares a message based on Luke 17, a story in which 10 lepers are healed of their disease, but only one returns to thank Him. Are we grateful for what He has done for us? If so, how do we show it?

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08.06.23 - The Disciple's Way

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Guest speaker and former Oakhaven elder Wayne Hawley brings a message based on Matthew 6 in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

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07.30.23 - A Living Parable: Love Is of God

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

A special dramatic narrative sermon features the point of view of someone we all think we know, but from whom we have not yet heard as well as we do here.

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07.23.23 - What I Think I Think

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

John Loe shares a message that surveys several scriptures looking at the long arc of God's plan and work in reclaiming His children.

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07.16.23 - We Are Called

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Jim Harwell shares a message based on Jesus' call on Peter, and Jesus' call on us.

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07.09.23 - People You Meet in God's Kingdom

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Elder Brenda Wilusz shares a message based on the book, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven."

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07.02.23 - Pentecost V: The Pursuit of the Holy Spirit

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:00:00 -0500

We finish our series in which we’ve been reflecting on the Holy Spirit in a focus on “The Pursuit of the Holy Spirit.” This is a both/and concept as He pursues us AND we are called to pursue Him. Ezekiel paints God as a shepherd who retrieves His sheep. Jesus provides multiple examples of His own pursuing the Spirit’s presence throughout His ministry. If Jesus, Son of God and united with the Trinity, spends this kind of time alone in pursuit of the Spirit, how much more should we?

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06.25.23 - Pentecost IV: Dry Bones Come Alive

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 16:00:00 -0500

We continue our focus on the Holy Spirit this morning in these weeks following Pentecost. Today we look at one of the most colorful stories in the Bible as we join Ezekiel in his vision of God’s raising a valley full of bleached, dry bones into an enfleshed army. As Yahveh breathes His Spirit into them to bring them to life, we are linked to Genesis 2:7 when Yahveh first breathes life into Adam, and are joined in new creation in the kingdom of God. The story is a powerful one of renewal of relationship with God, renewal of purpose, and renewal of mission, all powered by Holy Spirit!

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06.18.23 - Pentecost III: The Family of God

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 14:00:00 -0500

Today is Father’s Day, a day to celebrate for a lot of people, but also a tough day for others. None of us have (or are) perfect fathers, but we can all rejoice in God the Father caring more for us than we can imagine. He adopts us into His family in a powerful way that removes distinctions like male, female, Jew, gentile, slave or free. We are no longer treated as slaves, but as His children, a powerful theme to contemplate the day before Juneteenth, upon which we will also reflect in an effort to move forward seeing people with God’s eyes instead of with the limited vision of our flesh.

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06.11.23 - Pentecost II: (A Few of) the Roles of the Holy Spirit

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 14:00:00 -0500

We continue our rumination on the Holy Spirit in these weeks following the universe-changing day of Pentecost. Today we’ll look (all too briefly) at some of the roles the Spirit plays in our lives: Companion, Comforter, Counselor, Companion, Intercessor, Equipper, Empowered, Sanctifier, Pray-er, Deposit and Guarantee, and more than we can ask or imagine!

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06.04.23 - Pentecost I: God Among Us

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 15:00:00 -0500

The Bible begins with a picture of God and His children, Adam and Eve, living a life of close relationship with one another in actual physical presence together. When human sin forces exile, the rest of scripture is about how God restores His relationship with His children, including us. Over and over, He promises that there will come a day when He will be our God, and we will be His people. The full restoration of that relationship and presence awaits us at the return of Christ; HOWEVER, on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon Jesus’ followers, God comes to dwell within His people here and now. We walk in the same Spirit and promise as the first Christians 2,000 years ago, but do we walk out the fullness of what’s been given us?

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05.28.23 - Memorial Lessons

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 11:00:00 -0500

On the Sunday just before Memorial Day, elder Brenda Wilusz shares a message of the role of memories and memorials focused on God's past faithfulness as we step into the future with faith in His continued presence and goodness.

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05.21.23 - Ascended into Glory

Wed, 24 May 2023 17:00:00 -0500

40 days after His resurrection, Jesus ascends into heaven - body, spirit, soul, heart, mind and all - the whole kit and caboodle. His ascension completes His mission as He is enthroned in glory as King of the Universe. The layers of symbol, meaning and power in this moment are significant both in how God’s plan on which He has been working for all time comes together in these amazing moments, and in how they impact our lives both now and forever. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end. And by His grace, we get to be part of it.

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05.14.23 - Shared Wisdom: A Mothers' Day Panel

Wed, 17 May 2023 16:00:00 -0500

We celebrate Mothers’ Day by hearing from four mothers as they share their testimonies of God’s faithfulness in their lives through their experience of motherhood. Youngsters, take notes!

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05.07.23 - Ready, Set, Resurrect

Thu, 11 May 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Directly tied to Jesus’ resurrection is His promise to return someday and resurrect everyone else. He’s the “firstfruit,” like the first apple to be picked as harvest begins. So what’s the deal with His not coming back yet? The longer we wait, the less likely it seems. And what does it mean to be ready for His return? Do we need to have all our ducks in a row, all the right hoops jumped through, and ready to face the music? What does that music sound like? Are we rejoicing that “many will meet their doom,” or are we living in such a way as to “reduce the doom quotient?”

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04.30.23 - Forever Starts Now

Thu, 11 May 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Jesus’ resurrection brings with it the promise of ours. Several passages briefly describe Jesus’ return and the sequence of events He triggers at the time. In every instance, the descriptions of things to come are accompanied with a sense of what and WHO is already here. The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead has been given to us - Jesus tells His disciples that He’s got to leave them so He can send the Spirit to be with them. Our living forever has already begun, and the promise of eternity gives us the perspective to live in the here and now in our full identity.

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04.23.23 - We Have Seen the Lord

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 17:00:00 -0500

We continue in the season of resurrection by looking at accounts in both Luke and John of people’s encounters with the risen Christ. We then note Paul’s catalogue of “sightings” in 1 Corinthians 15 and take a lesson from what every encounter has in common: everyone who sees the risen Lord tells everyone else about their experience. Who have you told of your experience of the risen Lord lately?

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04.16.23 - Standing Firm in Resurrection

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:00:00 -0500

The resurrection of Jesus permanently alters the frame of reference of the Jesus follower. Perspective is turned on its head and death is rendered powerless. The worst that could happen used to be to die. Now that death is just a temporary setback that in fact ushers you into God's presence, it's not really a threat anymore. As a huge bonus, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now LIVES WITHIN HIS FOLLOWERS.

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04.09.23 - Easter Sunday - The Return of the King

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 14:00:00 -0500

Jesus, the humble king, spreads His arms upon the cross and embraces death, dragged into the grave and even hell itself by the enemy, only to astound the universe by being raised to new, permanent life on Easter morning. The war is one, but we continue in the battle. A battle in which we are impervious to the enemy’s greatest weapon. And our secret weapon is the love that sent Jesus to the cross. And raised Him from the grave. He is risen! Hallelujah!

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04.02.23 - Palm Sunday: Here Comes the King!

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 16:00:00 -0500

As we consider Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday two millennia ago (Matthew 21), we reflect on how his kingship and kingdom are so very unlike that of Rome or even the Jewish nation to which He came. His is a way of humility, helping, and healing instead of conquest and domination. He chooses symbols - like the donkey - to convey His Way, and chooses us to represent Him as His ambassadors in the world today (2 Cor 5).

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03.19.23 - On Purpose X: Telling His Story

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 17:00:00 -0500

As we live life On Purpose as children of God, marked by His fingerprints and made in His image, the overpowering message He extends to us is that He loves us. In fact, He loves EVERYONE, and very much wants EVERYONE to know how much He loves them. He has chosen a very grass roots “method” of spreading this information, which the New Testament refers to as “good news” or “gospel.” We are the grass roots through whom He spreads the incredible news of His love. Or rather, through whom He deeply desires. We are not forced, but rather called into an amazing partnership that spreads His love, life, and Spirit through us!

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03.12.23 - On Purpose IX: Sweet Life of Prayer

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:00:00 -0500

Prayer is one of the most remarkable gifts God has given us. It puts us and keeps us in community with Him and with one another. It changes our hearts and attitudes, arms us against the temptations of the enemy, moves us to be agents of grace, and keeps us alongside Jesus, the apostle Paul, and the examples of constant prayer they set for us.

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03.05.23 - On Purpose VIII: Armored

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 07:00:00 -0600

As we strive to live our lives on purpose, there is someone who tries to keep us from our mission. The accuser is never named in scripture, but Peter describes his efforts as “a lion seeking whom he may devour.” In Paul’s famous description of the armor of God in Ephesians 6, we find comfort and inspiration in the many ways God has provided for our protection from attack AND the tools he has given for us not to simply react defensively to the enemy’s schemes, but to take back ground and territory that belongs to the kingdom of God. The enemy’s snares and lies are powerless before the One who armors us for battle.

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02.26.23 - On Purpose VII: In the Heat of the Moment

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 06:00:00 -0600

Since Oakhaven Church holds our annual Chili Cookoff today, we’re looking at a story in Genesis (Genesis 25) about the closet thing to chili in the bible. As Esau sells all this rights as the firstborn son to his slightly - make that barely - younger brother Jacob for a mere bowl of stew (nearly the same thing as chili), we consider the nature of appetite, temptation, sin, repentance, and forgiveness.

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02.19.23 - On Purpose VI: Second Place

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 12:00:00 -0600

Ultimately, our purpose is to look like, act like, and live like Jesus. We are urged to set our eyes on Him, and His example. His greatest example for us is outlined in the ancient hymn held for us in Philippians 2, in which we are urged to consider others as more important than ourselves. Then we are shown the amazing example of Jesus who, with every right to claim first place in the universe, instead takes on the form of the last place. And so we endeavor to, in the very least, live in 2nd place.

The apostle Paul unpacks what this looks like throughout his letters, but especially in Colossians 3 in a text often read over newly baptized believers as a roadmap for their new life.

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02.12.23 - On Purpose V: New Life, New Self

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0600

We continue today our focus on living life “On Purpose.” A purposeful life flows from our identity as being created in God’s image, chosen and precious to Him. He empowers our walk in Him and calls us to a life “worthy of the calling” He places on us. Today, we’ll look at the process of ongoing renewal we are called to, as we put off our old self and put on the new, energized and anointed life in the Spirit! Ephesians 4:17-5:2

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02.05.23 - On Purpose IV: Empowered, Equipped & Enabled

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 15:00:00 -0600

We continue with our series about living life “On Purpose," being intentional in spending our time on earth. Our sense of purpose flows strongly from our sense of identity. Who we are is rooted in who God is, and who He says we are. The fullest, most authentic life available to us is a life “in Christ,” a phrase that Paul uses repeatedly to describe our unique position both now and forever. All the good things about who we are don’t amount to much more than a hill of beans if they don’t yield a life transformed by the love that’s poured out upon us. We do not have the strength to power such a life, but God does. Today we look at the empowerment we CAN walk in if yielded to the Spirit, as well as at His brilliant plan to equip each of us differently to build each other up, remind each other of who we really are, and spur one another on toward a life that loops in love, kind deeds, and sharing the amazing news available to every person on the planet. Ephesians text.

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01.29.23 - On Purpose III: His, Mine & Ours

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 17:00:00 -0600

We continue to explore living life “On Purpose” in our time together today. We have noticed that our purpose is bound up in our identity - our sense of who we are. God has chosen us - picked each of us first - not just so that we can enjoy the benefits of His kindness, but so that we as unique masterpieces can point others toward Him so that they too may exult in lives of meaning and purpose. Our primary text is Ephesians 2:1-10.

Tech issues are restricting our visuals this morning, but there's lots here. Welcome!

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01.22.23 - On Purpose II: Who Am I?

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 15:00:00 -0600

We’re exploring the theme of living “On Purpose” in 2023. Today we look at how bound our sense of purpose is with our identity, our sense of who we are. Which gets us to whose we are, of course. One of the amazing things about those two sides to us is that God has chosen us. Each of us. Picked us first, every one of us. Nothing like picking sides in the playground.

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01.15.23 - On Purpose I: Why Live?

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 15:00:00 -0600

We embark on a new series this morning, “On Purpose.” We are afforded an excellent example of someone who lived their life intentionally and “on purpose,” as today is the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our purpose ultimately is to “simply” be who we are - children of a loving Creator who made the whole universe in order to be at home with us. As children of the King, we are defined by our relationship with Him (in all three flavors) AND by how that identity works itself out in our relationships with others. Famous passages used by Dr. King are part of our conversation today: Amos 5:21-23 and Micah 6:1-8.

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01.08.23 - Epiphany II: Home Delivery

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 14:00:00 -0600

In the beginning, God creates earth in order to make a home there with His children. Our sin triggers exile, and God sets in motion soon thereafter the plan that will allow His kids to come home again. In the course of Jesus' birth narrative, He takes on the mantle of both Israel AND Moses on the way out of Egypt.

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01.01.23 - Epiphany I: The King's Mission

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 16:00:00 -0600

As the calendar shifts to a New Year, we observe a more ancient reckoning of time and look more closely at the layers of meaning in the story of the magi. Matthew is helping us to see that Jesus as Messiah is the new Israel, a new Moses, and in today's study, a new Solomon. Born of the same royal line, the humble king is worshipped first by Gentile astrologers, who are also the first to call Him King. Their visit not only provides the young family with treasure to fund their coming escape, but also connects powerfully to Solomon’s reign and the visit of the Queen of Sheba, who brings Solomon the same gifts the magi present to Jesus. The Queen becomes a template for the nations in both the time of Solomon and in ours.

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12.25.22 - Christmas Day: Let It Begin!

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 15:00:00 -0600

Merry Christmas from The Barn! We look at Luke’s simple account of Jesus’ birth, and the millennia leading up to it. The angels sing, the shepherds quake, and we are saved.

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12.18.22 - Advent IV - For the Love of Us

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:00:00 -0600

We finish our journey through Advent by looking at Joseph’s quiet, faithful example in enduring shame and disgrace while submitting to God’s scandalous plans.

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12.11.22 - Advent III - How Great Our Joy!

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 16:00:00 -0600

Mary comes in a long line of women God uses to usher in the next chapter of His redeeming work with His people. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, even Mary's cousin, Elizabeth. In each case, God wants to make clear that He is the one working in and through the miraculous life He brings about. None of those important boys, however, holds a candle to the miraculous child Mary will bear.

She is as obscure and without resource as possible, and yet recognizes the significance of what the angel Gabriel promises, and Mary rejoices at the turn of the tide that begins in her teenage womb.

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12.04.22 - Advent II - Do You See What I See?

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 15:00:00 -0600

We are in a season of waiting right now. In this dramatic Christmas narrative sermon, we see the story of Jesus' birth through the eyes of an outsider and learn many lessons along the way. Matthew 2:1-12

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11.27.22 - Advent I/The Prayer VIII - Deliver Us from the Evil One

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 12:00:00 -0600

The smell of Thanksgiving turkey still lingers in the air as the decorations are deployed for Christmas. We have an intersection of themes today as we finish our journey through The Lord’s Prayer on the first Sunday of the season of Advent. It’s a perfect fit, though, as the theme of Hope in this first week relates very strongly to the theme of deliverance in the final line of The Prayer. Ephesians 6 and Matthew 6.

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11.20.22 - There But for the Grace of God Go I

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 18:00:00 -0600

There But For The Grace Of God Go I. Why are you here? Why weren't you born somewhere else? Maybe somewhere less comfortable. But here you are. So What now?

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11.13.22 - The Prayer VII - Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 17:00:00 -0600

“And lead us not into temptation” is the line of the Lord’s Prayer we will focus on today. In a few words, it brings up significant issues. Who’s tempting us? We’re asking God to not lead us there. Or are we? Once again, the issues of cause, God’s sovereignty, our choices, and related issues come into play in this simple phrase. We don’t want to be tempted, and when we are, we want to be like Jesus and successfully overcome them. If you’re thinking we should look at His temptation in the wilderness, we’re on the same page.

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11.06.22 - The Prayer VI - Forgive as We Have Forgiven

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 17:00:00 -0600

We come to perhaps the most vital part of the Lord’s Prayer today in our line by line study of the prayer Jesus gave us. When we forgive, we are being like our Father, whom we ask forgiveness even as He expects us to forgive one another. It’s all truly unfair, but grace is not about fairness, but about love. And if we are to forgive sin in one another, we must certainly "forgive" the difference of opinion in our brother or sister.

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10.30.22 - The Prayer V - Our Daily Bread

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 15:00:00 -0500

In our meditation on each line of The Lord’s Prayer, we come this morning “Give us today our daily bread.” As with all The Prayer, there is so very much embedded in these simple words. No one in the time of Jesus could hear that line and not remember the story of God’s provision of manna in the wilderness. So we are reminded that God is the source of our bread - all the good in our lives. We are also reminded to be the best stewards of all He has entrusted to us: our time, treasure, talents, and bread.

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10.16.22 - The Prayer III: Your Kingdom Come

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 11:00:00 -0500

"Your kingdom come." Three simple words that speak of an immensity of reality and an earnest desire on the part of the Creator that all His children be part of His amazing plan. You too.

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10.09.22 - The Prayer II: Hallowed Be Your Name

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 17:00:00 -0500

When we say, "Hallowed be Your Name," to God our Father in the Lord's Prayer, we are not just praising Him, we are commanding all the universe to praise Him as well. There is a whole lot going on in this "handful of words" Jesus gives us.

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10.02.22 - The Prayer I: Our Father in Heaven

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:00:00 -0500

As we enter October at The Barn, we shift our attention to our prayer life as individuals and as a community. Jesus’ main and clearest instruction comes to us in what is usually referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” but the Lord isn’t the one who’s going to pray it. We are. Every word is laden with meaning and significance, and so we are going to take our time to savor each one. Today we will feast upon just a fraction of the significance in the phrase, “Our Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:5-15

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9.25.22 - Parables IV: Forgiven to Forgive

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Throughout the month of September we have been looking at some of Jesus’ simplest but most powerful parables. First we saw how the gospel and the kingdom of God powerfully transform our lives in the parables of the mustard seed and yeast. Then we experienced the planting of the seed of the gospel in our hearts as the sower defined the seed of the gospel as God’s love pursuing each of us in a unique way. We are also all sowers of the seed, while at the same time we all have hearts whose soil needs to be tended. Last week, we looked at two simple stories in Luke 15 that underline how deeply the Master cares for everyone who has strayed away. There is not a person on earth who does not merit an all out search!

And so today we look at a parable that speaks to our lives in the kingdom after having been found by the shepherd, after having the seed sown in the soil of our hearts, after having been forgiven of our sins, represented at the beginning of today’s parable as a massive, unpayable debt that the Master simply forgives. That forgiveness should set the tone for our lives with one another, as we forgive one another as we have been forgiven. Often though we hold onto unforgiveness and resentment. Jesus knew this issue was so important, he embedded our extended forgiveness to one another in the one and only prayer He gave us. Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors!

Lord, have mercy!

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9.18.22 - Parables III: God's All Out Search

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 16:00:00 -0500

Today we continue in a “mini-series” focusing on some of Jesus’ parables. Luke 15 holds three parables with similar themes back to back. We look this morning at the first two, parables involving a lost sheep and a lost coin. In the end there is no one on earth that is past saving, none that are past the fresh start only Jesus brings. He never gives up on a single one of us.

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9.11.22 - Parables II: The Sower

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:00:00 -0500

In a special narrative sermon, we explore Jesus' powerful parable of The Sower and The Soils. We spend the first half of the message determining what exactly the seed contains (hint: the great news of Jesus Christ); and spend the second half examining our hearts to see which kind of soil they hold.

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9.04.22 - Parables I: Small Beginnings, Big Outcomes

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 13:00:00 -0500

Jesus' very brief parables in Matthew 13 of the mustard seed and yeast point to the impact of the Gospel in our lives, and to our role as bearers of the seed/sowers of the yeast.

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8.28.22 - The Book of Hebrews

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Elder Duey Unbehaun surveys the powerful New Testament Book of Hebrews.

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8.21.22 - Building Character

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Elder Pat Crowe surveys the story of Ruth.

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8.14.22 - Holy Spirit VIII: Warfare & WiFi

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0500

As Paul urges us to "put on the whole armor of God" in Ephesians 6, he urges us to "Pray in the Spirit at all times." Being in constant contact with the Spirit empowers us in the battle in which we find ourselves that Paul describes. In modern times, our connection with wireless networks provides a good illustration of how being tapped into the Spirit enables us in the ways Paul describes in this passage and in countless others.

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8.07.22 - Holy Spirit VII:The Fruits of the Spirit

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 01:00:00 -0500

In our journey with the Spirit since Pentecost, we have seen how He is poured out in our lives in order to foster and empower our witness to Jesus Christ. There are many layers to our life in Spirit, and in each of them, He helps us to bear witness to Jesus. He gives us words to say, power to choose His path when faced with temptation, and He grows His fruits in us. It is in this growth that our personalities become more like Jesus in His love, joy, peace...

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7.31.22 - Holy Spirit VI: Spiritual Gifts - Many Gifts, One Spirit

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 10:00:00 -0500

As we continue to reflect on the role of the Holy Spirit as individuals and as the Body of Christ, we turn today to spiritual gifts and their impact on us and the world around us. Spiritual gifts are not just talents or abilities we are born with. They are placed in us by the Spirit in order to serve the common good of God's people as they bear witness to Jesus, just as He called us in Acts 1:8.

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7.24.22 - Holy Spirit V: Power, Purity and Presence

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 11:00:00 -0500

Larry describes three weeks at camp as well as their journey through God's interactions with his people across the ages. Time after time, He makes sure His people can sense His presence in a way that is uniquely meaningful, always meeting them - and us - where they/we are at.

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7.17.22 - The Power of Faith

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 17:00:00 -0500

In this sermon by Jim Harwell, Moses and Peter both step out in faith in answer to God's call upon them. Their partnership with Him and with His Spirit is a powerful example for us today.

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7.10.22 - He Is Willing

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 14:00:00 -0500

God longs to reach out and touch. For you to hold His hand and walk with Him.

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7.03.22 - Afraid of the Dark

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 14:00:00 -0500

What if the thing you need most is in a place where you don't want to look for it. Are you afraid of the dark?

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6.26.22 - Holy Spirit IV: Living in the Deep End

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 11:00:00 -0500

In reaction to the Corinthian church's factions (I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas, etc.), Paul writes urging them to focus instead on the deep things of God. He has given them His Spirit. Paul points to himself as an example of God using the Spirit in Paul in order to bring the gospel to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2); through that Spirit they (and we) can understand the things God has been planning and waiting to reveal in the fullness of time, and that time is now. Who we are in Christ is a staggering reality that we must not take for granted.

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6.19.22 - Holy Spirit III: In Step: Life with the Holy Spirit

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 12:00:00 -0500

We continue to explore the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Like the rest of the Trinity, He is ultimately unknowable to the fullest extent; however, His presence is promised long ages before His outpouring, and the certainty of His dwelling within us is just as sure as Jesus' other promises. We recall one of His primary purposes is to empower our bearing witness to Jesus. That witness is comprised of our words and our lives - the ethics with which we live and the testimony we verbally share of Jesus' impact on our lives (impact that should already be seen in us before it is heard from us). We live by and for His promptings and power.

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6.12.22 - Holy Spirit II: Us-ness and the Holy Spirit

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:00:00 -0500

We are in our second week of exploring our special relationship with the Holy Spirit. In today's service we "reenact" that relationship in three dimensional space in an effort to increase our awareness, or, "a constant sense of Thy abiding presence."

There is significant visual content in today's message. You'll know it when you hear it. HERE is a link to the moment in the sermon where the physical demonstration begins.

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6.06.22 - Holy Spirit I: Pentecost - A Brand New Day

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 13:00:00 -0500

The Spirit comes upon Jesus' followers seven weeks after His resurrection, 10 days after His ascension into heaven. Peter quotes the prophet Joel to describe the powerful experience 120 Christ followers are having as they are anointed by the Spirit. The prophecy of Joel originally is to a people who've been devastated and left with nothing, told by God that He will bring abundance, joy, and most importantly, His presence into their lives. He makes the same promises to us, offering His Spirit to transform and empower our lives as we follow Jesus.

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5.29.22 - Gospel of John XXXV - Jesus at the Center

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:00:00 -0500

We look back on the Gospel of John and see how strong and clear its message about Jesus is. How close He is to the Father, how present He is with us, how important the Spirit is. The beauty of John's masterpiece all boils down to Jesus being the center of everything that matters.

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5.22.22 - Guest Preacher Wayne Hawley - Quiet Service

Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Jesus' kindness to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 sets an example for similar acts of service in our lives.

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5.15.22 - Gospel of John XXXIV - Reconciled and Sent

Wed, 18 May 2022 15:00:00 -0500

In today’s service, we complete our journey through the Gospel of John with its epilogue: the story of Jesus restoring Peter after the latter’s threefold denial of Jesus in John 18. For each time Peter denied knowing Jesus, Jesus asks Peter to affirm that he loves Jesus. With each exchange, Jesus commissions Peter to care for Jesus’ flock of followers. We are all in Peter’s sandals at one time or another, denying Jesus in either word or deed, or both. Jesus reaches out to each of us and forgives, restoring us into His kingdom, commissioning us to serve and shepherd with the gifts He’s given and the call He’s placed on every one of us.

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5.08.22 - Guest Preacher Debbie Cleveland on Mother's Day

Mon, 09 May 2022 14:00:00 -0500

Just as Jesus' purpose was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), so His church is called to walk in His steps and do the same.

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5.01.22 - Gospel of John XXXIII - Who Am I?

Wed, 04 May 2022 13:00:00 -0500

We enter the final chapter of John's gospel in this message, and witness an important exchange between the risen Christ and His disciples, or at least 7 of them. These have returned to Galilee and follow Peter into his fishing boat in what looks to be an effort to return to their old lives. They fail, though, catching nothing. Until, of course, Jesus appears on the shore incognito, urging them to cast their net on the other side of the boat, and voila, a huge catch fills the net. Upon recognizing Jesus in that moment, Peter doesn't wait for the boat but swims to shore to find a breakfast of fish and bread ready over a fire. The boat arrives with its large catch, and some of those fish are added to Jesus' preparations for a combined resource breakfast that celebrates their partnership with Him.

Once again, Jesus' theme of abiding in Him from John 15 is sounded as the disciples are quickly reminded that "apart from Me, you can do nothing." It is when they listen to and obey Jesus that they experience abundance again. When they are pursuing their own ideas with their own strength and effort, they gain nothing. They are no longer their old fishermen selves. They have been with Jesus, He has given them His Spirit, and sent them to carry on His mission. Their identities have been forever changed and based upon His love and power. All these things are true for us today as well, if we will but listen to and obey His voice, and remember who we are - remember Whose we are.

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4.24.22 - Gospel of John XXXII - Show Me

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 15:00:00 -0500

We are still basking in the glow of Jesus' resurrection today as the forsythia blooms and we continue in our journey in the Gospel of John, nearing its end. There are still a few stories John wants us to learn from, though, especially the two on which we'll focus today: Jesus' giving of the Spirit to His disciples, and Thomas' encounter with the risen Lord in John 20.

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4.17.22 - Gospel of John XXXI - "Death Cannot Keep His Prey" - Easter Sunday

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 12:00:00 -0500

As we have been journeying through the Gospel of John these many months, John has been weaving together themes for us to notice along the way. Many of those themes find their fulfillment in the resurrection of Jesus in John 20. In particular, John’s focus on Jesus’ role of the Bringer of New Creation is powerfully displayed on Easter Morning, the first day of the week.

This ties closely into how John begins his gospel, “In the beginning…,” making sure we understand his desire for us to track with and see parallels between Jesus and Genesis 1. Baby Hebrew boys are circumcised on the 8th day of their lives to convey the symbol of their continuing the work that God had begun in the first 7 days. Jesus’ resurrection on the “8th day” carries similar but even greater weight.

God also vindicates His Son with the resurrection and anoints Him as king of the universe, something officially proclaimed in John 18 as Pilate hangs the sign, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews) upon the cross. What Pilate may have intended as sarcasm is in fact the climax the entire story from Abraham on has been building to.

There is so much to glean from these brief paragraphs about the amazing truth of Jesus’ resurrection. The fact that Jesus choose Mary Magdalene instead of Peter and John - who swing by the tomb briefly but then go home - Mary as the bearer of the most important news in history speaks volumes.

We must guard against feeling that rising from the dead is commonplace because we hear about it weekly in worship (worship was shifted from the Sabbath - Saturday - to Sunday BECAUSE this is the day He was raised). Death is permanent. At least it was, until Jesus!

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4.15.22 - Good Friday Service

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 11:00:00 -0500

Since the Fourth Century, Christians have been stopping in the midst of all of life's goings on on this night to pause and reflect on the enormity of God's love for us poured out on the cross of Jesus Christ. We will join with other believers tonight across time and across the earth and sit at the foot of the cross, praising Jesus for His faithfulness through to the unimaginable end.

In furtherance of our focus on John's gospel for the past several months, we will be reading his account of Christ's passion together, Chapters 18 and 19 in their entirety. In addition to our readers, the rest of us will also join in and serve as the voice of individuals and the crowd in the settings in which we find Jesus tonight. We will be the voice of a servant girl, of Annas, other servants and officers, and so on. From the start as Judas’ entourage of soldiers and officials in the garden to the crowd’s cries at the end of Jesus’ trial, we will be the voice of the world both then and now.

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4.10.22 - "That They May All Be One" - Part II

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 14:00:00 -0500

If you are reading this, chances are, you have tasted the fruit of another. Someone you know grafted themselves onto the one true vine, consumed the vines nutrients and produced the fruit that you consumed. Their fruit is good and may have convinced you to graft to the fine, or at the very least are considering it.

Join us as we celebrate those who have come before us. As we thank them for the fruit they produced, let us pledge ourselves to them and the God they serve, the God we serve, to take up the mission and bear our own fruit.

Jesus prayed that we shall all be one. Each of us, every man, woman and child. It is our turn to join together to build God's Church.

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4.03.22 - Gospel of John XXX - "That They May All Be One"

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 16:00:00 -0500

In our continued study of John's Gospel, Jesus is still in His final night with His disciples, saying the things He wants them to have "ringing in their ears" in the coming days, particularly during His days in the grave, when they will think all is lost. Jesus describes the sequence to them in language they can understand. If He said, "I'm going to be crucified, and die, and be buried. I'll be in the grave 3 days but then be raised to new life. I'll stick around with you, then ascend to heaven after 40 days so I can send the Spirit/Comforter/Advocate to you," they'd have no frame of reference with which to understand Him. Instead, He uses "peekaboo language," that "you can see me now, then you won't, then you will, then…"

Jesus uses the image of the pain and joy of childbirth to illustrate what He and His disciples are about to experience. This isn't just an image of pain and relief, though, but points to the whole universe being born again through Jesus' victorious resurrection. The theme Jesus established with Nicodemus in John 3 has its greatest fulfillment in the new life Jesus brings to the world (Gr. kosmos) as He conquers death.

Jesus refers several times to the Father's glory and to Jesus' own glory, but as we look closely at what Jesus says, He's not referring to the splendor of heavenly enthronement, but to the unimaginable, generous humility of the Father (and then of the Son), who gives Jesus all authority in heaven on earth not so that He can rule over His subjects, but so He can die for them and give them eternal life.

Finally, Jesus will pray His high-priestly prayer as His final words of this farewell passage. This prayer is that all His followers be one, including us. This is only possible by His power, and when it does happen, it is clearly God's work. Our love for one another and our core identity as belonging to Jesus (before any nationality, party, or any other allegiance) displays to the world around us God's presence and love for all.

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3.27.22 - Gospel of John XXIX - Abiding in the Vine

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 16:00:00 -0500

Today we will explore His presence with us - and resulting call upon us - as Jesus shares the powerful image of His being The Vine (His final "I Am statement" in John) and our being branches called to bear fruit. That abiding doesn't just happen, and our intentional pursuit of Jesus' presence in our life by His Spirit (the Advocate/Helper Jesus promised last week) is the key theme of Jesus' teaching in John 15. When we are abiding in Him, we will be pruned. It's all about the fruit with Jesus. The fruit of love for one another, love like His that washes feet and dies on the cross for one another, and the fruit of discipleship. The chapter finishes with a reminder of the Spirit's presence with us, empowering the fruit of love and testimony in our lives.

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3.20.22 - Gospel of John XXVIII - Inseparable

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 12:00:00 -0500

We come to John 14 this morning. We saw Jesus humble Himself to the point of washing the disciples' feet last week in John 13 at the beginning of their evening together. John records a full 5 chapters of Jesus teaching and praying with His disciples in this last night together before His passion, and we have a sense that He has saved His most important words for this last time together. There is so very much contained in these chapters, we aren't able to look at every sentence together, and reading through them on your own would be an excellent way to set everything we do discuss in context. [John 13-17]

Today we'll reflect largely on 2 areas of Jesus' focus: His penultimate I Am statement (Way, Truth, and Life) and His promise of the Holy Spirit. Either of those deserve an 8-week series! The mission of Christ to establish a way back home into the Father's presence brings us hope and larger perspective with which to look at life. His promise of His presence with us, along with that perspective, brings us peace that the world cannot know. And we get to bear the treasure of these gifts to others!

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3.13.22 - Gospel of John XXVII - Amazing Love

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 14:00:00 -0500

We come to one of the most moving stories in scripture this morning as Jesus, the Lord of heaven and earth through Whom all things were made, strips down to His underwear, gets down on His hands and knees, and washes His disciples' filthy feet. We will look at this amazing story of His amazing love for us together this morning, and in doing so be called to wash one another's feet as He commands us.

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3.06.22 - Gospel of John XXVI - Jesus Centered

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:00:00 -0600

Today's passage in John follows directly on the donkey's heels, as it were, of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He immediately is introduced to some Gentiles whose request to "see Jesus" triggers resonance with John's prologue and overall themes of light and sight. The presence of these Greeks seems to mark a moment for Jesus in which He reflects on the nature of His mission - to die like a grain of wheat placed in the ground so that an abundance of life can result.

God confirms and affirms Jesus by speaking from heaven to His son, the only time this happens in John's Gospel. This centering affirmation also conveys to those who hear it (thinking it either thunder or an angel) that God is "up to something" with this Jesus. Jesus links his conversation with the Greeks to His much earlier exchange with Nicodemus (who represents "His own" in the prologue - "He came to his own and they did not receive Him") in John 3:14-16:

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

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2.27.22 - Gospel of John XXV - Palms and Politics

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 11:00:00 -0600

We're returning to John today and His account of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem in John 12. We are faced with questions about Who we believe Jesus is, and how that belief shapes our lives.

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2.20.22 - Born Again

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 16:00:00 -0600

Today we look at one of the most powerful symbols in our Christian walk, baptism. It’s a practice that launches the story of Jesus by way of his kinsman herald, John the Baptist, who proclaims the nearness of God’s kingdom and plunges people beneath the Jordan River in an act of renewal and repentance. The practice of immersion in water is part and parcel of life in Israel at the time, often accompanying sacrifices at the temple (e.g., Mary’s cleansing after giving birth to Jesus). And BTW, “baptism” as a word in Greek means to dip or submerge something.

Baptism takes on all new meaning with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It becomes the covenantal act that joins the people of God to Himself, much as the symbol of circumcision did in the former covenant. In ever instance in the New Testament, baptism is accompanied by an aspect of will, be it faith, repentance, or confession. Paul powerfully describes the moment to burial under water in the act of baptism to be the point of contact with the death and burial of Jesus, and the rising out of the water to be the point of contact with His resurrection. It is a beautiful parallel to Jesus’ victory that brings His power (and the Holy Spirit) into our lives forever!

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2.13.22 - Gospel of John XXIV - I Surrender All

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:00:00 -0600

Continuing on our survey of the Gospel of John, we have our third episode with the family of Martha, Mary and Lazarus (John 12:1-11). In episode one, Jesus was called to come heal His then-sick friend, Lazarus. When Jesus finally arrived there, Lazarus had already died, but Jesus promises Martha that HE is the resurrection and the life. In episode two, Jesus weeps beside Mary as He sees the pain of loss in her and those around her. After mourning beside her (as He does with us), He raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11).

Today, Jesus will return to their home after some time away in the village of Ephraim (11:54). It's a thank you banquet in Jesus' honor for raising Lazarus, and we are drawn to decide which of the primary characters we are most like in our relationship with God: are we in it for what we get out of it like Judas, are we working our tails off for God without really spending time with Jesus like Martha, or are we surrendering to Jesus at His feet in worship and thanksgiving like Mary?

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

2.06.22 - Gospel of John XXIII - Jesus Wept

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 12:00:00 -0600

In this podcast, we return to the Gospel of John and the remarkable story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Before that, though, Jesus weeps at the side of Lazarus' sisters and friends, joining them in their pain and mourning in spite of His plan to turn things around. We see His presence with us in challenging times as well. Even though He has had victory and the grave, He walks with us through the challenges and hardships we face until He comes. His power - the power with which He raises Lazarus from the dead - is no less a part of our lives in the kingdom now as it was then, and our walking beside Him in prayer opens the door for the spirit to flow and raise us from death to life even as we walk through our continued days on earth.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

1.30.22 - You Are the Righteousness of God

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 12:00:00 -0600

The Father, the Son, the Spirit, are in YOU. Jesus prays that we would be one as Jesus and the Father are one. We each have something to give, though the enemy would convince us otherwise. God has told you that He will be with you, and that YOU are His righteousness, strength and purpose, his hands and feet. We are all part of the body, each with value, worship, purpose, and gifts. 2 Corinthians 5:1-21

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1.23.22 - Surely, You Don't Mean Me!?

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -0600

Did you ever have one of those family dinners that just goes completely off the rails? Everybody's sitting there, having a good time, and then all of a sudden, someone says something or does something, and it just explodes. Our text today sounds a little like that, We have Jesus and His disciples celebrating the Passover together, one of the most important holidays for the Jewish people. They're sitting there together, and going through the process, having a good time. All of a sudden, Jesus, out of nowhere, says, "You know? One of you is going to betray me." We don't know what the mood was prior to that, but it got pretty somber really quick... and we are each at the table with them....

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1.16.22 - Gospel of John XXII - The Resurrection and the Life

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0600

In this first half of the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, we are left to wonder about Jesus/God's timing. Jesus intentionally delays his trip to assist his friends that are described more dearly than another others in the gospel. His I Am statement continues to build is "divine credentials" in announcing His ultimate victory over darkness, sin and death. Finally, We note once again how Jesus seems to intentionally disclose significant theological developments to women in the Gospel of John (Samaritan in Chapter 4, Mary at the Resurrection, etc.).

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1.09.22 - First Things

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:00:00 -0600

Last week, we looked at the theme of kingship through the lens of the magi/Herod story in Matthew 2. That theme of kingship and kingdom continues today as John and Tanya read the Sermon on the Mount for us. (Be sure to listen to their reading in the podcast adjacent this won.) In this podcast of the sermon that followed, we will focus in on a single sentence: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well." Since we are still in the first days of 2022, it is our desire to do just that in the coming year: let's seek first His kingdom together.

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1.09.22 - The Sermon on the Mount: Special Reading

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 14:00:00 -0600

In recent discussions of John's Gospel about Jesus role as The Good Shepherd (and our Christmas Shepherd theme this year), we noted the importance of recognizing the Shepherd's voice. The best place to familiarize yourself with the voice of Jesus is in His magnum opus, His sermon on the mount. We step into a New Year together by listening together to Jesus' monumental teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. Wife and husband team, Tanya and John, take us through.

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1.02.22 - The King's Presence

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 11:00:00 -0600

We reflect on Jesus' Kingship in our time together as we look at the visit of the Magi in Matthew 2. This week holds the traditional celebration of their visit on Epiphany (January 6), which will mark the end of the 12 Days (and thus Season) of Christmas.

Matthew draws our attention to several comparisons: the magi seek the new King in order to worship Him; Herod seeks the child in order to destroy Him. Jesus is born King, as decreed by God and manifest in the universe; Herod gains the position through manipulation and violence. The magi are quintessential outsiders, yet they are the ones who know first that the new King is on His way. Herod is the ultimate insider who rejects Jesus (He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him - John 1:11). Herod's rejection of the new King foreshadows the rejection Jesus will experience in His ministry, leading to His crucifixion.

The overarching lesson of today, however, is found in how the magi and Herod compare in their pursuit and application of information. This lesson for us strikes at the heart of our "religion." Why do we do things like listen to sermons and read our bibles? Does it increase our feeling of control over important things, a mastery of knowledge about them? Does it make us feel good about ourselves for doing what we consider to be the right thing? Or does it send us to our knees in worship, as the magi teach us to do. The most learned of their culture, they sought information from the stars, from Herod, from scripture itself solely to enable them to kneel before the King and worship Him. Let us do the same.

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12.26.21 - One Of Us

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 16:00:00 -0600

We reflect further on Jesus' incarnation - God made flesh - through the lens of themes introduced by our "visiting speaker," who told the Christmas story from a shepherd's point of view last Sunday. The chief feature of Jesus' birth is it's humility, but in that we find the assurance that His rescue is available to all people - not just those of certain station or birthright. We also are given the chance to uniquely relate to Him in His humanity, as He relates to us in ours.

He is the king in disguise, out amongst his people in order to know them, just as Harry (in Henry V) dons a hood to move amongst his men. Jesus' has done more than toss a hood over His head. He is veiled in flesh. Hail the incarnate Deity. Please as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel!

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12.24.21 - Christmas Eve Candlelit Service of Lessons and Carols

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 16:00:00 -0600

We gather in the darkness of 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and hear 10 scripture readings that describe the arc of God's plan to redeem and rescue us through the sending of His Son. We sing Christmas carols, and take part in a parable that teaches us how much we are loved AND how much we are needed to be the carriers of His love to others.

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12.19.21 - What Child Is This?

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 14:00:00 -0600

We see the story of Jesus' birth through the lens of an old shepherd in the fields outside Jerusalem. From meeting an angel to meeting the Savior of the World, it's a big day for old Salul.

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12.12.21 - Behold, He Comes

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 12:00:00 -0600

Today's podcast is best heard after reading the two scriptures we shared at the barn together that morning. Zephaniah 3:14-17 (NLT) and 1 Thessalonians 4:9-5:2 NIV set the context for our discussion. With those themes ringing in our ears, we find a parallel between Jesus’ observance of the Feast of Dedication in John 10 (a/k/a Hannukah) with Advent. Both are traditions that arose after the writing of the Scriptures (the story of Hannukah is not in the Old Testament), and Jesus and His disciples fully embrace the “new tradition.” The traditions of Advent began in the late 300’s, and initially fostered a strong focus on the promises of Christ’s return. This will be our focus today.

We will also find comfort (Isaiah 40) in Jesus' promises to be with us - God with us - Emmanuel - in the highs and lows of our life and earth. And we will find hope in His promise to return someday soon in order to bring an end to suffering, pain, sin, and death. When He does come back, He will wipe away every tear from every eye, and never again will there be any kind of darkness.

He is coming. He is coming soon.

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12.05.21 - Gospel of John XXI - Expectations

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 11:00:00 -0600

In today's service, we complete what's considered the first half of the Gospel of John today as Jesus teaches in the temple during the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah. We'll unpack the meaning behind that feast - a relatively recent development in Jesus' time not codified in Mosaic law, but just as present in the minds of Israel if not more so. Today we'll walk further with Jesus into His continued reference to Himself as Shepherd (and us as sheep) that flows from the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah (the latter most familiar to fans of Handel's Messiah. The path marked out for Him is not one of military conquest or political maneuver, but the "foolish" way of the cross (1 Cor 1:22-25), the path that starts in a manger that would appear to be just as foolish.

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11.28.21 - The Father's Love

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 15:00:00 -0600

Pat shares a message on our relationship with God as our father. As we walked side by side with Him in the garden, He walks with us in the form of the Holy Spirit. He shares His work with us not because He needs our help but because He enjoys our company, and His desire is to be in close relationship with us through all the adventures of life.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

11.21.21 - Gospel of John XX - The Good Shepherd

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 17:00:00 -0600

Our walk through the Gospel of John takes us to Chapter 10 today, where Jesus identifies Himself as The Good Shepherd. In doing so, He identifies us as His sheep, triggering all the beauty and power of centuries of psalm and prophecy regarding God shepherding His people (particularly Ezekiel 34 and Psalm 23, but also several others).

As we listen to Jesus' voice, He shows the way forward and protects us from the thieves, bandits, and wolves that would seek to do us harm. He leads us into an abundant life measured not by mammon, but by the richness of life in His presence, now and forever.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

11.14.21 - Gospel of John XIX - A Bright, New Day

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 12:00:00 -0600

We continue our journey through the Gospel of John and look at Chapter 9 through the eyes of the man born blind. In this dramatic narrative sermon, we experience with him both the constant fear of the unknown and seen along with the joy of first sight. We are drawn into awareness of things we take for granted, and of the layers of spiritual sight we are called to live in. As he rejoices in the varieties and vividness of color around us, may we delight in God's imaginative design of life around us, and see deeply the love and care of Jesus in our lives.

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11.07.21 - Living and Active

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 10:00:00 -0600

We are looking at the broad context of scripture today in our lesson. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever; but human beings are certainly not. As we look over the arc of scripture, we see how God has engaged numerous people groups and cultures across the millennia in a way that was meaningful to them, and THEN influenced them in their thinking and practice in order to bring them to a new place. Call it planetary sanctification.

These processes can be seen as Yahveh waits until humanity is ready before He reveals that He is the only God. He lets Israel believe He’s a “local deity” spending time on Mt. Sinai, then camping out in His tabernacle and eventually His temple in Jerusalem. Not until John 4 when Jesus reveals to the woman at the well that worship is no longer centered on place because the sacred presence is going to be unleashed at Jesus dies on the cross.

And so, since Jesus Christ is the same today as He was then, we can expect that He is meeting us where we are in a way that is meaningful - as the church in the first century AND as the church in the twenty-first century AND as individuals, and moving us further into His will so that we look more like Him and shine His light to the specific world and time in which we live. Just like He’s done for four. Thousand. Years.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

10.31.21 - Gospel of John XVIII - The Truth Will Set You Free

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 15:00:00 -0500

It is perhaps ironic that yet more unplanned synchronicity arises today (it’s Halloween) as our walk through the Gospel of John (8:31-59) brings us to some of Jesus' most pointed words about the devil and his role in our lives. "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him... When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)

We often are subject to his whispers as he lies to us and tells us we are defective, unloveable, insignificant, or unwanted. When we believe these things, we pull away from God and from each other. The truth, however, couldn't be more different: we are deeply loved and valued, each wonderfully made in His image, "filled with His goodness, lost in His love." This is the truth that Jesus speaks of in some of His most important words: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

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10.24.21 - Jesus and Justice

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:00:00 -0500

We often give the religious leaders of Jesus' time a bad rap. We call them opportunists just out for their own glory and honor. But what about guys like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and even Paul, who were on a genuine search for truth?

Unfortunately, the world does that with "the church" as well. Many people have been wounded by "the church", and unfortunately, we all suffer the backlash.

Does Jesus require justice? Or, does he require mercy?

Join us as we take a look at how Jesus used the law.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

10.17.21 - Gospel of John XVII - Light of the World

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 14:00:00 -0500

We're be smack dab in the middle of John 8 today, where Jesus delivers the second of His universe-changing I Am statements: "I Am the light of the world." In claiming so, Jesus takes upon all the imagery of light in scripture, especially the prophecies of Isaiah and, of course, from John's own prologue. His light is the source of all life, just as our sun is of physical life. His light shows the way ahead and clears away the darkness and the fear that comes with it. And as His followers, His light reflects off of us when we are facing Him, just like the moon and planets. And so when we let our light shine before others (Matthew 5), we are walking in His steps.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

10.10.21 - Gospel of John XVI - A Person, Not a Problem

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 16:00:00 -0500

John 8:2-11
We come upon a story in our walk through John today that is powerful in its simplicity and message. When the Pharisees drag a woman before Jesus in the temple in order to test him, they think to be following the Law of Moses. However, that Law dictates that both man and woman who are offending be punished. So from the outset, their attempt at bringing a charge against Jesus points to their own biases without saying a word. The way Jesus responds calls to their minds their own sinfulness and need for mercy, and they walk away, the oldest (and presumably wisest first).

This is more than just a lesson on not passing judgement, though it is certainly that. It is also a positive example of how to treat our fellow woman and man. Of how to see them as people loved by God who are not to be dismissed or lumped into dehumanizing categories. In our struggle with our own sin, we all rely on Jesus' mercy, and He calls us to extend that same mercy to others, while we continue to personally strive to "go and sin no more."

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

10.03.21 - Gospel of John XV - Living Water

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 17:00:00 -0500

The Gospel of John is taking us into Chapter 7, where Jesus draws onto Himself even more deeply than before the role of the temple, and where He amplifies the wondrous message He'd already given to the woman at the well in Samaria in John 4. "Let anyone who is thirsty, come to Me," He cries out, promising rivers of living water to those who believe. What a promise! We will only be able to scratch the surface of Jesus' profound promise, but we hope you can come along on the journey with us.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

9.26.21 - Communion Meditation - The Bread of Life III

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:00:00 -0500

Further reflection on Jesus' hyperbolic statements in John 6 that point to His being THE source of life. It is difficult for us to hear Jesus' words without imposing upon their meaning the sacramental traditions that developed later, but when John records Jesus' statements in the chapter, there is no communion meal in that context at all. However, John's account of Jesus' death has Him sacrificed at the same time as the passover lambs, and the focus of communion on passover's themes of celebration of freedom from slavery to sin and death and the release from exile are seen in first century churches' practice of celebratory "love feasts" as their communion services; not the somber, solemn rituals practiced by most today.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

9.26.21 - Gospel of John XIV - The Bread of Life II

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:00:00 -0500

We are continuing our study of Jesus' first "I Am" statement in the book of John: "I Am the bread of life." Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John is "chock full of Jesus!" As He tries to take His disciples deeper, including the ones that want to make Him king, Jesus doubles down His language about being God's bread from heaven. Bread is the "staff of life," seen as the basic necessity for survival along with water. Just as Jesus similarly used water in John 4 with the Samaritan woman (who needed to drink no physical water to gain the benefit of living water Jesus was teaching about) to teach much deeper spiritual truth, Jesus is using bread the same way and not talking about actual eating. Jesus takes us to challenging, mysterious, but ultimately life-giving places in this passage, and He is the source of life for all who believe.

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9.19.21- Gospel of John XIII - The Bread of Life I

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Last week, we heard Jesus feed 5,000 with a handful of barley loaves and a couple salted tilapia. He can and does transform whatever we bring to Him and uses it for the good of His kingdom. This week we will see Him walk on water and hear His conversation with those 5,000 who follow Him to hear a little more from Him but who also are hoping for another meal. (John 6:16-40)

In response, Jesus shares His first "I Am" statement. There are 7 in John, and with them Jesus claims at the same time His identity with the Father as well as the special roles Jesus is playing in our lives. Jesus explains that He is the source of life that lasts forever. He's not like bread for our stomachs - everyone gets hungry again after even the best of physical food. Jesus instead brings life that never ends.

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

9.12.21 - Gospel of John XII - Multiplication Tables

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:00:00 -0500

We return to our study of John’s Gospel today and look at the remarkable story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with just a few barley loaves and a couple of fish. (John 6:1-15) This is the only miracle of Jesus that appears in all four gospels, and John adds some important detail we will explore together. The overriding message, though, is that when we surrender what we have to Jesus - especially our abilities and gifts - He will do powerful things with them that are a blessing to the community around us. The story is also an important lesson on expectations, as those who witness this miracle try to make Jesus king because they expect a political/military Messiah. We often expect Jesus to be someone He is not, and need to be open to something - to Someone - different.

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9.05.21 - Loving Like God - A Lesson from Jonah

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Have you ever been told to go somewhere you did not want to go?
Have you ever been asked to do something you didn't want to do?
Have you ever felt God was not near?
Have you ever felt that God just won't leave you alone?
Join us as we look at the story of Jonah.

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8.22.21 - Gospel of John XI - Getting to the Point

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Jesus’ sojourn in the Samaritan village (John 4:1-42) continues to serve as a touchstone as He moves onto Galilee and then Jerusalem and ministers in both places. In dealing with and healing both a Roman official’s son in Galilee and an aged lame Jewish man in Jerusalem, Jesus’ displays of power are to draw people into a deeper understanding of His identity. The Samaritans quickly came to the conclusion that Jesus is the Savior of the World, without the need for miraculous proof. The others not only ask for signs before they believe, but leaders in Jerusalem fault Jesus over Sabbath technicalities and are not at all impacted by His miraculous power. In the end, Jesus indicts the leaders for being so concerned with precision in following the scriptures that they have missed the scriptures’ primary goal: to lead people to Him.

Jesus offers healing still, and the powerful Spirit that raised Him from the dead, through Whom He healed (and heals!) is with and within us even today. We sometimes wallow in our status quo, afraid of the effort that will be required of us if Jesus heals us and has His way with us. We must also beware the leaders’ fate in our zeal to follow the scriptures and ever remember that they will not save us, neither will the extra traditions we build up around them. Only Jesus saves.

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8.15.21 - Gospel of John X - Jesus, Race, and Gender II

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4 is so full and multi-layered, we revisit their conversation today, having only scratched the surface last week. Jesus is clearly and intentionally pushing back against the stringent norms of first century Hebrew AND ROMAN culture. He entrusts to this woman of another race the most profound teaching of His ministry yet, and chooses her of all His prior options (most notably, His male apostles and also the highly-positioned scholar, Nicodemus). This foreshadows His choice at the end of John’s Gospel for Mary Magdalene to be the first to encounter Him after His resurrection so that she can bear the news to the rest of the world.

The unfolding of their encounter and her reaction is then a perfect example of how Jesus’ Good News works. She recognizes its import (even though her understanding is still quite limited, just like ours), and immediately begins telling everyone around her about her experience with Jesus (thus making her the first evangelist [after John the Baptist but, again, before the male apostles]). Her neighbors are thus drawn to find Jesus themselves, and their faith develops as a result of their personal interaction with Him. Jesus takes the opportunity to illustrate the kingdom’s growth with more physical truths - this time agricultural - as He has done with rebirth, living water, and food in just the last two pages!

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8.08.21 - Gospel of John IX - Jesus, Race, and Gender I

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 13:00:00 -0500

We continue our walk through the Gospel of John today and look at Jesus' remarkable interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well in Chapter 4. Jesus not only speaks with her, but engages in a depth of meaning in their discussion not yet seen in His ministry, even in his nighttime chat with Nicodemus in the previous chapter. Jesus' disregard for societal norms that would keep Him from even speaking with such a woman (a Samaritan, a woman, and shall we say morally questionable), much less revealing the universe-changing truths they discuss, quietly conveys volumes. As they discuss the nature of worship and relationship with God, none of the "three strikes" the woman has against her is a barrier to her access to God "in spirit and truth." There are so many layers to this story, we'll unpack it in two halves on consecutive Sundays.

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8.01.21 - Gospel of John VIII - The Visible Invisible

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 15:00:00 -0500

As we return to the Gospel of John this morning, Jesus has a clandestine chat with Nicodemus. We find ourselves in Nicodemus' sandals as he has difficulty understanding the deep spiritual truths Jesus shares with him. We take courage from Nicodemus' journey, though, for John will mention him twice more in the course of his Gospel, and we know that Nicodemus completed his journey from darkness to light. The whole new world that Jesus' lays before him is promised to us as well, as are the lives that give evidence of the invisible Spirit's influence...

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7.25.21- Amazing Grace

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 10:00:00 -0500

No matter how far you may wander, you are never out of range of God's strong, loving arms.

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7.18.21 - Blind Spots II

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Last week we talked about being caught off guard by a blind spot. Blind spots can be dangerous until they are identified. Once they have been identified, they are only dangerous if we choose to ignore them.

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7.11.21 - Blind Spots I

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Have you ever been caught off guard by a blind spot in your car? Blind spots can be dangerous until they are identified. Once they have been identified, they are only dangerous if we choose to ignore them.

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7.4.21 - Gospel of John VII - The Difference Jesus Makes

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Good morning, fellow Christ-Followers, and happy Independence Day. We hope you're able to celebrate your freedom in Christ with us in worship this morning at the barn, or virtually therefrom! We are back on our journey in John this morning, looking at the layers of meaning and wonder in Jesus' first miracle at the wedding in Cana. His life-altering presence is with us today and can manifest just as powerfully!

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6.27.21 - The Bound Free

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 13:00:00 -0500

We're continuing down the path begun last week in which he looked at our ministry through the lens of Jesus' final words to His followers in Matthew 28. Before He charges His followers with any task, though, Jesus establishes His authority to do so. As in, He's got all of it. All authority. We've seen in John that Jesus is in the first place from the very beginning (as echoed in the Colossian and Philippian hymns), and in a few weeks He will tell us in John 8 that "if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed."

One of our biggest problems lies in our not living out the freedom the Son has placed us in. We'll look at Paul's meditation on this in Romans 7 as well as his triumphant conclusion at the climactic start of Romans 8. Then we'll look at how we hold the news of freedom - the authoritative declaration of humanity's emancipation - how we hold. that back from others who could also be freed if only they could hear the news of what has already been done and won on their behalf.

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6.20.21 - Restore My Soul

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 16:00:00 -0500

No distractions. Just progress. Duey brings a message inspired by The Great Commission.

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6.06.21 - Love One Another

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 15:00:00 -0500

As we work our way out of the pandemic, it feels good to take a look at the way we continue to love one another through it. We have farther to go, and much more love to share.

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5.30.21 - The Gospel of John VI - Jesus Calling

Mon, 31 May 2021 14:00:00 -0500

As Jesus calls His first disciples in John’s Gospel, we see ourselves in the story and remember His call to each one of us. He is seeking us even as we seek Him. HE SEES US just as He sees Nathanial. He distills and transforms our identity, even changing our names like Simon. He is the one who does all the work in this brief cascade of disciples. All Andrew and Phillip do is invite others to “come and see” Jesus for themselves. John 1:35-51

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5.23.21 - Bonus Material - All Are Welcome at the Table: Pentecost Communion

Tue, 25 May 2021 14:00:00 -0500

God takes a major step in His rescue plan on the day of Pentecost as He pours out His Spirit and breaks down the barriers of race and gender. The exclusivity of the previous chapter of the Abraplan gives way to the broad call and welcome to all. Jesus is at the head of the table, and has already dealt with any sin that might have kept us away. Come to the table!

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5.23.21 - The Gospel of John V - The Lamb and the Dove

Tue, 25 May 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Counting 7 weeks from Passover, this was the Sunday so many years ago that the Holy Spirit came in universe-changing power upon our fellow Christ-followers in Jerusalem as described in the book of Acts. Pray As You Go has a wonderful yet brief reflection (find it here) on this passage if you want to dive deeper.

We will rejoice and celebrate the Spirit's presence in our lives in our time of worship together, and reflect on the coming of the Spirit as The Dove upon Jesus (and remaining upon Him) in the Gospel of John. We'll see how everything that happens in Acts (and in US!) follows directly from the early moments of the ministry of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

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5.16.21 - The Gospel of John IV - Safe Expectations

Mon, 17 May 2021 14:00:00 -0500

John's narrative hits the road running as it opens on John the Baptist already well under way with his ministry, enough so that word has reached the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem that someone's up to something up in the wilderness. John gives us quick insight into how things are run in Jerusalem, as priests and Levites - those appointed by Yahveh to govern and enable the spiritual life of Israel - are sent by Pharisees, a political party that gained control in the years between the testaments.

The Jewish leaders have very specific expectations of the coming Messiah, and they interrogate John in order to discern whether he's got the right credentials. They're expecting Elijah (Malachi)and Moses (Deuteronomy 18), but John is neither (though Jesus AND Gabriel both assign Elijah fulfillment to the Baptizer.

John instead claims the mantel of Isaiah 40, a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. We are left with a choice of which character we're going to resemble - the safe and orderly leaders who have a very detailed box in which they expect their Messiah to live in, or John (the son of a priest and thus a Levite himself) in his surrender to the Spirit and His call upon him.

“If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”-C.S. Lewis

“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

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5.09.21 - The Gospel of John III - Grace and Truth

Mon, 10 May 2021 13:00:00 -0500

John seems particularly concerned as he ends his prologue and is about to launch into narrative that we understand that the core of the Jesus Message is grace. Everything is about Jesus - everything has been building toward and pointing to Him since before time - and Jesus is about grace. Real, firm, dependable, you can count on it grace.

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5.02.21 - The Gospel of John II - Cosmic Campout

Tue, 04 May 2021 13:00:00 -0500

We’re continuing our new study of the Gospel of John, “fleshing out” John’s amazing, dense prologue a bit more, and striving to wrap our minds and hearts around the cosmic message of God becoming human so we could look Him in the eyes, and vice versa.

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4.25.21 - Ordinary People - Extraordinary God

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 13:00:00 -0500

In Acts 4, the members of the Sanhedrin find themselves confused as to how these "ordinary men," the apostles of Jesus, could be causing such a stir in their country. They failed to see that these "ordinary men" were empowered by an extraordinary God. That same God empowers each of us. See what God can do with ordinary.

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4.18.21 - The Gospel of John I - New Beginnings

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 13:00:00 -0500

We commence a study of John's Gospel by surveying the other 3 - Mark, Matthew and Luke, known as the Synoptic ("seen together") Gospels due to the closeness of their narratives. While the Synoptics have much in common with each other, they also each have a distinct voice, style, and message. John is clearly writing after they've all been completed and is making sure - as an eyewitness - that nothing vital has been left out of the record of Jesus' mission and call. While John will be a great storyteller, he begins his gospel as a poet theologian in order to creatively impress Jesus' divinity and power upon us from the outset. God is beginning a new work in Jesus, and he can begin a new one in us!

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4.11.21 - Going to Church XXIX Finale: We're In This Together

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 12:00:00 -0500

We bring to a close our months-long “Going to Church” series seeking in part to answer the question “Why should I bother to go to church?” More importantly, though, our deliberate look at several aspects of our life together gives us the chance to be more intentional in our time together, working against a going through the motions and instead finding the living God in our midst: inhabiting our praises; sitting at the table with us; telling us stories of past, present, and future; hearing our whispers, groans, and cries; strengthening us through His Spirit, and through one another; and in so many other ways. Going to church is not about what each individual “gets out of it,” but about being the living, breathing, acting, loving, testifying, witnessing, comforting, encouraging, help you fix your car-ing, help you with some groceries-ing, we’re all in this together-ing Body of Christ.

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4.04.21 - Sonrise (Easter Sunday)

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 15:00:00 -0500

A dramatic narrative sermon from one of Jesus' closest disciples helps us explore His story from a more personal point of view.

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3.28.21 - Going to Church XXVIII: Prayer VI: Deliver Us from the Evil One

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 15:00:00 -0500

As Passover begins in the Jewish calendar this weekend, we know from the Gospels where Jesus was at this time of year during the final days of His mortal life among us. So much of His ministry in this final week is detailed for us in His marvelous word!

The coming of King Jesus to Jerusalem as He rides upon a donkey is a singular moment in time as He makes full claim to the title KING by invoking the prophecies of Zechariah 9:9 simply by choosing his "mode of transportation" that day. His Kingship is the perfect "theme partner" to our final discussion of The Lord's Prayer, centered as it is on the coming of His kingdom in and through us, in spite of the efforts of the enemy to distract and paralyze.

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3.21.21 - Going to Church XXVII: Prayer V: Forgive Us Our Debts as We Forgive Our Debtors

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 15:00:00 -0500

As we continue to reflect on our walk with Jesus and the role that prayer plays in that walk, we step further through The Lord’s Prayer to focus on the most personal and challenging part: forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Jesus teaches further on this in His parable in Matthew 18, putting His quick mention of OUR extending forgiveness in larger perspective. Lord, have mercy on us and give us Your grace to be like you!

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3.14.21 - Going to Church XXVI: Prayer IV: Our Daily Bread

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 16:00:00 -0500

We continue our in-depth look at prayer through the lens of the prayer Jesus gave His followers in Matthew 6. This week, we consider "Give us this day our daily bread," which seems to be a simple ask at first, but then opens our eyes and hearts to lessons on priorities, stewardship, fear, and faith. Jesus' parable in Luke 12:13-34 serves as clarifying touchstone as we learn the difference between having enough and being greedy for more than we'll ever need. Often our pursuit of the latter is grounded in anxiety, fear that we will run out of _______. The recent run on toilet paper at the pandemic's start is just one example of how our personal anxiety-driven stockpiling can deprive others of what we've got too much of! Fear is faith in reverse, and the lessons of God's daily provision of manna in the wilderness, and of food for the birds of the air remind us that He has got our backs. We've got nothing to fear!

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3.07.21 - Going to Church XXV: Prayer III: Your Kingdom Come

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 14:00:00 -0600

We continue our meditations on prayer in the life of our community and as individuals through the lens of The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. Today we reach “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” As we seek to be agents of God’s kingdom walking in the steps of Jesus, we see that kingdom work comes in many forms, all empowered by the Spirit given to us at our baptism, just as Jesus received the Spirit at His. The breaking in of God’s kingdom is less about getting to go to heaven and more about the rule of the King (Daniel 7) holding sway over us and spreading through us into the circumstances and lives around us. Jesus begins His primer on His Kingdom with His very first words in His home synagogue. Luke 4:14-22.

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2.28.21 - Going to Church XXIV: Prayer II: Hallowed Be Your Name

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 16:00:00 -0600

As we continue our look at prayer and its role in our lives, we explore The Lord's Prayer and the way it renews our identity and reminds us of what matters most.

As part of today's podcast, bonus tracks from before and after our service are included.

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2.21.21 - Going to Church XXIII: A Praying Church I

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 17:00:00 -0600

As we near the end of our sermon series, “Going to Church,” we begin a short “series within a series” and look at prayer in some of its many forms and the way it blesses us as a community. Or rather, the way GOD blesses us in and through our prayers! One of our foci is the variety of flavors prayer comes in, and to illustrate this, Psalm 147:1-11, Philippians 4:5-7, James 5:13-16, and Matthew 6:7-18 were all read before the sermon.

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2.14.21 - Going to Church XXII: The Giving Sermon

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 17:00:00 -0600

Giving back to God can be the most spiritually significant thing we do in worship if our head and heart are in the right place as we do it, but it's something many people are uncomfortable talking about. In today's sermon, we look back to the beginning of worship, and see the role of giving in the life of God's people across the ages. This podcast includes the special presentation made by our treasurer, Cathy, during the sermon. She's a perfect example of someone giving back to God with some of the spiritual gifts He's given her. It's always about more than paying the electric bill and getting the Levites fed...

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2.07.21 - Going to Church XXI: Ancient Words X: The Bigger Picture

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 16:00:00 -0600

After several (see below) messages surveying the scriptures from beginning to end, we take a step back to examine its themes together: the themes of God and His relationship with Humanity. Though we are created in His image and set in paradise, we are exiled in the very first pages of scripture because of our disobedience. God sets our rescue on course within a few chapters, and spends the rest of time crafting the course through which He will come after each one of us in order to bring us each out of exile and into His arms face in order to live in joy face to face with Him in the New Jerusalem with which the final pages of Revelation end. To go on the full journey:
10.04.20 - Going to Church XII-Ancient Words - An Introduction to the Bible
10.11.20 - Going to Church XIII: Ancient Words II: In a Nutshell - Exposition of the Abraplan
10.18.20 - Going to Church XIV: Ancient Words III:The Law and the Prophets I - Law's Role
10.25.20 - Going to Church XV: Ancient Words IV: The Law and the Prophets II - Prophets
11.01.20 - Going to Church XVI: Ancient Words V: Witness Writings - Identity through Story
1.10.21 - Going to Church XVII: Ancient Words VI: The Gospel Truth - The Messiah Arrives
1.17.21 - Going to Church XVIII:Ancient Words VII: Power to the People - Acts and Paul
1.23.21 - Going to Church XIX: Ancient Words VIII: Hang in There! - Hebrews thru Jude
1.31.21 - Going to Church XX: Ancient Words IX: The End Is Near... - Revelation Part I
1.31.21 - Going to Church XX: Ancient Words IX: The End Is Near... - Revelation Part II

through 11.01.20, then resume with 1.10.21 - The Gospel Truth through to this final message in the series. Call in Bible 401!

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1.31.21 - The End Is Near, Isn't It? Part II

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 13:00:00 -0600

Today we finish our survey of the New Testament, focusing in this episode on the later chapters of the Book of Revelation and its message of encouragement and warning. The Lamb Who Was Slain has shown us the Way ahead, and written in the Book of Life the names of those who belong to Him and are faithful. He will see you through to the end, WHATEVER comes before!

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1.31.21 - The End Is Near, Isn't It? Part I

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 13:00:00 -0600

We’re completing our survey of the New Testament, focusing in this episode on the first chapters of the Book of Revelation and its message of encouragement and warning. The Lamb Who Was Slain has shown us the Way ahead, and written in the Book of Life the names of those who belong to Him and are faithful. He will see you through to the end, WHATEVER comes before!

To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

1.24.21 - Hang in There!

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 11:00:00 -0600

Welcome to worship at the barn at Oakhaven Church! On this snowy morning in Oshkosh, we are gathering to praise God for His greatness, to pray prayers of blessing and healing over one another, to sit across from each other at the table with the Risen Jesus at the head, and to reflect on His word and its message for us today. We’re continuing our survey of the New Testament, focusing on several later letters in the New Testament written by the apostles Peter and John and two of Jesus’ younger half-brothers - James and Judah - as well as the letter to the Hebrews. Something they all have in common is a message to persevere in the face of crisis, persecution, and testing: to hang in there! It’s a message that resonates as loudly today as then, and God is just as present, and just as victorious now!

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1.17.21 - Power to the People

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0600

Our service began with a reflection on the example and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. In his powerful I Have a Dream speech, he calls for freedom to ring and spread across the land. The day's sermon serves as a sequel to last week's in which we surveyed the four Gospels, each a distinctly different portrait of Jesus and His ministry and gospel. In today's lesson, we look at how Jesus' Good News spreads across the land both in the New Testament and in our lives now through the lens of the Acts of the Apostles and letters of Paul.

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1.10.21 - The Gospel Truth

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 15:00:00 -0600

We pivot today on the postludes to Jesus' birth in the Gospel of Luke into a brief overview of all four Gospels. While they have much in common, they are also significantly different in tone, content, and purpose. Having these factors on our radar when we read them greatly helps our understanding of Jesus as we seek to know and follow Him.

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1.3.21 - King of Kings

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0600

Happy New Year, friends! We hope that as the year has turned, the love and care of God for you has been evident and clear. As we gather together for our first time of worship in 2021, we hope that your spirit is refreshed by His Spirit, and that the hope and promise of His presence in the coming days and months is as strong a guide as the star of Bethlehem was to the magi two millennia ago. In our time of worship today, we will be putting ourselves in the sandals of those magi and looking to learn from their example and renew our wonder at what God has done in becoming one of us. And if you’re blessed by this service, pass it on!

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12.27.20 - Prepare Him Room

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 17:00:00 -0600

Welcome to worship with Oakhaven church! We continue our celebration of Jesus’ birth by looking at ancient traditions of faith that have marked His incarnation. (If you watch the sermon you’ll learn why Christmas isn’t over yet!) We also consider how our current culture has “borrowed” the power of Jesus’ story in ways that sometimes distract us. Then we travel to ancient Israel and find unlikely meaning and message in simple home architecture that speaks to Jesus’ mission, and to ours. Luke 2:1-7 starts us off. Listen closely!

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12.20.20 - All the Years

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 13:00:00 -0600

Our guest speaker last week raised many themes, the primary theme being God’s long plan for our redemption: since before creation! This week we look at this and other themes through the lens of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (as instructed by last week’s speaker) and of her song of praise to God, The Magnificat.

We’ll look at Luke 1:39-56, Galatians 4:1-7, Exodus 34:29-35, and 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 before we’re through. In the end see that the same Spirit that miraculously conceived Jesus in Mary is within us today. He is born in us – Emmanuel – and we need not live in fear of the dark or any evil any longer. If we walk in Mary’s example of trust in God – “I will serve the Lord in any way to you ask me to,” we will bear His image more fully each day and further His purposes and bring Him glory!

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12.13.20 - So This Is Christmas: Love & War

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0600

We view Christmas through the eyes of the angel who got the story moving: Gabriel. Bringing a timeless perspective to the birth narrative, Gabriel puts the manger story in a broader context that helps us remember just what is at stake in all this, and helps us to appreciate why such a strange, secretive birth was the path chosen by the Lord of Hosts for His Son's nativity.

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12.06.20 - I Hope So

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 13:00:00 -0600

Welcome to worship with Oakhaven Church at the barn in Oshkosh! Today we step alongside the nation of Israel in their wait for Yahveh to fulfill His many promises of sending His Messiah (Isaiah 9:1-7). We look through lenses provided by prophet Isaiah (7:10-14), as well as the stories of God’s faithfulness across the years, beginning with Abraham in a crescendo that peaks with the visit of angel Gabriel to an olive-skinned teenage girl named Mary (Luke 1:26-38). The promised child is given many names (Matthew 1:18-25), and today we concentrate on and celebrate Emmanuel - The With Us Mighty God!

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11.29.20 - The Table Unbroken

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:00:00 -0600

After a reading of Philippians 4:4-9, Pat, one of Oakhaven's elders, uses the imagery of the first Thanksgiving - new beginnings, new friendships, contrasting cultures side by side at the table - in which differences are set aside in order to gratefully share in the table.

When we disagree and we can’t communicate, we "divide" the table. The table gets broken. Communication ceases, and it becomes “us” and “them.” When it becomes “us” and “them,” we all lose. The ironic thing about fighting is that both sides are trying to accomplish the same thing.

We forget what God promises us: peace beyond our understanding. So often, the peace we seek fits well in our small box of understanding. Proverbs 3:1-6

When we as Christians divide tables, we silence the Gospel. The table is supposed to be a safe place, a place where we can talk about our differences, and celebrate the things we have in common. We may not always agree on smaller things, but the one thing we can always agree on is that we are in desperate need of a Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ. He sat at the table with those deemed “unworthy” by religious leaders: Mark 2:13-17, Luke 19:1-10

Paul uses his ability to sit at table with just about anyone in order to form relationship through which to share the good news of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. We have to remember that Jesus is the one who built the table, built it out of His cross. Everyone is invited to the table. Jesus says so.

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11.22.20 - Reminisce, Recap, Refocus, and Encourage

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0600

Duey, one of Oakhaven's elders, describes the transition God has led the Oakhaven family through in recent years, encouraging the body of Christ to live in faith and faithfulness. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9) God is continually seeking to do something new among us. "May we be still for a time and let God’s Holy Spirit fill us up, let God’s Holy Spirit organize us, and let God’s Holy Spirit direct us. "

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11.15.20 - Promised Rest

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0600

Things are tough for everyone right now. Today we take courage and strength from the promises of Jesus when He tells us that He will give us rest in Matthew 11:28-30. This rest comes from our “taking His yoke” - being bound to His life, His strength, and His ways. We don’t have to do things on our own, we don’t have to just “get by in survival mode.” The Creator of the Universe is right beside us every day, all day long, pulling for us, pulling with us, even dwelling within us. It’s not like we don’t have any problems - He even promises us in John 16 that “in this world you will have trouble.” It’s that next sentence - in the same breath, the Savior says, “but take courage: I have overcome the world.” The overcomer is on our side and at our side, making us (as Paul will later write) more than conquerors!

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11.08.20 - Orphans: Near to the Heart of God

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 11:00:00 -0600

Today, Orphan Sunday is marked by churches across the world. Today at Oakhaven Church, we look at God’s heart for orphans. The tender love He has for the least among us is woven into His identity. Time and again in scripture He essentially introduces Himself as the Mightiest of the Mighty and the Lover of the Orphan. When He warns His people of judgment through the prophets, their lack of care for the orphan (and widow and refugee among them) is at the top of His list of indictments. Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 of the sheep and goats reminds us how important it is to care for “the least of these”, and Jesus’ younger brother James reminds us that caring for the orphan is nothing less than pure religion. Yes, the need is overwhelming in our time, but don’t let that paralyze you. Do what you can. Do something!

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11.01.20 - Going to Church XVI: Ancient Words V: Witnessing Writings

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:00:00 -0600

Today we’ll finish our look at Jesus’ bible - the Tanakh of Hebrew Scripture, comprised of Torah (Law/Instruction) Nevi’ im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). Today, we’ll see how the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezrah-Nehemiah [one book in Tanakh)] and Chronicles) bear witness to God's faithfulness in creative, powerful, personal ways.

It all points to God having a plan from the very beginning and working it out over history in partnership with humans in spite of our unfaithfulness. We are part of His plan, part of His tale, this Epic Love Story that draws us all in and calls us each by name!

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10.25.20 - Going to Church XV: Ancient Words IV: The Law and the Prophets II

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we look deeper into The Prophets and the role they play both in God’s big story and in our lives. We are all called to a righteousness that isn’t based on religious performance, but on how we treat the least among us: the widow, orphan, and immigrant, just as the prophets instructed the people of Israel years ago. We are reminded that we are created in God’s image, and to reflect that image to the world around us as we do justice, love merciful kindness, and walk humbly with our God.

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10.18.20 - Going to Church XIV: Ancient Words III: The Law and the Prophets

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 15:00:00 -0500

Fourteenth (!) in a series on what's going on at church (if we're paying attention) and third in a series on the scriptures, we take a brief look at the role of the Law given God's people at Sinai. They're coming out of generations of slavery and headed into a new land filled with peoples whose ways they are not supposed to adopt. God's law shows His children how to look like Him - how to bear His family resemblance. The law flows from His character as He commands fairness, justice, mercy, and care for the poor. By living so, they will represent YHVH to the nations (Exodus 19:1-8) and play a crucial role in the Abraplan.

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10.11.20 - Going to Church XIII: Ancient Words II: In a Nutshell

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 10:00:00 -0500

We survey the metanarrative of the Old Testament while noticing things we've probably taken for granted in our use of scripture. For one thing, the printing press is a very recent development in terms of our having our own copies of the sacred text - often multiples - on our shelves, not to mention the infinite number of options on our tablets and phones! Scripture was experienced far differently when first penned and read aloud to an audience that was largely illiterate (and who strove to memorize passages to always have with them - try it!). This prompted structural devices on the writers' parts (who adapted oral history storytelling tools...) such as Genesis' "These are the generations," the repetition of thematic words (brothers, hate) or patterns (barren women mothering significant characters), the repetition of cyclical elements (Judges, Kings), etc. Through it all, though, the epic story draws us in and is still in effect today, as we are the children of Abraham and benefit from the Abraplan no less than the remnant released from Babylonian exile to resettle Jerusalem to so as to be ready for one last barren mother, Elizabeth, and her prophet boy to "prepare the way for the Lord..."

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10.04.20 - Going to Church XII: Ancient Words

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 14:00:00 -0500

The Book of Acts tells us that the first Christ-followers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer" (Acts 2:41-47). As we continue to unpack all (honestly, "all" is impossible - let's just say we're trying to cover "most") of what happens in times of worship together - be it in person or united online - we get up from the table and get out our bibles for some time in "the apostles' teaching." The ancient words of all of scripture are works of art that call us deeper into who God designed and desires for us to be. The image described in 2 Timothy of God breathing them to life is an intentional link to Genesis 2 and the combination of earth and Spirit to bring about human life. That same dynamic combination of God's spirit with earth in the form of human writers brings about the living Word that points us to The Word Made Flesh. This is gonna take a few weeks too!

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9.27.20 - Going to Church XI: Me Versus We

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 14:00:00 -0500

Today we conclude our series (on the table) within a series (on what goes on "in church") with the seventh and final sermon centered on the table. We see in the New Testament a clear pattern of communion ALWAYS being incorporated into a full evening meal. We see this reinforced in an important early church document, the Didache, and we mark the historical progression that decays the practice into a formalized ritual that is extremely different from the original. We also unpack the misapplication we've been making of Paul's warnings in 1 Corinthians about unworthiness and discover it's not about how worthy we are as individuals, but about how well we are focusing on OTHERS in the body of Christ, alive and well and right next to us.

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9.27.20 - Bonus Track: Communion Service

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 14:00:00 -0500

On this day we complete a series of 7 sermons focused on communion, and the day's communion service includes several themes from the series, including a focus on one another instead of shutting ourselves up in an emotional corner all by ourselves and dwelling on our personal issues. We reinforce the fact that Jesus plays the role of host (as in head of the table, not transubstantiated wafer), and that we are all guests at His banquet.

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9.20.20 - Going to Church X: All for One

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 16:00:00 -0500

TENTH in our Going to Church series – SIXTH focused on the table – looks at similarities between the first century church in Corinth and the 21st century church today, the good, the bad, and the not so good. The apostle Paul (and Jesus) call us to unity and love around the table, a table at which HE HIMSELF joins us, week after week. Let it never become ordinary or commonplace!

At every table, we are reduced to our simplest, equal, physically needy selves - humans that require nourishment to survive. At the Lord's table, we are reduces to our simplest, equal spiritually needy selves: sinners that require a Savior to survive.

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9.13.20 - Going to Church IX: Sunday Supper

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:00:00 -0500

As the first Christians celebrated the first "communions" together, their time at the table was characterized with overflowing Joy (Acts 2:41-47). Communion is a party, not a funeral. It is something Jesus has given us to remind us of His triumphant resurrection, to be associated with the Freedom of Passover and His victory over death. He deliberately set the pattern of breaking bread with His followers the very evening of His resurrection (Luke 24:25-34) in order that the practice be one of celebrating the New Creation begun on the EIGHTH DAY (remember, 7 days in Genesis to create then rest?). The Lord's Supper is meant to be associated with the greatest excellence: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God's plan is to establish a deep knit subconscious link with His Son's bursting from the tomb. Acts 20:7-12 reinforces all this while pointing out that there seems to be very little in common between how we practice communion today and how it was experienced by early Christ-followers.

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9.06.20 - Going to Church VIII: A Feast of Memories

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0500

We review three primary strands that come together at the table of Jesus with His disciples in Luke 22:7-23. Across the year, Yahweh instituted various festivals for His people to celebrate as reminders of His faithfulness in specific moments in their life together. Spring brings Passover and Pentecost, other seasons bring Tabernacles, First Fruits, Trumpets, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Hannukah, and Purim. Of all available, Jesus chooses His Passion to coincide with Passover and its theme of FREEDOM rather than Yom Kippur and its focus on atonement. A second strand of the sacrificial system adds the layer of peace/fellowship offering at the Passover table, celebrating God’s presence at the table made possible by the Lamb (NOT THE GOAT [Leviticus 16:5-10, 20-22]) Who takes away the sins of the world. Exodus 12:14-17 and the Mishnah paint the Passover in celebratory colors. Finally, the Last Supper is the peak meal in Luke’s accounts of 10 times at the table with Jesus. What all this yields is our inclusion in an EPIC story every time we take the simple bread and wine together. Our FREEDOM from the slavery of sin and death is celebrated, God’s PRESENCE at the table with us (in His complete triune-ness), and the KINGDOM that already is but is also yet to come is PROCLAIMED. Our IDENTITIES are formed by our MEMORIES. If we know WHO we are and WHOSE we are, virtually EVERYTHING is different. For the better!

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8.30.20 - Going to Church VII: Who's Coming to Dinner?

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0500

As we look further at the table and all its resonance, we survey several of Luke's 10 accounts of Jesus at table during His ministry. In these instance of God being at table with His people, it is not only the topic of conversation that points to His kingdom breaking in, but those who are gathered round it. Tax collectors - seen as God's people's enemies (Luke 5:27-31) - and a "sinful" woman (7:36-50) are as welcome as self-righteous, judgmental Pharisees (11:37-41). Jesus also embraces Martha as host to one of His meals (an unusual position for a woman, especially when her brother Lazarus lived in the same home), and embraces Mary as a disciple at His feet (10:38-42). The point made time after time is that all are welcome at the table, regardless of their particular flaws, and that the table is made possible by its true host, Jesus.

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8.23.20 - Going to Church VI: Thanksgiving Weekly

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 12:00:00 -0500

We continue to explore the layers of background behind the table found in the fellowship meals after certain sacrifices in the Mosaic sacrificial system. Specifically, those sacrifices that celebrated relational peace (with God or fellow humans), those offered in thanksgiving, or those that sealed a vow were shared by the ones sacrificing along with the God. Often there was a GREAT DEAL OF BEEF - up to 800 pounds - that had to be eaten in TWO DAYS, so you invited EVERYONE you knew! We work through 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 as a template to help understand the lenses through which a first century worshipper would discern the difference between sacrifice (at the altar) and thanksgiving (the party at the table). We feast in Thanksgiving once a year in the US; Jesus calls us to feast in Thanksgiving every week!

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8.16.20 - Going to Church V: It's a Table

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 12:00:00 -0500

There's a lot going on during worship whether we're aware of it or not. This is especially true during communion, where literally millennia of resonance surround those moments. We begin a journey of seeing parallels in Israel's sacrificial system with the covenant meal of Exodus 24. Sacrifices galore pave the way for 70 elders - by momentarily forgiving their sins - and they SIT AT A TABLE WITH YAHWEH ON SINAI AND EAT WITH HIM. That didn't make it into Cecil's film.

Too often we equate our time at the table with sacrifice at the altar, when that work has all been done for us (Hebrews 9:19-28). To actually RESACRIFICE CHRIST again and again is a common practice, and something to guard strenuously against even in its emotional equivalent in our somber practices. (If you're part of a tradition that intones, "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands," then read Hebrews 9 and 10 as soon as possible.

We quote John Mark Hicks: The blood of the covenant establishes our relationship with God so that we may eat in His presence as we affirm our allegiance to the covenant, participate in the forgiveness of the alter, and experience the presence of God at the table. The table is the experience of reconciliation and fellowship. While the alter may be a time of sadness, penance, and guiltiness, the table is a time of joy, communion, commitment.

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8.09.20 - Going to Church IV: Focus!

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0500

While the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water in Matthew 14 doesn't directly discuss worship, the truths imparted by the powerful story show us the way forward in all our life, including in worship. Jesus' power over all things is a given, and He imparts some of that power to Peter when the apostle is focused on Jesus. The storm is still raging around the fisherman. Jesus hasn't lessened it one bit. But because of Peter's sole focus on Jesus and His Call to him, the disciple is sure enough walking on water. It's when Peter focuses not on Jesus but on the storm that he begins to sink.

That the takeaways from this story are obvious makes them no less significant. Added to the role of focusing our eyes on Jesus in all of life is the application in our approach to worship - either in person or joined with a faith community virtually in these times. Similar to our past discussions, this story reinforces that our time with Christ's body isn't about What's In It For Me but rather all about Him. He's got the power.

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8.02.20 - Going to Church III: Giving > Getting

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0500

Our series on worship includes swaths of the book of Hebrews, particularly chapters 9 and 10 as they outline the extreme effectiveness of Jesus' sacrifice. In contrast to the old system of repeated sacrifices that never fully atoned for sin, Jesus' death on the cross is a one time only, once and for all deal. We are not able to lift a finger to accomplish our own salvation: Jesus has done it ALL.

In doing so, He calls us into a life of connection to Him and others with worship at its center. In contrast with the ritual of the old ways (that many hold onto in a solemn re-sacrifice of Christ either transubstantiationally or effectively so cheapens His all-sufficient act), Jesus has brought radical change to how humans interact with their creator.

AND with one another. The Lamb purchased His people with His blood and made them all priests. A priest is someone who fosters, enables, and facilitates other people's relationship with God. Our primary task in taking part in corporate worship is not to gain "what's in it for me," but rather to seek to be a blessing, a boost, an encouragement to fellow worshippers. The Holy Spirit has fostered His fruit and His gifts in us to bear witness to Jesus first by building up His body. Worship isn't about you, friend; it's about Him, and His body.

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7.26.20 - Going to Church II: He Is Worthy

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 15:00:00 -0500

This is the second sermon in a series on "Going to Church," as in, why bother? Last time we looked at the example Jesus set in His own life of worship. If ever there was someone qualified to stay out of church because He didn't need to be there, it was Jesus. Instead, He embraced a vibrant worship life that kept the cadence of the year in celebrating God's story with His people.

This week, we jump to the end of His mission and ministry, the completion of His destiny, and His faithfulness to the very end. In Revelation, a scroll is revealed that must be opened if humanity is to be rescued, if God's kingdom is going to come to fulfillment, if the Abraplan is going to reach its final completion. Only the Lamb that Was Slain is able to open the scroll. Because of all He Is and all He has done, He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory, the kind of worship His people bring before Him in joyful assembly together far more than singing along to Christian radio. Not that there's anything wrong with the latter; it is very good. It's just an entirely different animal.

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7.19.20 - Going to Church I: Why Bother?

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 11:00:00 -0500

The simplest answer to "Why go to church?" is another question. Are you following (or trying to follow) Jesus? If so, then go to church because He sure did. He was part of worship and singing the Psalms, sat at the table to eat fellowship sacrifices, and celebrated festivals throughout the year to retell the story of God's faithfulness. Whether or not you go to church isn't all about you: it's about God - Who He Is, what He has done. We look at Hebrews 12:18-24 as a lens to help us realize there is a great deal of wonder going on around us in worship if we simply open our eyes to it.

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7.12.20 - Holy Spirit 101: Bearing His Image

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 10:00:00 -0500

We return to our series on the Holy Spirit and explore the role He plays in establishing and confirming our identities and sons and daughters of The King. The seal placed upon us claims us as belonging to and under the protection of Jesus Christ. Created in God's Image, the Spirit empowers us to bear that image well in both a life of ongoing sanctification (repenting of our sins and walking more fully in Jesus' righteous example) and in ongoing witness.

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7.05.20 - Master of Sorrow & Storm (First In-Person Worship after Safe at Home Expiration)

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 10:00:00 -0500

Lament is found throughout scripture. On this gathering date, 130,000 Americans had died from the corona virus and COVID-19. We spend time in lament for the great loss of life, hearing the story of four individuals to represent the vast number of others.

We then look at the story in Mark 4:35-41, where Jesus calls the fierce storm around the boat He and His disciples are in, and look at the parallels of His power and presence being with us in the current storm in our lives.

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6.28.20 - Holy Spirit 101: Bearing Gifts

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 10:00:00 -0500

The Holy Spirit is given to Christ followers in order to enable and empower them to bear witness to the Great News of Jesus Christ. In Luke 12:11-12, the Spirit is promised to "teach you at that very hour what you ought to say." In addition to words, the Spirit bears fruit in our lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (the very opposites of today's public dialogue). This fruit of the Spirit is not just for our personal pleasure and well being, but to further enable and empower our bearing witness to Jesus. The same is true of more individual gifts given to each Christian by the Sprit. The ability to prophesy, teach, serve, sew masks, balance books, care for the church building, show hospitality, and myriad other gifts build up the body of Christ and bear witness to Him. Once again, no one has exclusive rights on certain flavors of gift, as made clear by Joel and proclaimed by Peter on Pentecost:
Acts 2:17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below...

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6.21.20 - Holy Spirit 101: Bearing Fruit

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:00:00 -0500

The primary purpose of the Spirit in our lives is to empower and enable us to bear witness to Jesus Christ. As part of this process, the Spirit fosters the bearing of certain fruits in our lives and personalties: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Paul lists these in Galatians 5 in contrast to the inclinations of the flesh, which is in conflict with the Spirit.

A life driven by flesh is all about self: MY desires, MY rights, MY territory, MY stuff... ME, MY, MINE. All in conflict with the way of Jesus, who calls us to look first to others and their needs, their health, their benefit, their well-being. Paul reminds us that our old self and flesh are crucified (5:22-26), and urges us to let go of it all, and open ourselves to the Spirit as He fosters this fruit that bears witness. We have a choice between selfish and snarky v. gentle, kind and joyful.

NOT ABOUT BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION – Not about what we do but WHO WE ARE. In Christ we are NEW CREATION – Gal 6:14-16 That's what counts! "Peace to all who follow this rule" – the rule of New Creation!

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6.14.20 - Holy Spirit 101: Bearing Witness by the Spirit

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:00:00 -0500

In Acts 1:8, Jesus indicates that the primary purpose of Holy Spirit in our lives is to empower our bearing witness to Jesus. Everything the Spirit does is part of this: gifts He gives, fruits He bears, the sanctification He fosters, the words He gives us, the precious identity He confirms in us, the nudges, the shoves…. All given to us so that WE CAN BE VESSELS OF THE GREAT NEWS OF Jesus Christ.

John 16:26-27 ESV 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Acts goes on to give two examples of the Spirit empowering witness as disciples go about their day and then come across opportunities (arranged by the Spirit). We are as empowered and equipped as they, and are just as much always bearing witness to Jesus: at home, in stores, ON FACEBOOK. We are called to embrace and actively pursue this role by actively pursuing the Spirit.

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6.7.20 - Holy Spirit 101: Cursebusters

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0500

The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost has instituted the reversal of three curses or consequences from sin in Genesis. Humans are exiled from God's presence in Genesis; the presence of God With Us - Emmanuel at the front edge of Luke's Gospel - is spread across humanity with the Spirit's outpouring on Pentecost. The curse of Eve as she is put under the rule of Adam, encoded in law and patriarchal practice over millennia, is systematically weakened by Jesus across His ministry in his counter-cultural treatment of women, climaxing at His resurrection where the only ones to witness Him initially were women, then in practice in the fulfillment of Joel 2's prophecy of women, the aged, and slaves prophesying beside me, the young, and the free. The curse of estrangement at Babel is undone where language is no longer a barrier.

These discussions are being held in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the upheaval that followed. In discussing the diversity of humanity (begun at Babel) and its reflection of God's imagination, we remarked that we are not called to be color blind but to see the colorFUL nature of all humans created in His image. The goal of anti-racist work is not to make race invisible, but rather to make systems of inequity based on race apparent to all so those systems can be dismantled. For that to happen, we need to see race. Not just see it, but celebrate it.

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5.31.20 - Holy Spirit 101: Pentecost

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 15:00:00 -0500

Key elements of God's covenant with Abraham fall into place fulfilled in dramatic fashion on the Feast of Pentecost. 15 nations hear the good news in their own languages proclaimed by 120 disciples fulfilling Joel 2 prophecies at the same time. The exclusivity of the past is gone with the coming of the Spirit: neither age nor gender nor station bar believers from exercising their gifts in proclamation of the good news.

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5.24.20 - He Ascended into Heaven

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 15:00:00 -0500

After resurrection, Jesus remains on earth for a symbolic 40 days. 40 has powerful symbolism in scripture, beginning with the story of Noah and the 40 days and nights of rain that cleanses of the past and prepares for the future. When Moses leaves Egypt he spends 40 years in Midian becoming a shepherd. Jesus begins his ministry with 40 days and nights in the wilderness in a time of cleansing and preparation.

The 40 days between the resurrection and Jesus' ascension into heaven are no less symbolic. Jesus' ascension is about his authority as King of the universe (Daniel 7). His ascension also paves the way for a new season on earth with the Holy Spirit about to be poured out on Christ followers. Finally Jesus' ascension points to His return, for in Acts 1:10-11, the angels present promise that He will turn in the same way He left.

As the angels said, "Why are you just standing there looking at the sky?" They are also asking us, "Why are you just sitting there looking at a screen?" He is coming, and there are many to tell of His love before He gets here.

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5.17.20 - The King's Commission

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 12:00:00 -0500

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the birth of Immanuel - God With Us. It ends with Jesus promising that "I Am with you always, even to the end of the age." As Risen Lord, Jesus is the King of the Universe and commissions us to spread the news of His victory and love to all around us. We speak, walk, and teach in His authority, NOT OUR OWN. He is with us "all the days," until He comes again. When He will still be with us!

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5.10.20 - I Will Rise

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Jesus' resurrection begins New Creation, the penultimate phase of God's plan. He is the firstfruits, the prototype of what/who we will be when the new heaven AND NEW EARTH are here (2 Peter 3:13). Timing is important: Jesus went first. Our day will come WHEN HE DOES. The goal is that God may be all in all. The greatest outcome and destiny and purpose of God Himself and of all humanity will be fulfilled. He knit you together so you would be part of it.

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5.03.20 - I'm Right Here

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Faulty expectations always lead to disappointment. Jesus' disciples expect a very different sort of Messiah from what they got. He was by and large far quieter, gentler, and more under the radar than they ever thought He'd be. We may expect Him to provide us with prosperity and ease - the health and wealth several popular teachers espouse.

The evening of His resurrection, Jesus comes up alongside two disciples on their road to Emmaus. They are so focused on their disappointment that they don't notice His presence until He hits them over the head with the bread at supper.

He is with and beside us no less than with them, only not in the way we expect.

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4.26.20 - Show Me

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Jesus' resurrection vindicates everything He's ever said as true (Mark 8). It proves His deity (Romans 1). It releases us from bondage (Romans 4:23-25). It entitles Him to and places Him in a position of greatest glory.

Thomas is the peak of the Gospel of John when he exclaims, "My Lord and My God!" John's masterpiece has 7 I Am statements, 7 signs, underscored with his postlude in 20:30-31.

C.S. Lewis put it best: either Jesus is a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord. You decide.

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4.19.20 - The Path to Peace

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 12:00:00 -0500

God promises in Leviticus 26:11 that "I will put my dwelling place among you... I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." God makes His dwelling among us in Christ Jesus (John 1:14). God's people's identity is derived from His faithfulness and from their special relationship with Him.

He brings peace that lasts forever. Ezekiel 37:23-26. God will cleanse His people, they will all have one shepherd, and a covenant of peace that lasts forever will be put in place.

Peace comes from the summary Jesus gave Mary Magdalene outside the garden tomb: God is now our Father, Jesus now our brother. Everything has fallen into place; and the spirit brings peace without fear (John 14:25-27), and the Father and Son team bring peace that congress the world (John 16:32-33).

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4.12.20 - Easter Sunday: First Fruits

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Mary Magdalene seems to be deliberately chosen instead of the disciples' "pillars," Peter and John, to be the sole witness to Jesus' resurrection on Easter morning. She is commissioned to share the first Gospel message to all others.

The plan begun with Abraham has reached its primary goal in the resurrection of the Messiah. The time is fulfilled as the journey begun in the garden of Eden is transformed by the empty garden tomb, all pointing to the final stage of Eden's restoration in Revelation 22.

The end of exile has come, Gentiles are included in the people of God, women and their gifts are included in the spread of the most important news ever, and we are all living as new creations. Episode artwork

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4.05.20 - Past Faithfulness, Present Strength

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:00:00 -0500

We can look back and see that time after time, God has come through for His people. He has NEVER failed them. Time after time, He has used the worst of circumstances and even the worst of intentions of those who would do them harm, and has instead worked things for good. (Romans 8:28) The Coronavirus Pandemic will be no different.

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3.29.20- A Worshipful Life: Embodying Jesus From A Distance

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:00:00 -0500

As the pandemic shifts our relationships and creates a new normal, we can still BE Jesus to those around us. In fact, we are CALLED to do so, and do so with imagination and joy as His vessels of care in the face of uncertainty.

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3.22.20 - A Worshipful Life: Full Person Praise

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:00:00 -0500

Worshipping God is more than singing a few songs at him once a week. Or at least it should be!

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3.15.20 Calm in the Midst of Chaos

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 14:00:00 -0500

A timely reminder that when things seem out of our control, we are always safe in the hands of a God who loves us.

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A Worshipful Life: A Life of Praise

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 13:00:00 -0500

Originally recorded on March 8, 2020. This is the first in Larry's new series "A Worshipful Life". The scripture reference is 1 Chronicles 16:8-15, 23-36.

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Ambassodors For The Love Of Christ

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 12:00:00 -0500

This is the last installment in the "From Now On - Living As New Creations" Series. The beginning of the sermon was missed, but the what was recorded, still conveys the message. Originally recorded on March 1, 2020.

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A Fresh Start

Sat, 29 Feb 2020 21:00:00 -0600

February 23, 2020.

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A Very Good Place To Start

Sat, 29 Feb 2020 16:00:00 -0600

February 2, 2020. A dramatic narrative sermon performed by Larry Mudd from the perspective of Adam. This is audio only. If you wish to see the video version, click here.

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A New Creation - The Genesis Template

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:00:00 -0600

Enjoy another episode from Larry's sermon series "From Now On".

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A New Creation, Now and Forever

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 19:00:00 -0600

2 Corinthians 5:17

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12.23.2019 - Finding Faith in Tradition and Ritual

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 21:00:00 -0600

Recorded on December 23, 2019

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01.05.2020 - The 12th Day of Christmas

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 21:00:00 -0600

Recorded at Oakhaven Church on January 5, 2020.

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12.08.2019 - The Prince Of Peace

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 18:20:37 -0600

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11.17.2019 - Unwrapping Your Spiritual Gifts

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 18:03:59 -0600

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11.3.2019 - Body Parts

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 18:37:19 -0600

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

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Having Peace And Joy

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 17:53:17 -0500

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10.20.2019 - The Champion Of Love

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 18:48:43 -0500

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10.13.2019 - Being The Good Shepherd

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:38:34 -0500

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10.6.2019 - Violence In The Bible

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:37:30 -0500

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9.29.2019 - Lost In Familiar Surroundings

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:29:13 -0500

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9.22.2019 - Cause And Effect

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:26:40 -0500

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Cultivating the Heart

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 19:30:04 -0500

Dwight Dietz - September 15, 2019

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The Lesson of the Silver Dollar

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 19:27:41 -0500

Pat Crowe - September 8, 2019

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Waiting On God

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 19:22:44 -0500

Dwight Dietz - August 18, 2019

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August 11, 2019 - Imitating A Humble God - Joe Feldkamp

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 19:10:10 -0500

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